The Lilo Configuration File - Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 Reference Manual

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The arrow keys allow a user to highlight the desired operating system and the [Enter] key begins the
boot process.
To access a prompt, press [Ctrl]-[X].
boot:
2.8.2. LILO versus GRUB
In general, LILO works similarly to GRUB except for three major differences:
It has no interactive command interface.
•
It stores information about the location of the kernel or other operating system it is to load on the
•
MBR.
It cannot read ext2 partitions.
•
The first point means the command prompt for LILO is not interactive and only allows one command
with arguments.
The last two points mean that if LILO's configuration file is changed or if a new kernel in installed,
LILO must be reinstalled on the MBR by using the following command:
/sbin/lilo -v -v
This method is more risky than the method used by GRUB because a misconfigured MBR leaves the
system unbootable. With GRUB, if the configuration file is erroneously configured, it defaults to its
command line interface where the user can boot the system manually. Refer to Section 2.5 GRUB
Interfaces for more information about the GRUB command line interface.
Tip
If upgrading the kernel using the Red Hat Update Agent, the MBR is updated automatically. More
information about RHN is available online at https://rhn.redhat.com/.
2.9. The LILO Configuration File
The LILO configuration file is
termine what information to write to the MBR.
Warning
Before editing
/etc/lilo.conf
disk available so that changes can be made to the MBR if there is a problem. Refer To the man page
for for more information on creating a boot disk.
mkbootdisk
The
/etc/lilo.conf
tem or kernel to load and where it should be installed.
/etc/lilo.conf
, be sure to make a backup copy of the file. Also, have a working boot
file is used by the
/sbin/lilo
. The commands uses this file to de-
/sbin/lilo
command to determine which operating sys-
Chapter 2. Boot Loaders