Hi ppl !

Just installed RH 8.0 finaly in my laptop... but because when i got the laptop i had some problems with RH install procedure i didn't install it ... and proceded with the instalation of WindowsXP leaving a partition for future Linux instalation...
Now that i'v instaled RH i can't make LILO work!

This is how my partitions look like :

hda1 ----> win
hda2 ----> boot
hda3 ----> /
hda4 ----> swap

Remember this is a hard drive from a laptop so it's the same disk!
Can boot partition not be the first partition? because if it realy must be in the first partition i have to format windowsXp and i realy don't whant to do that...
How can i make it work? any sugestions?

thanks

Spooky OuT

First things first mate :)

Show us your lilo.conf and we'll start from there.
And it's certainly not a Lilo or Linux problem but
a user error ;)

You can boot linux of more or less anything.

Cheers,
Tink

Ok new problem !! i can't even get into the the linux by boot disk!
when he is running the kernel in the disk it gives this msg:
...
isapnp: scanning for pnp cards...
CPU 0: Machine check Exception:000000...07
Bank 3: b4000..0083b at 0...01fc0003bb
kernel panic: unable to continue



Technical Specs:
Compaq Presario 920EA
AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2000+
256 Mb RAM
30 Gb HD
ATI Mobility Radeon U1/IGP320M

About the partition... when i'm in the Disk Druid he gives me this msg when i'm making /boot partition :
warning:boot partition /boot may not meet booting constraints for your architecture.
Is this a problem?

i'v installed lilo in /dev/hda2 First Sector of boot partition
is this correct for my system with windows partition in hda1?

What is in your MBR? Your post reads like you are using LILO as your boot loader, then you close with it being in the superblock of your first Linux partition. It is put there when another boot loader (such as NTLDR, the NT boot loader) is used. With Red Hat 8.0, this is an intentional change (Red Hat does not default to this and it takes some figuring out how to do it).

When you start your computer, does it just boot normally to XP? Is that what you are calling "can't make LILO work?"

Is this as simple as you had a functioning XP program and when you added Linux, you didn't overwrite the MBR, so now you need to tell the NTLDR to also load Linux?

First, you need to get Linux booting--you'll need a boot image from it. If the boot disk doesn't work, put the installation CD back in and boot from it. When it gets to the boot prompt, follow the instruction for a rescue boot.

When you get Linux up, log on as root, put a floppy in the drive, mount the floppy drive (right click on the desk top, select disks and click on floppy) and in a terminal window, copy a file with the boot image to the floppy with this command:

dd if=/dev/hda2 of=/dev/fd0/bootsect.lnx bs=512 count=1

Exit Linux and start XP.

Copy a:\bootsect.lnx [to] c:\

Bring up a Command Prompt window (Start, Accessories, Command). You next need to edit a hidden, read-only system file. Type this:

attrib -r -a -s -h c:\boot.ini

Next:

edit c:\boot.ini

At the end of the file, add this line:

C:\bootsect.lnx="Red Hat 8.0"

Save the file. If you want to reset boot.ini's attributes, change the '-' signs to '+' and reissue the attrib command.

Reboot your system and you should have the option to boot either system. Make sure they both work.

Good luck

Here is Lilo.conf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prompt
Timeout = 50
Default = WindowsXP
boot =/dev/hda2
map =/boot/map
install =/boot/boot.b
message =/boot/message
Linear

Image =/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-14
Label = Linux
initrd =/boot/initrd-2.4.18-14.img
Read-only
Append ="hdc=ide-scsi root=LABEL=/"
Other =/dev/hda1
optional
LABEL= WindowsXP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still have a hard time booting from rescue mode ... i have to make this command to get into linux....

Linux rescue noauto nomce nousb

this is a laptop and it has some issues about getting linux started ....

Spooky OuT

boot=/dev/hda2

This looks like you installed LILO into the beginning of the Linux partition and not the MBR. This makes the questions I asked even more important. Please reread them and post the answers.

My guess is XP since LILO does not appear...

Yes it just goes to XP...

I can't creat that disk because in my rescue mode it gives me a messege that /dev/fd0/bootsect.lnx is not a directory
... remember that i have some issues about my laptop working with linux don't know how far can this be related...

I don't know how far they are related, but just looking at this, you have XP booting through NTLDR and LILO set to boot Linux from your Linux partition.

The dd command couldn't find the directory because the floppy wasn't mounted. Rescue mode is a little restricted, so let's get a boot disk made and boot from it.

In Rescue mode, you should be at a Shell prompt. First find out what version kernel you are using. This is done with the uname command:

uname -r

It will print out something like this:

2.4.18-14

Actually, that is what my Red Hat CDs shipped with (but there is not guarantee that you have that kernel).

With that version number, put a floppy in and type this command:

/sbin/mkbootdisk 2.4.18-14

Replace the kernel version with yours.

With the boot disk, boot your computer and follow my original instructions.

but isn't there a possiblity for LILO to work by itself?booting without NTLDR?

that command isn't for a Linux option to appear in NTLDR boot ? or is for the LILO to show up?

"of=/dev/fd0/bootsect.lnx" does not work
"of=/mnt/floppy/bootsect.lnx" does work

Okay while I was editing (correcting) what I wrote you came on and asked a question.

Can you use LILO in the MBR? Yes you can. That is not what you originally set up, but we can walk you through the change, if that is what you want.

I was merely telling you how to adapt your NTLDR to trigger LILO when it isn't in the MBR.

You could also set up Grub to do all of this.

Which one do you want to do?

LILO

Great, first make the boot disk, then change your lilo.conf so the fourth line reads boot=/dev/hda, the run this command in a terminal window:

/sbin/lilo

You should be set with LILO.

It work's with this configuration!! thanks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prompt
Timeout = 50
Default = WindowsXP
boot =/dev/hda
map =/boot/map
install =/boot/boot.b
message =/boot/message
Linear

Image =/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-14
Label = Linux
initrd =/boot/initrd-2.4.18-14.img
Read-only
Append ="hdc=ide-scsi root=LABEL=/ noauto nomce nousb"
Other =/dev/hda1
optional
LABEL= WindowsXP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------