Knoppix boot loader: can't install LILO

pcwiz84 · 03-09-2006, 04:34 PM

Problem installing LILO after GRUB autoinstalled
I installed KNOPPIX on a computer at a church who wants systems for playing games. It automatically installs GRUB, but it isn't very useful to me nor anyone else who would see it. I want to install LILO instead of GRUB but this is the error I get:

Unrecognized token "! Please edit /etc/lilo.conf before running lilo!" at or above line 20 in file '/etc/lilo.conf'

ERROR: correct /etc/lilo.conf manually and rerun /sbin/lilo

any help guys?
pcwiz84

pljvaldez · 03-09-2006, 04:45 PM

What does /etc/lilo.conf look like? And I'm not sure what you mean by grub isn't useful to anyone... You can do everything with grub as you can with lilo. If you just don't want to see it, edit the menu.lst file and add a short timeout so that it basically bypasses the menu. Or if there's no menu, you can add that too...

pljvaldez · 03-09-2006, 04:46 PM

Also, just in case, you know it is not recommended to install Knoppix to the hard drive... You should use Kanotix or Debian pure...

pcwiz84 · 03-09-2006, 04:51 PM

I don't know what lilo.conf looks like cause it has a "lock" on the file!!!

Any ideas?

pljvaldez · 03-09-2006, 04:53 PM

You should be able to view it by becoming root.

pcwiz84 · 03-09-2006, 04:55 PM

Knoppix doesn't let me login as root (only as super user)

pljvaldez · 03-09-2006, 04:57 PM

Can you use su, then more /etc/lilo.conf

pcwiz84 · 03-09-2006, 05:06 PM

OK I found a way to see LILO.conf; I'm not using the computer with KNOPPIX installed so I'll have to go there and show it to you later. Sorry; thanks for the help. Please monitor this thread if you can.

pljvaldez · 03-09-2006, 06:05 PM

You asked elsewhere if Kanotix has more games than the knoppix dvd. My gut feeling is that you could get the same games because they're both based off of Debian Sid. Not sure how many are installed by default.

Now if you're just looking for games, google for Games Knoppix, which is knoppix with almost all the disk space dedicated to games...

dracae · 03-09-2006, 06:12 PM

What is the problem with using grub?

pcwiz84 · 03-14-2006, 11:40 AM

The problem with GRUB is I don't feel comfortable with it and the bottom line for me is to feel comfortable with the boot loader (in case there's a problem with KNOPPIX loading in the first place). I'm already familiar with LILO and I wanna stick with what I know.

nx5000 · 03-14-2006, 11:55 AM

Its what I thought at the beginning: I knew a lot LILO and feared to switched to Grub.
But you should really think about it:
1) it is very easy
2) it is very powerfull and can help you easily recover from bad situations : example you can edit the parameters passed to the kernel directly from the grub menu.

Now lilo is also good but some software don't support it anymore.

dracae · 03-14-2006, 12:03 PM

As nx5000 said, You can edit options on the fly. Even if you make a typo, you can easily recover without booting a recovery disk. Also grub is managed by debconf so you get automatic updates in the event of a kernel upgrade. I stayed with lilo for some time until grub started to support the boot once option for some of my remotely managed machines. The only thing lilo holds over grub at this point is the option for 256 color splash screen, whereas grub only supports 16 colors, and perhaps booting from raid. A small price to pay for the convenience it affords.