LinuxQuestions.org - incorrect LILO selection SLACK install

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- - incorrect LILO selection SLACK install - no boot from hda1 (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/incorrect-lilo-selection-slack-install-no-boot-from-hda1-486462/)

You have one hard disk and it looks normal to me with 24Gb in hda1 and hda2. The swap is reported to be 11Gb large.

If the distro does nothing on a boot up and appears to hang then it could also means an incorrect video driver might have been selected. To find out if this is the case just press ctrl+alt+backspace. If you get a Bash shell then the booting works but the distro cannot communicate with you. In such case we switch our attention to the Xorg.

Keep us posted.

The control+alt+backspace garnered no results. I did notuice in the syslog that there are some issues with an unsupported VIA chipset. Also I doubt the bios on this board has been flashed in 1000 years.. That aside, Xorg?

Your hda1 is not active; below the result of fdisk -l on my box (please note the asterisk under boot)

Code:

Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes



  Device Boot      Start        End      Blocks  Id  System

/dev/hda1  *          1        1024    8225248+  83  Linux

/dev/hda2            1025        1090      530145  82  Linux swap

/dev/hda3            1091        4278    25607610  83  Linux

/dev/hda4            4279        4865    4715077+  5  Extended

/dev/hda5            4279        4865    4715046  83  Linux

Run fdisk /dev/hda and use menu option 'a' to toggle the bootable flag for hda1.

Just to make it complete, my lilo.conf

Code:

# LILO configuration file

# generated by 'liloconfig'

#

# Start LILO global section

boot = /dev/hda

#compact        # faster, but won't work on all systems.

#prompt

#timeout = 5

# 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

  root = /dev/hda1

  label = Slackware101

  read-only # Non-UMSDOS filesystems should be mounted read-only for checking

# Linux bootable partition config ends

I had a problem a few weeks ago when I added a new hard drive to my system and fouled up the master/slave settings on the machine afterwhich I couldn't boot other than through a floppy.

I eventually tracked it down to a bios issue whereby the bios was trying to boot from a different drive/partition. I'm not at my desktop now but I suggest you thoroughly check ALL your bios settings. The setting was NOT the usual boot from floppy/CD/harddrive it was more obscure than that.

When i get to my desktop I will update this thread.

Regards

As far as I am aware Linux does not need the boot flag made active.

Linux can reside in a logical partition and normal PC standard does not support active logical partitions. So active flag has no use to a Linux.

MS systems use a common MBR that doesn't know which of the 4 primary partitions to be booted. The MBR code is wasted mainly to search like a blind man to examine which of the 4 primaries has the booting flag switched on and boot it according.

Linux boot loaders are always told the partition to be booted up front.

In Grub it is done by the "root" command

In Lilo it is done by the "root=" or "image=" command.

Therefore whether a partition is active or not Linux still has to boot the one specified. It has no choice.

Personally I have never made any of my 100+ Linux systems in box active when booting it.

I am ready to conceed and just continue booting from floppy. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer.
I checked out the VIA chipset issue which doent seem to have much to do with it. There are linux drivers for the via, but I have no way of telling how they are installed or how to install them if I did know. I am setting up another box right now to see if I can get things to work differently..

Are there any logs that are generated that might lead me to a solution?

I am writing to you from the new box. I set up Slack on an ASUS a7v-133 with an Athlon 1.3g processor. 1g of ram and an 80g drive. This time around when I was given the option of where to install LILO I chose to install it to the MBR.. It worked like a charm. On the first try the box loaded from disk.. So I guess my question is now: Is there a way to go back and reinstall lilo to the MBR on the other box Or do I have to wipe it?

The commands I gave in Post #2 contains Lilo installation into the MBR after the Slackware has been installed but does not boot.