Tell me more ×
Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 9 down vote favorite
2

Why would one move from Grub to Grub2?

share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 13 down vote accepted

GRUB 2's major improvements over the original GRUB include:

  • New configuration file structure
  • Scripting support including conditional statements and functions
  • Dynamic module loading
  • Rescue mode
  • Themes
  • Graphical boot menu support and improved splash capability
  • Boot Ubuntu LiveCD and some other ISO images directly from hard drive
  • Non-X86 platform support (such as PowerPC)
  • Universal support for UUIDs (not just Ubuntu)
  • Improved internationalization, including support for non-ASCII characters
share|improve this answer
1  
Unfortunately, instead of just adding a module that extends the feature set, they ditched the classical system and completely replaced it. The new version makes it easy to execute one app that auto-generates the config file for you based on the operating systems that exist on the hard drive. Unfortunately, it makes it really hard for users to fine tune the config by manually editing. While Grub was pretty easy to fine tune manually, I wouldn't touch a Grub2 config file with a 20ft pole. – Evan Plaice Sep 16 '10 at 13:41
up vote 1 down vote

Grub legacy is no longer being maintained, so distros would have to do all the work of patching it to support newer file systems like Ext4 and btrfs. That's a lot of really unnecessary work for them, and diverts dev time away from doing more useful things.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.