Slackware Linux Essentials
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Chapter 7 Booting

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Table of Contents
7.1 LILO
7.2 LOADLIN
7.3 Dual Booting

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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.

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Another popular utility for booting Linux is GRUB. GRUB is not included or officially -supported by Slackware. Slackware holds to the “tried and true” 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.

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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.

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7.1 LILO

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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.

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Slackware Linux comes with a menu-driven configuration utility called liloconfig. This program is first run during the setup process, but -you can invoke it later by typing liloconfig at the prompt.

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LILO reads its settings from the /etc/lilo.conf(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 lilo.conf file, but -failing to re-run lilo to install these changes. liloconfig will -help you build the configuration file so that you can install LILO for your system. If -you prefer to edit /etc/lilo.conf by hand, then reinstalling -LILO just involves typing /sbin/lilo (as root) at the prompt.

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When you first invoke liloconfig, it will look like this:

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Figure 7-1. liloconfig

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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.

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If kernel frame buffer support is compiled into your kernel, liloconfig 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.

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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:

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Root

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 /boot 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 “1024 cylinder limit”. LILO was unable to boot kernels on partitions past -the 1024th cylinder. Recent editions of LILO have eliminated this problem.

Floppy

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.

MBR

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.

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This option will overwrite any other booter you have in the MBR.

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After selecting the installation location, liloconfig 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 /etc/lilo.conf 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:

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Figure 7-2. liloconfig Expert Menu

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Whatever your system configuration is, setting up a working boot loader is easy. liloconfig makes setting it up a cinch.

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`xdm`		LOADLIN