USING GRUB ON SLACKWARE-CURRENT (ALSO 15.0)

This guide applies to Slackware-current systems while LILO is still the
default installer bootloader. GRUB setup remains an explicit, manual
administrative choice.


UEFI - Installation Instructions

Do not install LILO or ELILO. Instead, configure GRUB as follows:

1. Enter the chroot environment:

   chroot /mnt
   source /etc/profile

2. Install GRUB:

   grub-install

3. Create the necessary directory for the bootloader:

   mkdir -p /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT

4. Copy the GRUB EFI file to the default boot location:

   cp /boot/efi/EFI/slackware-15+/grubx64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/Bootx64.efi

5. Generate an initial ramdisk:

   geninitrd

Note:
After installing or upgrading the GRUB package, check for
/etc/default/grub.new and merge it before running update-grub.

6. Update the GRUB configuration:

   update-grub

7. Install GRUB in removable mode (optional but recommended for fallback):

   grub-install --removable


Post-Kernel Update:

After updating the kernel, ensure you run:

   update-grub

Note:
On Slackware-current (15.0+), update-grub is run automatically after a
kernel upgrade.


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Legacy BIOS - Installation Instructions

Do not install LILO or ELILO. Instead, configure GRUB as follows:

1. Enter the chroot environment:

   chroot /mnt
   source /etc/profile

2. Install GRUB to the Master Boot Record (MBR):

   grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdX

   Replace /dev/sdX with the appropriate disk (e.g., /dev/sda).
   Do not specify a partition (e.g., /dev/sda1).

3. Generate an initial ramdisk:

   geninitrd

Note:
After installing or upgrading the GRUB package, check for
/etc/default/grub.new and merge it before running update-grub.

4. Update the GRUB configuration:

   update-grub

Note:
On Slackware-current (15.0+), update-grub is run automatically after a
kernel upgrade.


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Notes on Slackware-current

Recent Slackware-current versions include a GRUB_INSTALL_SCRIPT variable
in /etc/default/grub intended for future automation of grub-install and
update-grub during package upgrades.

At the moment, this script does not exist yet, so the GRUB bootloader
must still be reinstalled manually for major GRUB updates.

Note for Slackware 15.0

Slackware 15.0 does not include the geninitrd helper script. Users must
generate the initrd manually using mkinitrd.

Example:

   mkinitrd -c -k $(uname -r) -f ext4 -r /dev/sdXn

   Replace /dev/sdXn with your root partition.

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This guide covers both UEFI and Legacy BIOS setups for configuring GRUB
on Slackware-current (15.0+). Ensure you follow the correct instructions
based on your system firmware.


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Last Modified: 2026-01-03 00:00:00 UTC