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> Thanks for that! I knew how to edit this from
> DOS but it really seemed a pain, with all the
> resetting of attributes etc. etc. Doing it from
> Linux was much easier.

I have also used BL (2 floppy) to delete files from Windows 98 that I 
could not delete with DOS for some unknown reason (not hidden, just not 
removable).

> I tried following Sindi's suggestion of editing
> /etc/lilo.conf to put boot.b and the kernel
> ("zimage", right?) into a new /boot directory
> on /dev/hda1 (my Windows partition), but the
> computer still boots directly into DOS/Windows
> unless i boot with the BasicLinux floppy disk.
>
> I'm thinking that it must be because my /dev/hda1
> is 2 GB, and so the /boot directly may still be
> beyond the 1024-cylinder limit.

My first partition is never more than 500MB.
I wonder if you can boot with lilo by putting the kernel and boot.b (and 
chain.b?) onto a lilo boot floppy disk and editing lilo.conf to match.


> My fdisk -l, Partition Magic, and GParted all
> show that there is a small partition for the
> Compaq diagnostic programs at the beginning of
> the disk. There's still some unused space there,
> so i also tried creating a /boot directory in
> that partition and editing /etc/lilo.conf to put
> boot.b and zimage there, thinking that if this
> partition really is at the beginning of the drive
> then it should boot.
>
> But after using fdisk to make that the active
> partition, it still wouldn't boot Linux.
> The computer booted directly into the Compaq
> diagnostic program.
>
>
> I'm thinking now that maybe somehow LILO is
> not installing itself correctly. When i use
> mount /dev/hda1 /hd and have the /hd/boot
> entries in /etc/lilo.conf, and then run lilo -v,
> i get this message:
>
> ------------------
> Reading boot sector from /hd/boot
> open /hd/boot: Is a directory
> -------------------
>
> Is that telling me that there is a problem?
>
> Also, how can i install LILO to a boot floppy
> while i'm experimenting?

Change /dev/hda1 to /dev/fd0 in lilo.conf and it should write to the
floppy disk instead of the hard drive.  But the kernel and boot.b may also 
need to be on the floppy disk for this to work, which means editing 
lilo.conf to have it look in /fd/boot/ rather than /hd/boot or /boot.
I am curious if this will really work.

> Should i finally just install LILO into the MBR?
>
> How can i check the MBR to find out if i already
> did install LILO there?

Have you tried reading a lilo HOWTO?  They are mostly over my head but I 
did learn about putting image and boot.b into another partition that way.
I also read that you don't need to do this for a later lilo, but that did 
not seem to be true.
Sindi
> -monz
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