On Tue, 2005-12-04 at 23:58 -0400, Chuck R. Anderson wrote:
> On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 05:06:51PM -0600, Guy Fraser wrote:
> > The biggest problem I have with it, is the error reporting is
> > awful and you don't get any clue to what caused the problem.
>
> As opposed to LILO's error reporting consisting of "LI" during bootup?
Check the documentation :
----Start Sample---
Boot loader messages
--------------------
The boot loader generates three types of messages: progress and error
messages while it is loading, messages indicating disk access errors, and
error messages in response to invalid command-line input. Since messages of
the latter type are usually self-explanatory, only the two other categories
are explained.
LILO start message
- - - - - - - - -
When LILO loads itself, it displays the word "LILO". Each letter is printed
before or after performing some specific action. If LILO fails at some
point, the letters printed so far can be used to identify the problem. This
is described in more detail in the technical overview.
Note that some hex digits may be inserted after the first "L" if a
transient disk problem occurs. Unless LILO stops at that point, generating
an endless stream of error codes, such hex digits do not indicate a severe
problem.
() No part of LILO has been loaded. LILO either isn't installed
or the partition on which its boot sector is located isn't active.
L ... The first stage boot loader has been loaded and started,
but it can't load the second stage boot loader. The two-digit error
codes indicate the type of problem. (See also section "Disk error
codes".) This condition usually indicates a media failure or a geometry
mismatch (e.g. bad disk parameters, see section "Disk geometry").
LI The first stage boot loader was able to load the second stage boot
loader, but has failed to execute it. This can either be caused by a
geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/boot.b without running the map
installer.
LIL The second stage boot loader has been started, but it can't load
the descriptor table from the map file. This is typically caused by a
media failure or by a geometry mismatch.
LIL? The second stage boot loader has been loaded at an incorrect
address. This is typically caused by a subtle geometry mismatch or by
moving /boot/boot.b without running the map installer.
LIL- The descriptor table is corrupt. This can either be caused by a
geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/map without running the map
installer.
LILO All parts of LILO have been successfully loaded.
Disk error codes
- - - - - - - -
If the BIOS signals an error when LILO is trying to load a boot image, the
respective error code is displayed. The following BIOS error codes are
known:
0x00 "Internal error". This code is generated by the sector read
routine of the LILO boot loader whenever an internal inconsistency is
detected. This might be caused by corrupt files. Try re-building the
map file. Another possible cause for this error are attempts to access
cylinders beyond 1024 while using the LINEAR option. See section "BIOS
restrictions" for more details and for how to solve the problem.
...
If the error occurred during a write operation, the error code (two hex
digits) is prefixed with a "W". Although write errors don't affect the boot
process, they might indicate a severe problem, because they usually imply
that LILO has tried to write to an invalid location. If spurious write
errors occur on a system, it might be a good idea to configure LILO to run
read-only (see section "Build-time configuration").
Generally, invalid geometry and attempts to use more than two disks without
a very modern BIOS may yield misleading error codes. Please check carefully
if /sbin/lilo doesn't emit any warnings. Then try using the LINEAR option
(see section "Global options").
Other problems
--------------
This section contains a collection of less common problems that have been
observed. See also section "Installation of other operating systems" for
general remarks on using LILO with other operating systems. Some of the
problems are obscure and so are the work-arounds.
...
----End Sample----
Even a genius like you should be able to figure out what broke.