Bug#64823: incorrect LILO automatic placement on i386

[cmartin@ipnl.in2p3.fr]

Package: boot-floppies
Version: 2.2.13-2000-05-04
Severity: critical

Hello,


I have a disk ``factory clean'' with no MBR.
No primary partition on the disk, only logical. / = /dev/hda6
I plan to install LILO on the MBR. The install procedure will not let me
do that, It give me only the option to install LILO somewhere it can't be
reached.
==> System won't restart.

Here is what I did :

The disk is formatted like this :
Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 1027 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1             1      1027   8249346    5  Extended
/dev/hda5             1        31    248944+  82  Linux swap
/dev/hda6            32       298   2144646   83  Linux
/dev/hda7           299       541   1951866   83  Linux
/dev/hda8           542       784   1951866   83  Linux
/dev/hda9           785      1027   1951866   83  Linux

I choose "make linux directly bootable from hard disk"

Then a dialog box says my disk is factory clean.
Then a dialog box asks for an MBR. I answer no
then another dialog ask for where to put lilo. I answer on the MBR.
Then a dialog says to me I have to install on /dev/hda1, and it does install
on /dev/hda1. The message goes like this :

The boot partition is a logical partition. It can't boot from there, so you
must install the MBR in one of the following extended partitions. Please
select the partition to use.
	/dev/hda1


This is very bad because :
  1) I have no MBR
  2) even if I had one, /dev/hda1 is not marked as bootable, and it is
     not automagically marked as bootable. I could not make /dev/hda1
     bootable because cfdisk did not show the extended partition.

The system did not reboot. that's why I though the severity should be
set to critical. I had an "insert system disk" message from the PC bios.

I manage to finish the installation like this : I reboot with the boot
floppies, typing "linux root=/dev/hda6" at the boot prompt. After system
installation complete, I edit lilo.conf to install LILO on the mbr :
boot=/dev/hda. I run lilo and everything goes well.


	Christophe
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