Best way tu dual boot a Titanium

Today, I have a bunch of RISC OS computers. But I must admit that some of them could be removed, if I manage to get dual boot working on my (future) main configuration.

My first idea is to use the configuration options to switch from one boot disc to one another. But I should find a way to remove the icon of the unused disc. Is it possible? Nota: that could be a good way to boot to beta ROM with its own boot sequence (softloaded from a second disc).

The second way to do it would be a SATA rack, with two (or more) discs. Then I wonder: if I boot once with only one disc, and another time with two or three discs fitted, will the Titanium like it or not? Will I need to change some configuration options?

Other question, around GoLinux. Is it possible to copy the Debian disc image to a SATA disc, then to boot on it with GoLinux? Will Debian support a dual screen (2×1720×1440) configuration? Today I connect to a remote Pi to compile and test my code under Linux, but GoLinux could be an option.

My first idea is to use the configuration options to switch from one boot disc to one another. But I should find a way to remove the icon of the unused disc. Is it possible? Nota: that could be a good way to boot to beta ROM with its own boot sequence (softloaded from a second disc).

ADFS(Filer) will show all connected SATA harddiscs on the icon bar, with those not recognised by FileCore just saying ‘Untitled’. There are several icon hider utilities around, since the icon bar is just a window you can imagine how they work.

The second way to do it would be a SATA rack, with two (or more) discs. Then I wonder: if I boot once with only one disc, and another time with two or three discs fitted, will the Titanium like it or not? Will I need to change some configuration options?

The SATA drives are enumerated in the order that the PCB sockets are numbered on the Titanium board and drive numbers assigned in the order they’re found, so ADFS::4 is the first found and so on. The simplest way to achieve what you’re suggesting is to have the RISC OS boot disc be drive 4 (*Configure Drive 4) and plug it in the lowest socket, then any extra drives that appear don’t affect the boot drive.

Other question, around GoLinux. Is it possible to copy the Debian disc image to a SATA disc, then to boot on it with GoLinux? Will Debian support a dual screen (2×1720×1440) configuration? Today I connect to a remote Pi to compile and test my code under Linux, but GoLinux could be an option.

The kernel must be loaded from the micro SD card with GoLinux, but after that point you can set (via /etc/fstab) a different, faster, drive to be the one to use instead. In theory the kernel can be on other media, but by default uboot will prefer the micro SD card unless you want to roll your own.

Debian does support dual screens, and will use both to show the desktop.

Hum, that’s very interesting. A two rack setup (one for system, one for optional backup drive), could be the right solution. But then, how to boot on Linux disc? I suppose I will need to boot to a temp RISC OS (on a small partition), then to Linux. Or I could simply connect to a remote Pi :)