LILO is not popping up anymore after Win 9x reinstall

[Greg Jones]

I have my system setup for a multi boot. I have two hard drives. The primary drive boots Win 98 and the secondary boots Linux.

When I originally installed Linux, I already had Win 98 on my system. The install was successful and LILO popped up as expected every time I booted the machine. But after reinstalling Win 98 (this was to resolve some bugs), now LILO doesn't even pop up.

Am I going to have to reinstall Linux again?

I use Redhat distribution.

Greg

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[Chriz]

Might be wrong here, but just use your linux-bootdisk/emergency disk to boot into linux and run lilo. It will add the bootloader to the MBR again

[ColdPack]

No, you don't have to reinstall redhat again.
When you install winderz, it overwrites the master boot record so your lilo is b-bye.
So, use your startup boot disk (or can you boot from the cd?) and boot the computer using the floppy you used when you first began your install of redhat.
Then at the boot: promt, you can either follow the directions given by the syslinux boot disk (like hit &lt;F2&gt; for help or &lt;F3&gt; for rescue or something like that) or you can type, I think (it's been a while) kernel root=/dev/hdaX (where X is the appropriate "partition" you installed redhat on, like /dev/hda5...
You should be able to use this to get into your redhat system.
Then login as root.
In a terminal type /sbin/lilo and you should be in business, I think.
Again, it's been a while but that should do it.
If there's anything else, someone should be able to add to that.



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"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--- Paul Rodriguez

[Greg Jones]

I'm a new newbie so I need more specifics.

If I resolve this by typing the kernel root=/dev/hdaX command as Paul suggested, then how do I find the name of the partition that installed Linux on? I think it is HDD but I want to be sure. I say this because I believe the format of the partition names is that the last letter is the logical partition letter. Is this correct? Linux is on my D drive. At least it was.

Secondly, if I don't do this using the kernel root=/dev/hdaX command, I don't which option to pick from the Boot disk. One option available is to upgrade from the cd. Would the cd then give me the option to reinstall just LILO?

I never saved a rescue disk. I've only Linux a week and didn't think I'd need it this soon so I can't use that.

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[digitalzero]

Following on ColdPack's reply, he said that u have to type:
kernel root=/dev/hdaX
at the boot prompt.
However, because u have Linux on the secondary partition it should be more like:

kernel root=/dev/hdb
or
kernel root=/dev/hdb1
or
kernel root=/dev/hdb2
etc....
if that doesnt work then try:
kernel root=/dev/hda
or
kernal root=dev/hda1
and so on.
Just try it until u can login. Login as root and run:
/sbin/lilo [this will install lilo again]
alrite good luck!

[ColdPack]

Yeah, just boot up with the rescue disk. Don't upgrade Redhat just to restore your lilo on the master boot record.
Just because you put it on your "D" drive (a windows/DOS designation), that means it could be on /dev/hda2 or even /dev/hda5 (the way linux does things)... but windows is certainly (if on partition "C") on /dev/hda1 (according to linux). So, just keep trying like what digitalzero said above. If you don't know where it is you installed Redhat, then try
/dev/hda2 or /dev/hda3 or /dev/hda4 or /dev/hda5 or even /dev/hdb1 or /dev/hdb2 and so on (it will not, again, be on /dev/hda1... that is most certainly where windows has put itself).
Okeedoke?
(I have heard murmurings of "upgrading" redhat just to get your lilo back but it's not really necessary. This, in the end, will likely be easier. If it doesn't work then what the heck... try the "upgrade".)
Good Luck!
(And Paul Rodriguez was/is a standup comedian -- I just use his quote as my signature. I'm ColdPack. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif )


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"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--- Paul Rodriguez

[This message has been edited by ColdPack (edited 30 November 2000).]

[Craig McPherson]

You wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't installed LILO to the MBR. This is #2 on my "Ten Stupid Things Newbies Do to Screw Up Their Lives" list. Avoid it.

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It turns girls into statues!

[This message has been edited by Craig McPherson (edited 30 November 2000).]

[ColdPack]

Originally posted by Craig McPherson:
You wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't installed LILO to the MBR. This is #2 on my "Ten Stupid Things Newbies Do to Screw Up Their Lives" list. Avoid it.




What's a good alternative for this fellow? Should he do it on the root partition?
I've done it either way but haven't run into lilo problems that couldn't be fixed pretty easily so I don't know all the advantages and disadvantages of where you put lilo.


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"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--- Paul Rodriguez

[Greg Jones]

This is not a stupid Newbie act. It's a stupid installation act. Why didn't the installation program prompt me for an option as to whether or not to install LILO on the MBR or somewhere else?

How do I install Lilo somewhere else? If I don't install Lilo on MBR, how will it pop up every time that I boot my computer? Remember, my main OS, Windows, is on my master hard drive which serves as my master partition. Linux is installed on my slave hard drive.

Also, none of your suggestions to do the kernel root=/dev/hdbX worked. I tried everything. I finally had to reinstall Linux. What's worse is after my reinstall, Linux is now giving me errors where it won't boot to the gui when I give it the startx command!

I appreciate everyone's help on this website, however it urks me that I've not yet received one piece of advice that's actually worked on any problem that I've inquired about. For instance, I still can't get LILO to give me DOS as my default OS. I've changed the lilo.conf file default command to no avail.

Perhaps everyone who answers questions on this website is also a newbie. I hope not.

Nevertheless, I am appreciative for all the help that I have gotten.......

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[Sweede]

yea, it is evil to install LILO to MBR, just use bootdisks to bootup Linux and install lilo into the root partition (root=boot = /dev/hda5) (i use my windows 2000 bootloader).

but yea, redhat only asks to install LILO to an alternate location if you use expert mode.

Mandrake always gave that option (i think, i always used expert anyways).

After you change your /etc/lilo.conf, you must run /sbin/lilo
after you do that, it will say something like

updating boot record
linux
dos *
the * means thats default.

to install lilo onto your root partition, in your lilo.conf file there will be two lines

boot=/dev/hda
...
...
root=/dev/hdb3

change the boot to root (boot=/dev/hdb3), and RERUN lilo.


then, to boot linux.
http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000059.html

[Greg Jones]

I'll try this tip after I can get Linux to boot again.

I'm getting a "Fatal server error" message. I've reinstalled Linux twice and have received this same error message twice. What now?

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[ColdPack]

Yes, when you make changes to lilo, you must then immediately do this at a prompt in a terminal:

/sbin/lilo

That will make the settings take effect.
So make sure /etc/lilo.conf says "Default=dos" or whatever the label for windows is in your /etc/lilo.conf.
So if your /etc/lilo.conf says (for windows) "label=windows" but up above it says "default=dos" then you can guess what's gonna happen. So make sure both the "default" and "label" say dos (or windows) but not one of each. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif
Then, again, rerun /sbin/lilo so the settings take effect.
That will make lilo work.


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"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--- Paul Rodriguez

[ColdPack]

At what point in the boot-up process does it give you that message?