Red Hat LINUX 7.2 Reference Manual page 37

Section 3.2:Behind the Scenes of the Boot Process
boot=/dev/hda
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
prompt
timeout=50
message=/boot/message
lba32
default=linux
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.0-0.43.6
label=linux
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.0-0.43.6.img
read-only
root=/dev/hda5
other=/dev/hda1
label=dos
This example shows a system configured to boot two operating systems: Red Hat Linux and DOS.
Here is a deeper look at a few of the lines of this file (your /etc/lilo.conf may look a little
different):
• boot=/dev/hda tells LILO to look on the first hard disk on the first IDE controller.
• map=/boot/map locates the map file. In normal use, this should not be modified.
• install=/boot/boot.b tells LILO to install the specified file as the new boot sector. In
normal use, this should not be altered. If the install line is missing, LILO will assume a default
of /boot/boot.b as the file to be used.
• The existence of prompt tells LILO to show you whatever is referenced in the message line.
While it is not recommended that you remove the prompt line, if you do remove it, you can still
get a prompt by holding down the
• timeout=50 sets the amount of time that LILO will wait for user input before proceeding with
booting the default line entry. This is measured in tenths of a second, with 50 as the default.
• message=/boot/message refers to the screen that LILO displays to let you select the oper-
ating system or kernel to boot.
• lba32 describes the hard disk geometry to LILO. Another common entry here is linear. You
should not change this line unless you are very aware of what you are doing. Otherwise, you could
put your system in a state where it cannot boot.
• default=linux refers to the default operating system for LILO to boot from the options listed
below this line. The name linux refers to the label line below in each of the boot options.
key while your machine starts to boot.
[Shift]
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