I always boot from a floppy disk, but recently I recompiled the kernel, and saved it to /boot .

what changes do I need to make so that the new kernel will be booted from the floppy? (editing lilo.conf has no effect)

Nothing happens when I press [tab] key at linux boot: prompt
(when booting off a floopy). Is this normal?


Thankz

You should just be able to edit the lilo.conf file and change the location lilo looks for the kernel. So if you are booting (for example...) image=/vmlinuz you would change it to image=/boot/vmlinuz. Obviously using your own kernel name if it's not vmlinuz.

Have the impression lilo does not participate in the boot process when booting from a floppy disk.
Every changes I have done to lilo.conf did not work at all.

However I have noticed a file in floppy boot disk very similar to lilo.conf but uses different syntax, the file name is syslinux.cfg and seems to point to available linux kernel images (actually to only one).

My system is Redhat 7.1 out ot the box

Thanks agian

Did you re-run lilo?
/sbin/lilo

I have an installation disk for TurboLinux that has the same file on it ( syslinux.cfg ). It has a line that says kernel vmlinuz . On the floppy disk is a file named vmlinuz . So, the kernel appears to be on the floppy disk. Do you see any file on your floppy disk that appears to be a kernel image? You might have to copy your new image to the floppy over the old one. If it will fit on the floppy. Could you post a copy of your syslinux.cfg file?

Thank you for the tip.
No doubt, vmlinuz file on the floppy refers to the kernel image. And to be able to boot the new image I had to overwite vmlinuz file on the floppy disk with the new kernel image. And that worked for me. The image size jumped from 7xx kb to 9xx kb !

The next issue I would need more clarifications about is the boot loader used on the boot disk.

If lilo is used when booting normally from the hard disk, then what about the floppy?

Is it possible to install lilo on floppy disks?

The boot loader that is used on your floppy is called Syslinux. I think that's right.

lilo can be installed on a floppy. There are two ways I know of. One is to install lilo into the boot sector of the floppy and nothing else on the floppy. The other is install not only lilo in the boot sector, but also to create a file structure on the floppy. Directories like /etc and /boot and others are created. In the /etc directory, there is even an lilo.conf file. The program that creates this kind of disk is mkbootdisk.


There is also a kernel disk. The compressed kernel is copied onto the floppy using the ' dd ' command. This type of disk is very inflexible because it won't allow you to enter any parameters if something goes wrong.