Linux Bootloader Question

[Tuzinor]

Setup is as follows:
Asus A7V motherboard with AMD 900 mhz Thunderbird 512mb ram
Three hard drives-first two on built in Promise ATA 100 controller-the third on built in ATA 66 controller.All drives partitoned into two parts.
First drive first partition (C)Windows 98SE
Second drive " " Linux Mandrake 7.2 Complete
Third Drive " " BeOS
NEW TO LINUX! My Linux drive is /dev/hdf.Did Expert install-installed full packages.During Bootloader configuration there was a choice as to where to load it MBR or another-don't remember exact one-I choose MBR.I have System Commander Personal Edition installed on the Windows drive -is able to boot Windows & BeOS fine but gets an error when trying to boot Linux. Linux will boot fine if I unhook the other disks-will not boot with System Commander.Shouldn't there be an option for either LILO or Grub when installing the bootloader? This setup is using Grub which I was told wouldn't work with System Commander.At boot when the choices pop up if I hit "e" to look at one of the items then select "e" again I get a GRUB prompt. I did have to go in and edit the boot line to add parameters for the ATA 100 controller via instructions from Mandrake.
Do I need to atart over again to get this to boot thru System Commander? Is there something during Installation>bootloader installation that I should be doing to get LILO instead of GRUB and to work with System Commander where should the boot record be stored:MBR,hdf,/boot? Is there a way to fix this with the presnt install? Any help will be appreciated-thank's-Dave

[Bernd]

Well, if I understand you right you primarily use the System Commander as boot manager (I don't know what the System Commander is), don't you?
And before any OS boots the System Commander asks you which one, dosn't it?
Well, then Grub/LILO was not installed in the MBR of hda but instead in the MBR of hdf (have you unplugged the other harddisks for installing Linux ??).

I didn't understand the next part of your explainments completely. So you are able to boot linux? But first you have to choose to boot Linux from the System Commander and then from the Grub menu? Well, if I understand you you right everything seems to be ok, except for that you have choose your OS twice and that you have to enter kernel parameters at the boot prompt, didn't I?
I don't know how to make Grub using standard kernel parameters but if you want to use Lilo, your lilo.conf could contain the following lines (assuming that you have only one partion hdf1 (the root partition) for linux):

boot = /dev/hdf
append="your parameters for your ATA100 controller"
vga = normal
message=/boot/message.txt
default=your_kernel_image
prompt
timeout=100
lba32

image = /boot/_your_kernel_image
root = /dev/hdf1
label = linux
read-only
Just run lilo and it should work. But I don't have any experience with root and boot (where your kernel image is) partitions other then hda(x). When I remember right Mdk7.2 created a pre.configured lilo.conf for me though it used Grub (so Grub could easier have been replaced). If there is one that looks similar to my one use it and add the line append ="your commandos"
If all works right you can remove the lines with the timeout and the prompt (but then you can never start in a single user mode if it is necessary).
And before you begin don't forget to create a boot floppy (or CD) because if something in the lilo.conf is wrong you might get problems to boot Linux from your hd!

Bernd

[ 27 February 2001: Message edited by: Bernd ]