Can Plop be used as OS/2 Boot Manager (installed in its own primary partition)

[pesu]

I am looking for a boot manager as the one from OS/2 (OS/2 doesn't start on new pcs anymore, and so it is not possible to install its boot manager).

This installs in an own primary partition, and sets this partition as the active partition, which ist startet from the normal UNGHANGED(!) MBR. It then calls the boot manager in other partitions (e. g. the boot loader of Windows NT, XP, 7, ...) or GRUB in another partition.

Thereby it hides all other primary partitions, i. e. any system sees just one primary partition plus the logical drives in the extended partition.

This is perfect, as if e. g. windows disables the OS/2 boot manager at installation, it is afterwards just sufficient to set the partition with the OS/2 boot manager as the active partition (from within Windows) and the boot manager is restored. Another big advantage is, that the MBR is not changed.

Is this also possible with Plop?

[Elmar]

Hello,

I have no OS/2 to test it, but when you say that it creates an own partition to boot and this is used by a standard MBR, then YES, booting OS/2 should work without problems. Just configure the Plop Boot Manager to boot this boot partition.

Best regards
Elmar

[pesu]

Hello,

I have no OS/2 to test it, but when you say that it creates an own partition to boot and this is used by a
standard MBR.

That's not exactly what OS/2 does. OS/2 has its own bootmanager, which, if once installed is completly independent of OS/2. The OS/2 bootmanager is installed via the FDISK command program (to partition the hard disk) or in newer versions (eComStation) with/additionally via the LVM (Logical Volume Manager). In FDISK there are commands to create and manage the bootmanager. When creating the bootmanager, a primary INVISIBLE (by other OSs) partition is created on the first harddisk and the boot manager (AND NOTHING ELSE!) is installed in this partition. I. e. the bootmanager "wastes" a whole primary partition - but this doesn't matter nowadays, as except of Windows all modern OSs can be installed in logical drives of the extended partition (Windows can also be installed in a logical drive mostly, but the bootmanager necessary to boot Windows must be on C:)

then YES, booting OS/2 should work without problems. Just configure the Plop Boot Manager to boot this boot partition.

I don't want install OS/2 (the problem is, that you can no more install OS/2 on modern hardware, not even from floppy disk which is possible with OS/2). As the OS/2 bootmanager is managed via the OS/2-programs FDISK and/or LVM, I can't install the OS/2 bootmanager anymore.

I am now looking for a boot manager which works as the OS/2 bootmanager. It installs on a primary partition, which is the active partition, which is "startet" from the MBR at boot time.

The OS/2 bootmanager than just calls the "starting code" of another primary partition (e. g. Windows start code on C:) or on a logical drive (exactly so as the MBR normally calls the active primary partition). In case of booting Windows (NT and higher) the Windows "bootmanager" starts (if more than one Windows installed on the computer).

This means that the OS/2 bootmanager doesn't change anything in the MBR and it doesn't change anything on other partitions (where e. g. OSes are installed).

I think this is the most secure way to use a boot manager, cause even if an OS (e. g. Windows) deactivates the boot manager when it is installed, you can afterwards reactivate the bootmanager just by setting its primary partition active with the partition program of any operating system and the boot manager is functioning again.

I'm looking for such a boot manager and I am wondering, if this is possible with Plop.

EDIT: Typo