Hello everyone. I Have spent countless hours reading and re installing different ways. I needed to ask for help somewhere. I could go on for pages with the different things that I've tried. The end result with all of them is that the Kernal isn't found by any bootloaders. Lilo won't install and errors out. I don't remember the specific error, sorry. I can't use the usb boot stick it has me make during the installation, it just doesn't boot. My CPU is a dell optiplex GX520, Pentium 4 2.8 ghz, 512mb ram, SATA hd. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I want to believe there's something incompatible in the hardware with the standard kernal, but maybe I'm doing something wrong. Thanks for any help ahead of time.

Are you using a RAID disk configuration? Is the BIOS set to enable RAID for the SATA drives?

What hard disks are connected to the computer? What is the Linux device (partition) where Slackware is being installed? What file system are you using for that partition? Is it an existing partition or is Slackware Setup creating the partition?

It's important that you note the error message and post it because there are a lot of possible problems that can prevent booting.

Have you tried creating a GRUB boot CD or floppy disk? I will be happy to create one for you if you want to try that. Have you tried entering the correct GRUB boot commands manually rather than using a boot menu?

Post the specific error message.

What filesystem are you using? You might need a initrd to boot it.

The error message will let us know.

One way to boot your install is to use the install dvd as a live cd and follow the instructions for booting.

And since SW uses lilo as the default, and not grub, the previous post will just confuse the issue more.

OP may be indicating wrong device names while installing LILO

CWWilson721 and amani: I will go back through the install and grab that error message.

Erik_FL:
K I'll have to go back through the install to get the LiLo error...will report with that. I was not using a RAID disk configuration and the bios is not set to enable RAID it doesn't appear. I've combed through the BIOS and there is no setting for it.
Every time I've gone to install Slackware it's off a fresh format. So I'll use cfdisk or fdisk (i've used both just to be sure) and emptied everything and wrote the tables as free space. Then I've tried to install slack 12.0 / 12.2 and 13.0. So with 12.0 and 12.2 i've tried ext 3 and did not create a swap. With 13 i've tried ext 3 without a swap and ext 4 with a swap. So i'd make the main partition or the whole drive in the other cases linux partition and format it in ext whichever.

I've toyed with grub...like I said i'm pretty new, but i've been reading my ass off on everything. When i use grub i've pretty much received every error code it has, the original when it tries to boot i believe is error code 15. If you could create one that would probably help a lot, i may be doing something wrong and not catching it. I could at least compare that way to see where I went wrong as well.

Ok. Sorry to waste anyone's time. I went back in and went through the same steps I had been. I was just trying to get the error code out of Lilo. Third time I've tried with a DVD Player and a burned 12.2 iso. I went through the steps the same as normal and it worked this time. I don't honestly know what was causing the problem with every other way I installed. I reinstalled a second time just to see if I could find something I was doing different and I couldn't catch anything. Anyway 12.2 is up and installed. Thanks for taking the time to read, sorry for wasting anyone's time.

Not a waste of time for anyone who replied or if it were, they would have moved on and not replied!

The best part is that you got it installed and running; that's what we like to see. Too bad we don't actually know what went wrong the first few times, so maybe someone else could see what NOT to do next time if they have a similar situation, but either way, good to know you got it sorted out for now.

Welcome to LQ,

Sasha

I'm glad you got it solved. We all sometimes have problems like that and sometimes don't ever find out what was causing the problem.

The software that creates the first partition table on the disk should write the default boot software into the Master Boot Record (first hard disk sector). If that software is missing or incorrect, then the computer will not boot unless you install a boot loader like GRUB or LILO directly to the MBR.

If you try to install a boot loader to the Linux partition's boot sector instead of the MBR, then make sure the Active ("Boot") flag is set for that partition and you have the correct default software in the Master Boot Record. When you delete all the partitions and then use "fdisk" or "cfdisk" that should write the default boot code in the MBR.

The default boot code for the MBR searches the partition table for the first Active (marked "Boot") partition. Then it reads the first sector (partition boot sector) of that partition and runs the software in that sector.