Talk:Multiboot guide whiteboard

First Thoughts: Summary of Links Reviewed

Note: The following links were obtained by running 'dual boot fedora' in DuckDuckGo...

If nothing else, a review of these links shows, very clearly, the need to write a multiboot guide.

In addition, they provide a framework for the scope of the guide as well as helping to define the target audience.

---

The desire to multiboot operating systems on a single device is displayed by the great number of requests for help on the forums of many different websites. In most instances, the person requesting assistance is new to the world of Linux Operating Systems, GRUB, UEFI, the boot proces, and unaware of how to navigate the intricacies involved in sucessfully completing such a task.

The introduction of the various implementations of UEFI found amongst different hardware manufacturers, the multitude of conflicting articles suggeting both effective and ineffective solutions, and the users lack of being able to distinguish the proper path to take, lends itself to an atmosphere of failure in acheiving the goal -- thus leaving the end user without all of the benefits that the Fedora operating system has to offer.

The various links that attempt to provide procedures to install Fedora alongside other operating systems are generally lacking a complete understanding of the boot processes involved in UEFI and how it differes from MBR booting; and, for the most part, the material is out of date.

Three things can be deduced from these findings:

• 1. The need for an up-to-date, concise, and informative guide for mutlibooting Fedora with other operating systems, is clear.
• 2. The scope for the guide should be limited to providing relevant background information on
  • The Boot Process
  • GRUB
  • UEFI
• 3. In addition to the background information covered in a specific section, the 'features' of Fedora, as they apply to each area, should be expounded and procedural steps provided, to implement those 'features' in multibooting.

These thoughts lead to a general outline for the multiboot-guide contruct:

• 1. Individual Sections on Boot Process, GRUB, UEFI and Multibooting in general
  • a. Each section starts with background information for that area
  • b. Followed by how Fedora 'handles' each of these
• 2. After these sections are complete, two additional sections will be required:
  • a. Procedures for successfully multibooting Fedora with other OS's
  • b. A section providing advice and procedures for fixing common issues (GRUB reinstall, etc.)

The content for the above suggested outline will need to take into account the target audience.

From what I have gathered from reviewing the links posted here, the target audience for the guide will be multi-faceted:

• A relatively new user of Linux based operating systems.
• May or may not have knowledge of the boot process itself
• May or may not have knowledge of the particular hardware upon which a multiboot environment is desired
• May or may not have knowledge of GRUB and how it is used in the boot process
• May or may not have knowledge of UEFI and how it is used in the boot process

--Roger Baran, San Antonio, Texas (talk) 19:42, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

[Links below still under construction! Ran out of time for today]

Links Researched

A 'just for kicks' link to how it was 'back-in-the-day':

• http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/Installing_Fedora_Linux_on_a_Windows_System_%28Dual_booting%29

This is an old guide (Fedora 13), but it shows just how long people have been trying to do this!

In reality, things haven't changed that much...

• http://amidstsky.com/linux/dual-boot-ubuntu-fedora-windows-8/182/

This link shows an attempt at getting Fedora installed UEFI, but tries to do it by booting in legacy mode. In the end, he lists some 'unresolved issues' and cannot figure out how to modify the Grub.cfg properly

• https://ask.fedoraproject.org/en/question/37819/dual-boot-fedora-20-win-81-on-hp-envy-15-grub-doesnt-start/

This link shows how some of those desiring to assist do not provide accurate recommendations (common for all links) and others do provide accurate answers but fail to provide enough additional information to show how/why what they recommend works.

One good answer came through: "These instructions are only for BIOS systems. The question is about UEFI boot order. You should not mix procedures for these. randomuser (Feb 12 '14)" lol

We could go on providing examples for a long time; but suffice it to say that a clear, definitive, authoritative guide is an absolute necessity. Once the guide is finished, it needs a wide range of exposure avenues.