up vote 1 down vote favorite

In partition table, we can give /boot as mount point. But we can, too, toggle bootable flag. What's difference between those two?

share|improve this question
up vote 2 down vote

As for boot flag, see here. It is usually not needed for Ubuntu installation.

Boot mount point is the partition you mount your /boot to, if you use a separate /boot partition. If you do not have a separate /boot partition, /boot is just a directory under /. See here for more about partitions and mount points used in Ubuntu installation.

share|improve this answer
up vote -1 down vote

The /boot mount point specifies the location to install the bootloader (GRUB, Syslinux), to be used by legacy BIOS-based systems in order to boot when the actual boot device contains a GUID Partition Table (GPT).

A boot flag, on the other hand, is a 1-byte value in a non-extended partition record, within a master boot record. Its primary function is to indicate to a MS-DOS/MS Windows-type boot loader which partition to boot.

If you have an MBR (Master Boot Record) type partition table, all you need to do is to set a boot flag on the root filesystem /. However, if you have a GPT partition table, you need to create a separate BIOS boot partition and install GRUB to it.

share|improve this answer
    
So, is it okay to create one partition with /boot as mount point and bootable flag is activated? – Mas Bagol Jan 9 '15 at 17:30
    
Usually better for most desktops not to even have a /boot partition. Server type installs or LVM encrypted installs may need a /boot partition. Grub boot loader does not use boot flag, but a few BIOS want to see a boot flag on a primary partition which is only a Windows requirement, but also used by syslinux on live installer. so we still suggest a boot flag on a primary partition, just in case you have one of those few BIOS (mostly Intel motherboards). – oldfred Jan 9 '15 at 17:39
    
I have added the information to the answer. – Rohith Madhavan Jan 9 '15 at 17:40
    
BIOS boot partition is not mounted as /boot; see here. – jarno Jan 23 '16 at 18:38
    
@jamo Thanks for pointing out the error. – Rohith Madhavan Feb 29 '16 at 15:37

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.