🚀 go-pugleaf

In aus.computers.linux,
Zebee Johnstone <zebee@zipper.zip.com.au> wrote:
> My hard disk refuses to boot.  LILO comes up as
> LIL-
> 
> According to the Lilo doco, this means "descriptor table has
> an incorrect checksum"
> 
> So..  how can I rebuild this descriptor table?

Find a boot floppy that will get you a shell...
If you don't have one, the simplest way I found to get a shell prompt
was to insert the redhat installation floppy, and proceed as if I was
going to 'upgrade' the package...

At some point along the way, a shell prompt appears in the alt-f2
console window... I think that point is just after you specify which
partition is your root partition or something like that.

If you use the redhat boot floppy shell method, then I *think* the root
partition will be mounted for you on /mnt, if not, go hunting, and
modify the instruction below as appropriate.

If you've used some other boot floppy, then get the root partition
mounted somewhere, then proceed.

Once you have a shell... then try:

    /mnt/sbin/lilo -r /mnt

Excerpted from the lilo(1) man page:

       -r root-directory
              Before doing anything else,  do  a  chroot  to  the
              indicated  directory.  Used  for  repairing a setup
              from a boot floppy.

That should reinstall lilo for you, at which point you should be able to
reboot again, unless something is *really* broken.

Yours,

    David

PS:  The redhat specific advice is 'cos I know what Zebee's running. :)

-- 
Unico   Computer   Systems   Pty   Ltd
David Goh            Software Engineer
david@unico.com.au      (03) 9866 5688