| Configuration
files:
The /etc/lilo.conf No matter how stable your OS is, it can do nothing if it can not boot. Your install wizard usually does all the "dirty" work, but if you want to change something, the wizard might remake the /etc/lilo.conf, which you might not want. Learning to edit this file without mistakes will allow you to do more things in less time. Additionally, lilo is more capable that it appears to be, and you might solve situations that normally would force you to use a boot manager. First of all, see what the configuration of lilo is by typing: less /etc/lilo.conf Backing up the boot record: see: boot = /dev/hda lilo has been placed to the MBR of the Primary Master Hard Disk. If you edit this as root to: boot = /dev/fd0 and save it , then placing a floppy in the drive and calling lilo as root: lilo a copy of the lilo loader will be placed in the floppy nomatter whether the floppy is full or not! Q: Even full? A: Yes, because we simply create a boot record in the first 256 bytes of the floppy! So, even if an unpolite OS cleans lilo away of your Hard Disk, you can boot linux whenever you want. Edit lilo again and place the initial parameter boot = /dev/hda It is if nothing happened and you have a backup boot record! Caution: This Is Not a boot disk since it has no kernel. Extensive editing: Edit only what you really need for example: If you instructed the loader's waiting time too much edit it and find: timeout = 150 This is a setting in tenths of seconds You can safely change it to : timeout = 50 Remember, for your changes to take effect, call lilo as root. I came once to a problem, where I installed FreeBSD and rebooted without configuring its boot parameters. I added to lilo other=/dev/hda2 label= FreeBSD after the parameter that boots by default. Things got well! And by the way FreeBSD Is Great! Just adding also by hand: other = /dev/hda1 label = Dos table = /dev/hda Can boot a Dos-Windows 9x or Windows NT based OS, hypothetically located at the first primary partition of the primary master hard disk. Labels can be configured as you like but but please create simple names. A problem might occur, in booting a Dos/win9x system in slave disks and is now mentioned in the TrickMe page. Additionally: You can boot Linux from dos through loadlin, and from Windows NT with NtLoader and is now mentioned in the TrickMe page also.
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