problem with lilo as boot manager

[sovavto]

Hi,
I've installed VL 4.0 (it is on /dev/hdb1 with ext3 file system)
My windows95 system is on /dev/hda1 (with FAT16).

I can boot to Windows OK (after I restored by MBR) directly from /dev/hda (where MBR resides)
I can boot to VL 4.0 using a book diskette.

/dev/hda is a 1.7GB hard drive with 1 primary partition in FAT16
/dev/hdb is a 8.4GB hard drive where partition 1 is ext3, partition 2 is swap, and partition 3 is ext 3 (currently empty).

However, whenever I try to install LILO (after configuring it in VL) to the MBR (/dev/hda), next boot gives me this output:
"L 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 " and this repeats for a few lines.

As far as I can tell 40 is the "disk seek error".

Any ideas what is wrong with my setup?

Thanks

[MikeCindi]

There may be several other reasons for that particular output but the only time it has happened to me is when lilo can't find the OS (i.e. it's looking for something in a bootsector that's not there). Perhaps booting to VL with your diskette and then manually editing the /etc/lilo.conf to load in the MBR and to point at the appropriate places for VL and W95 would solve the problems.
HTH,
Mike

[uelsk8s]

hope this helps   

When the first
       stage loader gets control, it types the letter "L"; when it is ready to transfer control to the second  stage  loader
       it  types the letter "I".  If any error occurs, like a disk read error, it will put out a hexadecimil error code, and
       then it will re-try the operation.  All hex error codes are BIOS return values, except for the lilo-generated 40,  99
       and 9A.  A partial list of error codes follows:

              00  no error
              01  invalid disk command
              02  address mark not found
              03  disk write-protected
              04  sector not found
              06  floppy disk removed
              08  DMA overrun
              0A  bad sector flag
              0B  bad track flag
              20  controller failure
              40  seek failure (BIOS)
              40  cylinder>1023 (LILO)
              99  invalid second stage index sector (LILO)
              9A  no second stage loader signature (LILO)

[sovavto]

Thanks for the replies... I already know that both systems works (win95 with the original MBR and VL when it is booted with a diskette and pointed to "root = linux /dev/dhb1/ ro").
Would you have any idea why then the lilo record which VL tries to write results in the error 40? I've looked at various posts about editing lilo.configuration file, but it does not seem that there are any variables which control WHERE this lilo boot record will physicall go). It seems that in my case the problem is not so much with "what" is in the lilo boot record but rather "where" BIOS is attempting to seach for the boot record.
Any ideas?
Thanks.

[Joe1962]

I've looked at various posts about editing lilo.configuration file, but it does not seem that there are any variables which control WHERE this lilo boot record will physicall go).

But there is. Look in /etc/lilo.conf for something like: "boot=/dev/hda". This is where the boot record is written to when you run "lilo" in a root console.

It seems that in my case the problem is not so much with "what" is in the lilo boot record but rather "where" BIOS is attempting to seach for the boot record.

Where the BIOS looks is defined in the BIOS setup of your PC.

[newt]

I've looked at various posts about editing lilo.configuration file, but it does not seem that there are any variables which control WHERE this lilo boot record will physicall go).

But there is. Look in /etc/lilo.conf for something like: "boot=/dev/hda". This is where the boot record is written to when you run "lilo" in a root console.

It seems that in my case the problem is not so much with "what" is in the lilo boot record but rather "where" BIOS is attempting to seach for the boot record.

Where the BIOS looks is defined in the BIOS setup of your PC.

I'm still learning.  I always thought that the 'boot=...' options defined which hard drive the /boot directory was located on.  Thanks for setting me straight

[MikeCindi]

If you want lilo in the MBR of /dev/hda then you would modify the line /etc/lilo.conf as Joe1962 had indicated but there are other options if you didn't want lilo to be the "master" boot manager. There are several other posts about using other boot managers with Windows and Linux on the forum. One recent such thread discussed bootpart (http://www.vectorlinux.com/forum2/index.php?topic=1073.0). Another is here: http://www.vectorlinux.com/forum2/index.php?topic=487.0. Perhaps these will be of some use to you if you have not already perused those threads. As far as where you BIOS is looking it would seem to have found a broken lilo install and lilo is generating the output that you have received.
HTH,
Mike

[rbistolfi]

To add a choice to the posts above, you can boot the VL install cd, and there is an option at the install programm to fix lilo. It works for me, but you need to write the MBR in the rigth HD, or as Joe suggested, change your BIOS settings to match the lilo config.