you want me to edit all occurences of /sbin/iptables to read /usr/local/sbin/iptables in the file /etc/inet.d/iptables ? (which - a iptables returns /usr/local/sbin/iptables )

thats done..

No..

I'll make a couple of changes here and email the corrected one to you..

Please check if the dir /var/lib/iptables exists, I'm not sure if the iptables package created one or not, since it didn't give an /etc/init.d/iptables script eihter..

If not, do mkdir -p /var/lib/iptables

whoops <sound of wrong end of stick being firmly grasped>...

yes the /var/lib/iptables dir exists (but is empty)

do runlevel to check which runlevel you are in
Should be 2.
Check the symlinks in /etc/rc2.d
Are any red?
If so, you need to decide if they can be deleted as not needed, or the /etc/init.d file is missing/renamed..

Once all's ok, check the links in /etc/lilo.conf
Make sure the current kernel is default and the new kernel is an option, eg linux.new
Do lilo -R linux.new to force the new kernel to be used after the next reboot.
This is on the rare case Mr Murphy is sober. Then someone remote can merely push the reset button and you're back to the current kernel..

run level 2
all symlinks are intact
the old grub boot seems to point at /vmlinuz (which had got changed to vmlinuz.old yesterday when i was trying to configure the 2.6.8 kernel - that got named vmlinuz, but i have switched it back to the old one )...

ill set lilo.conf to point to that also as the default (the unused default points to /boot/vmlinuz which is the new one. I'll make that the linux.new entry.

I presume if this works, ill just switch em over?

in lilo.conf I have reduced delay =10 and timeout=15 to speeed up reboot in unattended mode...

and have put:
default=Linux

image=/vmlinuz
label=Linux
read-only
# restricted
# alias=1

# image=/vmlinuz.old
# label=LinuxOLD
# read-only
# optional
# restricted
# alias=2

image=/boot/vmlinuz
label=linux.new
read-only
# restricted
# alias=3


lilo -R linux.new
gives me
Fatal: No image "linux.new" is defined
..how do i tell it about linux.new (i thought it was just the label line) ??

You've got a choice to do the change now, or do it later..
Mine is to do it later, so fewer changes until it's confirmed working.. but we work with what's now!

So long as there are 2 lilo.conf entries..
One for each kernel, and the default is the current kernel..

Be careful of symlinks..
Make each entry the actual /boot file rather than a symlink..

At the beginning, Default = must be the name for the current kernel

changed lilo.conf entry to :

<snip>
default=Linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-bf2.4
label=Linux
read-only
# restricted
# alias=1

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.10-mm3-250405
label=linux.new
read-only
# restricted
# alias=3
</snip>

..but am stil getting :
lilo -R linux.new
Fatal: No image "linux.new" is defined

Hehehe

Have to save it first... lilo -v

oh yeh - id forgotten that bit1...

Writing boot sector.
/boot/boot.0300 exists - no boot sector backup copy made.

done me lilo - R linux.new
well.... time for a shutdown -r ?

...and if it worx (he says optimistically) what do i need to change to make this the default boot kernel?

Not quite...

The last couple of checks.. and only because of the distance..

/lib/modules has the new modules?
depmod -a shows what?
and lilo -l shows what?

depmod -a says nothing...

lilo -l says...
Ignoring entry 'lba32'

Warning: LINEAR is deprecated in favor of LBA32: LINEAR specifies 24-bit
disk addresses below the 1024 cylinder limit; LBA32 specifies 32-bit disk
addresses not subject to cylinder limits on systems with EDD bios extensions;
use LINEAR only if you are aware of its limitations.

Added Linux *
Added linux.new