Dual Booting Windows 7 and Linux with EasyBCD

I decided to use Windows 7 bootloader instead GRUB to manage the dual boot.

I've been using GRUB before to manage Linux/Windows dual boot -- you need to edit the menu.lst file in the /boot folder under the Linux root partition; this time, I decided to give the Windows 7 bootloader a try.

Windows 7 uses the same bootloader as Windows Vista. One of the best tool for managing the bootloader is EasyBCD from NeoSmart

Interestingly, the easiest way to dual boot Linux (in my opinion)-- using the NeoGrub bootloader, is not well documented by the maker NeoSmart.

NeoGrub is made by NeoSmart as a bootloader within a bootloader. It can live anywhere on your Windows filesystem; you just make a reference to it inside EasyBCD. After you install NeoGrub from within EasyBCD, you want to click the Configure button and modify the menu.lst file (that's only way to modify it. the file is locked outside the program).

Just copy the boot entries from the old menu.lst file. (if you are wondering how in the world you would be able to reach the old menu.lst from inside Windows 7, you might want to read my old post on Ext2 IFS :) Those boot entries should look like the following:

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic
root=UUID=c28b6727-d0e5-46c1-93a8-9b336033ff05 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic
quiet

Save the file and EasyBCD writes a new NeoGrub entry the into the Windows 7 bootloader for you. Done.



Result of the bootloader entries including the new NeoGrub entry:

Omega Drivers for nVidia

I've been having stability trouble with my nVidia graphics card on an old computer -- it's crashing it when accessing video intensive web sites. So instead of using the official nVidia driver, I switch to the Omega driver. Downloaded from http://www.omegadrivers.net

Omega makes drivers for both ATI and nVidia. And based on what I've seen so far, their drivers are better and have a better user interface. I am already less than happy that nVidia decided not to provide Vista support for my MX 440SE AGP card, which had been only a couple of years old when Windows Vista came out. After this episode of poor driver quality, I am going to make sure my next graphics card is not one from nVidia.