What i would like to see is the ability to install each desktop of EndeavourOS which i can. But as many as you choose rather than a different distro for multi boot and instead of adding another desktop or more to a current install. Have it boot from grub with a separate menu for each desktop so it doesn’t just say the same thing and have the icon for each desktop in grub. I like EndeavourOS but i also like different desktop versions but i don’t like them mixed. So the Icons that are present in the centre of the backgrounds would be in the grub menu. Now that’s a theming project.
But do you think that this is what a majority of users would need?
It could be possible … but if you do not want them mixed up it would need to install multiple systems to separate apps from the different DE’s The icons we have on Grub menu reading by something like release-info file and will use distro name to get the icon shown there… get the DE name could be possible also … but i do not know if we could install multiple systems at once … hacking a grub theme to show DE icon yes…
It might be nice to have an option for the logo to be for the DE, but I sure wouldn’t want to be having multiples on one install! If you did try that, I suppose you could have an ncurses version of a Welcome app version that allowed DE choices, and allowed a choice after a base-install bootup - but doing it graphically would be a bear! I sure wouldn’t want the confusion of all those variants of apps in one setup, though!
What it seems to me would be easiest is to make a small(ish) partition for each iteration, then a large Data partition - with soft (ln -s) links for Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Public, Videos - (and, in my case, Books, prog and Calibre Library) from EACH install. I have a little script for setting that up on each distro I install anyway, so it doesn’t take long (rmdir Documents; ln -s /mnt/data/Documents – repeat for each directory). It is easy enough to copy an appropriate DE icon for boot menu use. I would use rEFInd, and I would copy each DE icon into the /boot of each install in turn, and name it vmlinuz-linux.png. They would all be picked up and displayed that way, and no fights over what to use!
Hmm - sounds like fun, actually - and very doable with GPT partitioning. Maybe I’ll do it on my old system just for sh&^% and giggles, and do up another wiki! 
Now I just need a new CPU cooler for the old box…
Freebird54
1 Like
I don’t mean multiples on one install. What i mean is instead of installing ubuntu or manjaro or something else i would install endeavouros with a different desktop and still use grub but when you do that the grub entries look like crap and so are the icons it uses other than the endeavour icon and it lists everything as EndeavourOS Linux. So it would be like what your doing with rEFIND and have each icon and maybe a description. Other people like yourself install different distro’s. I would install endeavour but one xfce another plasma and another Cinnamon. etc.
I still can’t get rEFind set up to my liking. 
OK - as I said that would be fun (and different) - and I would do it as I described earlier. I would start on it tonight, actually, if I could be sure that the durn thing wouldn’t overheat! It ran for 7 years without being turned off for more than minutes (for dust/cat hair extraction), but when I changed it from Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu18.04 to Xubuntu 19.10 and EndeavourOS it suddenty showed me a reading of 103C on my conky - so I shut it down for a better cleaning. Now it runs fine (29C) for an hour or so, then unpredictably back to 103C! I hope a cooler will fix it - or maybe even some thermal paste - but I don’t know yet, and I can’t go out and get supplies at the moment 
What is rEFInd doing now that doesn’t match what you want? I can’t just drop by and fix it - not only is it a big country, but there’s a little situation at the moment…
Anyway - the instructions I posted earlier would work very well for your project too - but it could be done with grub as well sort of (I can’t think how to make it show icons on each entry) - you could perhaps use a background in each grub with the icon, and try to boot direct from the NVRAM - but rEFInd is much easier than that!
Freebird54
How do you have yours set up? Are you using grub with rEFind or just booting each from the image? I don’t have anything installed right now. I can get rEFind installed it’s setting it up with the additional stuff that’s seems complicated. 
I boot direct (bypass the grub) because grub doesn’t work right anyway without extra help. As described in the wiki, I select the ‘grub’ icons, and hit and hide the entry, leaving only the active direct-boot icons visible. From there it is 2 minute task to add in the doubled [initrd=] lines for the Arch-based systems, and the copy command for the icon I want to see. Everything you need is automagically there when you install (run the refind-install script), so it isn’t too tough at this end - and shouldn’t be at your end either if you’re installing multi-EndeavourOS versions.
BTW - the 3 entries I suggest modifying show up as a menu if you highlight an icon, then hit - it is for access to the fallback, and the non-gui boot that the ‘extra’ grub entries (submenus) would give you. If you don’t care about them, or if you don’t need the microcode loaded (not running Intel) then you can be done as soon as you run refind-install and copy the icon!
Of course - you have FIND the appropriate icon for each DE, but that shouldn’t be too bad.
Freebird54
I understand when you install it and you hide the icons or entries you don’t want shown. So i just keep the ones that boot the image. Its the above i have issues with. Getting to the folders in xfce is not as easy with Thunar if you need root access. What to add is the next part.
Edit: I’m not even sure what to install anymore?
Well - I can get thunar to behave for you, if you want. Of course, running sudo thunar will handle it, but inconveniently. However, there are any number of things you can add to thunar to make life easier. Here are the contents of my ~/.config/Thunar/uca.xml file:
<?xml encoding="UTF-8" version="1.0"?>
<actions>
<action>
<icon>utilities-terminal</icon>
<name>Open Terminal Here</name>
<unique-id>1488955845049151-1</unique-id>
<command>exo-open --working-directory %f --launch TerminalEmulator</command>
<description>Example for a custom action</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<startup-notify/>
<directories/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>checkbox</icon>
<name>Check md5sum</name>
<unique-id>1526736788575383-2</unique-id>
<command>zenity --info --title="Check md5 for %n" --text="$(md5sum %f)"</command>
<description>Check md5sum</description>
<patterns>*.iso;*.ISO;*.tar.gz;*.TAR.GZ;*.zip;*.ZIP</patterns>
<other-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>checkbox</icon>
<name>Check sha1sum</name>
<unique-id>1526633271260079-26</unique-id>
<command>zenity --info --title="Check sha1 for %n" --text="$(sha1sum %f)"</command>
<description>Check sha1sum</description>
<patterns>*.iso;*.ISO</patterns>
<other-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>insert-link-symbolic</icon>
<name>Create symlink</name>
<unique-id>1526631663081446-14</unique-id>
<command>ln -s %f "%n"</command>
<description>Softlink between two files or directories</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>preferences-desktop-wallpaper</icon>
<name>Set wallpaper dual</name>
<unique-id>1526628754365261-1</unique-id>
<command>nitrogen --save --set-zoom-fill %f</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<image-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>preferences-desktop-wallpaper</icon>
<name>Set wallpaper single</name>
<unique-id>1489091195323731-3</unique-id>
<command>nitrogen --save --set-zoom-fill --head=0 %f && nitrogen --set-zoom-fill --head=1 %f</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<image-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>catfish</icon>
<name>Search with catfish</name>
<unique-id>1489089852658523-2</unique-id>
<command>catfish --path=$f$d</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>final-term</icon>
<name>Extract here</name>
<unique-id>1489091300385082-4</unique-id>
<command>tar xjf %n</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*.tar.bz2;*.tbz2</patterns>
<other-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>meld</icon>
<name>Compare</name>
<unique-id>1492232362549799-1</unique-id>
<command>meld %F</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>cs-startup-programs</icon>
<name>Run</name>
<unique-id>1526630606202525-4</unique-id>
<command>termite -e %f</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>system-file-manager-root</icon>
<name>Open folder as root</name>
<unique-id>1493475601060449-3</unique-id>
<command>pkexec thunar %f</command>
<description></description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>imagemagick</icon>
<name>Convert png to jpg</name>
<unique-id>1510662686010963-1</unique-id>
<command>convert %f -quality 90 `basename %f .png`.jpg</command>
<description>Convert png to jpg</description>
<patterns>*.png</patterns>
<image-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>ktexteditorautobrace</icon>
<name>Edit as root</name>
<unique-id>1526631419798289-11</unique-id>
<command>gksudo geany %F</command>
<description>edit as root</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<text-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>settings</icon>
<name>Ownership to root</name>
<unique-id>1526631155250282-8</unique-id>
<command>gnome-keyring-daemon -r -d;gksu "chown -R root:root %F"</command>
<description>Change permissions to root</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
<audio-files/>
<image-files/>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
<video-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>settings</icon>
<name>Ownership to user</name>
<unique-id>1526631178674034-9</unique-id>
<command>gnome-keyring-daemon -r -d;gksu "chown -R $USER:$USER %F"</command>
<description>Change permissions to user</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<directories/>
<audio-files/>
<image-files/>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
<video-files/>
</action>
<action>
<icon>aplication-x-executable</icon>
<name>Make executable</name>
<unique-id>1526670239648084-2</unique-id>
<command>chmod +x %f</command>
<description>Make a file executable</description>
<patterns>*</patterns>
<other-files/>
<text-files/>
</action>
</actions>
If you paste this lot into that file, (or replace it with this - depending on what’s already in there!) you’ll have such ‘extras’ as “Open folder as root” and “Open terminal here” and “Convert .png to .jpg” and “Search with Catfish” and so on. Once this is going, you can open /boot as root, then right-click open with leafpad on the files you need to modify, or copy/paste as you need to, or whatever. Should be easy enough then!
Freebird54
1 Like
Is it possible then we could have the optional boot parameters such as systemd instead of grub and or EFIStub and syslinux. Currently i have Arch installed and Solus both independent on their own drives and i like it a lot. No grub …no menu… just boot to the desktop.
o.k. i do understand now better… you could set this up with grub-customizer or by hand… over config files…
How can i change my current boot from grub on EndeavourOS. I have Solus on one drive and Arch installed on another via the Anarchy ISO with systemd. I just installed EndeavourOS Xfce on the third drive and i want each to use systemd and boot from UEFI and get away from grub. I tried rEFInd and it’s not any better as far as i’m concerned and it freezes sometimes. Right now all are separate but i don’t want grub to add anything to EndeavourOS. I’m trying to keep it separated and boot faster also.
Edit:
I have removed os-prober and grub-tools so i only have grub. If grub is updated will it not find the other drives and OS that are installed? I don’t want it to add it to grub and i would like to switch to systemd and not use grub? I’m assuming it doesn’t use grub?
@ricklinux
I’m not sure I understand why you seem to dislike grub so much.
Here’s an example boot entry in /boot/grub/custom.cfg, and this file can (and does) include many boot entries like this:
menuentry 'ArchLinux kernel=linux dev=/dev/sdc1 label=EndeavourOS' {
# UUID=311a6e53-a058-45b9-a1de-c9cc899c23eb
# LABEL=EndeavourOS
# root partition /dev/sdc1
savedefault
search --set --fs-uuid 311a6e53-a058-45b9-a1de-c9cc899c23eb # boot partition id
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=311a6e53-a058-45b9-a1de-c9cc899c23eb rw loglevel=3 quiet
initrd /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-linux.img
}
These entries are not difficult to write, and there’s a tool for doing that automatically.
Writing grub entries to custom.cfg is very safe, it doesn’t break anything like grub-customizer may do.
Just wanted to let you know before you make large changes in your systems… 
Okay, I already have reinstalled 3 different OS. Solus, Anarchy Arch, and Endeavour. They are all on separate drives but i couldn’t get grub to boot the Anarchy Arch install so i’m getting frustrated trying to figure it out. How can i use Endeavouros then and get all of these booting. Solus i think is systemd and i installed Anarchy Arch using systemd. EndeavourOS currently only has grub installed. I couldn’t get the grub tools to work for me on Anarchy Arch install and it was installed before with grub but not now. Currently they all work separately i just hit the proper f key and boot on that drive.
So: grub on EndeavourOS cannot boot other systems, right?
Are you sure EndeavourOS grub is in charge of the whole booting process?
And could you show file /boot/grub/grub.cfg on EndeavourOS?
Also the output of the following command (on EndeavourOS) is useful:
lsblk -fm
This was before so right now when i installed it i removed grub tools and os-prober as i didn’t want it to mess things up. It only has grub installed currently on endeavour and i would have to check Solus and the Anarchy Arch install to see because they are systemd which shouldn’t matter if i’m going to do this from endeavourOS anyway correct?
Yes, the others don’t have to have grub installed.
Here is the /boot/grub/grub.cfg from EndeavourOS
http://ix.io/2gFK
lsblk -fm from EndeavourOS
[ricklinux@xfce-linux ~]$ lsblk -fm
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT SIZE OWNER GROUP MODE
sda 465.8G root disk brw-rw----
├─sda1
│ vfat FAT32 C82E-3F84 299.1M 0% /boot/efi 300M root disk brw-rw----
├─sda2
│ ext4 1.0 e486e5d7-9646-4b71-9e82-a07dc9a6d9ae 419.7G 1% / 456.7G root disk brw-rw----
└─sda3
swap 1 ce2d2f99-4388-45d1-9418-99772582679f [SWAP] 8.8G root disk brw-rw----
sdb 3.7T root disk brw-rw----
└─sdb1
ext4 1.0 7dd51f41-247a-4995-8095-e8f71592fe51 3.7T root disk brw-rw----
nvme0n1
│ 465.8G root disk brw-rw----
├─nvme0n1p1
│ vfat FAT32 5865-582F 489M root disk brw-rw----
├─nvme0n1p2
│ swap 1 22a19f12-6045-4593-abbc-0b336ff25b36 3.7G root disk brw-rw----
└─nvme0n1p3
ext4 1.0 04eb1911-fbf9-4fa3-b904-afcce1d6b91a 461.6G root disk brw-rw----
nvme1n1
│ 465.8G root disk brw-rw----
├─nvme1n1p1
│ vfat FAT32 FCD0-C005 511M root disk brw-rw----
├─nvme1n1p2
│ ext4 1.0 7961d31f-cb31-4600-a6b4-31501b49c092 457.5G root disk brw-rw----
└─nvme1n1p3
swap 1 2fba250f-78a6-463d-8609-c546b7268cb8 7.8G root disk brw-rw----
[ricklinux@xfce-linux ~]$
Okay so if i install grub on both of those do i need to run the grub-mkconfig after? Or this is done from Endeavour? I looked at your custom config script but i don’t know how to use it?
It is simple to use. After downloading it to some folder, run the following command:
sudo bash ./customcfg
and reboot.
You can also move it to PATH:
sudo mv ./customcfg /usr/local/bin sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/customcfg
Then you can run it simply:
sudo customcfg