LILO - Generic Boot Loader for Linux ("LInux LOader") by Werner Almesberger
=============================================================================
This is an ALPHA test release of a new boot loader. Be sure to have some
means to boot your system from a different media if you install LILO on your
hard disk.
NOTE: Most of the documentation has moved into the LaTeX document doc.tex.
This is only a minimal description for those who can't print or pre-
view LaTeX documents.
Features
--------
- does not depend on the file system. (Tested with Minix, EXT FS and MS-DOS
FS.)
- can be used to boot from floppies and from hard disks.
- can replace the master boot record.
- can boot non-Linux systems (MS-DOS, DR DOS, OS/2, ...) and unstripped
kernels.
- supports up to 16 different boot images that can be selected at boot
time. The root disk/partition can be set independently for each
image. Images can be protected by passwords.
- boot sector, file map and boot images can be all on different disks or
partitions.
Restrictions and known problems
-------------------------------
- booting non-Linux systems from the second hard disk ("D:") is not yet
supported.
Files
-----
Files contained in lilo.9.tar.Z:
README This file.
INCOMPAT List of incompatibilities.
QuickInst Quick installation script
Makefile Makefile for everything else.
*.c, *.h LILO map installer source.
*.S LILO boot loader source.
activate.c Simple boot partition setter.
dparam.s Disk parameter dumper source.
disktab Sample disk parameter table.
install.new Replacement of /etc/lilo/install for new-style
configurations.
mkck Compound kernel maker.
Files created after make (among others):
boot.b Combined boot sector.
chain.b Chain loader.
lilo LILO installer.
activate Simple boot partition setter.
dparam.com MS-DOS executable of the disk parameter dumper.
!! STOP READING HERE IF YOU CAN USE THE LaTeX VERSION OF THE DOCUMENTATION !!
The LaTeX part is generally more up to date and contains more useful
hints and examples. The following sections have been trimmed to make
it easier to maintain them, e.g. by removing as many version-dependen-
cies as possible.
Installation
------------
LILO 0.7 (and newer) is compatible with all kernels that don't support
presetting of a swap device. This change has probably occurred at some
0.97 version. If the swap device preset code is disabled, you can also
use 0.96c-pl1 (or newer) kernels.
This section describes one possible installation of LILO. Please read
"Booting basics" in the LaTeX document for the whole story.
*** QUICK INSTALLATION ***
If you want to install LILO on your hard disk and if you don't want
to use all its features, you can use the quick installation script.
Read QuickInst for details.
Normal installation:
Step 1: Extract all files from lilo.9.tar.Z in a new directory, configure
the Makefile if necessary, then run make to compile and assemble
all parts.
Step 2: Read the "LILO installer" section in this README and be sure to
understand what the command-line options do.
Step 3: Do make install to copy all LILO files to /etc/lilo
Step 4: Get a working bootimage and a rootimage. If you have reason to be
paranoid about your boot sector, mount the rootimage and copy your
current boot sector to a file on it, e.g.
dd if=/dev/hda2 of=/fd/boot_sector bs=512 count=1
Step 5: Create a shell script /etc/lilo/install that installs LILO on your
hard disk, e.g.
# cat >/etc/lilo/install
#!/bin/sh
$ROOT/etc/lilo/lilo <possibly_some_options> -C /etc/lilo/config $*
^D
# chmod 755 /etc/lilo/install
A sample /etc/lilo/install file named install.new is included in
the LILO distribution.
Then create a configuration file /etc/lilo/config, e.g.
# cat >/etc/lilo/config
install=/etc/lilo/boot.b
<image_description>
...
^D
Be sure to use absolute paths for all files. Relative paths may
cause unexpected behaviour when using the -r option.
Step 6: Now, you can check what LILO would do if you
were about to install it on your hard disk:
/etc/lilo/install -v -v -v -t
Step 7: If necessary, install a boot partition switcher. Run /etc/lilo/install
to install LILO on your hard disk. If necessary, mark that partition
"active".
Step 8: Reboot.
SCSI installation:
Like non-SCSI installation, but you might have to put the parameters of
your SCSI drive into the file /etc/lilo/disktab. The LILO map installer
issues an error message if it can't determine the parameters without
/etc/lilo/disktab.
IMPORTANT: You have to re-build the map file (i.e. run /etc/lilo/install)
whenever any of the boot images is replaced or moved (e.g. after
the kernel is recompiled.)
The boot prompt
---------------
Immediately after it's loaded, LILO checks, whether one of the following
is happening:
- any of the [Shift], [Control] or [Alt] keys is being pressed.
- [CapsLock] or [ScrollLock] is set.
If this is the case, LILO displays the boot: prompt and waits for the name
of a boot image. Otherwise, it boots the default boot image (the default
boot image is either the first boot image or the image that has been
selected at the boot prompt) or -- if a delay has been specified -- waits
for one of the listed activities until that amount of time has passed.
The boot prompt can also be invoked by sending a break if LILO has been
configured to be operated from a serial line. In this mode, input from both
the console keyboard and the serial line is accepted.
At the boot prompt, the name of the image to boot can be entered. Typing
errors can be corrected with [BackSpace], [Delete], [Ctrl U] and [Ctrl X]. A
list of known images can be obtained by pressing [?] (on the US keyboard) or
[Tab].
If [Enter] is pressed and no file name has been entered, the default image
is booted.
Images can be protected by passwords. When trying to boot such an image,
a password prompt appears and the password has to be entered. The normal
editing keys ([BackSpace], [Ctrl U], etc.) can be used.
When using a modern kernel (0.98pl3 or newer.), LILO is also able to pass
command-line options to it. Command-line options are words that follow the
name of the boot image and that are separated by spaces. Currently, the
kernel recognizes the option root=<device> and init starting with version
1.7 of Peter Orbaek's poeigl package and version 2.1 of Miquel van
Smoorenburg's SysV-style init also recognize the option single .
single boots the system in single-user mode. This bypasses all system
initialization procedures and directly starts a root shell on the console.
Multi-user mode can be entered by exiting the single-user shell or by
rebooting.
root=<device> changes the root device. This overrides settings that may
have been made in the boot image and on the LILO command line. <device> is
the hexadecimal device number.
vga=<mode> alters the VGA mode set at startup. The values NORMAL,
EXTENDED, ASK or a decimal number are recognized. EXTENDED can be
abbreviated to EXT, the mode part is case-insensitive. (See also section
"New-style configuration".)
Other options of the type "variable=<value>" than root and vga cause
the respective variables to be set in the environment passed to init. The
case of the variable name is preserved.
Example:
boot: linux single root=200
LILO always passes the string "BOOT_IMAGE=<name>" to the kernel, where
<name> is the name by which the kernel is identified (e.g. the label). This
variable can be used in /etc/rc to select different behaviour, depending on
the kernel.
When booting automatically, the word "auto" is also passed on the command
line. This can be used by init to suppress interactive prompts in the boot
phase.
LILO Installer
--------------
The LILO installer accepts the following command-line options:
-b boot_device
Sets the name of the device that contains the boot sector. If -b is
omitted, the boot sector is read from (and possibly written to) the
device that is currently mounted as root. A BIOS device code can be
specified.
-c
Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single read
request. This drastically reduces load time and keeps the map
smaller.
-C config_file
Specifies the new-style configuration file that is used by the map
installer. If -C is omitted, old-style configuration is used.
-d tsecs
Specifies the number of tenths of a second LILO should wait before
booting the first image. This is useful on systems that immediately
boot from the hard disk after enabling the keyboard. LILO doesn't
wait if -d is omitted.
-D
Selects dump mode. Dumps are used during migration from earlier
versions of LILO. -D also implies -t and disables all other
informational messages.
-f disktab_file
Specifies the name of the disk parameter table. The map installer
looks for /etc/lilo/disktab if -f is omitted.
-i boot_sector
Install the specified file as the new boot sector. If -i is omitted,
the old boot sector is modified. A BIOS device code can be specified.
-I name [ options ]
Translates the specified label name to the path of the corresponding
kernel image and prints that path on standard output. This can be
used to rebuild files that depend on the kernel (e.g. the ps
database). The image name can be obtained from the environment
variable BOOT_IMAGE. An error message is issued and a non-zero exit
code is returned if no matching label name can be found. If an
options argument is present, the following characters specify
additional filtering:
i only traditional boot images are found.
u only (compound) unstripped kernels are found.
-l
Generate linear sector addresses instead of sector/head/cylinder
addresses. Linear addresses are translated at run time and do not
depend on disk geometry. This is experimental and is not (yet)
intended for common use.
-m map_file
Specifies the location of the map file. If -m is omitted, a file
/etc/lilo/map is used. A BIOS device code can be specified.
-P
Perform certain corrections on corrupt partition tables, see
FIX-TABLE.
-q
List the currently mapped files.
-r root_dir
Change the root directory to root_dir before doing anything else.
This is typically used when running off a floppy, with the normal
root mounted at some directory. The -r option is implied if the
environment variable ROOT is set.
-R word ...
Stores the specified words in the map file. The boot loader uses
those words as the default command line when booting the next time.
That command line is removed from the map file by the boot loader
by overwriting the sector immediately after reading it. The first
word has to be the name of a boot image. If -R is not followed by
any words, the current default command line in the map file is
erased. -R is typically used in reboot scripts, e.g.
#!/bin/sh
if /etc/lilo/install -R "$*"; then
echo | shutdown -r now
fi
An error message is issued and a non-zero exit code is returned if
the command line is not accepted.
-s backup_file
Copy the old boot sector to backup_file instead of
/etc/lilo/boot.<number>
-S backup_file
Like -s, but overwrite an old backup copy if it already exists.
-t
Test only. This performs the entire installation procedure except
replacing the map file and writing the modified boot sector. This
can be used in conjunction with the -v option to verify that LILO
will use sane values.
-v
Turns on lots of progress reporting. Repeating -v will turn on more
reporting. (-v -v -v -v -v is the highest verbosity level and
displays all sector mappings before and after compaction.)
There are two ways how image files can be specified: the traditional
approach is to specify them on the command line, typically in
/etc/lilo/install. The new, preferred method uses a configuration file
/etc/lilo/config. There is a section that describes the migration
procedure.
Old-style configuration
-----------------------
If no image files are specified on the command line, the currently mapped
files are listed. Only the options -m, -v and -r can be used in this mode.
If at least one file name is specified, a new map is created for those files
and they are registered in the boot sector. If the root device has been
set in the images, it is copied into the descriptors in the boot sector.
Changing the root device specification in a boot image after the map file
has been built has no effect.
If no root device has been set (or if this is not a traditional boot image),
the current root device is used. The root device can be overridden by
appending it to the image specification, e.g.
lilo foo,/dev/hda1
^ ^
image root
Either numbers or device names can be used.
It is perfectly valid to use different root settings for the same image,
because LILO stores them in the image descriptors and not in the images
themselves. Example:
lin-hd=/linux,/dev/hda2 \
lin-fd=/linux,/dev/fd0
The image files can reside on any media that is accessible at boot time.
There's no need to put them on the root device, although this certainly
doesn't hurt.
LILO uses the first file name (without its path) of each image specification
to identify that image. A different name can be used by prefixing the
specification with <label>=, e.g.
msdos=/etc/lilo/chain.b+/dev/sda1@/dev/sda
New-style configuration
-----------------------
For new-style configuration, the file /etc/lilo/install always looks like
this:
$ROOT/etc/lilo/lilo -C /etc/lilo/config $*
The configuration information is stored in the file /etc/lilo/config and
consists of variable assignments. The following syntax rules apply:
- flag variables consist of a single word and are followed by whitespace
or the end of the file.
- string variables consist of the variable name, optional whitespace, an
equal sign, optional whitespace, the value and required whitespace or
the end of the file.
- a non-empty sequence of blanks, tabs, newlines and comments counts as
whitespace.
- variable names are case-insensitive. Values are usually case-sensitive,
but there are a few exceptions. (See below.)
- tabs and newlines are special characters and may not be part of a
variable name or a value. The use of other control characters and
non-ASCII characters is discouraged.
- blanks and equal signs may only be part of a variable name or a value
if they are escaped by a backslash. An equal sign may not be the only
character in a name or value.
- an escaped tab is converted to an escaped blank. An escaped newline is
removed from the input stream.
- comments begin with a number sign and end with the next newline. All
characters (including backslashes) until the newline are ignored.
/etc/lilo/config begins with a possibly empty options section. Most options
can also be set from the command line, but storing permanent options in the
configuration file is more convenient. The following options are recognized:
boot=boot_device is equivalent to -b boot_device.
compact is equivalent to -c.
delay=tsecs is equivalent to -d tsecs.
linear is equivalent to -l.
install=boot_sector is equivalent to -i boot_sector.
disktab=disktabfile is equivalent to -f disktab_file}.
map=map_file is equivalent to -m map_file}.
message=message_file specifies a file containing a message that is
displayed before the boot prompt. No message is displayed when waiting
for a shifting key after printing "LILO ". The FF character ([Ctrl L])
clears the local screen. The size of the message file is limited to
65535 bytes. The map file has to be rebuild if the message file is
changed or moved.
verbose=level is equivalent to level repetitions of -v. If -v is
additionally specified on the command line, level is increased.
backup=backup_file is equivalent to -s backup_file.
force-backup=backup_file is equivalent to -S backup_file.
backup=backup_file is ignored if force-backup appears in the same
configuration file.
prompt forces entering the boot prompt without expecting any prior
keypresses. Unattended reboots are impossible if prompt is set and
timeout isn't.
timeout=tsecs sets a timeout (in tenths of a second) for keyboard input.
If no key is pressed for the specified time, the first image is
automatically booted. Similarly, password input is aborted if the user
is idle for too long. The default timeout is infinite.
serial=parameters enables control from a serial line. The specified serial
port is initialized and LILO is accepting input from it and from the PC's
keyboard. Sending a break on the serial line corresponds to pressing a
shift key on the console in order to get LILO's attention. All boot
images should be password-protected if the serial access is less secure
than access to the console, e.g. if the line is connected to a modem. The
parameter string has the following syntax:
<port>,<bps><parity><bits>
The components <bps>, <parity> and <bits> can be omitted. If a component
is omitted, all following components have to be omitted too. Additionally,
the comma has to be omitted if only the port number is specified.
<port> the number of the serial port, zero-based. 0 corresponds to
/dev/ttys0 alias COM1, etc. All four ports can be used (if present).
<ps> the baud rate of the serial port. The following baud rates are
supported: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600. Default is
2400.
<parity> the parity used on the serial line. LILO ignores input parity
and strips the 8th bit. The following (upper or lower case)
characters are used to describe the parity: N for no parity, E for
even parity and O for odd parity.
<bits> the number of bits in a character. Only 7 and 8 bits are
supported. Default is 8 if parity is "none", 7 if parity is "even"
or "odd".
If serial is set, the value of delay is automatically raised to 20.
Example: serial=0,2400n8 sets COM1 to the default parameters.
fix-table allows LILO to adjust 3D addresses in partition tables. Each
partition entry contains a 3D (sector/head/cylinder) and a linear address
of the first and the last sector of the partition. If a partition is not
cylinder-aligned and if certain other operating systems (e.g. PC/MS-DOS
or OS/2) are using the same disk, they may change the 3D address. LILO
can store its boot sector only on partitions where both address types
correspond. \LILO\ re-adjusts incorrect 3D start addresses if fix-table
is set.
WARNING This does not guarantee that other operating systems may not
attempt to reset the address later. It is also possible that this
change has other, unexpected side-effects. The correct fix is to
re-partition the drive with a program that does align partitions to
cylinders.
password sets a password for all images. (See below.)
restricted relaxes the password protection. (See below.)
optional makes all images optional. (See below.)
Additionally, the kernel configuration parameters root , vga and
ramdisk can be set in the options section. They are used as defaults if
they aren't specified in the configuration sections of the respective
kernel images. See below for a description.
If the option -q is specified on the command line, the currently mapped
files are listed. Otherwise, a new map is created for the images described
in /etc/lilo/config and they are registered in the boot sector.
Each image description begins with a special variable and is followed by
optional variables. The following variables can be used for all image
descriptions that describe a Linux kernel:
root=root_device specifies the device that should be mounted as root.
If the special name current is used, the root device is set to the
device on which the root file system is currently mounted. If the root
has been changed with -r, the respective device is used. If this variable
is omitted, the root device setting that is contained in the boot image is
used. It can be changed with the rdev aka setroot program.
vga=mode specifies the VGA text mode that should be selected when
booting. The following values are recognized (case is ignored):
normal select normal 80x25 text mode.
extended select 80x50 text mode. The word "extended" can be
abbreviated to "ext".
ask stop and ask for user input (at boot time). A system where this
option is being used is unable to reboot automatically.
<number> use the corresponding text mode. A list of available
modes can be obtained by booting with vga=ask and pressing [Enter].
If this variable is omitted, the VGA mode setting that is contained in
the boot image is used. Some versions of setroot support manipulation
of the VGA text mode setting in the boot image.
ramdisk=size specifies the size of the optional RAM disk. A value of zero
indicates that no RAM disk should be created. If this variable is omitted,
the RAM disk size that is configured into the boot image is used.
The variables VGA and RAMDISK are only available when running a kernel that
supports them, e.g. 0.98pl6 and later. If one of ROOT, VGA or RAMDISK is
omitted in the configuration file and the corresponding value in the boot
image is changed, LILO will use the new value.
It is perfectly valid to use different root settings for the same image,
because LILO stores them in the image descriptors and not in the images
themselves. Example:
image = /linux
label = lin-hd
root = /dev/hda2
image = /linux
label = lin-fd
root = /dev/fd0
The image files can reside on any media that is accessible at boot time.
There's no need to put them on the root device, although this certainly
doesn't hurt.
LILO uses the main file name (without its path) of each image specification
to identify that image. A different name can be used by setting the variable
LABEL (see the example above). A different name for the same entry can be
used by specifying the ALIAS=name option.
Images are protected by a password if the variable PASSWORD is set. If the
variable RESTRICTED is set in addition to PASSWORD, a password is only
required to boot the respective image if parameters are specified on the
command line (e.g. single). PASSWORD and RESTRICTED can also be set in the
options section to be the default password and password protection mode for
all images.
If an image section contains the variable OPTIONAL (or if that variable is set
in the options section), the respective image is omitted if its main file is
not available at map creation time. This is useful to specify test kernels
that are not always present.
Boot image types
----------------
LILO can boot the following types of images:
- "classic" boot images from a file
- "classic" boot images from a device
- unstripped kernel executables
- compound unstripped kernels
- the boot sector of some other operating system
The image type is determined either by the syntax that is used for the image
specification (old-style configuration) or by the name of the initial
variable of the configuration section (new-style configuration).
Booting "classic" boot images from a file
-----------------------------------------
If defined, the root device definition is taken from the boot image.
The image is specified as follows:
OLD-STYLE
file_name [ :BIOS_code ]
I.e. /linux
NEW-STYLE
image=name
The following additional variables are recognized: root, vga, ramdisk,
password, restricted, label, alias and optional.
Example:
image = /linux
Booting "classic" boot images from a device
-------------------------------------------
The root device setting in the image is ignored. The range of sectors
that should be mapped, has to be specified. Either a range (start-end)
or a start and a distance (start+number) have to be specified. start
and end are zero-based. If only the start if specified, only that sector
is mapped.
OLD-STYLE
device_name [ :BIOS_code] #start [ -end | +number ]
I.e. /dev/fd0#1+512
NEW-STYLE
image=name
The following additional variables are recognized: root, vga, ramdisk,
password, restricted, label, alias, optional and range.
Example:
image = /dev/fd0
range = 1+512
Booting unstripped kernel executables
-------------------------------------
Unstripped kernel executables contain no root device information.
The setup code of the kernel has also to be added to the kernel. First,
it has to be copied to a suitable place and its header has to be removed,
e.g.
(dd of=/dev/null bs=32 count=1; dd) </usr/src/linux/boot/setup \
>/etc/lilo/setup.b
OLD-STYLE
The image specification looks like this:
setup_name [ :BIOS_code ] +kernel_name [ :BIOS_code ]
I.e. /etc/lilo/setup.b+/usr/src/linux/tools/system
NEW-STYLE
unstripped=name
The following additional variables are recognized: root, vga, ramdisk,
password, restricted, label, alias, optional, boot and setup.
boot=boot_sector specifies the floppy boot sector that should be loaded.
It is used to provide defaults for settings like the root device, etc.
The boot sector file can be created like the setup file. (See above.)
The recommended name for the floppy boot sector file is
/etc/lilo/bsect.b. If this variable is omitted, a zero-filled sector is
loaded instead.
setup=setup_file specifies the setup file that should be loaded. This
variable is required.
Example:
unstripped = /usr/src/linux/tools/system
setup = /etc/lilo/setup.b
Booting compound unstripped kernels
-----------------------------------
Compound unstripped kernels are like ordinary unstripped kernels, but
the kernel proper, the setup code and the floppy boot sector are in a
single file instead of three files. This avoids the risk of version
conflicts and generally makes the kernel easier to handle.
Compound kernels are generated with the mkck program. mkck is run in
the top-level directory of the kernel source and writes the kernel to
the file that has been specified on the command line. If no file has
been specified, the file name /linux is used. mkck should be run by
the kernel Makefile, e.g.
linux: $(CONFIGURE) Image
if [ -f /linux ]; then mv /linux /linux.old; fi
/etc/lilo/mkck
/etc/lilo/install
compound=name
The following additional variables are recognized: root, vga, ramdisk,
password, restricted, label, alias and optional.
Example:
compound = /linux
Booting a foreign operating system
----------------------------------
LILO can even boot other operating systems, e.g. MS-DOS. This feature
is new and may not yet work totally reliably. (Reported to work with
PC-DOS 4.0, MS-DOS 5.0 and DR-DOS 6.0.) To boot an other operating
system, the name of a loader program, the device that contains the boot
sector and the device that contains the master boot record have to be
specified.
The boot sector is merged with the partition table and stored in the map
file.
Currently, only the loader chain.b exists.
OLD_STYLE
loader+boot_dev [ :BIOS_code ] @ [ part_dev ]
I.e. /etc/lilo/chain.b+/dev/hda2@/dev/hda
NEW-STYLE
other=name
The following additional variables are recognized: password, restricted,
label, alias, optional, loader, table and unsafe.
loader=chain_loader specifies the chain loader that should be used. If
this variable is omitted, /etc/lilo/chain.b is used.
table=device specifies the device that contains the partition table.
LILO does not pass partition information to the booted operating
system if this variable is omitted. (Some operating systems have other
means to determine from which partition they has been booted.)
unsafe do not access the boot sector at map creation time. This disables
some sanity checks. If the boot sector is on a floppy disk device,
using UNSAFE avoids the need to put a readable disk into the drive when
running the map installer. UNSAFE and TABLE are mutually incompatible.
Example:
other = /dev/hda2
table = /dev/hda
LILO may create some device special files in your /tmp directory that are
not removed if an error occurs. They are named /tmp/dev.<number>.
Disk parameter table
--------------------
For floppies and IDE disks (or MFM, RLL, ESDI, etc.) and some SCSI disks,
LILO can obtain the disk geometry information from the kernel. Unfortuna-
tely, this is not possible with all SCSI adapters (The 0.99pl1 kernel
provides geometry information for Adaptec AHA-1542 and AHA-1740, Future
Domain TMC-1660 and TMC-1680 and WD-7000 adapters.) or with kernels older
than 0.99pl0. In such cases, LILO reports either the error
geo_query_dev HDIO_REQ
or
Device 0xXXXX: Got bad geometry XX/XX/XXX
The file /etc/lilo/disktab is used to describe such disks. For each device
(/dev/sda -> 0x800, /dev/sda1 -> 0x801, etc.), the BIOS code, the disk
geometry and the offset of the first sector of that partition (measured in
sectors) have to be specified, e.g.
# /etc/lilo/disktab - LILO disk parameter table
#
# This table contains disk parameters for SCSI disks and non-
# standard parameters of IDE disks. Parameters in disktab
# _always_ override auto-detected disk parameters.
# Dev. BIOS Secs/ Heads/ Cylin- Part.
# num. code track cylin. ders offset
0x800 0x80 32 64 631 0 # /dev/sda
0x801 0x80 32 64 631 32 # /dev/sda1
0x802 0x80 32 64 631 204800 # /dev/sda2
(Those parameters are just a random example from my system. However, many
SCSI controllers re-map the drives to 32 sectors and 64 heads. The number
of cylinders does not have to be exact, but it shouldn't be lower than the
number of effectively available cylinders.)
Note that the device number and the BIOS code have to be specified as
hexadecimal numbers with the 0x prefix.
The disk geometry parameters can be obtained by booting MS-DOS and running
the program DPARAM.COM with the hexadecimal BIOS code of the drive as its
argument, e.g. dparam 0x80 for the first hard disk. It displays the number
of sectors per track, the number of heads per cylinder and the number of
cylinders.
The partition offset is printed by the Linux kernel when the SCSI disk is
detected at boot time. Example:
sd0 :
part 1 start 32 size 204768 end 204799
part 2 start 204800 size 1087488 end 1292287
The first partition has an offset of 32 sectors, the second has an
offset of 204800 sectors.
Because many SCSI controllers don't support more than 1 GB when using the
BIOS interface, LILO can't access files that are located beyond the 1 GB
limit of large SCSI disks on such controllers and reports errors in these
cases.
Migration from old-style to new-style configuration
---------------------------------------------------
An existing pre-LILO 0.7 configuration can easily be replaced by a new-style
configuration. The command-line option -D dumps the current settings on
standard output. This is a typical migration procedure:
- upgrade to LILO 0.7 (or later)
- cd to /etc/lilo
- run ./install -D >config
- add new variables VIDEO and RAMDISK to /etc/lilo/config if you want to
(and if your kernel supports it).
- run ./lilo -C config -D | diff -c config -
to verify the correctness of the dump. LILO may change the order of
variables and the placement of whitespace in the second dump. It also
removes comments.
- rename /etc/lilo/install to /etc/lilo/install.old and copy install.new
from your LILO source directory to /etc/lilo/install
- add commands to create boot and setup files to the new /etc/lilo/install
if you're booting unstripped kernels.
- run /etc/lilo/install
LILO start message
------------------
When LILO loads itself, it displays the word "LILO". Each letter is printed
before or after performing some specific action. If LILO fails at some point,
the letters printed so far can be used to identify the problem.
<nothing> No part of LILO has been loaded. LILO either isn't installed or
the partition on which its boot sector is located isn't active.
L The first stage boot loader has been loaded and started, but it can't
load the second stage boot loader. This usually indicates a media failure
or a geometry mismatch (e.g. bad parameters in /etc/lilo/disktab).
LI The first stage boot loader was able to load the second stage boot
loader, but has failed to execute it. This can either be caused by a
geometry mismatch or by moving /etc/lilo/boot.b without running the map
installer.
LIL The second stage boot loader has been started, but it can't load the
descriptor table from the map file. This is typically caused by a media
failure or by a geometry mismatch.
LIL? The second stage boot loader has been loaded at an incorrect address.
This is typically caused by a subtle geometry mismatch or by moving
/etc/lilo/boot.b without running the map installer.
LIL- The descriptor table is corrupt. This can either be caused by a
geometry mismatch or by moving /etc/lilo/map without running the map
installer.
LILO All parts of LILO have been successfully loaded.
Bugs and such
-------------
Please send all bug reports to almesber@bernina.ethz.ch
