sys-boot/grub-2.00_beta0 installs fine; this is not an issue with the ebuild. Instead, it's a problem with grub-2.00 which you can read about all over google. When running "grub2-install /dev/sda" on a system that uses RAID, the file core.img is too big to fit into the MBR. The solution offered in the various online posts is to repartition, moving the beginning of the first partition up one sector. If this the solution then fine. But I would like my server to still be bootable while I make this highly invasive adjustment. The error: root@ns:/boot # grub2-install /dev/sda /usr/sbin/grub2-bios-setup: warning: your core.img is unusually large. It won't fit in the embedding area. /usr/sbin/grub2-bios-setup: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for RAID and LVM install. The extra size of core.img is due to the RAID drivers. Please downgrade grub:2 and issue a news posting. Give people time to prepare their critical systems before forcing them to upgrade to the DethGrub. For which systems are most likely to be running RAID? Critical production systems of course. I have been thus far unable to configure portage to downgrade grub via package.mask or any other means, unless I wished to downgrade all the way back to grub:1.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I don't think a news item is appropriate given that grub:2 has never been keyworded or stabilized. The word "beta" in the version string should be a dead giveaway that things may not work right. If you use it on a production system, you're on your own. As for how to properly (un)mask it: the following configuration should get you grub-1.99: package.unmask: (empty) package.keywords: <sys-boot/grub-2.00_beta:2 **
