Lilo - Boot Loader

/etc/lilo.conf

message = /boot/message
timeout = 80
prompt
default = Linux
boot = /dev/hda

image = /boot/memtest.bin
* * label = MemoryTest
* * optional
* * append = ""

image = /boot/vmlinuz
* * label = Linux
* * initrd = /boot/initrd
* * optional
* * root = /dev/hda8
* * vga = 0x31a
* * append = "splash=silent desktop showopts"

other = /dev/hda1
* * label = Windows

image = /boot/vmlinuz
* * label = Failsafe
* * initrd = /boot/initrd
* * optional
* * root = /dev/hda8
* * vga = normal
* * append = "showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 3"

Dual boot with windows on same harddisk

what about linux on master drive and windows on slave??

i have no issues with them on the same drive, but make a windows drive slave and all hell breaks loose.
a book i have doesnt go into details about that issue and simply told me to add "loader = /boot/any_d.b" to the other stanza. by the way the book is "running Linux" 4th edition

Well that is a windows problem. Windows MUST be on the primary drive. Don't ask me why but it is like that

Originally posted by Vir@s@Aug 8 2004, 06:32
Windows MUST be on the primary drive. Don't ask me why but it is like that

This is absolutely right. I had to install Windoze first on my machine, then Linux (same hdd). Windows MUST be on the primary drive, installed first. LILO overrides the Windoze bootloader afterwards when you install Linux, that is, IF you want Linux to be your default system. If not, then it's much more difficult to deal with.

Order of installation should ALWAYS be Windoze first, then Linux. When dual or multi-booting, in general, though, whatever O.S., it should be earliest O.S. to latest. Makes a HUGE diff in the bootloader.

Windows, btw, needs to be on the primary drive, as it has similar requirements to Linux; that being that the MBR MUST be written within the first of a certain number of sectors on the primary partition.

Another thing too; in order to ensure that the MBR is/stays where it should, before installing Linux to a dual-boot system, run a thorough scandisk and defrag on any Windows system in place, first and foremost, so that LILO (or GRUB, for that matter) can be sure to "find" (correctly override and install) its MBR when you install Linux.

I always install XOSL as my boot loader when installing a machine for myself from scratch.

The great thing about XOSL is that using only a floppy you can restore booting, so that for example you can install Windows98, WinXP and Linux all together in pretty much any order, and when windows tramples over each other's boot blocks, after each one just run XOSL and restore.

XOSL lives in its own partition, so is more robust than many other boot managers.

Paul