Hi all.
I'v installed Gentoo on my ASRock P4VM8 mobo, with a Celeron 2.5Ghz, etc ..
The installation went fine till the end. I installed and configured lilo, like the config i alway's use and alway's worked. But when i boot lilo starts but doesn't show the boot menu, it only show's 'L' and no error code. just a capital 'L'. Now i know that this means that he can't get into stage 2 of his boot. But try'd and try'd and i realy can't fix this ):

This is my lilo config:
livecd ~ # cat /mnt/gentoo/etc/lilo.conf
# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/sys-boot/lilo/files/lilo.conf,v 1.2 2004/07/18 04:42:04 dragonheart Exp $
# Author: Ultanium

#
# Start LILO global section
#

# Faster, but won't work on all systems:
#compact
# Should work for most systems, and do not have the sector limit:
lba32
# If lba32 do not work, use linear:
#linear

# MBR to install LILO to:
boot = /dev/hda
map = /boot/.map

# If you are having problems booting from a hardware raid-array
# or have a unusual setup, try this:
#disk=/dev/ataraid/disc0/disc bios=0x80 # see this as the first BIOS disk
#disk=/dev/sda bios=0x81 # see this as the second BIOS disk
#disk=/dev/hda bios=0x82 # see this as the third BIOS disk

# Here you can select the secondary loader to install. A few
# examples is:
#
# boot-text.b
# boot-menu.b
# boot-bmp.b
#
install = /boot/boot-menu.b # Note that for lilo-22.5.5 or later you
# do not need boot-{text,menu,bmp}.b in
# /boot, as they are linked into the lilo
# binary.
menu-scheme=Wb
prompt
# If you always want to see the prompt with a 15 second timeout:
#timeout=150
delay = 50
# Normal VGA console
#vga = normal
# VESA console with size 1024x768x16:
#vga = 791

#
# End LILO global section
#

#
# Linux bootable partition config begins
#
image = /boot/kernel-2.6.12-gentoo-r10
root = /dev/hda4
# root = /devices/discs/disc0/part4
label = Gentoo.2005.1
read-only # read-only for checking
#
# Linux bootable partition config ends
#

#
# DOS bootable partition config begins
#
other = /dev/hda1
#other = /devices/discs/disc0/part1
label = Windoze
table = /dev/hda
#
# DOS bootable partition config ends
#

Does it have something to do with my BIOS? Or with my partition layout? It's as follows:
/dev/hda1 => windows C
/dev/hda2 => windows D
/dev/hda3 => linux swap
/dev/hda4 => linux /

And the boot flag stand on hda1.
Please help me with this, i don't know what else to do ):

Thanks in advanced!
linkmark

May I ask, did you make a seprate partition for boot that contains your kernel ?

But to be honest it sounds like you didn't run the lilo command after you wrote the conf?
blah@blah ~$ /sbin/lilo

chroot back into the system and try that it might work!

No i did not make a separate boot partition. I never do this, my /boot folder is on my / partition (/dev/hda4) and it alway worked on all my pc's.

I did run /sbin/lilo .. several times. I changed the config, and runned /sbin/lilo again .. but still the same result. Only the 'L' that apears when lilo should boot his boot-menu

Grub is even worse, i just can't get it installed and the config is good as the gentoo handbook say's.

This is the output when i run /sbin/lilo .. maybe it's some good information:

livecd / # /sbin/lilo -v -v -v -t
LILO version 22.7 (test mode), Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger
Development beyond version 21 Copyright (C) 1999-2005 John Coffman
Released 12-Apr-2005 and compiled at 22:58:01 on Sep 12 2005

raid_setup returns offset = 00000000 ndisk = 0
BIOS VolumeID Device
Reading boot sector from /dev/hda
pf_hard_disk_scan: ndevs=1
0300 46644664 /dev/hda
Resolve invalid VolumeIDs
Resolve duplicate VolumeIDs
0300 46644664 /dev/hda
device codes (user assigned pf) = 0
device codes (user assigned) = 0
device codes (BIOS assigned) = 0
Filling in '/dev/hda' = 0x80
device codes (canonical) = 1
Device 0x0300: BIOS drive 0x80, 16 heads, 65535 cylinders,
63 sectors. Partition offset: 0 sectors.
Using Volume ID 46644664 on bios 80
Device 0x0304: BIOS drive 0x80, 16 heads, 65535 cylinders,
63 sectors. Partition offset: 39650688 sectors.
Using Volume ID 46644664 on bios 80
Warning: Unable to determine video adapter in use in the present system.
Using MENU secondary loader
Calling map_insert_data
Secondary loader: 18 sectors (0x3400 dataend).
bios_boot = 0x80 bios_map = 0x80 map==boot = 0 map S/N: 46644664
BIOS data check will include auto-suppress check

Boot image: /boot/kernel-2.6.12-gentoo-r10
Device 0x0304: BIOS drive 0x80, 16 heads, 65535 cylinders,
63 sectors. Partition offset: 39650688 sectors.
Using Volume ID 46644664 on bios 80
Setup length is 9 sectors.
Mapped 4106 sectors.
Added Gentoo.2005.1 *
<dev=0xe0,hd=37,cyl=70,sct=50>
"ro root=304"

Boot other: /dev/hda1, on /dev/hda, loader CHAIN
Device 0x0301: BIOS drive 0x80, 16 heads, 65535 cylinders,
63 sectors. Partition offset: 63 sectors.
Using Volume ID 46644664 on bios 80
Device 0x0300: BIOS drive 0x80, 16 heads, 65535 cylinders,
63 sectors. Partition offset: 0 sectors.
Using Volume ID 46644664 on bios 80
Mapped 6 (4+1+1) sectors.
Added Windoze
<dev=0xe0,hd=37,cyl=72,sct=168>

BIOS VolumeID Device
80 46644664 0300
The boot sector and the map file have *NOT* been altered.
livecd / #

happy hour!
wanna ask a thorough help in my asrock p4vm8 motherboard. i had run the installation for redhat9 successfully but after booting it up the screen displays

*pde = 00000000
Oops: 0000

CPU: 0
EIP: 0060:[<c010ab2c>] Not tainted
EFLAGS: 00010002

EIP is at disable_irq [kernel] 0x4c (2.4.20-8)
eax: 00000000 ebx: fffff680 ecx: ffffffed edx:c036ef80
esi: 00000283 edi: 00000000 ebp: ffffffed esp: cff79f48
ds: 0068 es: 0068 ss: 0068
Process swapper (pid: 1, stackpage=cff79000)
Stack: ffffffed 00000000 c03c9e80 c01bd1fc ffffffed 00000000 c031da20 00000000
c03c9e80 00000000 00000000 c01bdcd8 c03c9e80 00000000 00000028 00000001
00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001
Call Trace: [<c01bd1fc>] probe_hwif [kernel] 0x27c (0xcff79f54))
[<c01bdcd8>] ideprobe_init [kernel] 0xb8 (0xcff79f74))
[<c0105053>] init [kernel] 0x13 (0xcff79fd8))
[<co10742d>] init [kernel] 0x0 (0xcff79fe0))
[<c010742d>] kernel_thread_helper [kernel] 0x5 (0xcff79ff0))

Code: ff 50 10 eb d0 0d 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
<0>Kernel panic: Attempted to kill init!


i had reinstall linux 5 times with a /boot partition, and hadn't sleep yet for 2 days, i'm a really newbie in linux and having this installed successfully means a big TAP on my shoulder, pls write me as soon as u have any info about my motherboard and its VIA chipset. until then i could sleep droozing!
tanks in advance

another happy hour!

i had installed the linux automatically which means the installer uses all my hard drive for linux only, sad to say the same display in screen is what i got!
pls anybody who can configure linux on a p4vm8 VIA chip. i can't sleep yet!!!

I fixed my problem, i changed the number of sylinders of the hd to a lower amount and installed gentoo with a boot partition.
I'm not using RH at all, so i think i'm not able to help you. But maybe this can help, to get ur VGA card running =>

http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Unichrome

I'm not that good with kernel's, but maybe u can search on the error code u pasted above. Or ask in the RH chanel @ irc.freenode.org => #redhat

Good luck