dual booting problems Zenwalk/Mandriva

bcbotha · 06-03-2010, 07:19 AM

I am running Mandriva on my laptop and decided to dual boot with Zenwalk. My problem is that I have been booting with grub and after my installing Zenwalk I have Lilo in my MBR.
How do I setup lilo.conf to view and boot my Mandriva partition?

Zenwlak root is on /dev/sda1 and Mandriva is on /dev/sda5.I would prefer to reinstate grub in the MBR.

Thanks

linus72 · 06-03-2010, 07:46 AM

Hey bcbotha

Open your /etc/lilo.conf with nano, or any editor, as root

example lilo.conf with Mandriva on sda5

Code:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sda
#compact        # faster, but won't work on all systems.
# 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=" vt.default_utf8=0"
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
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
  root = /dev/sda1
  label = Zenwalk6.4
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking
# Linux bootable partition config ends
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
  root = /dev/sda5
  label = Mandriva
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking

Not sure what Mandriva uses/calls its kernel/initrd so you will have to edit that
blue part

Once you can boot Mandriva; supposing it uses grub2
I think you just do grub-install /dev/sda

Then, once you get grub back on MBR
edit your lilo.conf and change

Code:

# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sda

to

Code:

# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sda5

then do
/sbin/lilo as root
and it will install lilo to sda5 instead of MBR

bcbotha · 06-03-2010, 08:16 AM

I am able to browse from Zenwalk to my /dev/sda5 partition and view to grub menu.lst. It has the Kernel listed as:

Kernel (hd0,4)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID+909513a4-6a36-40f1-bbd4-c79d5476f1e0 resume=UUID=865d4021-a553-419e-86f4-ee8e3ef16e38 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,4)/boot/initrd.img

When booting the only option in the boot screen is Zenwalk

linus72 · 06-03-2010, 08:23 AM

OK

so make lilo.conf look like

Code:

# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
  root = /dev/sda1
  label = Zenwalk6.4
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking
# Linux bootable partition config ends
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.img
  root = /dev/sda5
  append = "BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID+909513a4-6a36-40f1-bbd4-c79d5476f1e0 resume=UUID=865d4021-a553-419e-86f4-ee8e3ef16e38 splash=silent vga=788"
  label = Mandriva
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking

then do /sbin/lilo as root
then it should boot Mandriva?

In the end it may look like this in full

Code:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sda
#compact        # faster, but won't work on all systems.
# 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=" vt.default_utf8=0"
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
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
  root = /dev/sda1
  label = Zenwalk6.4
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking
# Linux bootable partition config ends
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.img
  root = /dev/sda5
  append = "BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID+909513a4-6a36-40f1-bbd4-c79d5476f1e0 resume=UUID=865d4021-a553-419e-86f4-ee8e3ef16e38 splash=silent vga=788"
  label = Mandriva
  read-only  # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking

bcbotha · 06-03-2010, 08:37 AM

sorry could you just explain what you mean by "do /sbin/lilo as root"?

Thanks

linus72 · 06-03-2010, 08:41 AM

OH
open a terminal
enter

"su"
no quotes
it'll ask for password
enter password for root

then, after editing /etc/lilo.conf
enter
/sbin/lilo

and lilo will update and add the Mandriva boot entry

bcbotha · 06-03-2010, 08:45 AM

I got a syntax error at or above line 21 in file '/boot/tmp/lilo.conf'