[gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Philip Webb]

My cousin in England wants to try out Linux & has an Ubuntu Live CD.
To help her, I've installed the same on a separate partition in my box.
The partition is  /dev/sda8  & is formatted ReiserFS.
I use Lilo as boot manager & don't want to change to Grub
just to offer temporary help to someone,
so I refused to let the Ubuntu installer overwrite my MBR,
hoping to get Lilo to see Ubuntu via an appropriate 'lilo.conf'.
I've managed to get Lilo to add Ubuntu to the boot menu,
but only by mounting  /dev/sda8  as  /z/mount8  & using the line

  image = /z/mount8/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic

However, when I reboot & select that image via its label,
I'm getting the hoary old 'VFS: can't open root device "808"'.
I've tried adding a dir  /z/mount8  in the Ubuntu partition
with a symlink of 'boot' to '../../boot' there, but it doesn't help.
This does look rather messy, but I just want to be able to boot Ubuntu
in order to advise my cousin when she starts using her version.

Is anyone successfully dual-booting Linux distros using Lilo ?
Might it be ReiserFS ? -- should I re-install Ubuntu with another FS ?

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Mick]

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On Monday 12 July 2010 06:52:03 Philip Webb wrote:
> My cousin in England wants to try out Linux & has an Ubuntu Live CD.
> To help her, I've installed the same on a separate partition in my box.
> The partition is  /dev/sda8  & is formatted ReiserFS.
> I use Lilo as boot manager & don't want to change to Grub
> just to offer temporary help to someone,
> so I refused to let the Ubuntu installer overwrite my MBR,
> hoping to get Lilo to see Ubuntu via an appropriate 'lilo.conf'.
> I've managed to get Lilo to add Ubuntu to the boot menu,
> but only by mounting  /dev/sda8  as  /z/mount8  & using the line
> 
>   image = /z/mount8/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic
> 
> However, when I reboot & select that image via its label,
> I'm getting the hoary old 'VFS: can't open root device "808"'.
> I've tried adding a dir  /z/mount8  in the Ubuntu partition
> with a symlink of 'boot' to '../../boot' there, but it doesn't help.
> This does look rather messy, but I just want to be able to boot Ubuntu
> in order to advise my cousin when she starts using her version.
> 
> Is anyone successfully dual-booting Linux distros using Lilo ?
> Might it be ReiserFS ? -- should I re-install Ubuntu with another FS ?

I think Ubuntu is using GRUB2.  Anyhow, I suggest you install a separate boot 
partition with an ext2 fs and you install GRUB2 there instead of the MBR.  
Then chainload it from your LILO bootloader menu.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Philip Webb]

100712 Mick suggested :
> install a separate boot partition with an ext2 fs
> and install GRUB2 there instead of the MBR.  
> Then chainload it from your LILO bootloader menu.

Thanks for your very prompt response.  I'm not sure if I've got it right,
but I can easily re-install Ubuntu with a  /boot  partition using Ext2 ,
then tell Lilo to look there for the kernel image.  Is that what you mean ?

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Mick]

On 12 July 2010 08:37, Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net> wrote:
> 100712 Mick suggested :
>> install a separate boot partition with an ext2 fs
>> and install GRUB2 there instead of the MBR.
>> Then chainload it from your LILO bootloader menu.
>
> Thanks for your very prompt response.  I'm not sure if I've got it right,
> but I can easily re-install Ubuntu with a  /boot  partition using Ext2 ,
> then tell Lilo to look there for the kernel image.  Is that what you mean ?
>
> Any other suggestions are also welcome.

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.  I recall clicking on 'advanced' or
some such options during the Ubuntu install and it gave me an option
as to where GRUB should go.  I chose the /boot partition and then used
the main OS boot manager to chainload Ubuntu's GRUB.

As was already suggested by John you can instead copy the kernel image
& initrd from the Ubuntu installation and place them in your existing
/boot partition, then point LILO to it.  Doing it as I suggest you
will essentially have a mirror installation to your cousin's.

PS.  I found Ubuntu easier to update/upgrade by having separate /boot,
/ and /home partitions.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Mateusz Arkadiusz Mierzwinski]

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Sure thing I use lilo on my lap. You want config for example?

2010/7/12 Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com>

> On 12 July 2010 08:37, Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net> wrote:
> > 100712 Mick suggested :
> >> install a separate boot partition with an ext2 fs
> >> and install GRUB2 there instead of the MBR.
> >> Then chainload it from your LILO bootloader menu.
> >
> > Thanks for your very prompt response.  I'm not sure if I've got it right,
> > but I can easily re-install Ubuntu with a  /boot  partition using Ext2 ,
> > then tell Lilo to look there for the kernel image.  Is that what you mean
> ?
> >
> > Any other suggestions are also welcome.
>
> Yes, that's exactly what I mean.  I recall clicking on 'advanced' or
> some such options during the Ubuntu install and it gave me an option
> as to where GRUB should go.  I chose the /boot partition and then used
> the main OS boot manager to chainload Ubuntu's GRUB.
>
> As was already suggested by John you can instead copy the kernel image
> & initrd from the Ubuntu installation and place them in your existing
> /boot partition, then point LILO to it.  Doing it as I suggest you
> will essentially have a mirror installation to your cousin's.
>
> PS.  I found Ubuntu easier to update/upgrade by having separate /boot,
> / and /home partitions.
> --
> Regards,
> Mick
>
>


-- 
Mateusz Mierzwiński

Bluebox Software http://www.blueboxsoft.pl/mateusz-mierzwinski

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Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Philip Webb]

100712 Mateusz Arkadiusz Mierzwinski wrote:
> Sure thing I use lilo on my lap. You want config for example?

Please : that would help a lot !

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[Philip Webb]

100712 Mick wrote:
> As was already suggested by John,

Thanks to John too.

> you can instead copy the kernel image & initrd from the Ubuntu installation
> to your existing /boot partition, then point LILO to it.

I tried that, Lilo runs ok, but I still get the kernel panic
due to the line in  lilo.conf  'root=/dev/sda8'.
That suggests that it doesn't like the FS on  /dev/sda8 , ie ReiserFS,
which must be due to something in the Ubuntu set-up,
as the Gentoo stanzas have 'root=/dev/sda3", which is also ReiserFS.

> I recall clicking on 'advanced' or some such options during Ubuntu install
> and it gave me an option where GRUB should go.  I chose the /boot partition
> and then used the main OS boot manager to chainload Ubuntu's GRUB.
> Then you will essentially have a mirror installation to your cousin's.

I don't know what you mean by "chainload Ubuntu's GRUB";
I don't remember your specific choice during the Ubuntu install,
only "Shall I overwrite the MBR ? ", to which I answer "No ! ".
I don't want to learn how to use Grub for this simple test project:
Lilo is quite adequate for my normal needs.

> PS.  I found Ubuntu easier to update/upgrade by having separate /boot,
> / and /home partitions.

Ordinarily, that's what I would do, but this is only temporary
& I'm not even sure she'll go thro' with the project in the end
(she's yet another victim of M$ generally & Vista in particular).

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ? -- discovery

[Philip Webb]

Further ideas : I tried booting a Gentoo kernel with the Ubuntu  /
& avoided the kernel panic, but ran into an Ubuntu init error,
so there's nothing inherently wrong with  /dev/sda8 .

Also, I checked the Ubuntu kernel config file, conveniently in  /boot ,
which has ReiserFS configured as a module, whereas Ext2 & Ext3 are 'y'.
That suggests that it's running into a road-block:
it needs to use ReiserFS to start 'init',
but can't load modules till it has already started 'init'.

In that case, I need to re-install Ubuntu using Ext2 or Ext3 .
In fact, it wb as a bug in Ubuntu's "advanced" install.

Does that make sense to anyone else ?

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ? -- discovery

[covici]

Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net> wrote:

> Further ideas : I tried booting a Gentoo kernel with the Ubuntu  /
> & avoided the kernel panic, but ran into an Ubuntu init error,
> so there's nothing inherently wrong with  /dev/sda8 .
> 
> Also, I checked the Ubuntu kernel config file, conveniently in  /boot ,
> which has ReiserFS configured as a module, whereas Ext2 & Ext3 are 'y'.
> That suggests that it's running into a road-block:
> it needs to use ReiserFS to start 'init',
> but can't load modules till it has already started 'init'.
> 
> In that case, I need to re-install Ubuntu using Ext2 or Ext3 .
> In fact, it wb as a bug in Ubuntu's "advanced" install.
> 
> Does that make sense to anyone else ?

Or the module could be in the initrd -- should be.  Also, be sure you
have root= in your append line.

-- 
Your life is like a penny.  You're going to lose it.  The question is:
How do
you spend it?

         John Covici
         covici@ccs.covici.com

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ? -- discovery

[Arttu V.]

On 7/12/10, covici@ccs.covici.com <covici@ccs.covici.com> wrote:
>
> Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net> wrote:
>
>> Further ideas : I tried booting a Gentoo kernel with the Ubuntu  /
>> & avoided the kernel panic, but ran into an Ubuntu init error,
>> so there's nothing inherently wrong with  /dev/sda8 .
>>
>> Also, I checked the Ubuntu kernel config file, conveniently in  /boot ,
>> which has ReiserFS configured as a module, whereas Ext2 & Ext3 are 'y'.
>> That suggests that it's running into a road-block:
>> it needs to use ReiserFS to start 'init',
>> but can't load modules till it has already started 'init'.
>>
>> In that case, I need to re-install Ubuntu using Ext2 or Ext3 .
>> In fact, it wb as a bug in Ubuntu's "advanced" install.
>>
>> Does that make sense to anyone else ?
>
> Or the module could be in the initrd -- should be.  Also, be sure you
> have root= in your append line.

Yes, I'd be surprised if Ubuntu didn't have reiserfs easily available.

OP: see what man page of mount has to say about reiserfs,
--tail/--notail and LILO.

ext3 doesn't sound so bad any more after reading the man page section.

-- 
Arttu V. -- Running Gentoo is like running with scissors

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ? -- discovery

[Mick]

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On Monday 12 July 2010 17:21:52 Philip Webb wrote:
> Further ideas : I tried booting a Gentoo kernel with the Ubuntu  /
> & avoided the kernel panic, but ran into an Ubuntu init error,
> so there's nothing inherently wrong with  /dev/sda8 .
> 
> Also, I checked the Ubuntu kernel config file, conveniently in  /boot ,
> which has ReiserFS configured as a module, whereas Ext2 & Ext3 are 'y'.
> That suggests that it's running into a road-block:
> it needs to use ReiserFS to start 'init',
> but can't load modules till it has already started 'init'.
> 
> In that case, I need to re-install Ubuntu using Ext2 or Ext3 .
> In fact, it wb as a bug in Ubuntu's "advanced" install.
> 
> Does that make sense to anyone else ?

No, I must have installed at least 3 Ubuntus in the last 6 months, all of them 
on reiserfs.  No problem booting them.

Unless you have stored a kernel image in a partition (e.g. /boot) that your 
lilo can read I don't think you'll be able to boot Ubuntu:

image=/boot/your_Ubuntu_image
   label=Ubuntu
   append="ramdisk_size=2900000"
   vga=normal
   initrd=/boot/your_ubuntu_initrd.gz
   read-only
   root=/dev/sda8

I don't use LILO so check the above to make sure there are no errors, and 
adjust it to your circumstances.

Finally, to check that your Ubuntu installation is correct you may be able to 
boot it using the Ubuntu LiveCD (I recall it offers the option to boot a 
partition on the hard drive, but I'm not 100% sure).
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ? -- solved

[Philip Webb]

100712 Mick wrote:
> I must have installed at least 3 Ubuntus in the last 6 months,
> all of them on reiserfs.  No problem booting them.
> 
>   image=/boot/your_Ubuntu_image
>      label=Ubuntu
>      append="ramdisk_size=2900000"
>      vga=normal
>      initrd=/boot/your_ubuntu_initrd.gz
>      read-only
>      root=/dev/sda8
> 
> I don't use LILO so check the above to make sure there are no errors
> and adjust it to your circumstances.

Thanks, that solved the problem, given that I had identified it
as arising from Ubuntu not recognising ReiserFS.
I added the 'initrd=...' line & booted into Ubuntu successfully;
Gentoo doesn't require that line, perhaps because I use no kernel modules.
BTW the Ubuntu ramdisk needs  7,9 MB  & Lilo issues a warning
(I didn't use your 'append/vga' lines).

From my bit of experience so far, Ubuntu does look good for a beginner.

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[covici]

Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net> wrote:

> My cousin in England wants to try out Linux & has an Ubuntu Live CD.
> To help her, I've installed the same on a separate partition in my box.
> The partition is  /dev/sda8  & is formatted ReiserFS.
> I use Lilo as boot manager & don't want to change to Grub
> just to offer temporary help to someone,
> so I refused to let the Ubuntu installer overwrite my MBR,
> hoping to get Lilo to see Ubuntu via an appropriate 'lilo.conf'.
> I've managed to get Lilo to add Ubuntu to the boot menu,
> but only by mounting  /dev/sda8  as  /z/mount8  & using the line
> 
>   image = /z/mount8/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic
> 
> However, when I reboot & select that image via its label,
> I'm getting the hoary old 'VFS: can't open root device "808"'.
> I've tried adding a dir  /z/mount8  in the Ubuntu partition
> with a symlink of 'boot' to '../../boot' there, but it doesn't help.
> This does look rather messy, but I just want to be able to boot Ubuntu
> in order to advise my cousin when she starts using her version.
> 
> Is anyone successfully dual-booting Linux distros using Lilo ?
> Might it be ReiserFS ? -- should I re-install Ubuntu with another FS ?
What I do in those cases is to copy the kernel and the initrd of the
Ubuntu system into your normal boot directory and just have a root=
directive in the append stanza and that works just fine.


-- 
Your life is like a penny.  You're going to lose it.  The question is:
How do
you spend it?

         John Covici
         covici@ccs.covici.com

[gentoo-user] Re: anyone using Lilo to dual-boot ?

[7v5w7go9ub0o]

On 07/12/10 01:52, Philip Webb wrote:

[]

>
> Is anyone successfully dual-booting Linux distros using Lilo ? Might
> it be ReiserFS ? -- should I re-install Ubuntu with another FS ?
>

Hard to believe that the filesystem is causing a problem.

Here's my conf (I have two kernels on the same OS; one hardened, one
gentoo sources. I use an initrd only because I have loop-AES installed,
and it prompts for a password):

boot=/dev/sda
prompt
ignore-table
large-memory
timeout=100
default=Hard
image=/boot/bzImagehard
   label=Hard
   append="ramdisk_size=2900000"
   vga=normal
   initrd=/boot/initrdhard.gz
   read-only
   root=/dev/sda3
image=/boot/bzImagegentoo
   label=Gentoo
   append="ramdisk_size=2900000"
   initrd=/boot/initrdgent.gz
   vga=normal
   read-only
   root=/dev/sda3


HTH

.