[LILO, UBUNTU]

[ultrasonicsite]

  I can see why linux isn't exactly for the average person, I have to do things manually, and every time I do I ruin my computer.

I was just trying to get LILO, I'm used to the easy, noob friendly, automatically configuring GRUB, to notice my UBUNTU partition.

Then it asked me about some hda or sda, What?!

Pressed some random options, clicked randomly here and there, and now I'm afraid I nuked my LILO setup, on the positive side it noticed some DOS partition, how? I don't know, I only have linux installed/

What should I do?

[M0E-lnx]

Lilo will label Fat16 partitions as "DOS" partitions I think

There are a couple of ways to fix your boot loader problem
Use the install CD to boot your box, and at the promt, select the LILO setup

If you box is running, or you are runing a live cd, run

Code:

vliloconf

as root and that will fire up the wizard to fix it for you

[ultrasonicsite]

Apparently the SDA was my usb.

[ultrasonicsite]

Ok I started some partition program, cfdisk, it's displaying the other partitions. I have 2 bootable primary partitions.

hda1 is ubuntu, hda3 is vectorlinux, only vectorlinux loads.

[ultrasonicsite]

Code:

Partition Table for /dev/hda

         ---Starting---      ----Ending----    Start     Number of
 # Flags Head Sect Cyl   ID  Head Sect Cyl     Sector    Sectors
-- ----- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----------- -----------
 1  0x80    1    1    0 0x83  254   63 1023          63    37479582
 2  0x00  254   63 1023 0x05  254   63 1023    76726440     1445850
 3  0x80  254   63 1023 0x83  254   63 1023    37479645    39246795
 4  0x00    0    0    0 0x00    0    0    0           0           0
 5  0x00  254   63 1023 0x83  254   63 1023          63      722862
 6  0x00  254   63 1023 0x82  254   63 1023          63      722862

[Vanger]

hda == IDE primary master
hdb == IDE primary slave
hdc == IDE secondary master
hdd == IDE secondary slave
You may see hde and so on if you have additional IDE controllers or set SATA to IDE mode

sda, sdb, sdc and so on are SATA and USB devices. Also some SCSI devices can get name like this, but more often (like optical drives on JMicron IDE controller on latest Intel motherboards) they are sr0, sr1..
If you have two SATA drives (one on 0 port and one on 2 port) and USB Flash, then 0 will be sda, 2 will be sdb and flash will be sdc.

Kinda complicated, but searching under Windows, which letter was assigned to your previously E: drive or which from five CD/DVDs is belonging to Alcohol is much more fun

[ultrasonicsite]

Update:
I can look at my ubuntu files, I just want to boot xubuntu itself.

I can see files on /mnt/hda1

[ultrasonicsite]

This doesn't work:

File: /etc/lilo.conf

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hda
default = linux
compact
prompt
timeout = 100
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
  reset
bitmap = /boot/bitmap/boot.bmp
# VESA framebuffer console @ bootsplash-high
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769


# End LILO global section
# Partition 1: Linux GUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux
    append = "splash=silent "
    read-only
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 2: Linux TUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux-tui
    append = "2 splash=silent "
    read-only
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 3: Linux GUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux-gui
    append = "4 splash=silent "
    read-only
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 4: Ubuntu
image = /mnt/hda1/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-17-generic
    root = /dev/hda1
    label = ubuntu
    read-only
    initrd = /boot/initrd

[ultrasonicsite]

Didn't work either:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hda
default = linux
compact
prompt
timeout = 100
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
  reset
bitmap = /boot/bitmap/boot.bmp
# VESA framebuffer console @ bootsplash-high
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769


# End LILO global section
# Partition 1: Linux GUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux
    append = "splash=silent "
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 2: Linux TUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux-tui
    append = "2 splash=silent "
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 3: Linux GUI mode
image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda3
    label = linux-gui
    append = "4 splash=silent "
    initrd = /boot/initrd
# Partition 4: Xubuntu
image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-17-generic
    root = /dev/hda1
    label = xubuntu
    initrd = /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-17-generic

[ultrasonicsite]

I think I did it, I had to run /sbin/lilo every time I updated the lilo.conf file, might work now.

[M0E-lnx]

try booting it with the vector install disk press tab at the boot prompt and type linux root=/dev/hda4 ro vga=791

[ultrasonicsite]

Xubuntu loaded, but now kind of stalls, must be a problem with swap? 

edit:when I ran /sbin/lilo it works but says "with one warning" I want to read this warning.

edit2:

Code:

Warning: Device 0x0800: Inconsistent partition table, 1st entry
  CHS address in PT:  0:1:1  -->  LBA (62)
  LBA address in PT:  63  -->  CHS (0:1:2)
Fatal: Either FIX-TABLE or IGNORE-TABLE must be specified
If not sure, first try IGNORE-TABLE (-P ignore)

edit3: That's probably not it, must had been when I first messed with lilo.

edit4: I wonder where lilo saves the warnings.

edit5: Fixed

edit6: I'll try it out now.

[ultrasonicsite]

It worked but it's not starting XFCE fast enough.

Nevermind, I'll just migrate to VLinux completely, just found out openoffice IS in the repositories and that I have to search for the exact name otherwise it wont work.

openoffice works

open office does not

[M0E-lnx]

It worked but it's not starting XFCE fast enough.

Nevermind, I'll just migrate to VLinux completely, just found out openoffice IS in the repositories and that I have to search for the exact name otherwise it wont work.

openoffice works

open office does not

That's more like it

[ultrasonicsite]

I get the feeling you were planning this all along

Good job