installing lilo

fatenabu · 01-05-2006, 04:40 PM

Hello,
I have two linux distros installed but I can not access them because windows screwed up my boot loader. I know both distros are their though. I was wondering if I could download lilo off of the net and install it some how? Please help guys I miss my Linux.

Thanks,

Dustin

HappyTux · 01-05-2006, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatenabu

Hello,
I have two linux distros installed but I can not access them because windows screwed up my boot loader. I know both distros are their though. I was wondering if I could download lilo off of the net and install it some how? Please help guys I miss my Linux.

Thanks,

Dustin

You could always download and burn a Knoppix disk then boot with it mount your / partition containing your lilo.conf then chroot into it and run lilo to restore the MBR. Alternatively if you have a rescue option with your install disks whereby you can boot with it then chroot into your install and run lilo or just simply boot into the system then run lilo.

Thymox · 01-05-2006, 07:11 PM

Any small bootable system on CD will do the job nicely. I tend to keep a Debian netinstall CD (~185Mb) handy just for this purpose - booting from it, opening a console, mounting the root partition, chrooting to the mounted root partition, rescuing the system within it's own environment.

saikee · 01-05-2006, 07:14 PM

Just boot up any Live CD and type

Code:

mkdir /mnt/temp
mount /dev/hdax /mnt/temp
chroot /mnt/temp
lilo -b /dev/hda
exit
reboot

The hdax= the root of your Linux partition. Putting Lilo into hda mean whole disk or MBR. If you use a Sata it should be sda and you have to change hdax to sdax as well.

Thymox · 01-05-2006, 07:20 PM

Note that running the "reboot" command like that may not always work. You may have to "exit" from the chroot first... just by typing "exit" after lilo has done it's magic, and then "reboot" once you're out of the chroot environment.

reddazz · 01-05-2006, 07:38 PM

So what distros are they? Many distros can be rescued using their installation discs.

fatenabu · 01-05-2006, 11:26 PM

They are Mandrivia 2006 and I also have Xandros 3.0 Deluxe. I no longer have my cds to install them because I let a friend borrow them. He is on Christmas break. I tried to use an older mandrivia cd to install the boot loader and it wouldn't work.

saikee · 01-06-2006, 02:17 AM

Thymox is right there should be an "exit" before reboot because without it the reboot will bring the user back to the Live CD Linux.

I added the exit in the instructions.

The Live CD is the general method. Using the installation CD the instructions are similar except the name of the temporary directory has been pre-selected.

fatenabu · 01-06-2006, 03:23 PM

hello,
I found and old xandros cd and installed its boot loader. I finally got it to work thanks guys

Dustin