The process of booting your Linux system can sometimes be easy and
sometimes be difficult. Many users install Slackware on their computer
and that's it. They just turn it on and it's ready to use. Others,
however, must use another operating system for certain tasks, so they need
both operating systems available on the machine.
This section covers using LILO and Loadlin, the two booters included with
Slackware. It also explains some typical dual booting scenarios and how
you could go about setting it up.
The Linux Loader, or LILO, is the most popular booter in use on Linux
systems. It is quite configurable and can easily be used to boot other
operating systems.
Slackware Linux comes with a menu-driven configuration utility called
liloconfig. This program is first run during the
setup process, but you can invoke it later by typing
liloconfig at the prompt.
LILO reads its settings from the /etc/lilo.conf(5)
file. It is not read each time you boot up, but instead is read each time
you install LILO. LILO must be reinstalled to the boot sector each time you
make a configuration change. liloconfig will help you
build the configuration file so that you can install LILO for your system.
If you prefer to edit /etc/lilo.conf by hand, then
reinstalling LILO just involves type /sbin/lilo at the
prompt.
When you first invoke liloconfig, it will look like this:
If this is your first time setting up LILO, you should pick
“simple”. Otherwise, you might find “expert”
to be faster if you are familiar with LILO and Linux. Selecting
“simple” will begin the LILO configuration.
If kernel frame buffer support is compiled into your kernel,
liloconfig will ask which video resolution you would
like to use. This is the resolution that is also used by the XFree86
frame buffer server. If you do not want the console to run in a special
video mode, selecting normal will keep the standard 80x25 text mode in use.
The next part of the LILO configuration is selecting where you want it
installed. This is probably the most important step. The list below
explains the installation places:
- Root
This option installs LILO to the beginning of your Linux root
partition. This is the safest option if you have other operating
systems on your computer. It ensures that any other booters are not
overwritten. The disadvantage is that LILO will only load from here
if your Linux drive is the first drive on your system.
- Floppy
This method is even safer than the previous one. It creates a
boot floppy that you can use to boot your Linux system. This keeps the
booter off the hard disk entirely, so you only boot this floppy when
you want to use Slackware.
- MBR
You will want to use this method if Slackware is the only
operating system on your computer, or if you will be using LILO to
choose between multiple operating systems on your computer.
 | This option will overwrite any other booter you have in the MBR.
|
After selecting the installation location, liloconfig
will write the
configuration file and install LILO. That's it. If you select the
“expert” mode you will receive a special menu. This menu
allows you to tweak the /etc/lilo.conf file, add
other operating systems to your boot menu, and set LILO to pass special
kernel parameters at boot time. The expert menu looks like this:
Whatever your system configuration is, setting up a working boot loader is
easy. liloconfig makes setting it up a cinch. However,
there are instances where LILO just won't work on a system. Fortunately,
there are other options.