how can I boot windows in "failsafe" mode with LILO?

julian_s · 01-18-2004, 09:22 PM

I installed almost succesfully Mandrake 9.2 on a windows Me PC and i have dual boot with Lilo and i wanna know if it's posible to make an option like windows safe mode or something appear on the graphical LILO boot screen, cause the F8 doesn't work anymore and the always crashing windows Me makes me use this option very often.

Sorry if the way I call this option it's not the real one but I have the spanish version of Win Me and I don't know its exact name in english.

thanks.

leonscape · 01-18-2004, 09:34 PM

Linux has a super_user mode. Its to be used for emergency repairs etc. On the LILO prompt ( You may have to press tab to get a prompt ) type linux single.

MrOuija · 01-19-2004, 12:52 AM

Windows ME was the most god awful O/S ever made. Even a downgrade to 98 would be better =P

jschiwal · 01-19-2004, 01:01 AM

If you have Mandrake 9.2 installed there should be a fail safe entry in your lilo menu when you boot up.

Here is the /etc/lilo.conf failsafe section on my computer (Mandrake 9.2):

Code:

image=/boot/vmlinuz
	label="failsafe"
	root=/dev/hda12
	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
	append="failsafe devfs=nomount hdd=ide-scsi resume=/dev/hda6"
	read-only

Of course, your root= line will be different. The option on the append= line is what is important.

leonscape · 01-19-2004, 01:02 AM

With that I have to agree. I went from Win98 to Win2K, My cousin Likes her ME, as long as I'm around to constantly fix it.

julian_s · 01-19-2004, 10:13 AM

Hi guys thanks for the help, but I have the failsafe option in LILO but it takes me to the linux safe mode, and what I want is the windows safe mode, you know the VGA mode with 16 colors and the minimal drivers required, I always do defrag and scandisk in this mode so I need it back. I know I could fix the MBR to make windows start automatically but that would delete LILO and I dont want to do that, I want a "clean" way to do it.

I'm a total newbie in linux so a step by step guide would be great.

Thanks

pd: yeah I know winme is a real crap but that's what i got for the moment.