WARNING: As they say in the LILO docs, installing boot
loaders is inherently dangerous. Be careful out there!
These are the options you can use at the Slackware LILO
install menu:
1. Start LILO configuration with a new LILO header.
This choice allows you to start a new configuration
file, /etc/lilo.conf, with no OS's entered into it
(yet).
You'll first be asked if you want to use an optional
append="...." line. If you didn't need to use extra
parameters at the bootkernel prompt, then you can
probably just hit ENTER here.
You will be asked where you want to install LILO. This
can be your Master Boot Record, your root partition's
superblock (for OS/2's Boot Manager), or to a
formatted floppy disk.
Next, you'll be asked if you want a delay before
booting the first OS in your lilo.conf file. This delay
allows you to hit left-shift and boot any OS in the
lilo.conf file by typing in the label you've given it.
Once you've started a new lilo.conf, you must add at
least one OS to it before you can install LILO.
2. Menu choices to add Linux, OS/2, and DOS to the lilo.conf.
These all pretty much work the same way. You'll be asked
which partition you want to make bootable (answer
/dev/hda1 or whatever partition you wish to use), and
you'll also be asked to assign a label to the partition.
The label can be any short word such as "Linux" or "OS/2"
that you'll type in later to boot that partition. The boot
prompt is not case-sensitive, so the user can type LINUX or
os/2 later on and it will match the labels Linux and OS/2.
3. Install LILO
Once you've looked at your new config file and are
satisfied with the way it looks, pick this choice to
install LILO and leave the LILO installation menu.
Other options:
-- Recycle (Reinstall) using your original /etc/lilo.conf.
If you already have an /etc/lilo.conf, and you just need to
refresh lilo then you don't need to reconstruct your
lilo.conf. Just use this menu choice to reinstall LILO
using the existing /etc/lilo.conf.
-- View your current /etc/lilo.conf
If you haven't begun building a new lilo.conf, this choice
will let you take a look at the existing one in /etc on your
root Linux partition.
If you have begun constructing a new lilo.conf, this option
will let you view the progress on that.
-- Skip LILO installation and exit this menu
This option skips LILO installation. Use this if you don't
want to install LILO, or if you've already installed it and
don't need to reinstall. You have to reinstall LILO whenever
you change your Linux kernel.
-- Help - Read the Linux Loader HELP file
I hope you found it helpful! :^)
-----------
Other LILO information:
LILO on the Master Boot Record can be removed easily.
MS-DOS's fdisk has a /MBR option that restores the master
boot record. You can actually restore your original boot
sector from the copy LILO makes in /boot, as well. This is
the best way to go about it. See the LILO docs for more
information. There is also a '-u' flag to LILO that restores
the boot sector from the backup copy. Again, see the LILO
docs for detailed info.
