[SOLVED] new install, boot ends up displaying lots of 99 99 99....

laughingbob · 05-08-2020, 07:09 PM

Hi,
Am installing 14.2 32bit via CD onto a Compac nx9010 laptop (1GB ram, 60GB HDD, P4).
Have partitioned hdd to sda1=16GB for /, sda2=4GB for swap, sda3=38GB for /home. Have formatted sda1 and sda3 to EXT4 using gpartd off Mint install disk.

Gone through install several times and am putting LILO to root (not MBR). Have been taking safest options. Install now goes clean but when I boot it ends up displaying L then lots of 99s. I have no idea where to look for the problem. An ideas?

colorpurple21859 · 05-08-2020, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Gone through install several times

each time you do an install you have to reinstall lilo. Anytime you have a kernel update you have to run

Code:

lilo

again as root.
Did at anytime did you install lilo to the mbr?

laughingbob · 05-08-2020, 08:15 PM

Yes, the first time through I tried the MBR approach but the install failed, getting tangled up in the previous installtion of grub under Mint.
And yes, each time I have had to go through the LILO reinstall. How do I clear the MBR? I had supposed that a full format would do this.

ehartman · 05-08-2020, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laughingbob

How do I clear the MBR? I had supposed that a full format would do this.

Yes, but you don't want to clear it, you want the NEW lilo code for boot to have been written there. So you must run lilo (or "lilo -r /dev/sd?") before you reboot.

colorpurple21859 · 05-08-2020, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Yes, the first time through I tried the MBR approach but the install failed, getting tangled up in the previous installtion of grub under Mint.

Don't know what mean by that for if you install lilo to mbr it will overwrite the grub boot code. post your /etc/lilo.conf

laughingbob · 05-09-2020, 07:48 PM

Thank you for your help. I rebuilt the system from scratch this time designating the MBR for LILO, and it has for the first btime gotten all the way through the boot to allow root login, Wahoo! Thanks again. I am left wondering why the alternate location (?) for LILO didn't work, but it's prabably character building for me to be puzzled.

gus3 · 05-09-2020, 11:53 PM

It is character building to be puzzled. I didn't always know what algebraic/calculus symbols meant, but I knew someday I'd understand them.

przemo · 05-20-2020, 08:07 AM

so, i have same issue here just resized partitions and reinstalled the system - full install

somehow managed to boot into it i thought it will be fine compiled kernel reinstalled lilo and

99 99 isuue bios is set to BOTH uefi and with legacy first

lilo sits on /dev/sdb with linux, on sda i have windows i do not want to have lilo on MBR and it was working before

i tried different bios settings nothing helps

Quote:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sdb1

# This option loads the kernel and initrd much faster:
compact

# Boot BMP Image.
# Bitmap in BMP format: 640x480x8
bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp
# Menu colors (foreground, background, shadow, highlighted
# foreground, highlighted background, highlighted shadow):
bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0
# Location of the option table: location x, location y, number of
# columns, lines per column (max 15), "spill" (this is how many
# entries must be in the first column before the next begins to
# be used. We don't specify it here, as there's just one column.
bmp-table = 60,6,1,16
# Timer location x, timer location y, foreground color,
# background color, shadow color.
bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255
# Standard menu.
# Or, you can comment out the bitmap menu above and
# use a boot message with the standard menu:
#message = /boot/boot_message.txt

# Append any additional kernel parameters:
append="quiet nohz=off acpi_osi=linux acpi_backlight=vendor"
lba32
prompt
timeout = 50
# Normal VGA console
vga = normal
# Ask for video mode at boot (time out to normal in 30s)
#vga = ask
# 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
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.41-ck
root = /dev/sdb1
# root = "UUID=fa00bcff-89fb-4b58-8af5-581fc7e66084"
#addappend = "root=PARTUUID=0a51c606-01"
label = 5.4.41-ck
read-only

image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sdb1
label = Linux
read-only # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking
# Linux bootable partition config ends

colorpurple21859 · 05-20-2020, 12:11 PM

Quote:

boot = /dev/sdb1

I think this needs to be /dev/sdb

gus3 · 05-20-2020, 06:22 PM

It can be either. "boot=/dev/sdb" puts the LILO code into the MBR. "boot=/dev/sdb1" puts the LILO code into the header blocks of /dev/sdb1, which must be marked as "active" in the MBR's partition table.

Since you've already put LILO into the boot blocks of /dev/sdb1, I strongly suggest staying with "boot=/dev/sdb1" moving forward.

From lilo(8):

Quote:

Errors 99 and 9A usually mean the map file ('-m' or 'map=') is not readable, likely because LILO was not re-run after some system change, or there is a geometry mismatch between what LILO used (lilo -v3 to display) and what is actually being used by the BIOS....

przemo · 05-21-2020, 07:42 AM

True it does not matter /dev/sdb or /dev/sdb1 what matters is the order of drives in BIOS a figured out right order and all is good now.