LILO fatal error
 

Hi there,

I tried to install a dual boot system on a laptop.
Default OS is XP on /dev/hda1 which is loadable
from the Windows boot loader. I did everything
to move the boot sector to C:\ (dd and that kind
of stuff). Still Linux isn't accessable from the
Windows boot loader (just black screen).
What I am really concerned about is that this
approach worked very well for NT4 and 2000.
Maybe there's a problem with XP?

In another thread someone gave the hint to
execute lilo manually, first. This isn't working!
Typing "/sbin/lilo" results in "Fatal: can't put
the boot sector on logical partition 0x307"

Did anybody faced the same problem?

What is in your lilo.conf? Especially in the boot= line?

Hi Mara,

I've posted my lilo.conf below.
Any idea?

Regards,

ggg

prompt
timeout=50
default=Windows XP
boot=/dev/hda5
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
message=/boot/message
lba32

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10
label=Linux
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.7-10.img
read-only
root=/dev/hda7

other=/dev/hda1
optional
label=Windows XP

Try changing the line boot=/dev/hda5 to boot=/dev/hda and re run lilo. Currently you're trying to install Lilo to the boot sector of /dev/hda5, which is a partition. You'd still need a bootloader (were you planning on using XPs boot loader?) to load Linux. Changing that line to /dev/hda puts Lilo in the MBR (master boot record), which is where your WinXP bootloader currently resides.

Yes, indeed, I want to use the XP boot loader. As far
as I know (from the HOWTOs and so on) it isn't possible
using LILO in MBR and booting XP from LILO. But maybe
I'm wrong?

Don't install lilo in your mbr. It needs to be installed in the /boot or root ' / ' partition. Change the boot=/dev/hd5 to the partition that you want to install lilo on and run /sbin/lilo. Then make your copy of the boot sector using dd. Also, make sure that the root=/dev/hda7 is pointing to the root ' / ' partition.

The settings in lilo.conf are OK. I want to install
LILO to /dev/hda5 which is mounted as /boot
and /dev/hda7 is mounted as /.

Running /sbin/lilo results in that error message
given in my first post.

I just recognized that a map file is missing in my /boot
although it is mentioned in lilo.conf. Maybe that's the problem

That could be the problem and that could explain the error message: "Fatal: can't put the boot sector on logical partition 0x307". It's trying to install lilo in the boot sector of hda7 instead of hda5 and the line ' boot=/dev/hda5 ' is saying to install it in hda5.

Are you sure there is no map file or any file that has map in its name in the /boot folder? Running the command
locate map | less will locate any file or folder that has map in it.

There is a file called System.map in /boot. It is in fact
a link to System.map-2.4.7-10.

System.map, that's what I was trying to recall. Create a symbolic link from System.map-2.4.7-10 to map. Like this:
ln -s /boot/System.map-2.4.7-10 /boot/map. Then run lilo again and see if it's ok.

I am out of office next week. Will tell you on
Mon June 3rd if this works.

Best wishes