[ale] Newbie install question

[rhiann3n wyrcat]

On Wed, 15 Dec 1999 tom at watson.st wrote:

> I have installed RH 6.1 about three times on a 
> machine now and everytime I get to the bootloader
> screen I get a failure whether I pick the master
> boot record or the first partition. I can get by
> the failure but then LILO will not start (the 
> boot hangs). The only way I can boot is with a 
> boot disk.
> That's not terrible but its a pain.
> Is this a common problem or is there a way to 
> install LILO after the RH 6.1 install is finished.
> I cannot find this problem in the HOWTOs, but if
> anyone knows where to read about it, please let 
> me know.

(referenced/copied/plagarized from
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Bootdisk-HOWTO-12.html
- good stuff there...)

"When LILO loads itself, 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. The two-digit error codes indicate
the type of problem. (See also section ``Disk error codes''.) This
condition usually indicates a media failure or a geometry mismatch (e.g.
bad disk parameters) 

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 /boot/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
/boot/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 /boot/map without running the map installer. 

LILO

All parts of LILO have been successfully loaded. 

If the BIOS signals an error when LILO is trying to load a boot image,
the respective error code is displayed. These codes range from 0x00
through 0xbb. See the LILO User Guide for an explanation of these."
--------------- 

Further info on the geometry mismatch mentioned above found at:  
http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/Large-Disk  
(also filled with excellent stuff) which explains in more detail why
low-level formatting the drive may be helpful in overcoming the problem.

"Eric Z. Ayers" wrote:
> 
> I don't think you can low-level format most IDE
> drives. If this is some big mo IDE drive, maybe you
> just need to add 'linear' to the /etc/lilo.conf and
> re-run lilo.

&
"Glenn C. Lasher Jr." wrote:
> 
> I understand that this is a common problem, I have
> encountered it on a system I installed for a friend
> of mine, and another friend of mine tells me he has
> encountered it several times.  My own system doesn't
> have this problem.  My guess is that this is because
> my system needs the "Linear Access" option to be
> enabled (mine is SCSI, all the others mentioned are
> EIDE).  You might try reinstalling LILO using the
> linear option, simply
> add the line:
> 
> linear
> 
> to the global section of your /etc/lilo.conf file
> and type "lilo" at the next command line (as root,
> of course) and that should fix it, hopefully.
 

The suggestion to add the 'linear' keyword in /etc/lilo.conf helps both
SCSI & (E)IDE drives handle geometry problems by telling Lilo to use
linear sector addresses instead of sector/head/cylinder tuples.

Personally, I've never encountered a problem low-level formatting any
IDE drive (doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just means I've never had that
headache), but I have run across numerous BIOS's that could not or would
not offer to allow it. My solution so far has been to just pop the drive
into a box with an intelligent BIOS, but not everyone has a dozen +/-
bootable boxes filling up their living room =).

rhia
--
To unsubscribe: mail majordomo at ale.org with "unsubscribe ale" in message body.