[NTLUG:Discuss] LILO Problem

[terry]

Error 99 means
invalid second stage index sector

The issue may very well be boot=/dev/hda# in /etc/lilo.conf
it should be just boot=/dev/hda  or boot=/dev/hdb  or where ever your
/  or /boot partition is.  In other words you should see just the
drive designation, not a partition designation.

There are a couple ways to fix it.
You can boot the instal CD, run setup and skip to the part where you
do lilo configuration and try again to set things straight.
Or, you can use install CD to boot your system and then edit
/etc/lilo.conf properly, and run lilo  and reboot.

Not knowing what partition scheme you've used, I cannot give specific
instruction, but, here is a couple examples.  (It depends on where
your kernel resides.
If you have one single drive and your / or /boot is in /dev/hda1 you
would edit lines in lilo.conf like this:
boot = /dev/hda
root = /dev/hda1
If you have one single drive and your / or /boot is in /dev/hda2 you
would edit lines in lilo.conf like this:
boot = /dev/hda
root = /dev/hda2
If you have multiple drives and your / or /boot is in /dev/hdb1 you
would edit lines in lilo.conf like this:
boot = /dev/hda
root = /dev/hdb1
(The "boot ="  line is in the global sectioin  and "root =" is in the
partition  config section below.)

To boot from the CD, at the boot prompt type:
hugesmp.s root=/dev/hda1 rdinit= ro
and hit Enter
[where /dev/hda1 is where your Linux partition is - adjust as needed]
It's going to look like this
boot: hugesmp.s root=/dev/hda1 rdinit= ro
            (there'll be instructions on the screen)
Just hit Enter at that point and you will boot your system.