RE: Installing LILO in MBR or in another partition

["Jason Holland" <jphollan@earthlink.net>]

> In "Running Linux", the example lilo.conf includes the line
>
>    boot = /dev/hda

this is used if LILO will be the controlling boot manager for the system.
The bios will read this first when the system is turned on.

>
> This will install LILO into the master boot record (MBR) of hda.  The
> explanation continues "If you give a partition device name (such as
> /dev/hda2), instead of a drive device, LILO will be installed as a
> secondary boot loader on the named partition.  (Debian users should
> always do this.)"

Here, you can install LILO at the root of another partition and use another
boot manager to "point" to that partition and boot debian. for instance, NT
boot manager, or Partition Magic's boot manager, or system commander or
anything else.  that sounds like what you are doing.

>
> I can't find an explanation of why Debian users cannot put LILO into
> the MBR of the disk.  I've currently got grub in the MBR (the result
> of installing Mandrake in a spare partition after installing Debian).
> To boot Debian, grub then runs LILO installed in /dev/hda2.  It's not
> terribly elegant.

there really isn't any reason not to, unless you are dual booting and,
depending on what other os you have, you want LILO to be responsible for
managing that.

>
> Please could someone explain whether it is safe to install LILO in the
> MBR?  Alternatively, what *can* I put in the MBR to replace the
> current installation of grub (whose configuration is sitting in the
> Mandrake partition)?

It is safe to install LILO in the MBR, given a few factors such as the size
of your drive.  the kernel must exist in the first 1024 cylinders because of
limitations in LILO.  run /sbin/lilo -U to remove lilo from the root of
/dev/hda2, then just change your lilo.conf line to say boot = /dev/hda and
rerun /sbin/lilo to install in your MBR.  it should safely overwrite grub,
but just in case it doesn't, make sure you create a boot disk before
attempting this, so you can get back into your system.  hope this helps!

jason