Re: Linux wannabe
On Monday 26 March 2001 10:01, D-Man wrote:
> (I have just figured out how to get the internet from my dial-up
> modem so I'm a bit behind on the mail)
>
> I have recently switched from RH to Debian. I don't think the
> install is unfriendly at all, though it doesn't have the pretty GTK
> graphics of RH's. apt-get is awesome.
>
> I haven't seen anyone else mention bootloaders, so I will. My
> recommendation is to make a LILO boot disk when the installer asks
> you to. Don't install it on the MBR! If it isn't configured right
> you may not be able to boot windows (or debian). I tried LILO
> myself, and on my machine with my BIOS it didn't work. When asked
> to add linux to a win2k box at work I tried lilo first. I couldn't
> get a lilo floppy to dual-boot the system. LILO would also have
> had trouble on the MBR since the kernal was above the 1024 cylinder
> mark. I had heard good things about grub on this list so I decided
> to try it. Piece of cake! It works like a charm as well. Not only
> thah, but I tried it on my PC at home that lilo couldn't handle and
> it worked just as beautifully.
>
> http://www.gnu.org/software/grub
>
> Debian has a package for it, but it isn't in potato (current stable
> release). I installed it by getting a floppy and copying the
> binary image provided on the web site. Just print the manual, put
> the disk in and reboot.
>
> One of the best things about grub is that you can configure it when
> you boot. It gives a nice menu and command-line interface. Also
> it chainloads winows without any effort at all (unlike LILO).
>
> I now have grub on my MBR and won't go back to use lilo.
>
My annoyance with grub is precisely because it has this stage1/stage2
feature. Obviously you can't jam them into the MBR. So GRUB starts
looking elsewhere in the disk. If you repartition, you could lose
these files and you will wind up with an unbootable system. I don't
know if LILO can fit all of itself in the MBR, but from experience I
can repartition at will.
STILL, I am a happy grub user. Its bash-like command line (with name
completion and command history!) is something else.
BTW, I compiled my grub from the debian unstable source. I saved on
trees by switching from VT to VT to read the info pages.
Reply to: