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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" />
+<title>Booting</title>
+<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7" />
+<link rel="HOME" title="Slackware Linux Essentials" href="index.html" />
+<link rel="PREVIOUS" title="xdm" href="x-window-system-xdm.html" />
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+<body class="CHAPTER" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084"
+alink="#0000FF">
+<div class="NAVHEADER">
+<table summary="Header navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"
+cellspacing="0">
+<tr>
+<th colspan="3" align="center">Slackware Linux Essentials</th>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td width="10%" align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="x-window-system-xdm.html"
+accesskey="P">Prev</a></td>
+<td width="80%" align="center" valign="bottom"></td>
+<td width="10%" align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="booting-loadlin.html"
+accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="CHAPTER">
+<h1><a id="BOOTING" name="BOOTING"></a>Chapter 7 Booting</h1>
+
+<div class="TOC">
+<dl>
+<dt><b>Table of Contents</b></dt>
+
+<dt>7.1 <a href="booting.html#BOOTING-LILO">LILO</a></dt>
+
+<dt>7.2 <a href="booting-loadlin.html">LOADLIN</a></dt>
+
+<dt>7.3 <a href="booting-dual.html">Dual Booting</a></dt>
+</dl>
+</div>
+
+<p>The process of booting your Linux system can sometimes be easy and sometimes be
+difficult. Many users install Slackware on their computer and that's it. They just turn
+it on and it's ready to use. Othertimes, simply booting the machine can be a chore. For
+most users, LILO works best. Slackware includes LILO and Loadlin for booting Slackware
+Linux. LILO will work from a hard drive partition, a hard drive's master boot record, or
+a floppy disk, making it a very versatile tool. Loadlin works from a DOS command line,
+killing DOS and invoking Linux.</p>
+
+<p>Another popular utility for booting Linux is GRUB. GRUB is not included or officially
+supported by Slackware. Slackware holds to the &#8220;tried and true&#8221; standard for
+what gets included inside the distribution. While GRUB works well and includes some
+features that LILO does not, LILO handles all the essential tasks of a boot loader
+reliably with a proven track record. Being younger, GRUB hasn't quite lived up to that
+legacy yet. As it is not included with Slackware, we do not discuss it here. If you wish
+to use GRUB (perhaps it came with another Linux OS and you want to use it to dual-boot)
+consult GRUB's documentation.</p>
+
+<p>This section covers using LILO and Loadlin, the two booters included with Slackware.
+It also explains some typical dual booting scenarios and how you could go about setting
+it up.</p>
+
+<div class="SECT1">
+<h1 class="SECT1"><a id="BOOTING-LILO" name="BOOTING-LILO">7.1 LILO</a></h1>
+
+<p>The Linux Loader, or LILO, is the most popular booter in use on Linux systems. It is
+quite configurable and can easily be used to boot other operating systems.</p>
+
+<p>Slackware Linux comes with a menu-driven configuration utility called <tt
+class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt>. This program is first run during the setup process, but
+you can invoke it later by typing <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> at the prompt.</p>
+
+<p>LILO reads its settings from the <tt class="COMMAND">/etc/lilo.conf</tt>(5) file. It
+is not read each time you boot up, but instead is read each time you install LILO. LILO
+must be reinstalled to the boot sector each time you make a configuration change. Many
+LILO errors come from making changes to the <tt class="FILENAME">lilo.conf</tt> file, but
+failing to re-run lilo to install these changes. <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> will
+help you build the configuration file so that you can install LILO for your system. If
+you prefer to edit <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/lilo.conf</tt> by hand, then reinstalling
+LILO just involves typing <tt class="COMMAND">/sbin/lilo</tt> (as <tt
+class="USERNAME">root</tt>) at the prompt.</p>
+
+<p>When you first invoke <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt>, it will look like this:</p>
+
+<div class="FIGURE"><a id="BOOTING-SETUP-LILO" name="BOOTING-SETUP-LILO"></a>
+<p><b>Figure 7-1. <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt></b></p>
+
+<p><img src="booting/setup-lilo-w.png" /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>If this is your first time setting up LILO, you should pick simple. Otherwise, you
+might find expert to be faster if you are familiar with LILO and Linux. Selecting simple
+will begin the LILO configuration.</p>
+
+<p>If kernel frame buffer support is compiled into your kernel, <tt
+class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> will ask which video resolution you would like to use.
+This is the resolution that is also used by the XFree86 frame buffer server. If you do
+not want the console to run in a special video mode, selecting normal will keep the
+standard 80x25 text mode in use.</p>
+
+<p>The next part of the LILO configuration is selecting where you want it installed. This
+is probably the most important step. The list below explains the installation places:</p>
+
+<div class="VARIABLELIST">
+<dl>
+<dt><var class="OPTION">Root</var></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>This option installs LILO to the beginning of your Linux root partition. This is the
+safest option if you have other operating systems on your computer. It ensures that any
+other booters are not overwritten. The disadvantage is that LILO will only load from here
+if your Linux drive is the first drive on your system. This is why many people chose to
+create a very small <tt class="FILENAME">/boot</tt> partition as the first drive on their
+system. This allows the kernel and LILO to be installed at the beginning of the drive
+where LILO can find them. Previous versions of LILO contained an infamous flaw known as
+the &#8220;1024 cylinder limit&#8221;. LILO was unable to boot kernels on partitions past
+the 1024th cylinder. Recent editions of LILO have eliminated this problem.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt><var class="OPTION">Floppy</var></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>This method is even safer than the previous one. It creates a boot floppy that you can
+use to boot your Linux system. This keeps the booter off the hard disk entirely, so you
+only boot this floppy when you want to use Slackware. The flaws with this method are
+obvious. Floppies are notoriously fickle, prone to failures. Secondly, the boot loader is
+no longer self-contained within the computer. If you loose your floppy disk, you'll have
+to make another to boot your system.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt><var class="OPTION">MBR</var></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>You will want to use this method if Slackware is the only operating system on your
+computer, or if you will be using LILO to choose between multiple operating systems on
+your computer. This is the most preferred method for installing LILO and will work with
+almost any computer system.</p>
+
+<div class="WARNING">
+<table class="WARNING" width="90%" border="0">
+<tr>
+<td width="25" align="CENTER" valign="TOP"><img src="./imagelib/admon/warning.png"
+hspace="5" alt="Warning" /></td>
+<td align="LEFT" valign="TOP">
+<p>This option will overwrite any other booter you have in the MBR.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</dd>
+</dl>
+</div>
+
+<p>After selecting the installation location, <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> will
+write the configuration file and install LILO. That's it. If you select the expert mode
+you will receive a special menu. This menu allows you to tweak the <tt
+class="FILENAME">/etc/lilo.conf</tt> file, add other operating systems to your boot menu,
+and set LILO to pass special kernel parameters at boot time. The expert menu looks like
+this:</p>
+
+<div class="FIGURE"><a id="BOOTING-LILO-EXPERT" name="BOOTING-LILO-EXPERT"></a>
+<p><b>Figure 7-2. <tt class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> Expert Menu</b></p>
+
+<p><img src="booting/setup-lilo-expert-w.png" /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Whatever your system configuration is, setting up a working boot loader is easy. <tt
+class="COMMAND">liloconfig</tt> makes setting it up a cinch.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="NAVFOOTER">
+<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" />
+<table summary="Footer navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"
+cellspacing="0">
+<tr>
+<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"><a href="x-window-system-xdm.html"
+accesskey="P">Prev</a></td>
+<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="index.html"
+accesskey="H">Home</a></td>
+<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top"><a href="booting-loadlin.html"
+accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"><tt class="COMMAND">xdm</tt></td>
+<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top">&nbsp;</td>
+<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">LOADLIN</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+