Penguin
Recent Changes
Annotated edit history of lilo(8) version 2, including all changes. View license author blame.
Rev Author # Line
1 perry 1 LILO
2 !!!LILO
3 NAME
4 SYNOPSIS
5 DESCRIPTION
6 BOOT OPTIONS
7 INCOMPATIBILITIES
8 BUGS
9 SEE ALSO
10 AUTHORS
11 ----
12 !!NAME
13
14
15 lilo - install boot loader
16 !!SYNOPSIS
17
18
19 Main function:
20
21
22 __/sbin/lilo__ - install boot loader
23
24
25 Auxiliary uses:
26
27
28 __/sbin/lilo -q__ - query map__
29 /sbin/lilo -R__ - set default command line for next
30 reboot__
31 /sbin/lilo -I__ - inquire path name of current
32 kernel__
33 /sbin/lilo -A__ - activate a partition / show active
34 partition__
35 /sbin/lilo -M [[-z]__ - write a Master Boot Record on a
36 device - or clear the device serial number__
37 /sbin/lilo -T__ - tell more about specified topic__
38 /sbin/lilo {-u|-U}__ - uninstall lilo
39 !!DESCRIPTION
40
41
42 __lilo__ installs a boot loader that will be activated
43 next time you boot. It has lots of options.
44
45
46 __-A__ ''master-device [[ N ]''
47
48
49 Inquire of active partition on device ''master-device'';
50 e.g.,
51 ''
52
53
54 __-b__ ''bootdev''
55
56
57 Specify the boot device; i.e., where the boot loader will be
58 installed.
59
60
61 __-c__
62
63
64 Enable map compaction. This will merge read requests from
65 adjacent sectors. Speeds up the booting (especially from
66 floppy).
67
68
69 __-C__ ''config-file''
70
71
72 __lilo__ reads its instructions about what files to map
73 from the specified configuration file. This option overrides
74 the use of the default config file,
75 ''/etc/lilo.conf''.
76
77
78 __-d__ ''delay''
79
80
81 Specifies the delay time in tenths of a second (20 = 2 sec)
82 before automatically booting the first image. Gives you time
83 to interrupt the automatic boot process with Shift, Alt,
2 perry 84 Ctrl, !ScrollLock, or !CapsLock. If interrupted, the `boot:'
1 perry 85 prompt is displayed. This switch is overriden by the
86 appearance of ''prompt'' in the config-file.
87
88
89 __-D__ ''label''
90
91
92 Use the kernel with the given label, instead of the first
93 one in the list, as the default kernel to boot.
94
95
96 __-f__ ''disk-tab''
97
98
99 Specify disk geometry parameter file. (The default is
100 ''/etc/disktab''.)
101
102
103 __-g__
104
105
106 Generate sector/head/cylinder (geometric) disk addresses.
107 Limited to cylinders up to 1023. Forces compatibility with
108 older versions of LILO.
109
110
111 __-i__ ''boot-loader''
112
113
114 Specify a file to be used as the new boot loader. (The
115 default is ''/boot/boot.b''.)
116
117
118 __-I__ ''label''
119
120
121 The label of the running kernel can be found in the
122 environment variable BOOT_IMAGE after startup, or in the
123 pseudo-file `/proc/cmdline'. This command will print path
124 name of the corresponding kernel file, or of any initial
125 ramdisk file (
126
127
128 __-l__
129
130
131 Generate 24-bit linear sector addresses instead of
132 sector/head/cylinder addresses.
133
134
135 __-L__
136
137
138 Generate 32-bit Logical Block Addresses instead of C:H:S
139 addresses, allowing access to all partitions on disks with
140 more than 1024 cylinders.
141
142
143 __-m__ ''map-file''
144
145
146 Use specified map file instead of the default.
147
148
149 __-M__ ''master-device [[ mbr-file ]''
150
151
152 Install a Master Boot Record on the device specified as
153 ''master-device''. The new MBR is copied by default from
154 ''master-device'' is undistrubed. If no device serial
155 number is present, then generate one and write it to the
156 MBR.
157
158
159 __-p__
160
161
162 Require interactive entry of all passwords specified as
163 ____ in the configuration file.
164
165
166 __-P__ ''{fix|ignore}''
167
168
169 Fix (or ignore) `corrupt' partition tables, i.e., partition
170 tables with linear and sector/head/cylinder addresses that
171 do not correspond.
172
173
174 __-q__
175
176
177 List the currently mapped files. __lilo__ maintains a
178 file, by default ''/boot/map'', containing the name and
179 location of the kernel(s) to boot. This option will list the
180 names therein. Use with __-v__ for more detailed
181 information about the installed boot loader.
182
183
184 __-r__ ''root-directory''
185
186
187 Before doing anything else, do a ''chroot'' to the
188 indicated directory. The new root directory must contain a
189 ''/dev'' directory, and may need a ''/boot''
190 directory. It may also need an ''/etc/lilo.conf''
191 file.
192
193
194 Used by the ''mkbootdisk'' shell script for creating a
195 bootable floppy.
196
197
198 __-R__ ''command line''
199
200
201 This option sets the default command for the boot loader the
202 next time it executes. The boot loader will then erase this
203 line: this is a once-only command. It is typically used in
204 reboot scripts, just before calling `shutdown -r'. Used
205 without any arguments, it will cancel a ''lock''-ed or
206 ''fallback'' command line.
207
208
209 __-s__ ''save-file''
210
211
212 When __lilo__ overwrites the boot sector, it preserves
213 the old contents in a file, by default
214 ''/boot/boot.NNNN'' where NNNN depends on the device.
215 This option specifies an alternate save file for the boot
216 sector. (Or, together with the __-u__ option, specifies
217 from where to restore the boot sector.)
218
219
220 __-S__ ''save-file''
221
222
223 Normally, __lilo__ will not overwrite an existing save
224 file. This options says that overwriting is
225 allowed.
226
227
228 __-t__
229
230
231 Test only. Do not really write a new boot sector or map
232 file. Use together with __-v__ to find out what
233 __lilo__ is about to do.
234
235
236 __-T__ ''option''
237
238
239 Print out system information, some of it extracted from the
240 system bios. This is more convenient than booting the LILO
241 diagnostic floppy on problem systems. ''option'' may be
242 any one of the following:
243
244
245 help - print a list of available diagnostics
2 perry 246 !ChRul - list the partition types subject to
1 perry 247 Change-Rules
248 EBDA - list Extended BIOS Data Area information
249 geom=
250
251
252 __-u__ ''[[device-name]''
253
254
255 Uninstall ''lilo'' by copying the saved boot sector back.
256 The '-s' and '-C' switches may be used with this option. The
257 ''device-name'' is optional. A time-stamp is
258 checked.
259
260
261 __-U__ ''[[device-name]''
262
263
264 Idem, but do not check the time-stamp.
265
266
267 __-v__
268
269
270 Increase verbosity. Giving one to five __-v__ options
271 will make lilo more verbose, or use, __-v__ ''n''
272 (n=1..5) to set verbosity level '''n'''.
273
274
275 __-V__
276
277
278 Print version number.
279
280
281 __-w__
282
283
284 Suppress warning messages.
285
286
287 __-x__ ''option''
288
289
290 For RAID installations only. The option may be any of the
291 keywords ''none'', ''auto'', ''mbr-only'', or a
292 comma separated list of additional boot devices (no spaces
293 allowed in the list).
294
295
296 __-z__
297
298
299 When used with the -M switch, clears the device serial
300 number. Usually used in the following sequence to generate a
301 new device serial number:
302
303
304 lilo -z -M /dev/hda
305 lilo -M /dev/hda
306
307
308 The above command line options correspond to the key words
309 in the config file indicated below.
310 !!BOOT OPTIONS
311
312
313 The options described here may be specified at on the command line when a kernel image is booted. These options are processed by LILO, and are removed from the command line passed to the kernel, unless otherwise noted.
314
315
316 __lock__
317
318
319 Locks the command line, as though 'lock' had been specified
320 in 'lilo.conf.'
321
322
323 __mem=###[[,K,M]__
324
325
326 Specifies the maximum memory in the system in bytes,
327 kilobytes, or megabytes. This option is not removed from the
328 command line, and is always passed to the
329 kernel.
330
331
332 __nobd__
333
334
335 Suppresses collection of BIOS data. This option is reserved
336 for use with non-IBM-compliant BIOS's which hang up with an
337
338
339 Loading.........s
340
341
342 __vga=[[ASK,EXT,EXTENDED,NORMAL]__
343
344
345 Allows overriding the default video mode upon kernel
346 startup.
347 !!INCOMPATIBILITIES
348
349
350 __lilo__ is known to have problems with the
351 ''reiserfs'' introduced with the 2.2.x kernels, unless
352 the file system is mounted with the 'notail' option. This
353 incompatibilty has been resolved with reiserfs 3.6.18 and
354 lilo 21.6.
355
356
357 Beginning with version 22.0, RAID installations write the
358 boot record to the RAID partition. Conditional writing of
359 MBRs may occur to aid in making the RAID set bootable in a
360 recovery situation, but all default actions may be
361 overridden. Action similar to previous versions is achieved
362 using the `-x mbr-only' switch.
363 !!BUGS
364
365
366 Configuration file options `backup' and `force-backup' are
367 not yet correctly implemented for RAID installations. Use of
368 the default boot record backup mechanism seems to work okay,
369 and should be used.
370 !!SEE ALSO
371
372
373 fdisk(8), lilo.conf(5), mkrescue(8),
374 mkinitrd(8).
375
376
377 The lilo distribution comes with very extensive
378 documentation. This can be found in /usr/share/doc/lilo on
379 Debian systems. (lilo 22.1)
380 !!AUTHORS
381
382
383 Werner Almesberger
384 John Coffman
385 ----
This page is a man page (or other imported legacy content). We are unable to automatically determine the license status of this page.