basically i have installed the full decompressed version of backtrack(linuxlivecd) onto my usb harddrive. i then chroot /mnt/sda1 /bin/bash and changed the root to /mnt/sda1 which is my usb harddrive. i then ran liloconfig and it outputed the following into lilo.conf

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
lba32 # Allow booting past 1024th cylinder with a recent BIOS
boot = tmpfs
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# 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
label = Back|Track
root = current
read-write
# End LILO global section
# Windows bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/hda2
label = Windows
table = /dev/hda
# Windows bootable partition config ends


actually i added the label=backtrack, root = current and read-write parameters. but then when i attempt to run lilo i get

Fatal: raid_setup: stat("tmpfs")

Can someone please tell me how to correct this issue or what the that error message even means?

my fstab looks like this:

tmpfs / tmpfs defaults 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy vfat,msdos noauto,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0
/dev/hda1 /mnt/hda1 vfat,msdos auto,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0
/dev/hda2 /mnt/hda2 ntfs auto,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0
/dev/hda3 /mnt/hda3 vfat auto,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0
/dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1 vfat auto,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0
/dev/hdc /mnt/hdc_cdrom iso9660 noauto,users,exec 0 0

incase that helps at all. Once again ANY advice would be greatly appreicated, i am a Linux noob so please respond according

tmpfs is a file system that gets created after linux initializes. I think the lilo.conf looks like it can't work- it looks like it is for a liveCD and doesn't get set up like that when you have a HD install.

This isn't a raid issue, it's a lilo asking WTF issue.

From your fstab, I can't tell what's going on, unless the guys who did your liveCD installation setup wanted to install their linux in a FAT32 partition (not normal, but may work). Again, this looks like the fstab from a liveCD and not from a real install.

It could be that the liveCD you are trying to install isn't really set up for HD or USB installation. There are some very nice and relatively easy to install distros around and maybe that would be better choices.

If you can boot from USB on your BIOS, then the way you're trying to get lilo to work with this lilo.conf isn't what you want, I think. If you boot from HD, you want to be able to choose what's on the HD. If you want to boot from USB, it won't look at your HD. In this case, you should be creating a separate lilo.conf for the USB drive, and doing lilo -v -b /dev/sda
you should create the MBR on /dev/sda and there should be only one definition in your lilo.conf (don't include Windows).

In other words, if you are trying to create a boot from USB environment, don't do lilo on your HD. Do it on the USB drive.

The USB installation is the most complicated installation possible. If you are a newbie then you really picked a challenge for yourself!

Maybe it would help to try installing DSL on your USB drive first. I think a lot of people have done it and it should be explained pretty well by now (damnsmalllinux.com)

ok, i believe i fixed the whole "livecd" installion peice. I am trying to install it to a fat32 volume fyi.

now when i run lilo...
lilo -v -b /dev/sda -r /mnt/sda1

LILO version 22.5.9, Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger Development beyond version 21 Copyright (C) 1999-2004 John Coffman Released 08-Apr-2004 and compiled at 00:18:50 on May 21 2004.

Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed
Reading boot sector from /dev/sda Fatal: VolumeID read error: sector 0 of /dev/hda not readable

i get this volumeid read error the -r specfies the root directory which is reading from /proc/partitions..

major minor #blocks name
3 0 39070080 hda
3 1 48163 hda1
3 2 35005635 hda2
3 3 4008217 hda3
7 0 1948 loop0
7 1 2636 loop1
7 2 56 loop2
7 3 19672 loop3
7 4 80076 loop4
7 5 50288 loop5
7 6 2920 loop6
7 7 4232 loop7
7 8 470788 loop8
7 9 3348 loop9
7 10 4 loop10
8 0 13260240 sda
8 1 13253593 sda1

and that is what that file looks like. and lilo.conf is...

boot = /dev/sda
prompt
timeout = 20
bitmap=/boot/splash.bmp
change-rules
reset
vga = normal
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = current
label = slax
read-write



THANK YOU so much for the help thus far, i really appreicate you taking yoru time to help me and i hope you are able to help me figure this one out



o as a side note i am attempting to make this hdd install of linux to my usb drive while in a running livecd format of the same linux, and i noticed that while my livedcd root/dev/ folder has the proper hda1,hda2,sda,sda1 blocks (which the /proc/partitions file points too) the hdd installtion of linux has these same files but they are 0bytes big(empty) could this be the cause of not being able to read the blocks? i tried copying the hda1,sda etc. blocks over but they dont copy over to the hdd install.

I'm glad to help but it seems like there is a lot of confusion in what you are doing. I think it would be better to do what has already been proven to work.

Slax has pretty good instructions here: http://slax.linux-live.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9267

This doesn't look what you are trying to do. I think instead of continuing on the path you're on, you should consider trying to follow the directions in that post since people already reported that what the OP wrote does work.

I'm running Slackware 14.0 with Windows 8.1 Pro on the same drive I've had it this way before without lilo.conf kicking me around all night. looked though many of my saved lilo.config from other computers looked up and down the internet to no avail. I only want my vga=791 to work. However I've noticed that Gparted both locally and using parted magic do not seem to register my Windows Partition at all which is new I've tried liloconfig through chroot locally expert simple so on this lilo.conf bellow is the only one that at least gets both Operating systems going. thanks

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
# Append any additional kernel parameters:
lba32 # Allow booting past 1024th cylinder with a recent BIOS
append= "vt.default_utf8=0"
boot = /dev/sda

# Boot BMP Image.
# Bitmap in BMP format: 640x480x8
bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp
# Menu colors (foreground, background, shadow, highlighted
# foreground, highlighted background, highlighted shadow):
bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0
# Location of the option table: location x, location y, number of
# columns, lines per column (max 15), "spill" (this is how many
# entries must be in the first column before the next begins to
# be used. We don't specify it here, as there's just one column.
bmp-table = 60,6,1,16
# Timer location x, timer location y, foreground color,
# background color, shadow color.
bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255

# Standard menu.
# Or, you can comment out the bitmap menu above and
# use a boot message with the standard menu:
#message = /boot/boot_message.txt

# Wait until the timeout to boot (if commented out, boot the
# first entry immediately):
prompt
# Timeout before the first entry boots.
# This is given in tenths of a second, so 600 for every minute:
timeout = 12
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# Normal VGA console
vga = 791
# Ask for video mode at boot (time out to normal in 30s)
#vga = ask
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
#vga=791
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
#vga=790
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
#vga=773
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
#vga=788
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
#vga=787
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
#vga=771
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
#vga=785
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
#vga=784
# NVIDIA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
#vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Windows bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/sda
label = Windows
table = /dev/sda
# Windows bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
root = /dev/sda3
image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

found that root was mounting my Windows drive in the background by un-mounting from root I was able to update lilo