🚀 go-pugleaf

Scott Harris <scott@dstc.edu.au> writes:
> Here lies my problem : I'm installing redhat 4.1 onto my drive from a 
> spare partition. Install goes fine, until it gets to the LILO install.
> It refuses to install properly, saying it found an error. The disk is
> a WD 540Meg drive, and the spare partition is on the second disk - a
> small maxtor drive.

... on the second disk?  In this case LILO must be installed in the
MBR of the first one.  If you don't want to do that, use "LOADLIN".

> Anyhow, I've tried reformatting the install drive, to no avail. On boot
> my system comes up with the "LI" of "LILO", and then just sits there. 

LILO communicates by giving you a bit of it's prompt for every step of
your boot up process.  In this case it's telling you:
"The first stage boot loader was able to load the second stage boot
loader, but failed to execute it.  This can either be caused by a
geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/boot.b without running the map
installer" (quoted from the LILO manual).

In this case, given it's and older drive, I suggest LILO can't figure
out the disk geometry.  Or the BIOS HD parameters are set up
incorrectly.  Make sure you put in the correct number of cylinders,
heads, sectors.  For IDE drives you can usually double the number of
heads if you half the number of cylinders - some BIOSes and DOS like
that better - as long as the total sector count is not changed.

It is also possible to tell LILO the disk geometry, but I
have no time to look that up.

Alternatively, you could use "loadlin" from DOS.  loadlin is in my
opinion a better choice for beginners.  There should be documentation
on your Linux CD.
-- 
Manfred Bartz <mbartz@werple.net.au>