LinuxQuestions.org - help getting lilo working

- Linux - Software (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/)

- - help getting lilo working (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/help-getting-lilo-working-139267/)

help getting lilo working

lilo won't work at all, i'm installing it onto MBR and when i boot all i get is "L" and nothing else, i even used the slackware install script to try and do it

here is my lilo.conf file

-----------start of lilo.conf-------
Warning: /dev/hde is not on the first disk
Added Linux-2.6 *
root@mr-slack:/etc# cat lilo.conf
# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hde
#compact # faster, but won't work on all systems.
prompt
timeout = 50
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
#just a bunch of boring comments
# ramdisk = 0 # paranoia setting
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
#--its not the kernel or path to it because
#--i have tested the kernel, and changing the path to the kernel in /boot doesn't help
image = /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage
root = /dev/hde2
label = Linux-2.6
read-only # Non-UMSDOS filesystems should be mounted read-only for checking
# Linux bootable partition config ends
---------end of lilo.conf-------

does anyone have a clue as to what is going wrong, i had it working on this disk before, i might have installed lilo from another disk though, the drive is a 80gb maxtor and using a promise sata controller if that makes a difference

the only thing i get when install lilo onto the MBR is it says the hde isn't the first disk

Just an idea,
That warning that /dev/hde is not the first disk is probably there to remind u to change boot sequence in BIOS.

thats what i thought, its not a real error, and my bios is set right so thats not the problem

How many drives do you have installed?
Normally, if there is only one drive, it will be called /dev/hda

Whereby you have everything a /dev/hde for some reason.

i have 2 drives installed+2 cd, one drive is PATA one is SATA, i have 2 PATA controllers for hda through hdd (hdc and hdd are the cd drives), then i have SATA witch is hde through hdj (maybe to hdl i haven't tried the other connectors but there is 4 SATA connectors 2 of witch say raid witch i'm not using)

i know that hde is right though, i have installed lilo onto hda witch i'm using right now to boot hde but i'm going to recompile the kernel so i have to reinstall lilo, so far the only way i can do reinstall lilo is to disconnect the SATA drive (no linux cd i have works with the SATA controller) , boot off a cd, install lilo onto the PATA drive, reconnect the SATA drive and boot using lilo on hda

obviously this is a big pain and i'd like to have lilo on the SATA incase i take out the slow PATA drive and easily reinstall lilo when i recompile the kernel

i have also tried installing lilo onto hda but is screws up in the same way is said above unless i boot off a cd and install lilo from there

does this help anyone on what might be causing it, i ran lilo -v -v and got a few errors

Code:

root@mr-slack:~# lilo -v -v

LILO version 22.5.7.2, Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger

Development beyond version 21 Copyright (C) 1999-2003 John Coffman

Released 20-Aug-2003 and compiled at 19:15:26 on Aug 25 2003.

 

Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed

raid_setup returns offset = 00000000  ndisk = 0

 BIOS  VolumeID  Device

Reading boot sector from /dev/hde

Warning: Kernel & BIOS return differing head/sector geometries for device 0x80

    Kernel: 39693 cylinders, 16 heads, 63 sectors

      BIOS: 1023 cylinders, 255 heads, 63 sectors

pf_hard_disk_scan: ndevs=2

  0300  04AE04AD  /dev/hda

  2100  0AF6962E  /dev/hde

device codes (user assigned pf) = 0

device codes (user assigned) = 0

device codes (BIOS assigned) = 3

device codes (canonical) = 3

Warning: /dev/hde is not on the first disk

mode = 0x03,  columns = 80,  rows = 25,  page = 0

Using MENU secondary loader

Calling map_insert_data

Secondary loader: 17 sectors (0x3200 dataend).

bios_boot = 0x81  bios_map = 0x81  map==boot = 0  map S/N: 0AF6962E

BIOS data check was okay on the last boot

 

Boot image: /boot/linux

Setup length is 6 sectors.

Mapped 3862 sectors.

Added Linux-2.6 *

 

 BIOS  VolumeID  Device

  80    04AE04AD    0300

  81    0AF6962E    2100

Writing boot sector.

/boot/boot.2100 exists - no boot sector backup copy made.

Map file size: 32768 bytes.

RAID device mask 0x0000

root@mr-slack:~#

i see it says the bios and kernel have different disk info, could that be causing it?

It may help to add lba and a map statement to the lilo.config

-----------start of lilo.conf-------
Warning: /dev/hde is not on the first disk
Added Linux-2.6 *
root@mr-slack:/etc# cat lilo.conf
# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hde
#compact # faster, but won't work on all systems.
prompt
timeout = 50
LBA32
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
#just a bunch of boring comments
# ramdisk = 0 # paranoia setting
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
#--its not the kernel or path to it because
#--i have tested the kernel, and changing the path to the kernel in /boot doesn't help
image = /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage
root = /dev/hde2
label = Linux-2.6
read-only # Non-UMSDOS filesystems should be mounted read-only for checking
map-drive=0x80
to=0x81
map-drive=0x81
to=0x80
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Why use Lilo? Why dont you use GRUB instead?

Can anyone help me out with a similar problem? My problem is quite the opposite:

I am supposed to get the message "Warning: /dev/hde is not on the first disk", but all I get is the responce saying:
*WindowsXP
Linux-2.6.7
Linux-2.4.26
Linux-original

The only time I get the warning is when I boot off of the CD-ROM, otherwise I never get it, and that's something that I need. I want to install LILO on my hde's MBR because I can boot off of it, leaving HDA's free so I can boot into Windows incase anything happens to my Linux drive and I have to swap it out (Meaning I wouldn't need a Windows boot disk to get into Windows with my setup). Here's my /etc/lilo.conf:

Code:

~$ cat /etc/lilo.conf

# LILO configuration file

# generated by 'liloconfig'

#

# Start LILO global section

append="hdd=ide-scsi acpi=on"

boot = /dev/hde

#compact        # faster, but won't work on all systems.

prompt

timeout = 50

# 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

# ramdisk = 0    # paranoia setting

# End LILO global section

# Windows bootable partition config begins

other = /dev/hda2

  label = WindowsXP

  table = /dev/hda

# Windows bootable partition config ends

# Linux bootable partition config begins

image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.7

  root = /dev/hde3

  label = Linux-2.6.7

  read-only #

image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.26-custom

  root = /dev/hde3

  label = Linux-2.4.26

  read-only #

image = /boot/vmlinuz

  root = /dev/hde3

  label = Linux-original

  read-only # Non-UMSDOS filesystems should be mounted read-only for checking

# Linux bootable partition config ends

rob@4300:~$

Edit:

I thought it might help to know my drive layout:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 1 7 56196 16 Hidden FAT16
/dev/hda2 * 8 1919 15358140 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda3 1920 9729 62733825 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 1920 4667 22073278+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda6 4668 7107 19599268+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda7 7108 8523 11373988+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda8 8524 9729 9687163+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/hdb is all Windows NTFS partitions, pretty much like hda
/dev/hdc & /dev/hdd are DVD and CD-RW drives, respectively

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hde1 1 62 497983+ 82 Linux swap
/dev/hde2 63 124 498015 83 Linux
/dev/hde3 125 4865 38082082+ 83 Linux

/dev/hda2 is my WindowsXP's C:\ partition, and I'm booting off of the MBR of hde