query re: dual-boot on two separate HDDs

[Frank Fenderbender]

Thanks Dave.

The methods I used on the older BIOSes (for boot sequence re-ordering) on HP/Dell systems no longer works with the UEFI-based BIOS that new DEll system deploy.
It's like when I could no longer work on my car w/o factory- and dealership-only tools.
There is a push to make working on your own computer "off limits", as noted in emails I received from by FreeGeek.org (Portland, OR) in their "Right to Repair Campaign" (https://repair.org/stand-up). 
FreeGeek converts donated PCs (and components) to minimum-leveled Debian-based systems and sells them for $50, donates them to free-access busineses, and gives them to people who volunteer 20-hours for work in one or more phases of the whole process. 

I do not know if this is one of those cases, but the result is the same when documentation does not explain workarounds.
If the goal is security, then telling a workaround defeats the securing, right?
However, if the change makes purchased system owners insecure, well, then, I'd say that that had inadequate QA, Beta testing, and owner-viewable documentation. Whatever, it is an unnecessary barrier to what once was working and easy to achieve. Just what is being secured? Is me actually using "my" system considered a security breach or threat? 

Anyway, the F5, F11, and F12 keys now all go to an EUFI-secured BIOS that has hard-to-enable (disabled) "legacy" BIOS optioning ROMs.
Even following the cyber-acorns of some who claim success, the process gets messed-with by the default UEFI ROMs, which, prevent both USB and disk boot-ups. The mindfulness of this "securing" is  not very well-documented by Dell, and so, it will take some support-call research to discover the currently-secret success at adding a second OS to either the same or a second internal or external HD.

thanks again,
chris

On 26-June-2019, at 06:32 AM, Dave wrote:

> On Wednesday, 26 June 2019 04:48:59 BST Frank Fenderbender wrote:
>> I am adding the FreeBSD 12 install to the 2nd hard drive.
>> Often, the dual-boot instructions appear to be for a same-drive, different partition configuration.
>> I give each OS its own [whole] drive, in an attempt to assist in the avoidance of segmentation faults, corruptions, performance hits, and the like, often used by data, applications, and OS slam-dancing, as in a crowded "mosh pit".
>> 
>> So, with many well-meaning ways to botch this, I thought maybe someone had performed a similar sequence of steps that:
>>        adds FreeBSD to a second drive
>>        edits the GRUB/bootloader cfg file(s)
>> 
>> I am uncertain if Grub gets called by the BIOS call to the bootloader, and so, is specific to Ubuntu?
>> I would expect it to be dealing with partition choices on one drive, rather than stipulating starting a boot on another drive. 
> 
> Since it's going to involve a keypress or two anyway, a quick'n'dirty "fix might be to use the BIOS boot menu, usually accessed from a Fn key at boot time when the BIOS logo/info screen is displayed.
> 
> 
> 
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Frank
frankfenderbender at council124.org