Bootloader failure ?

Forum: HD Install
Topic: Bootloader failure ?
started by: Comrade

Posted by Comrade on Mar. 16 2006,13:59

Could not find a solution browsing around this forum.
This is the situation.
I'm trying to install on 250Mb partition ( /dev/hda1 )
Having a 100Mb swap partition ( dev/hda2 )

But on boot :
Grub error 16
Lilo => l 99 99 99 99 99 99 ...

When i boot 'dsl 2' i can mount the hda1 without problems.
the fs = ext2
Lilo (the configuration file on the /dev/hda1) pretty looks normal to me..

lba32 (Dont need this as its a small disk but dosn't harm neither i think)

boot=/dev/hda (this is the correct device and dsl writes lilo to the mbr i asume so this is correct also)

root=/dev/hda1 (correct)

install=/boot/boot-menu.b (This file does not exists! # it out doesn't help neither)
map=/boot/map (does exists)
append="hda=scsi hdb=scsi...apm=power-off nomce noapic" (there is only 1 hd and that is hda and it aint scsi neither! removing the hdx=scsi doesn't help neither)

The kernel it points to does exists.

But it simply keeps on refusing to work!
All help very welcome..

ps : I followed the guidelines aswell one of those (mkliloboot) results in a command not found msg

After 'proceed to install a boot loader?'
/dev/root on / type ext2 (rw)
....
/dev/hda1 on /mnt/hd

eeeh ??

Posted by Comrade on Mar. 16 2006,21:20

The error is motherboard related.

Posted by anaconda on Mar. 17 2006,10:45

I had problems with DSL:s grub too. It can't boot my hd. Only complains that:"GRUB hard disk error" and then it stops

I solved the problem by installing a new version of grub on its own partition, (it can boot my machine and several OS:s without problems

)

And when I said that I installed grup to its own partition I meant that I installed grub to mbr, but "/boot" directory is on its own (small) partition.

Posted by Comrade on Mar. 17 2006,12:41

As I gave up on trying I taken out out the hd and putted it in another even older box and surprised as i was it just booted without any problem there..

The problem with the original box is that grub does not leave the system any time to boot from cdrom even tough its set in the bios to boot first so for a grub install on that box I only have a single shot. Lilo is more relaxed in that matter somehow. I'll try to find out what the problem on that puter is later... have some other boxes that are more friendly to me to do first ;)

Posted by Comrade on Mar. 18 2006,17:39

OK, now the disk installed that failed to boot (grub and lilo errors) is working fine in another box now. (reīnstalled). As a new disk I used in this problem box was over the capacity the bios can handle I swaped around disks again and putted a hd with dsl installed on from another box and it boots aswel !

Now I still have a couple of questions.

- Is it possible to 'redo the hardware detection and installation' removing 'missing' and installing new found hardware?

- What files should i backup when I put in a working installation that I want to reinstall knowing that grub and lilo will not be able to boot it anymore then?