Help with Multi-boot in Lilo

[o3greg]

Hello All,

I have just installed knoppix 3.3 running kde 3.2 onto my desktop which already had redhat 9 and windows XP installed. The thing now is that whenever I boot up lilo doesnt register my redhat system. I've tried configuring the lilo.conf file by adding the following:

other=/dev/hda2 (my redhat partition)
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.20-8 (what's in my /'boot/ directory)
label="RedHat9"
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.20-8.img
read-only
#restricted
#alias=5

and when I run lilo in console i get the following message:

Added Knoppix3.3 *
Skipping /vmlinuz.old
Added Windows(hdc1)
Added WinNT(hda1)
Fatal: First sector of /dev/hda2 doesn't have a valid boot signature

so the magic question is how to I get lilo to detect my redhat 9 partition?


btw im new to linux so any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[DuckDodgers]

Try cfdisk or qtparted and set the partition as bootable. Then run lilo.

[CrashedAgain]

Here is my lilo.conf:
#Boots Knoppix on hda5
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.26
label="Knoppix24"
root=/dev/hda5
initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.4.26
append="lang=us apm=power-off ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init nomce quiet nofstab wheelmouse"
read-only

#boots Knoppix on hda5
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.6
label="Linux(new)"
root=/dev/hda5
initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.6
append="lang=us apm=power-off ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init nomce nofstab wheelmouse"
read-only

#boots Mandrake on hda8
image=/mnt/hda8/boot/vmlinuz
label="Linux(old)"
root=/dev/hda8
initrd=/mnt/hda8/boot/initrd.img
append="devfs=mount hdc=ide-scsi acpi=ht resume=/dev/hda6"
read-only

other=/dev/hda1
label="Windows"
table=/dev/hda

Some thing similar shoud work for you.
(hda8 must be mounted when you run lilo.)

[baldyeti]

Fatal: First sector of /dev/hda2 doesn't have a valid boot signature
Before you installed knoppix, were you booting from a boot loader (lilo or grub) redhat had installed? It appears you probably had it installed to MBR, _not_ to your (redhat) root hda2 - hence the above message. Also, do you have a separate /boot partition possibky mounted under /boot both under rh and knx?

I guess the easiest thing to do is add RedHat to your knoppix lilo install, referring to it through /mnt/hda2 (which has to be mounted when running lilo), so a section similar to the following should do:

image=/mnt/hda2/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.20-8
label="RedHat9"
initrd=/mnt/hda2/boot/initrd-2.4.20-8.img
root=/dev/hda2
append=...whatever your RH kernel needs...
read-only

[jjmac]

Howdy o3greg


>>
==================================
other=/dev/hda2 (my redhat partition)
==================================
.
.
.

and when I run lilo in console i get the following
message:

Added Knoppix3.3 *
Skipping /vmlinuz.old
Added Windows(hdc1)
Added WinNT(hda1)
Fatal: First sector of /dev/hda2 doesn't have a
valid boot signature

so the magic question is how to I get lilo to
detect my redhat 9 partition?
>>

The reason you get the message that the First sector
of /dev/hda2 dosen't have a valid boot signature,
is because it dosen't. Linux boots directly via the
kernel, rather than using an external boot
sector. Thus the use of the "image=" setting
pointing directly at the lernel image.

Most OS's, such as Windows, BSD, and others, will
have a boot sector located on the first sector of
their main partition. Which will be referenced by
the MBR's loader. It in turn will commonly reference
a number of other files to effect the OS's boot
process.

The "other=" setting that Lilo uses is designed to
facilitate these other, non-Linux systems. It's
also designed to work with the "chainloader+1"
setting, which allows you to jump to an other
sector on that partition, if it was so needed. That
is, the OS's boot sector was damaged and
you had a backup stored further into the
partition. Or you were developing another loader
file or something.

As there is no boot loader installed on
Red Hat's partition's first sector, the message is
correct.


Get rid of the "other=" setting


You could use "other=" if you really wanted
to, but you would have to point it at the actual
kernel image itself, which has a loader on it's
first sector anyway. But then a number of other
settings which are designed to work with the "image="
setting wouldn't be available. Such as using a
different "root=" setting. Also there is a
slightly greater over head involved in using "other="


Yep, delete the "other=" setting for Red Hat, the
rest of the config is OK.

As long as the directories which hold your
kernel images are mounted, then running "lilo"
will update the map file. It dosen't matter
where you mount them for that.

:)

jm

[o3greg]

Thanks guys... i can now successfully run the multi-boot system. thanks for all your help!