is lilo or grub needed?
 

i only have 2 partitions on my system the linux and the swap...do i need a boot loader?

yes, otherwise there is no way to get into the system....

oh ok thanks i would think that it would assume to goto the first partition..thanks

active partitions are only used under windows. and if that were the case then there still is no boot code on that partition, it's just a bunch of files. you would still need a boot loader installed on to that drive.

ah ok thanks..:D