LILO, it's time to get this thing working...

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 11:48 AM

Ok, I have been running Slackware 9.1 for nearly a month now. Now please don't laugh (I'll admit this is kinda pathetic), the only way I have been able to boot into Linux is by using the Slackware boot diskette I created during installation. I have a dual boot system, I have 2 hard drives, an 80GB and a 200GB. Windows XP Pro is installed on the 80GB (just one partition), and Linux is installed on the 200GB (4 partitions, linux is number 4). So Windows is on hde1 and Slackware Linux is on hdf4. If I boot my computer without the Slackware boot diskette then my computer boots straight into Windows XP Professional. How can I install LILO so that I don't need a boot diskette and when I start-up my computer I am welcomed with a menu asking which operating system I would like to boot into?

Thanks,
Erik

trickykid · 05-30-2004, 12:35 PM

I'd say instead of rewriting howto's here, lets start with the already existing ones out on the net for reading pleasure, start here: http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/doc...ngle/LILO.html

And then if you run into anything that doesn't work or your not sure of, ask your detailed questions here.

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 12:44 PM

Ok I'll give that a look, thankyou very much!

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 01:08 PM

I must be doing something really bad, b/c I am getting a lot of errors when I "Check Configuration"

Here is my LILO setup:

Code:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot="/dev/hde1"
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout="1200"
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
  reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
vga="773"
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
linear

image="/boot/vmlinuz"
	root="/dev/hdf4"
	label="Linux"
	read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

image="/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.6"
	root="/dev/hdf4"
	label="Linux 2.6.6"
	read-only

other=/dev/hde1
	label="Windows"

image="/dev/hde1"
	root="/dev/hdf4"

Now, when I press check configuration I get this message:
http://img35.photobucket.com/albums/...LILOerror2.png

That's a lot of errors....

Alex Cavnar · 05-30-2004, 01:14 PM

Could you post some details of your setup, like the contents of /etc/fstab, and what types of hard drives you're running?

Do you have an ATA RAID or something? /dev/hde and /dev/hdf usually indicate an IDE controller card, serial ATA, or something similar.

vectordrake · 05-30-2004, 01:38 PM

take out the line that says linear and run /sbin/lilo again

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 01:46 PM

Yes I do have an Ultra100 TX2 (from Promise) which both of my hard drives are connected to.

My /etc/fstab file:

Code:

/dev/hdf3        swap             swap        defaults         0   0
/dev/hdf4        /                reiserfs    defaults         1   1
/dev/cdrom       /mnt/cdrom       iso9660     noauto,owner,ro  0   0
/dev/fd0         /mnt/floppy      auto        noauto,owner     0   0
devpts           /dev/pts         devpts      gid=5,mode=620   0   0
proc             /proc            proc        defaults         0   0

It doesn't show my Windows drive on there, but I have managed to mount the Windows (NTFS) drive by typing:
mount /dev/hde1 /home/Mount -o loop

So I know that the Windows drive is recognized one way or another...

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vectordrake
take out the line that says linear and run /sbin/lilo again

I put that line in there b/c I thought I had some geometry errors, but here is what I get without that line:
http://img35.photobucket.com/albums/...LILOerror3.png

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Erik

vectordrake · 05-30-2004, 02:05 PM

If you change

Code:

boot="/dev/hde1"

to

Code:

boot="/dev/hde"

That should install lilo to the MBR of your Windows drive. Or.....you could add the linux to your ntloader instead. There are a couple of threads here with good instructions and google will yeild results as well.

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 02:07 PM

Ok I changed it to /dev/hde but what is this error: "Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed"??? That seems to be my main error.

vectordrake · 05-30-2004, 02:10 PM

That's easier to fix. Instead of linear, you'd put in LBA32

BTW, does your system have an /etc/lilo.conf.example file? You can use that in conjunction with the howto

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 02:21 PM

Ok, that fixed the LBA32 problem, but I still have this strange error: "Fatal: geo_query_dev HDIO_GETGEO (dev 0x2100): Inappropriate ioctl for device" LOL what the heck does that mean?

Thanks,
Erik

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 02:28 PM

Oh and I don't see a lilo example file...

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 02:38 PM

Also, don't know if this information helps, but I ran:

hdparm -g /dev/hde1

Code:

/dev/hde1:
geometry     = 9729/255/63, sectors = 156280257, start = 63

hdparm -g /dev/hdf4

Code:

/dev/hdf4:
geometry     = 24321/255/63, sectors = 185421924, start = 205300024

...

EThitop · 05-30-2004, 02:46 PM

Also, I'm very sorry for all the replies I have made (LOL) but I do know that LILO is capable of working in my system b/c when I had Windows and SuSE 9.0 installed (the difference was that they were both on the same hard drive with their seperate partitions, on drive /dev/hde) LILO worked fine. So I know it is possible.