The instructions for booting KolibriOS from SSD/HDD are quite confusing (especially for the average user) and arguably incomplete, so after I thought I would post my solution (for those using GRUB - sorry Windows only users) here.
This looks complex, but is actually fairly simple as long as you follow the steps and *CHECK FOR TYPOS*.
*NOTE* - KolibriOS CANNOT be installed to SSD/HDD in the same way as you would install e.g. Windows or Linux - it is memory (RAM) resident, so only needs to be loaded at bootup from the image file (kolibri.img).
*NOTE* - this guide is for GRUB 2 for legacy GRUB everything should be the same APART FROM:
the 'menuentry' instruction - 'label' should be substituted for 'menuentry' (hdx,y) - in legacy GRUB the parameter 'y' (partition number) starts at zero, in GRUB 2 'y' starts at 1, so for
partition 1 on hd0 (primary SSD/HDD) legacy GRUB would read (hd0,0) but for GRUB 2 it would be (hd0,1)
Steps:
1 - download/extract KolibriOS from the website (
http://kolibrios.org/en/download) to your desired location
2 - copy kolibri.img and memdisk to your desired boot location (usually / or /boot - in the example here I have used /boot - I suggest you do the same for simplicity)
Now - the slightly more complex part. The only solution I have found for SSD/HDD booting is to actually write a shell script (don't worry - it is small and fairly simple) to add kolibriOS to the GRUB menu and point GRUB at the desired image. A more detailed account of what follows can be found at this page
http://dedoimedo.com/computers/grub-2.html
I *strongly* recommend reading this. Kudos to Dedoimedo for this
page) SO:
3 - in terminal log into root account ('sudo -i' plus root password)
4 - navigate to /etc/grub.d (cd /etc/grub.d)
5 - create a file called XX_kolibriOS (e.g. 15_kolibriOS) - the 15 just puts it in numerical order with other scrpts - refer to Dedoimedo's page for details - I will not duplicate that here. Type the follwing into terminal:
gedit 15_kolibrOS
You will get a blank document with the title '15-kolibriOS'
6 - copy and paste the following into this file:
Copy/Paste Stuff BELOW THIS LINE into the file you just created
#!/bin/sh -e
echo "Adding KolibriOS to GRUB 2"
cat << EOF
menuentry "KolibriOS" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux16 /boot/memdisk
initrd16 /boot/kolibri.img
}
EOF
Copy/Paste Stuff ABOVE THIS LINE into the file you just created
You may need to alter the 'set root' (if you have saved to a different HDD or partition), 'linux16' and 'initrd16' parameters if you have saved to a location other than '/boot')
Save and exit
A description of this follows:
Syntax -
#!/bin/sh -e
echo "Some string"
cat << EOF
menuentry "Something" {
set root=(hdX,Y)
-- boot parameters --
}
EOF
#!/bin/sh -e - this identifies the contents as a shell script
echo "Adding KolibriOS to GRUB 2" - this should print the given string to screen when you update GRUB 2 - don't worry if it doesn't - it won't affect functionality - it doesn't echo for me
cat << EOF - identifies start of instructions for menu, location and booting files/image
menuentry "KolibriOS" { - What you will see in the GRUB 2 menu
set root=(hd0,1) - the SSD/HDD being used (hd0 in this example) and the partition (1 in this example) on which the relevant files and images have been saved
linux16 /boot/memdisk - your chosen location for memdisk (i.e. where you copid it to, in this case '/boot'
initrd /boot/kolibri.img - your chosen location for kolibri.img (i.e. where you copied it to, in this case '/boot'
}
EOF - End of file indicator
If you have saved memdisk/kolibri.img to a second SSD/HDD on the third partition the 'set root' entry would be
(hd1,3) i.e. 'set root=(hd1,3) so check these data carefully (gparted will allow you to do this).
If the location you have have saved is e.g. /koliboot the linux16 and initrd16 lines would reflect this thus:
'linux16 /koliboot/memdisk' and 'initrd16 /koliboot/kolibri.img'
So we have now created a shell script file. We now need to make it executable:
7 - in terminal type (copy/paste) the following:
chmod +x 15_kolibriOS
Now we need to tell GRUB2 abut the changes:
8 - in terminal type (copy/paste) the following:
update-grub
That's it! Reboot your system and you should see KolibriOS in your GRUB menu. Select it and enjoy.
IF it does not work, check your shell script (15_kolibriOS) carefully for typos, and that the set root, linux16
and initrd parameters are correct - this caused me a headache because of a minor typo!! Don't worry - if
selecting KolibriOS hangs your system or reboots it after waiting, just select Ubuntu (or whatever flavour of
linux you are using) and go back to check your settings in 15_kolibriOS.
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE IN MORE DETAIL - visit
http://dedoimedo.com/computers/grub-2.html - it is an
excellent tutorial for GRUB2
I hope this helps. Post any queries (concerning this post ONLY - I do not support kolibriOS or linux!) here.
LordOfRuin