Linux Dual-Boot Help...

[deek]

Here is hte situation. I installed Slack 10.1, no problem. Next, I installed SUSE 9.2, wanting to dual boot. My partitions are setup as follows:

hda1 512MB swap
hda2 5.5GB <-- root for Slack
hdb1 8GB <-- root for SUSE
hdb2 4GB <-- /home for SUSE

I installed LILO as my boot manager. Now, after I finished the SUSE install, I was able to boot into SUSE with no issue. I modified the LILO.conf file (adding a section that was in the lilo.conf for my Slack install), so now I get the menu option to boot to Slack, but...it doesn't work!

It starts to boot, and then comes down to a kernel panic and just stops. Luckily, I made a boot disc, so I can still boot into Slack from floppy.

So, what am I doing wrong here? I know that I am missing something, so I again, come to my favorite forum in search of answers:)

Thanks in advance!
Dan

[kode]

First off, replace lilo with grub...

Secondly, can you post your lilo.conf... I'm guessing it's just a minor misconfiguration...

[deek]

Here is my lilo.conf:

# Modified by YaST3. Last modification on Fri Mar 25 00:27:47 2005


message = /boot/message
timeout = 80
prompt
default = SUSE_LINUX_9.2
boot = /dev/hda

image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = SUSE_LINUX_9.2
initrd = /boot/initrd
optional
root = /dev/hdb1
vga = 0x31a
append = "selinux=0 splash=silent linux26 resume=/dev/hda1 showopts desktop
elevator=as"

image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = Slackware_10.1
optional
root = /dev/hda2
vga = 773
append = "hdc=ide-scsi"
read-only

image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = Failsafe_--_SUS
initrd = /boot/initrd
optional
root = /dev/hdb1
vga = normal
append = "showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume selinux=0 barrier=off nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 3"

image = /boot/memtest.bin
label = Memory_Test
optional
append = ""

Again, I took that Slack lilo.conf directly from my first working install (minus two lines: change-rules and reset) and it worked fine. Now, I can only boot from floppy to get into Slack.

The error message I receive is:
kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown - block (3,2)

Thanks again!

I may just try to put GRUB on there and see what happens!

Dan

[deek]

Ok, I switched over to GRUB now. Here is my menu.lst file:

default 0
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd1,0)/boot/message

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title SUSE LINUX 9.2
kernel (hd1,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb1 vga=0x31a selinux=0 splash=silent linux26 resume=/dev/hda1 showopts desktop elevator=as
initrd (hd1,0)/boot/initrd

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
root (fd0)
chainloader +1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- SUSE LINUX 9.2
kernel (hd1,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb1 showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off vga=normal noresume selinux=0 barrier=off nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 3
initrd (hd1,0)/boot/initrd

title Slackware 10.1
kernel (hd0,1)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 vga=773 hdc=ide-scsi

Obviously, I added the last two lines...

I am going to see if this works.
Dan

[deek]

Ok, well, grub seems to work just fine for this dual-boot setup. I know all you suggested was "replace lilo with grub", but that was just what I needed to do...thanks!

Now, the question, why is this the case? Why does grub work and lilo didn't? Just curious...

[kode]

There are two reasons I said to migrate from LILO to GRUB:

1) LILO is relatively old, while GRUB is newer...
2) GRUB is a bit more flexible and easier to configure...

It's not that LILO is incapable of doing what you wanted to do, just that GRUB can do it easier, as you undoubtedly figured out.