🚀 go-pugleaf

> 1. I am unable to boot linux off the primary root partition.

Hello,

What do you mean under primary root partition? I have never heard about
"secondary" root partition.

> I have installed LILO on the primary root partition, and have flagged
> this partition as bootable,

Linux doesn't need the active (bootable) flag. In fact, you can have
multiple Linux installations with different root partitions on the same
disk.

> off it.  Whenever I do, I get "LI" being displayed, which suggests that
> > LILO does not to recognise the disk geometry of the hard drive.

Excerpt from /usr/doc/lilo*/README:

   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.

> Note that I have done the proper thing of creating and installing LILO
> below cylinder 1024, as the HOWTO's suggest.

If you use lilo for booting, then it should be in the first sector of
the disk. If you regularly use windows, then you can have it boot
Linux. Both Windows9x and NT can boot Linux.

> 3. Problems shutting down linux.
>     Every time I try to shutdown linux with the halt option, I get a whole
> lot of
>     junk of what seems to be machine code being displayed on the last
>     (halt) command.

What messages? These can refer to hardware problems.

Vilmos