NAME
lilo.conf - configuration file for lilo
DESCRIPTION
This file, by default /etc/lilo.conf, is read by the boot
loader installer lilo (see lilo(8)).
It might look as follows:
boot = /dev/hda
delay = 40
compact
vga = normal
root = /dev/hda1
read-only
image = /zImage-1.5.99
label = try
image = /zImage-1.0.9
label = 1.0.9
image = /tamu/vmlinuz
label = tamu
root = /dev/hdb2
vga = ask
other = /dev/hda3
label = dos
table = /dev/hda
This configuration file specifies that lilo uses the Master
Boot Record on /dev/hda. (For a discussion of the various
ways to use lilo, and the interaction with other operating
systems, see user.tex from the lilo documentation.)
When booting, the boot loader will wait four seconds (40
deciseconds) for you to press Shift. If you don't, then the
first kernel image mentioned (/zImage-1.5.99, that you prob-
ably installed just five minutes ago) will be booted. If
you do, the boot loader will ask you which image to boot.
In case you forgot the possible choices, press [TAB] (or
[?], if you have a US keyboard), and you will be presented
with a menu. You now have the choice of booting this brand-
new kernel, or an old trusted kernel, or a kernel on another
root file system (just in case you did something stupid on
your usual rootfs), or booting a different operating system.
There can be up to 16 images mentioned in lilo.conf.
As can be seen above, a configuration file starts with a
number of global options (the top 6 lines in the example),
followed by descriptions of the options for the various
images. An option in an image description will override a
global option.
GLOBAL OPTIONS
There are many possible keywords. The description below is
almost literally from user.tex (just slightly abbreviated).
backup=backup-file
Copy the original boot sector to backup-file (which may
also be a device, e.g. /dev/null) instead of
/boot/boot.NNNN.
boot=boot-device
Sets the name of the device (e.g. a hard disk parti-
tion) that contains the boot sector. If this keyword is
omitted, the boot sector is read from (and possibly
written to) the device that is currently mounted as
root.
compact
Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into
a single read request. This drastically reduces load
time and keeps the map smaller. Using `compact' is
especially recommended when booting from a floppy disk.
default=name
Uses the specified image as the default boot image. If
`default' is omitted, the image appearing first in the
configuration file is used.
delay=tsecs
Specifies the number of tenths of a second the boot
loader should wait before booting the first image. This
is useful on systems that immediately boot from the
hard disk after enabling the keyboard. The boot loader
doesn't wait if `delay' is omitted or is set to zero.
disk=device-name
Defines non-standard parameters for the specified disk.
See section "Disk geometry" of user.tex for details.
disktab=disktab-file
Specifies the name of the disk parameter table. The
map installer looks for /etc/disktab if `disktab' is
omitted. The use of disktabs is discouraged.
fix-table
This allows lilo to adjust 3D addresses in partition
tables. Each partition entry contains a 3D
(sector/head/cylinder) and a linear address of the
first and the last sector of the partition. If a parti-
tion is not track-aligned and if certain other operat-
ing systems (e.g. PC/MS-DOS or OS/2) are using the same
disk, they may change the 3D address. lilo can store
its boot sector only on partitions where both address
types correspond. lilo re-adjusts incorrect 3D start
addresses if `fix-table' is set.
WARNING: This does not guarantee that other operating
systems may not attempt to reset the address later. It
is also possible that this change has other, unexpected
side-effects. The correct fix is to re-partition the
drive with a program that does align partitions to
tracks. Also, with some disks (e.g. some large EIDE
disks with address translation enabled), under some
circumstances, it may even be unavoidable to have con-
flicting partition table entries.
force-backup=backup-file
Like `backup', but overwrite an old backup copy if it
exists.
ignore-table
tells lilo to ignore corrupt partition tables.
install=boot-sector
Install the specified file as the new boot sector. If
`install' is omitted, /boot/boot.b is used as the
default.
linear
Generate linear sector addresses instead of
sector/head/cylinder addresses. Linear addresses are
translated at run time and do not depend on disk
geometry. Note that boot disks may not be portable if
`linear' is used, because the BIOS service to determine
the disk geometry does not work reliably for floppy
disks. When using `linear' with large disks, /sbin/lilo
may generate references to inaccessible disk areas,
because 3D sector addresses are not known before boot
time.
lock Enables automatic recording of boot command lines as
the defaults for the following boots. This way, lilo
"locks" on a choice until it is manually overridden.
map=map-file
Specifies the location of the map file. If `map' is
omitted, the file /boot/map is used.
message=message-file
specifies a file containing a message that is displayed
before the boot prompt. No message is displayed while
waiting for a shifting key after printing "LILO ". In
the message, the FF character ([Ctrl L]) clears the
local screen. The size of the message file is limited
to 65535 bytes. The map file has to be rebuilt if the
message file is changed or moved.
nowarn
Disables warnings about possible future dangers.
optional
The per-image option `optional' (see below) applies to
all images.
password=password
The per-image option `password=...' (see below) applies
to all images.
prompt
forces entering the boot prompt without expecting any
prior key-presses. Unattended reboots are impossible if
`prompt' is set and `timeout' isn't.
restricted
The per-image option `restricted' (see below) applies
to all images.
serial=parameters
enables control from a serial line. The specified
serial port is initialized and the boot loader is
accepting input from it and from the PC's keyboard.
Sending a break on the serial line corresponds to
pressing a shift key on the console in order to get the
boot loader's attention. All boot images should be
password-protected if the serial access is less secure
than access to the console, e.g. if the line is con-
nected to a modem. The parameter string has the follow-
ing syntax:
<port>[,<bps>[<parity>[<bits>]]]
<port>: the number of the serial port, zero-based. 0
corresponds to COM1 alias /dev/ttyS0, etc. All four
ports can be used (if present).
<bps>: the baud rate of the serial port. The following
baud rates are supported: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200,
2400, 4800 and 9600 bps. Default is 2400 bps.
<parity>: the parity used on the serial line. The boot
loader ignores input parity and strips the 8th bit. The
following (upper or lower case) characters are used to
describe the parity: n for no parity, e for even
parity and o for odd parity.
<bits>: the number of bits in a character. Only 7 and
8 bits are supported. Default is 8 if parity is "none",
7 if parity is "even" or "odd".
If `serial' is set, the value of `delay' is automati-
cally raised to 20.
Example: serial=0,2400n8 initializes COM1 with the
default parameters.
timeout=tsecs
sets a timeout (in tenths of a second) for keyboard
input. If no key is pressed for the specified time, the
first image is automatically booted. Similarly, pass-
word input is aborted if the user is idle for too long.
The default timeout is infinite.
verbose=level
Turns on lots of progress reporting. Higher numbers
give more verbose output. If -v is additionally
specified on the lilo command line, the level is
increased accordingly. The maximum verbosity level is
5.
Additionally, the kernel configuration parameters append,
ramdisk, read-only, and vga can be set in the global options
section. They are used as defaults if they aren't specified
in the configuration sections of the respective kernel
images.
PER-IMAGE SECTION
A per-image section starts with either a line
image=pathname
(to indicate a file or device containing the boot image of a
Linux kernel), or a line
other=pathname
to indicate an arbitrary system to boot.
In the former case, if an image line specifies booting from
a device, then one has to indicate the range of sectors to
be mapped using
range=start-end
In the latter case (booting another system) there are the
three options
loader=chain-loader
This specifies the chain loader that should be used.
By default /boot/chain.b is used. The chain loader must
be specified if booting from a device other than the
first hard or floppy disk.
table=device
This specifies the device that contains the partition
table. The boot loader will not pass partition informa-
tion to the booted operating system if this variable is
omitted. (Some operating systems have other means to
determine from which partition they have been booted.
E.g., MS-DOS usually stores the geometry of the boot
disk or partition in its boot sector.) Note that
/sbin/lilo must be re-run if a partition table mapped
referenced with `table' is modified.
unsafe
Do not access the boot sector at map creation time.
This disables some sanity checks, including a partition
table check. If the boot sector is on a fixed-format
floppy disk device, using UNSAFE avoids the need to put
a readable disk into the drive when running the map
installer. `unsafe' and `table' are mutually incompati-
ble.
In both cases the following options apply.
label=name
The boot loader uses the main file name (without its
path) of each image specification to identify that
image. A different name can be used by setting the
variable `label'.
alias=name
A second name for the same entry can be used by speci-
fying an alias.
lock (See above.)
optional
Omit the image if it is not available at map creation
time. This is useful to specify test kernels that are
not always present.
password=password
Protect the image by a password.
restricted
A password is only required to boot the image if param-
eters are specified on the command line (e.g. single).
KERNEL OPTIONS
If the booted image is a Linux kernel, then one may pass
command line parameters to this kernel.
append=string
Appends the options specified to the parameter line
passed to the kernel. This is typically used to
specify parameters of hardware that can't be entirely
auto-detected or for which probing may be dangerous.
Example:
append = "hd=64,32,202"
literal=string
Like `append', but removes all other options (e.g. set-
ting of the root device). Because vital options can be
removed unintentionally with `literal', this option
cannot be set in the global options section.
ramdisk=size
This specifies the size of the optional RAM disk. A
value of zero indicates that no RAM disk should be
created. If this variable is omitted, the RAM disk size
configured into the boot image is used.
read-only
This specifies that the root file system should be
mounted read-only. Typically, the system startup pro-
cedure re-mounts the root file system read-write later
(e.g. after fsck'ing it).
read-write
This specifies that the root file system should be
mounted read-write.
root=root-device
This specifies the device that should be mounted as
root. If the special name current is used, the root
device is set to the device on which the root file sys-
tem is currently mounted. If the root has been changed
with -r , the respective device is used. If the vari-
able `root' is omitted, the root device setting con-
tained in the kernel image is used. (And that is set
at compile time using the ROOT_DEV variable in the ker-
nel Makefile, and can later be changed with the rdev(8)
program.)
vga=mode
This specifies the VGA text mode that should be
selected when booting. The following values are recog-
nized (case is ignored):
normal: select normal 80x25 text mode.
extended (or ext): select 80x50 text mode.
ask: stop and ask for user input (at boot time).
<number>: use the corresponding text mode. A list of
available modes can be obtained by booting with
vga=ask and pressing [Enter].
If this variable is omitted, the VGA mode setting con-
tained in the kernel image is used. (And that is set at
compile time using the SVGA_MODE variable in the kernel
Makefile, and can later be changed with the rdev(8)
program.)
SEE ALSO
lilo(8), rdev(8).
The lilo distribution comes with very extensive documenta-
tion of which the above is an extract.