Baslinux mailing list

[Lee Forrest <lforrestster AT gmail.com>]

On Sun, Feb 04, 2007 at 10:30:14AM +1300, 3aoo-cvfd AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:
> Normally I set up my computers to boot to DOS and
> then boot Linux using loadlin.exe.  The main reason
> for this is that it provides me with a platform to
> choose different kernels and different root filesystems
> (using a menu or .bat files), and it makes it easy to 
> fix things when my experiments go wrong and leave Linux 
> in an unbootable state.    
> 
> So, until now, I've made little use of lilo.  However,
> that has now changed.  I've just bought a cheap second-
> hand laptop that won't let DOS and BL3 coexist.  In
> particular, Xvesa refuses to work on that laptop when
> it boots via DOS.  I've tried various versions of DOS, 
> from 3.3 to DrD.  They all stop Xvesa.  And that's
> without config.sys and autoexec.bat.  Just the bare DOS.
> 
> So, now I'm booting that laptop directly into Linux with
> lilo.  And I must admit that Xvesa works beautifully that
> way.  65536 colors at 800x600 (which is pretty good for 
> a junk laptop).  However, lilo is causing some new problems
> for me.  
> 
> Normally, I am happy for CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the computer.
> The computer starts booting DOS and I turn it off.  No problem.
> DOS doesn't care if you poweroff in the middle of something.
> However, with lilo the computer quickly reboots Linux and it's
> a race to get the computer turned off before Linux comes up.
> As we all know, turning the power off when Linux is running
> is not a good idea.
> 
> What makes the problem particularly acute is that this cheap
> laptop has a very flakey off button.  It often takes two 
> or three presses to get it to register.  So, there I am
> madly stabbing at the off button trying to get the power 
> off before lilo relauches Linux.
> 
> This is easily fixed.  Simply edit /etc/inittab and change
> the ::ctrlaltdel: line from /sbin/reboot to /sbin/poweroff.
> Then, when you press CTRL-ALT-DEL, the computer will come
> to a complete stop and tell you it's safe to turn off the
> power.  Or, if you actually want the computer to reboot,
> press CTRL-ALT-DEL again and it will reboot.
> 
> Note:  the instructions in /etc/inittab are implement at
>        system startup; therefore, any changes you make will
>        not occur until the next startup.  That means any
>        changes to CTRL-ALT-DEL will not occur until after
>        the system is rebooted.

If you put "prompt" in the global section of lilo.conf, and
don't include a timeout, then lilo just hangs until you choose
an OS to boot.

Lee

-- 
BasicLinux: Small is Beautiful
http://www.basiclinux.com.ru