I have installed Slacware 10.2. when I tried to boot it it just promts.

Preparing machine to load "Linux"
....

I have reinstalled it twice. but it stops at the same point.

Try giving the kernel (at the bootloader) some special arguments if your HD, for example, is something irregular; RAID for example? Or in the installation try to use different kernel if you can (I don't remember how the installation of Slack goes); or then just try to install some other distribution. Slackware might not be the easiest to start with..if you get some other distribution, like Ubuntu, installed, then work with it. The distributions don't have that huge differences, and in most of the cases people choose their distribution by picking up one that they can get apps easily in. Ubuntu is quite a good one in many ways, especially to start with.

Can you not get any other info about what's going on?

If you can boot the installation CD, post the contents of your /etc/lilo.conf and we'll see if we can identify the problem. It might also help to see the output of fdisk -l.

Slackware is fine to start with. You just have to want to learn, which to OP is obviously doing by asking 'Why?'.

Just post the /etc/lilo.conf, and we'll be more than happy to help.

BTW, Welcome to Slackware.

Thanks

But I cant find the file...

I talked with a friend and he found the file in the specified directory.

?????????????

That probably means that you didn't install the boot loader, and it would certainly explain why you can't boot. You need to create a Lilo configuration file and install Lilo. The easiest way (but it doesn't work 100% of the time) is to load the installation disk and to select the boot loader step. You don't have to install anything or format anything, just go right to the boot loader step. Either someone here can remember what you should do or you can search the Slackware forum- I don't remember it well enough to give you details without seeing it.

I asked for the output of fdisk -l earlier because you can also create a lilo.conf manually. If we can see this info we can probably help you build a lilo.conf and then you can install Lilo manually ("installing" Lilo is really one command.)

it works now . it was the lilo

Great! Thanks for letting us know. If you can post exactly what the problem was and how you fixed it, maybe someone else with a similar problem can learn from your experience.

I had the same problem, and same solution.

After re-installing Slackware 10.2 several times
(I'm presently on my 7th), still it wouldn't boot.

The installer led me to belive that Lilo was only
required to dual-boot with windows, or the likes.
Because I didn't want to do that, I didn't install it.


It would be really nice if the installer's wording were ajusted to
reflect that the OS will not run if you choose not to install Lilo.

Exactly
that would be nice