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Chapter 4. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux
GRUB) or
(for LILO). Other partitions may also have boot labels. To add or change the boot la-
linux
bel for other partitions that have been detected by the installation program, click once on the partition
to select it. Once selected, you can change the boot label by clicking the Edit button.
Select Default beside the preferred boot partition to choose your default bootable OS. You will not be
able to move forward in the installation unless you choose a default boot image.
Note
The Label column lists what you must enter at the boot prompt, in non-graphical boot loaders, in
order to boot the desired operating system.
Once you have loaded the GRUB boot screen, use the arrow keys to choose a boot label or type [e]
for edit. You will be presented with a list of items in the configuration file for the boot label you have
selected.
At the graphical LILO screen, press [Ctrl]-[x] to exit to the
defined on your system, you can always press [Tab] at the prompt to display a list of defined boot
labels.
Boot loader passwords provide a security mechanism in an environment where physical access to your
server is available.
If you are installing a boot loader, you should create a password to protect your system. Without
a boot loader password, users with access to your system can pass options to the kernel which can
compromise your system security. With a boot loader password in place, the password must first be
entered before selecting any non-standard boot options.
If you choose to use a boot loader password to enhance your system security, be sure to select the
checkbox labeled Use a boot loader password.
Once selected, enter a password and confirm it.
To configure more advance boot loader options, such as changing the drive order or passing options
to the kernel, be sure Configure advanced boot loader options is selected before clicking Next.
4.18.1. Advanced Boot Loader Configuration
Now that you have chosen which boot loader to install, you can also determine where you want the
boot loader to be installed. You may install the boot loader in one of two places:
The master boot record (MBR) — This is the recommended place to install a boot loader, unless
•
the MBR already starts another operating system loader, such as System Commander. The MBR is
a special area on your hard drive that is automatically loaded by your computer's BIOS, and is the
earliest point at which the boot loader can take control of the boot process. If you install it in the
MBR, when your machine boots, GRUB (or LILO) will present a boot prompt. You can then boot
Red Hat Enterprise Linux or any other operating system that you have configured the boot loader
to boot.
The first sector of your boot partition — This is recommended if you are already using another
•
boot loader on your system. In this case, your other boot loader will take control first. You can
then configure that boot loader to start GRUB (or LILO), which will then boot Red Hat Enterprise
Linux.
prompt. If you forget the boot labels
boot:
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