Re: LILO hang on boot

["Taylor, ForrestX" <forrestx taylor intel com>]

Werner, Roger NAVAIR wrote:
> My system hangs after displaying only LI in the boot process.  How does 
> one fix this?  I expect it has to be done, but I am hesitant to rewrite 
> the MBR because I want to ensure that the partition table is not changed 
> (I already have a lot of stuff on this disk and don't want to lose it)?  
> What is the preferred way to fix LILO hangups?
>
> The last thing I did before the hd wouldn't boot anymore was: I was 
> using my RH distribution CD (booted from the install floppy) to add more 
> stuff to my system (upgrade to add RPMs but not intending to change the 
> OS), and it started asking questions about where to put the MBR.  I 
> didn't want to change the MBR in any way, so I backed out as far as I 
> could but couldn't back out all the way, and had to reboot to get away.  
> Then the hd wouldn't boot anymore.  Now I boot from a floppy.
>
> roger werner navy mil

You need to reinstall lilo to the MBR (I assume that is what you had 
there before).  Reinstalling lilo will not cause damage to your disk, 
and it will not change the partition table.

To install packages that you forgot, you can just install them from the 
CDs using gnorpm or the command-line.

Boot from the install CD (or a floppy), and type `linux rescue` at the 
boot: prompt.  Answer the questions about your language and keyboard, 
and have the system mount your partitions on /mnt/sysimage.  Once that 
is done, type `chroot /mnt/sysimage`.  Then you need to reinstall lilo 
to the MBR.  Run `lilo -v`.  Type `exit` twice, and it should reboot 
successfully into Linux.

Forrest
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