[Techtalk] Changing the Grub setup

[David Sumbler]

I have a new computer which came with Ubuntu 10.10 installed.  I'm very
pleased with it - everything works, and it's a heck of a lot faster than
my old computer, which is 10 years old.

The root filesystem is on /dev/sda2 and the /home partition
is /dev/sda7.

/dev/sda1 is a boot partition, and is not mounted once the system is up
and running.  It contains a /boot/grub/menu.lst file which reads:

root (hd0,0)
timeout = 5
default = saved

title Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)
	root (hd0,1)
	chainloader +1
	savedefault

title Upgrade/ Spare partition (currently unused)
	root (hd0,2)
	chainloader +1
	savedefault


The root filesystem on /dev/sda2 has a /boot/grub/grub.cfg file which
contains all the stuff from /etc/grub.d/ .  I have not come across this
newer version of Grub before, and I'm finding it hard to get my head
around.

When I boot the computer, I see the simple Grub menu provided by the
file on hd0,0 (/dev/sda1).  This then presumably boots the computer
according to the grub.cfg file on /dev/sda2, although I don't actually
see that menu.   Certainly, though, the file gives me what I would
expect and am used to - e.g. the latest version of the kernel plus the
previous one, with recovery mode and memory test options.

Is there any advantage in having things set up this way?  I would prefer
to see the actual menu which is currently on /dev/sda2 .  Could, and
should I simply transfer the /boot directory from /dev/sda2
to /dev/sda1, replacing the one that's there?  Or how do I build the
thing properly in that location, if it's a good idea?

I haven't encountered this latest version of Grub before, and even the
old version used to scare me a bit - there's always the prospect of
making the computer unbootable!

Any observations and advice will be gratefully received.

David

-- 
David Sumbler <david at aeolia.co.uk>