booting OSX from Linux drive's grub menu

[raydar]

I mainly run UbuntuStudio (CeleronD PC), but I'm trying to get dual booting working with an OSX86 installation on a separate hard drive. I got the OSX installation working on its drive and then installed UbuntuStudio on its drive, but OSX wasn't listed in the grub menu.

 

I finally found how to edit my menu.lst file so that grub sees my OSX drive, but when I tried to boot OSX, I got the "HFS+ Partition Error" mentioned at

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.p...artition+error .

and so I tried the fdisk fix offered there.

 

Specifically, I booted from the OSX install DVD and executed the command

fdisk -u /dev/drive0

(using drive0 because my system sees my Ubuntu drive as /dev/sdb and my OSX drive as /dev/sda). But that sent my system belly up when I restarted; no grub, just a blinking cursor forever.

 

I think what I should have done is run fdisk from Linux, not OSX--although that same thread linked to above suggested that the fdisk operation can even be done from a DOS boot disk, so I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Turns out I was, and I'm very glad to say UbuntuStudio's installation DVD's repair-a-broken-installation tool saved the day, rewriting the boot sector and putting me back in grub when I boot.

 

I'm game to experiment more, but I'd rather ask the advice of someone who really knows fdisk (which I found has different commands in OSX and Linux), grub, and boot sectors before I bork my system again: Is the command

fdisk -u /dev/sda

what I should be doing in order to make my OSX partition happy? If not, what should I do?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

P.S.: Below is the important part of my menu.lst file as I currently have it:

 

## Setup crashdump menu entries

## e.g. crashdump=1

# crashdump=0

 

## default grub root device

## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)

# groot=(hd1,0)

 

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. alternative=true

## alternative=false

# alternative=true

 

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. lockalternative=true

## lockalternative=false

# lockalternative=false

 

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the

## alternatives

## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5

# defoptions=quiet splash

 

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options

## e.g. lockold=false

## lockold=true

# lockold=false

 

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenhopt=

 

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenkopt=console=tty0

 

## altoption boot targets option

## multiple altoptions lines are allowed

## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options

## altoptions=(recovery) single

# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

 

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst

## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the

## alternative kernel options

## e.g. howmany=all

## howmany=7

# howmany=all

 

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option

## e.g. memtest86=true

## memtest86=false

# memtest86=true

 

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system

## can be true or false

# updatedefaultentry=false

 

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options

## can be true or false

# savedefault=false

 

## ## End Default Options ##

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-rt

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-rt root=UUID=ad4e59ec-3cc2-4cae-8545-48267a6da920 ro quiet splash

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-rt

quiet

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-rt (recovery mode)

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-rt root=UUID=ad4e59ec-3cc2-4cae-8545-48267a6da920 ro single

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-rt

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

quiet

 

## the below was added 2Feb08am per

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/in...#Grub_in_short

 

title OSX_X86

##rootnoverify (hd0,0)

root (hd0,0)

##makeactive

chainloader --force +1

 

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

[wmarsh]

Get boot_v8 (The pc_efi bootloader)

 

Copy it to /boot inside linux

 

Then edit /boot/grub/menu.lst

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

root (hd?,?) (replace with same values grub uses for Linux partition, not ones for OSX partition)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

I think you will have to enter 82 during boot process to boot off 2nd HDD

 

Alternately, make a tiny ext3 partition on 2nd HDD

copy boot_v8 there in a directory /boot

and replace (hd?,?) with the values of that partition

[raydar]

Thanks, wmarsh. I've been looking all over and can't seem to find a place do get it from. I found one archive that had three boot_v# files, where the highest number was boot_v5, and I've seen references on several pages to a file pc_efi_v8 zip, but I can't find a link to that file. Could you point me in the right direction?

 

--Ray

[MacUser2525]

I mainly run UbuntuStudio (CeleronD PC), but I'm trying to get dual booting working with an OSX86 installation on a separate hard drive. I got the OSX installation working on its drive and then installed UbuntuStudio on its drive, but OSX wasn't listed in the grub menu.

 

I finally found how to edit my menu.lst file so that grub sees my OSX drive, but when I tried to boot OSX, I got the "HFS+ Partition Error" mentioned at

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.p...artition+error .

and so I tried the fdisk fix offered there.

 

Specifically, I booted from the OSX install DVD and executed the command

fdisk -u /dev/drive0

(using drive0 because my system sees my Ubuntu drive as /dev/sdb and my OSX drive as /dev/sda). But that sent my system belly up when I restarted; no grub, just a blinking cursor forever.

 

I think what I should have done is run fdisk from Linux, not OSX--although that same thread linked to above suggested that the fdisk operation can even be done from a DOS boot disk, so I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Turns out I was, and I'm very glad to say UbuntuStudio's installation DVD's repair-a-broken-installation tool saved the day, rewriting the boot sector and putting me back in grub when I boot.

 

I'm game to experiment more, but I'd rather ask the advice of someone who really knows fdisk (which I found has different commands in OSX and Linux), grub, and boot sectors before I bork my system again: Is the command

fdisk -u /dev/sda

what I should be doing in order to make my OSX partition happy? If not, what should I do?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

P.S.: Below is the important part of my menu.lst file as I currently have it:

 

## Setup crashdump menu entries

## e.g. crashdump=1

# crashdump=0

 

## default grub root device

## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)

# groot=(hd1,0)

 

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. alternative=true

## alternative=false

# alternative=true

 

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. lockalternative=true

## lockalternative=false

# lockalternative=false

 

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the

## alternatives

## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5

# defoptions=quiet splash

 

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options

## e.g. lockold=false

## lockold=true

# lockold=false

 

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenhopt=

 

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenkopt=console=tty0

 

## altoption boot targets option

## multiple altoptions lines are allowed

## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options

## altoptions=(recovery) single

# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

 

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst

## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the

## alternative kernel options

## e.g. howmany=all

## howmany=7

# howmany=all

 

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option

## e.g. memtest86=true

## memtest86=false

# memtest86=true

 

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system

## can be true or false

# updatedefaultentry=false

 

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options

## can be true or false

# savedefault=false

 

## ## End Default Options ##

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-rt

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-rt root=UUID=ad4e59ec-3cc2-4cae-8545-48267a6da920 ro quiet splash

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-rt

quiet

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-rt (recovery mode)

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-rt root=UUID=ad4e59ec-3cc2-4cae-8545-48267a6da920 ro single

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-rt

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+

root (hd1,0)

kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

quiet

 

## the below was added 2Feb08am per

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/in...#Grub_in_short

 

title OSX_X86

##rootnoverify (hd0,0)

root (hd0,0)

##makeactive

chainloader --force +1

 

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

 

You may want to switch the drives around so the Ubuntu is the first one so you can get to the grub memu without having to have used a boot menu selection from the BIOS. Now with my dual boot I have if my memory serves me well something like this.

 

 title Leopard 10.5.1
root (hd1,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

 

This results in me having the grub entry choice for it which when selected takes me to the efi_mbr loader then I select the OSX install to boot from.

[wmarsh]

Thanks, wmarsh. I've been looking all over and can't seem to find a place do get it from. I found one archive that had three boot_v# files, where the highest number was boot_v5, and I've seen references on several pages to a file pc_efi_v8 zip, but I can't find a link to that file. Could you point me in the right direction?

 

--Ray

To get boot_v8 (The pc_efi bootloader):

 

Google "pc_efi v8.0 download"

[raydar]

Okay, I got boot_v8 copied into /boot and added the block of lines to menu.lst, and that did change the booting behavior, but I'm still not out of the woods: Instead of "NFS+ Partition Error," I get "Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition." I think this message might be generated by grub itself, since "Press any key to continue..." is the only other line on the screen and it returns me to the grub menu.

 

I tried changing "root (hd0,0)" to "root (hd0,1)" just to see if that'd work, and it said that partition didn't exist, so I've got the right partition. I tried inserting the "makeactive" instruction between "root (0,0)" and "kernel /boot/boot_v8," because I'd read something elsewhere about needing to make the partition "active," but that didn't help either.

 

I suppose I'll try sticking the "chainloader +1" line in . . . but I'm stabbing in the dark. Sorry to need such training wheels--but any further suggestions?

[wmarsh]

Okay, I got boot_v8 copied into /boot and added the block of lines to menu.lst, and that did change the booting behavior, but I'm still not out of the woods: Instead of "NFS+ Partition Error," I get "Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition." I think this message might be generated by grub itself, since "Press any key to continue..." is the only other line on the screen and it returns me to the grub menu.

 

I tried changing "root (hd0,0)" to "root (hd0,1)" just to see if that'd work, and it said that partition didn't exist, so I've got the right partition. I tried inserting the "makeactive" instruction between "root (0,0)" and "kernel /boot/boot_v8," because I'd read something elsewhere about needing to make the partition "active," but that didn't help either.

 

I suppose I'll try sticking the "chainloader +1" line in . . . but I'm stabbing in the dark. Sorry to need such training wheels--but any further suggestions?

Your 1st post said Ubuntu was on (hd1,0)

 

My 1st post said the following:

 

Then edit /boot/grub/menu.lst

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

root (hd?,?) (replace with same values grub uses for Linux partition, not ones for OSX partition)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

Therefore you should have put root (hd1,0)

 

And you don't use chainloader -- you are loading boot_v8 like a linux kernel

 

If your OS X partition is on your 1st HDD (and not sharing the 2nd HDD with ubuntu), then when efi bootloader starts, you will have 2 seconds to enter 81 to tell it to look for OS X on 1st HDD.

 

Alternately, you can make a tiny ext3 partition on 1st HDD, put boot_v8 there, and modify your grub menu.lst appropriately. Boot_v8 looks for an hfs+ partition on the drive it was booted from. Assuming this is 2nd partition on HDD 1, then root (hd0,1) as you tried before would work. Actually, thats what I would do -- I use SUSE not ubuntu -- SUSE has a tool in YAST you can use to allocate any unpartitioned space on HDD1 in this fashion and there is almost always some -- I am sure ubuntu has a similiar tool but I can't tell you how to find it.

[raydar]

Ah, I think I understand about entering numbers at boot time--I just strike the keys w/o a prompt, like one hits F8 under other circumstances to get a boot menu. In your first post, you said to hit 82, and in your third post you said hit 81; I'll see which one works.

 

Sorry for my confusion over the (hd1,0) setting; you were perfectly clear. My putting in the wrong setting was much to my detriment, 'cause neither OSX nor Ubuntu would boot and the rescue CD that worked before didn't.

 

(My Linux drive had more stuff on it that I didn't want to lose, so I wound up installing Ubuntu where OSX had been, in case I still found I couldn't get the existing Linux partition to boot, so I could copy files over to the other drive if necessary. Now l'll reinstall OSX . . . tempted to try it in vmware instead, but I don't wanna accept defeat on dual booting either.)

[wmarsh]

Well, thats alot of work reinstalling OS X and Linux.

 

The boot_v8 method above works very nicely if you have OS X and Linux on the same HDD. I have Vista and FreeBSD on 1st HDD, XP, Linux and OS X on 2nd HDD.

 

VMware in my experience becomes increasingly difficult with newer versions of OS X. 10.4.1 was fast but is outdated. I use 10.4.8 in VMware now, using -legacy to keep it in 32 bit mode. Most people say Leopard won't boot in VMware.

[cyber_tods]

Hi,

 

I'm also having the same problem

 

First, with chainloader +1, I get Error 13 ...

 

when I tried boot_v8 I now get ..

 

Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition

 

*BTW, I'm on AHCI, if that even matters*

 

I'm only using ONE hdd only, hoping for triple boot. Vista, Ubuntu 7.10, and Kalyway Leoaprd 10.5.1

 

I followed this thread and did what was instrcuted:

 

1) Downloaded boot_v8 (from #leopard), extracted, copied to /boot/

 

2) added this entry in my menu.lst

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

root (hd0,3)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

3) saved menu.lst .. rebooted .. highlighted Mac OSX Leopard in GRUB .. = ERROR 17!

 

I've also tried adding "makeactive" .. tried removing "boot" .. Vista and Ubuntu loads perfectly, its just the OSX that gives me despair

 

This is last part of my menu.lst .. what am I doing wrong??

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic

root (hd0,1)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=bb59848d-6bcd-4a22-b266-3ccb5ce630e2 ro quiet splash

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic

quiet

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)

root (hd0,1)

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=bb59848d-6bcd-4a22-b266-3ccb5ce630e2 ro single

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic

 

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+

root (hd0,1)

kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

quiet

 

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

 

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian

# ones.

title Other operating systems:

root

 

 

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS

# on /dev/sda1

title Windows Vista

root (hd0,0)

savedefault

makeactive

chainloader +1

 

# This entry is for macosx Leopard

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

root (hd0,3)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

Am I getting close? Or worse??

 

I'm willing to reinstall everything if you tell me too. I just need Ubuntu for my Thesis

 

Please help.

 

THank you so much.

 

EDIT: I don't know if this will help

 

I ran this in Ubuntu terminal:

 

fdisk -l

 

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/sda1 1 5099 40957686 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/sda2 5100 6374 10241437+ 83 Linux

/dev/sda3 * 6375 9664 26426925 af Unknown

/dev/sda4 9665 9729 522112+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

[wmarsh]

2) added this entry in my menu.lst

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

root (hd0,3)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

Your Linux Partition is sda2

Therefore, change above to root (hd0,1)

 

Then it will work.

 

Grub numbers disks and partitions starting with 0, not 1.

And you are to put in the values for your Linux partition, not your OS X partition, because thats where you saved boot_v8.

 

BTW hd0,3 is your Linux swap partition -- it won't boot.

[cyber_tods]

Yeah, I noticed that. lol ... sorry about that ..

 

Actually, when I changed it to the correct one hda(0,4) .. it still has the same exact error message.

 

However, When I tried this:

 

title Mac OSX Leopard

rootnotverify (hd0,4)

kernel /boot/boot_v8

boot

 

it worked!

 

the "rootnotverify" is the one that fixed it. I guess. When I put it back to just "root" it doesnt work.

 

However, I noticed something when selecting mac osx from GRUB: Before it goes to darwin, it shows this message:

 

,bss=0x0Starting up...

Multiboot info @0x5ff58

Boot device 0x80

Press any key within 2 seconds to change boot device

 

If I dont press any key, it just goes to darwin and continues to OSX .. boots fine!

 

I tried to press a key, just to see what it says:

 

Typical boot devices are 80(first hdd), 81 Second

 

I guess its 80 .. when I choose 80, it still goes to osx and boots fine .. However, I noticed that upon doing this, if I dont press F8 from darwins countdown, it loops back to grub. When I press F8, it has highlighted Linux instead of Leopard. Weird thing about this is it only happened when I pressed any key and key in "80". Now I can't make straight boot anymore. I always have to press F8 in Darwin and highlight Leopard to boot fine. Now I kinda regret trying to press any key in that 2 sec wait heheh. Even though you let it boot all the way without pressing anything in the 2 seconds. I guess GRUB changed something permanent. Anyway, its no biggie, I can live by pressing F8 when I see darwin

 

By the way, is the ,bss=.. message an error of some sort? Is it normal? Can I remove this so that it will just go directly to darwin? Its not that I can't wait two seconds but, I was just hoping that maybe I can bypass this message.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

EDIT: Can I put a string in com.apple.Boot.plist so that it would boot directly to leopard (to avoid pressing F8 all the time?)

 

When I press F8, I see

 

hd (0,1) - Windows NTFS

hd (0,2) - Linux

hd (0,3) - Leopard

 

Thanks again

[wmarsh]

hd(0,4) should be your 1st logical partition -- which actually is the best place to install Linux and where mine is installed. But your prior post lead me to believe you had it installed in your 2nd primary partition.

 

Glad it works anyway.

 

Don't know why you need rootnoverify though -- That just tells grub not to check if it can mount the partition, which it would have to do to find your boot_v8 file. Ordinarily you use that for Windows (which grub cannot mount).

 

Did you try root hda(0,4) rather than hd(0,4)? That would mess grub up.

 

Sorry, you can't skip the "80" message -- its part of the boot_v8 loader.

I don't push anything on mine (not even f8) and it boots fine after 2 seconds.

Might be something with your kalyway. I have TOH 10.5.0 with 10.5.1 installed over it.

[cyber_tods]

Alright

 

Yeah, I was so frustrated and was trying all possible entries in GRUB. Even though it wasn't applicable to mine!! lol .. well thats kinda weird that grub can't mount my osx partition.

 

I think i have to reformat everything again so this time, I won't touch the 2 second thing Also, I just want to test if I could do triple boot all over again

 

by the way, should all of my partition primary? What should be primary and what should be logical?

 

Could that be a problem? I think I set all of my partitions as primary, even the swap.

 

Is that wrong?

 

My planned Hdd structure for my next reformat:

 

40gb = NTFS (for Vista)

30gb = MacOsx Leoaprd (kalyway)

9.5gb = Ubuntu 7.10

.5gb = Swap

 

What should be Primary and Logical?

 

Thanks again

[wmarsh]

Alright

 

Yeah, I was so frustrated and was trying all possible entries in GRUB. Even though it wasn't applicable to mine!! lol .. well thats kinda weird that grub can't mount my osx partition.

 

I think i have to reformat everything again so this time, I won't touch the 2 second thing Also, I just want to test if I could do triple boot all over again

 

by the way, should all of my partition primary? What should be primary and what should be logical?

 

Could that be a problem? I think I set all of my partitions as primary, even the swap.

 

Is that wrong?

 

My planned Hdd structure for my next reformat:

 

40gb = NTFS (for Vista)

30gb = MacOsx Leoaprd (kalyway)

9.5gb = Ubuntu 7.10

.5gb = Swap

 

What should be Primary and Logical?

 

Thanks again

That would work with 4 primary partitions.

I would do Vista and OS X primary. Then make an extended partition in which you have the ubuntu and linux swap partitions.

 

Why are you reformating and reinstalling? -- thats so much work.

 

If its just your grub is messed up, just reinstall Linux, fix your grub menu.lst, then you should be fine.

[cyber_tods]

Hey wmarsh,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

I just reinstalled everything and it really is so much work. It was ok because I was using my brothers hdd back then and now I got my new one. So I was going to reinstall anyway. After reinstalling, everything was fine. But, II encountered a new annoyance. Now I have 3 hdds all in all.

 

I have GA-P35-DS3L which has only 4 sata ports

 

My 1st hdd contains * this hdd is connected to sata port 0 = ICH9 Controller

 

1) XP (hacked achi drivers)

2) Leopard

3) NTFS data drive

4) FAT32 data drive

 

My 2nd hdd contains: *also connected to ICH9 Controller Sata port 1

 

1) NTFS

2) FAT32

 

My 3rd hdd is connected to Jmicron SATA = Sata port 2

 

1) Linux Ubuntu

2) swap

 

*This is where grub is installed

 

My 4th SATA port is where my DVDRW is connected (also Jmicron SATA)

 

The reason why I specified what controller each of my hdd uses is because Leopard has problems with AHCI enabled (it only detects 2 sata ports in ich9). I dont want to use IDE mode So right now, the best hdd placement is what I stated above. I really have to stick with that

 

This is the problem/annoyance:

 

Everytime I boot to Leopard from Grub, it will give you this message (as always):

 

,bss =0x0Starting up ...

Multiboot info @blablalbal

Boot device 0x82

Press any key within 2 secs .. blablalblalba

Typical boot device are 80 (First hdd) blablabla

Enter two-digit hexadecimal blablalb ...

 

Ok, that 0x82 is where my Ubuntu is installed, not my OSX

 

I can actually boot in all of my 3 oses .. its just the Pressing any key and typing 80 is the one thats bugging me off.

 

Pressing any key in 2 seconds is kinda annyoing. Before, I still see that message, but it was defaulted to 0x80 so I just let it do its count. Now, I got no choice but to press a key so I could type 80 and boot to leopard successfully. I was hoping that maybe, there is a way to change 0x82 to 0x80 (where my osx is installed)?

 

If I can do this, I don't have to press any key and type 80.

 

Any ideas?

 

Cheers!

 

EDIT: I got a feeling that I have to reformat again ({censored}!) and install all 3 Oses in 1 hdd. (my previous setup) .. I never had problems before when all of my Oses were installed in 1st hdd 0x80

 

EDIT2: SHould I just use Acronis OS selector? Is there a possibility for it to destroy Grub or darwin?

 

EDIT3: {censored}, I just talked to someone from IRC channel and said that the 0x82 can't be changed .. but he was not sure .. I hope he's wrong

[wmarsh]

Well thanks for the info, it helps.

And sorry for not replying sooner; I was upgrading to 10.5.2 and not paying attention to thread.

 

You can't change the "82" BUT...here is another solution.

 

Remember, the objective is to have boot_v8 in a grub mountable partition on the same drive as OS X is installed on, so it finds OS X automatically, and you don't have to enter any code.

 

You can check the grub manual yourself if you wish

http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html

 

But if memory serves, I believe grub can mount FAT32

So make a /boot directory on your FAT32 "data" partition on 1st HDD

save boot_v8 there

change your root line to root(hd0,4) (should be correct if you installed in that order and all 4 partitions are primary)

 

Then try it. You should no longer have to enter code for efi loader.

 

If I'm wrong and grub won't mount FAT32, then either delete your primary data partition and remake it as extended or convert it to an extended partition (using Partition Magic or Parted Magic), slightly smaller if necessary.

Then create another tiny extended ext3 partition following your data partition on HDD 1.

make a /boot directory there

save boot_v8 there

change your root line to root(hd0,6) (the second extended partition)

 

Try it, should work.

 

Another issue -- I recognize your AHCI problem.

What I did rather than using the AHCI windows drivers or using IDE mode, is hack Leopard to work in raid0 mode.

Mine is ICH8R; yours would be ICH9R.

You could try a similiar solution -- different device IDs but same method.

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?sho...86&hl=ich8r