[SOLVED] Debian with LILO

Soderlund · 08-30-2015, 09:10 AM

Grub doesn't work very well when installed to the partition boot record in a multiboot setup (LILO is on the MBR; LILO chainloads Grub, and Grub boots Debian). Grub wrongfully overwrites the MBR sometimes when I upgrade the system so I want to get rid of it.

Does Grub on Debian have any benefits over LILO? Any gotchas with LILO?

Do I have to use an initrd?

If I have LILO + initrd, then I can have a separate /usr partition with systemd, right?

Head_on_a_Stick · 08-30-2015, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soderlund

Grub wrongfully overwrites the MBR sometimes when I upgrade the system

To stop it doing that, run:

Code:

# chmod -x /etc/kernel/postinst.d/zz-update-grub

EDIT: Or:

Code:

# dpkg-reconfigure grub

(Replace "grub" with the actual package you are using; this will depend on whether you are booting in UEFI mode or not)

Then choose which partition you want the bootloader on.

I don't know anything about LILO, sorry.

Randicus Draco Albus · 08-30-2015, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Does Grub on Debian have any benefits over LILO? Any gotchas with LILO?

On one hand, Grub is simpler to use in multi-boot set-ups, because updating when adding new OSes is a simple # update-grub, whereas with LILO /etc/lilo.conf must be edited manually. On the other hand, LILO is a simpler boot-loader that works well and quickly. I used both with Debian and preferred LILO.

kaz2100 · 09-02-2015, 01:39 AM

Hya,

I use lilo. It works as it was told. No more than that. Easy to troubleshoot.

One problem with lilo will be:

Quote:

NOTE: I plan to finish development of LILO at 12/2015 because of some limitations (e.g. with BTFS, GPT, RAID). If someone want to develop this nice software further, please let me know ...

cheers