Provided by: lilo_24.0-2_amd64 bug

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:

              # /etc/lilo.conf
              #
              #  global options:
              boot=/dev/hda
              prompt
              timeout=150
              lba32
              compact
              vga=normal
              root=/dev/hda1
              read-only
              menu-title=" John's Computer "
              #
              ### bootable kernel images ###
              image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.29-1-i386
                   label=try
                   initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.29-1-i386
              image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.33-1-i386
                   label=2.4.33
              image=/tamu/vmlinuz
                   label=tamu
                   initrd=/tamu/initrd.img
                   root=/dev/hdb2
                   vga=ask
              #
              ### other operating systems ###
              other=/dev/hda3
                   label=PCDOS
                   boot-as=0x80    # must be C:
              other=/dev/hdb1
                   label=WinXP
                   boot-as=0x80    # must be C:
              other=/dev/hdb5
                   label=oldDOS
                   loader=chain
                   table=/dev/hdb5

       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 html/user_21-5.html inside the old documentation.)

       When booting, the boot loader will issue its boot: prompt and wait for you  to  enter  the
       label  of  the  kernel  (and  any options) which you wish to boot. At any time you may hit
       [Tab] to see a list of kernel/other labels.  Alternately,  if  the  menu  boot  loader  is
       installed, a menu of boot options will be presented for your selection.  The title of this
       menu is overridden with the menu title specification in this configuration file.   If  you
       enter  nothing,  then  the  default  kernel  image,  the  first mentioned, (in the example
       /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.29-1-i386)  will  be  booted  after  a  timeout  of  15   seconds   (150
       deciseconds).  There  may  be at least 16 images mentioned in lilo.conf. (The exact number
       depends upon compilation options.)

       As can be seen above, a configuration file starts with a number of global options (the top
       9  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.

       Comment lines may appear anywhere, and begin with the "#" character.

GLOBAL OPTIONS

       There are  many  possible  keywords.  The  description  below  is  almost  literally  from
       html/user_21-5.html inside the old documentation (just slightly abbreviated).

       backup=<backup-file>
              Specifies  the location where a copy of any modified boot sector will be saved in a
              file. 'backup=' may specify this location in one of three ways: a  directory  where
              the  default  backup  file 'boot.NNNN' will be created; a file pathname template to
              which the '.NNNN' suffix will be added; or  the  full  file  pathname,  which  must
              include  the  correct  '.NNNN'  suffix.  All RAID installations should use only the
              first two alternatives, as multiple backups may be created.  The '.NNNN' suffix  is
              the  hexadecimal representation of the major and minor device numbers of the device
              or partition. If this option is not specified, the  default  name  of  boot  sector
              backups  is  '/boot/boot.NNNN'.  If  a backup already exists, it will be preserved,
              rather than overwritten.  C.f., force-backup= below.

       bios-passes-dl=<option>
              The option is indicated as yes, no, or unknown.   If  not  specified,  a  value  of
              "unknown"  is  assumed,  unless  additional  information  is  available to the boot
              installer. When "no" is specified, it indicates that the BIOS is known not to  pass
              the  current  boot  device  code  to  the boot loader in the DL register.  Its only
              function at this point is experimental, as certain RAID installations  may  benefit
              from  knowing  that  the  BIOS  is  100%  reliable.   Its  use should be considered
              experimental.

              This option may be specified on the command line with the '-Z' switch: yes=1, no=0.

       bitmap=<bitmap-file>
              Specifies use of a 640x480x16 (VGA BIOS) or 640x480x256 (VGA/VESA BIOS) bitmap file
              as the background on which a boot menu is displayed.  May not be used if 'message='
              is specified.  Use of this option will select a bitmap-capable boot loader,  unless
              overridden with "install=" (see below).

              When a bitmap file is specified as a background screen during the boot process, the
              color selection and layout of the text which overlays the  graphic  image  must  be
              specified in one of two ways.

              One  way  is the use of header information in the bitmap image (*.bmp) file: From a
              text file with all the information about 'bmp-colors', 'bmp-table' and  'bmp-timer'
              options together with the 'bitmap' option are stored in the special LILO  header of
              the bitmap image file by the lilo -E  command.  Another  way  works  without  these
              special header information: All the information about 'bmp-colors', 'bmp-table' and
              'bmp-timer'  options  together  with  the  'bitmap'  option  are  stored   in   the
              configuration  file.   Any  use of the 'bmp-' options within the configuration file
              overrides the options stored in the bitmap file header. If lilo cannot find any  of
              the 'bmp-' options, then default values are used.

       bmp-colors=<fg>,<bg>,<sh>,<hfg>,<hbg>,<hsh>
              Specifies  the  decimal  values  of the colors to be used for the menu display on a
              'bitmap=' background.  The list consists of 6 entries, 3 for normal  text  followed
              by  3  for  highlighted  text.   The  order  of  each  triple is: foreground color,
              background  color,  shadow  color.   If  background   color   is   not   specified,
              "transparent"  is  assumed.   If  shadow  color  is  not  specified, then "none" is
              assumed.  The list entries are separated by commas, with no spaces.

       bmp-retain
              Option applies to all 'image=' and 'other=' sections.  (See COMMON OPTIONS, below.)

       bmp-table=<x>,<y>,<ncol>,<nrow>,<xsep>,<spill>
              Specifies the location and layout of the menu table.  <x>,<y> specify the  starting
              x- and y-position of the upper left corner of the table in character coordinates: x
              in [1..80], y in [1..30]. <ncol> is the number of columns in the menu  (1..5);  and
              <nrow>  is the number of rows (entries) in each column.  If more than one column is
              specified, then <xsep> is the number of  character  columns  between  the  leftmost
              characters  in  each  column: (18..40), and <spill> is the number of entries in one
              column which must be filled before entries spill into the next column. <spill> must
              be  .le. <nrow>. If pixel addressing is used, instead of character addressing, then
              any of <x>, <y>, or <xsep> may be specified with a 'p' suffix on the decimal value.

       bmp-timer=<x>,<y>,<fg>,<bg>,<sh>
              Optional specification of the 'timeout=' countdown timer.   <x>,<y>  specifies  the
              character  (or  pixel)  coordinate  of  the location of the timer the same as 'bmp-
              table=' above; and the color triple specifies the character  color  attributes  the
              same  as  'bmp-colors=' above, with the exception that the background color must be
              specified.  If used to override the timer specification in a bitmap file, then  the
              form  'bmp-timer  =  none'  is  acceptable.   This  will  disable the timer display
              entirely.

       boot=<boot-device>
              Sets the name of the device (e.g. hard disk or partition) that  contains  the  boot
              sector  and where the new boot sector should be written to. Notice: The boot-device
              should be the device with the currently mounted root partition.

              A raid installation is initiated by specifying a RAID1 device as the  boot  device;
              e.g., "boot=/dev/md0".

              On  newer  systems  you  need  an unique ID for the boot device. If the boot sector
              should write to a partition you can use its UUID in the same manner is for the root
              options.

              If  your  boot  device  is a hard disk you need a special ID, which is supported by
              udev. You find the right ID in the directory /dev/disks/by-id, i. e.:

                  boot = /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SAMSUNG_SV1604N_S01FJ10X999999

       change-rules
              Defines boot-time changes to partition type numbers (`hiding').

              change-rules
                 reset
                 type=DOS12
                    normal=1
                    hidden=0x11
                 type=DOS16_small
                    normal=4
                    hidden=0x14
                 type=DOS16_big
                    normal=0x06
                    hidden=0x16

              The above excerpt from a configuration file specifies that all default change-rules
              are  removed  ("reset"),  and  the  change-rules  for  three  partition  types  are
              specified.  Without the reset, the three types specified would have been  added  to
              the  existing  default  change-rules.   Normally, the default rules are sufficient.
              The strings which define the partition types are used  in  a  change  section  (see
              below),  with the suffixes "_normal" or "_hidden" appended.  See section "Partition
              type change rules" of html/user_21-5.html inside the  old  documentation  for  more
              details.

       compact
              Tries  to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single read request. This
              drastically reduces load time and keeps the map file smaller.  Using  `compact'  is
              especially recommended when booting using a map file on 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. See also, vmdefault below.

       delay=<tsecs>
              Specifies the number of tenths of a second  the  boot  loader  should  wait  before
              automatically  booting  a  locked  command line, a command line pre-stored by "lilo
              -R", or the default `image=' or `other='.   When  `delay'  is  non-zero,  the  boot
              loader  will  wait  for an interrupt for the specified interval. If an interrupt is
              received, or is already waiting, the  boot:  prompt  will  be  be  issued,  and  no
              automatic  boot will take place. The setting of CAPS LOCK or SCROLL LOCK, or any of
              the keys ALT, CTRL, or SHIFT, when held down, are taken as interrupts.

              This action is modified by specifying `prompt' (see below).

       disk=<device-name>
              Defines non-standard parameters for the specified disk. See section "Disk geometry"
              of  html/user_21-5.html  inside the old documentation for details.  For versions of
              LILO prior to 22.5, the `bios=' parameter is quite useful for  specifying  how  the
              BIOS has assigned device codes to your disks.  For example,

                     disk=/dev/sda
                          bios=0x80
                     disk=/dev/hda
                          bios=0x81
                     disk=/dev/sdb
                          inaccessible

              would  say  that  your  SCSI disk is the first BIOS disk (0x80), that your (primary
              master) IDE disk is the second BIOS disk (0x81), and that  your  second  SCSI  disk
              (perhaps  a  USB  device) receives no device code, and is therefore inaccessible at
              boot time.

              NOTE: Use of the 'bios=' option is largely obsolete  beginning  with  LILO  version
              22.5,  as the boot loader now identifies disks by 32-bit Volume-ID, and defers BIOS
              device code determination until boot time.

              Other options include the specification of disk geometry; e.g.,

                     disk=/dev/fd0
                          sectors=18
                          heads=2
                          cylinders=80

              probably only useful for floppy disks and loopback devices, because for hard  disks
              the lba32 disk addressing option ignores disk geometry.

              Developers  who  have implemented a disk driver for a new block storage device will
              have to indicate to LILO the maximum number of partitions on the device.   This  is
              in  addition  to  making  all of the necessary entries for the device in the "/dev"
              directory (with 'mknod').  The maximum number of partitions must be one of 63 (like
              an  IDE disk), 31 (uncommon), 15 (like SCSI disks -- most common value), or 7 (like
              one array controller). An example specification would be:

                   disk=/dev/userd0
                        max-partitions=15

              In cases where there is no kernel  partition  information  available,  such  as  on
              loopback   devices,   the   'disk='  specification  may  include  paritition  start
              information; viz.,

                     disk=/dev/loop0
                          bios=0x80              # use this BIOS code
                          max-partitions=7       # declare partitionable
                          paritition=/dev/loop1
                               start=63          # offset from sector 0
                          paritition=/dev/loop2
                               start=102400      # offset from sector 0

       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.

       el-torito-bootable-CD
              Flag second stage loader to terminate disk emulation when booting from an El Torito
              Bootable CD. This option is used by the mkrescue utility when the "--iso" switch is
              specified.

       fix-table
              This  allows  lilo to adjust 3D addresses in partition tables. Each partition entry
              contains a 3D (cylinder/head/sector) and a linear address of the first and the last
              sector  of  the partition. If a partition is not track-aligned and if certain other
              operating systems (e.g. PC/MS-DOS) 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 conflicting partition table entries.

       force-backup=<backup-file>
              Operation  is  identical  to  backup=  above,  except  an  existing  backup file is
              unconditionally overwritten if it exists.

       geometric
              Force disk addressing which is compatible with older versions of  LILO.   Geometric
              addressing uses cylinder/head/sector addresses, and is limited to disk cylinders up
              to 1023.  If inaccessible cylinders are referenced, diagnostics will be  issued  at
              boot-install  time,  rather  than  boot-time.  With a newer BIOS, use of 'lba32' is
              recommended.

       ignore-table
              tells lilo to ignore corrupt partition tables.

       install=<user-interface>
              Selects the user interface which will be seen at boot time.  One of  the  following
              three options may be specified:  text, menu, or bmp. The traditional LILO interface
              is `text'; but `menu' is now the default, unless the  configuration  file  contains
              the  `bitmap='  specification.   The  text  interface  is  strictly  a command-line
              interface as though the console were a dumb terminal.   The  menu  interface  is  a
              text-based  screen of the boot choices, with the option to enter additional command
              line parameters.  And the bmp interface is  a  menu  presented  against  a  graphic
              screen, specified as a 640x480 BitMaP file of 16 or 256 colors.  (See the 'lilo -E'
              switch for editing options).

              (Prior to LILO version 22.3, `install=' specified the user interface as a  file  in
              the `/boot' directory.)

       large-memory
              Normally  any  initial  ramdisk  (initrd) loaded with a kernel is loaded as high in
              memory as possible, but never above 15Mb.  This is due  to  a  BIOS  limitation  on
              older  systems.   On newer systems, this option enables using memory above 15Mb (up
              to a kernel imposed limit, around 768Mb) for passing the initrd to the kernel.  The
              presence  of  this  option  merely indicates that your system does not have the old
              BIOS limitation.

              This switch (or its absence) is not passed to the kernel, and does not in  any  way
              affect  the  amount  of  physical  memory  which  it  will  use.   (See  the kernel
              documentation for the kernel command line parameter "mem=" for limiting the  memory
              used by the kernel.)

       lba32  Generate  32-bit Logical Block Addresses instead of cylinder/head/sector addresses.
              If the BIOS supports packet addressing, then packet calls will be  used  to  access
              the  disk.  This  allows  booting  from  any partition on disks with more than 1024
              cylinders.  If the BIOS does not support packet addressing, then 'lba32'  addresses
              are  translated  to  cylinder/head/sector ('geometric'), just as for 'linear'.  All
              floppy disk references are retained in C:H:S form.  Use of 'lba32'  is  recommended
              on  all  post-1998 systems.  Beginning with LILO version 22, 'lba32' is the default
              disk addressing scheme.

       linear Generate 24-bit linear sector addresses instead of cylinder/head/sector (geometric)
              addresses.  Linear addresses are translated at run time to geometric addresses, and
              are limited to cylinders <= 1023. When using `linear' with large disks,  /sbin/lilo
              may  generate  references  to  inaccessible  disk cylinders. 'lba32' avoids many of
              these pitfalls with its use of  packet  addressing,  but  requires  a  recent  BIOS
              (post-1998).   The  'linear' option is considered obsolete, and its use is strongly
              discouraged.

       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.

       mandatory
              The per-image password option `mandatory' (see below) applies to all images.

       map=<map-file>
              Specifies  the location of the map file. If `map' is omitted, the file /boot/map is
              used.

              On machines with a pre-1998 BIOS, the EDD bios extensions  which  are  required  to
              support  "lba32" disk sector addressing may not be present. In this case, the boot-
              loader will fall back automatically  to  "geometric"  addressing;  this  fall  back
              situation,  or the specific use of "geometric" or "linear" addressing, will require
              the map file to be located within the first 1024 cylinders of the disk drive.  This
              BIOS  limitation  is  not  present  on post-1998 systems, most of which support the
              newer EDD disk BIOS calls.

       menu-title=<title-string>
              Specifies the title line (up to 37  characters)  for  the  boot  menu.  This  title
              replaces the default "LILO Boot Menu" title string. If menu is not installed as the
              boot loader (see install= option), then this line has no effect.

       menu-scheme=<color-scheme>
              The default color scheme of the boot menu may be overridden on VGA  displays  using
              this option. (The color scheme of MDA displays is fixed.)  The general color-scheme
              string is of the form:

                   <text>:<highlight>:<border>:<title>

              where each entry  is  two  characters  which  specify  a  foreground  color  and  a
              background  color.  Only  the first entry is required. The default highlight is the
              reverse of the text color; and the default border and title  colors  are  the  text
              color.  Colors are specified using the characters kbgcrmyw, for blacK, Blue, Green,
              Cyan, Red, Magenta, Yellow, and White: upper case for intense (fg only), lower case
              for dim.  Legal color-scheme strings would be

                  menu-scheme=Wm     intense white on magenta
                  menu-scheme=wr:bw:wr:Yr    the LILO default
                  menu-scheme=Yk:kw    bright yellow on black

              If menu is not installed as the boot loader, then this line has no effect.

       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. This is
              undesirable when the menu boot loader is installed.  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.  'message=' and 'bitmap=' are mutually exclusive.

       nodevcache
              (22.8) Disables pre-loading of the internal device cache. May be needed  for  Linux
              distributions  which  use  non-standard  device  naming conventions; e.g., when the
              first IDE disk is not `/dev/hda'.

       nokbdefault=<name>
              (22.7.2) The named descriptor is taken to be the default boot image  if  no  IBM-PC
              keyboard  is  present.  If  no  serial  interface  ("serial=")  is in use, then any
              "prompt" keyword and "timeout" value are bypassed, and default  booting  occurs  as
              specified  by "delay=".  The keyboard detection codes cannot detect the presence or
              absence of a newer USB keyboard.

       noraid Disables the automatic marking of disk volumes which are components of RAID  arrays
              as   inaccessible.   This  allows  the  user  to  edit  the  disk=  /  inaccessible
              declarations into the  configuration  file  himself.   Without  such  declarations,
              duplicate  Volume IDs will be overwritten, leading to confusing situations at boot-
              time, and possible failure to boot.  The use  of  this  keyword  is  generally  not
              necessary.

       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. This option
              may prevent unattended booting, if the default image is  `password='  protected  at
              the default level `mandatory', which is a level higher than `restricted'.

       prompt Automatic  booting  (see `delay' above) will not take place unless a locked or pre-
              stored ("lilo -R") command line is present. Instead, the boot loader will issue the
              boot:  prompt  and  wait  for  user  input  before  proceeding (see timeout below).
              Unattended default image reboots are impossible if `prompt' is set and `timeout' is
              not,   or  the  default  image  is  password  protected  at  a  higher  level  than
              `restricted'.

       raid-extra-boot=<option>
              This option only  has  meaning  for  RAID1  installations.   The  <option>  may  be
              specified as none, auto, mbr, mbr-only, or a comma-separated list of devices; e.g.,
              "/dev/hda,/dev/hdc6".  Starting with LILO version 22.0, the boot record is normally
              written  to  the  first  sector  of the RAID1 partition.  On PARALLEL raid sets, no
              other boot records are needed.  The default action is auto, meaning,  automatically
              generate auxiliary boot records as needed on SKEWED raid sets.  none means suppress
              generation of all auxiliary boot records.  mbr-only suppresses generation of a boot
              record  on  the raid device, and forces compatibility with versions of LILO earlier
              than version 22.0 by writing boot records to all Master Boot Records (MBRs) of  all
              disks  which  have partitions in the raid set. mbr is like mbr-only except the boot
              record on the RAID partition is  not  suppressed.   Use  of  an  explicit  list  of
              devices, forces writing of auxiliary boot records only on those devices enumerated,
              in addition to the boot record on the RAID1 device.  Since  the  version  22  RAID1
              codes  will  never  automatically write a boot record on the MBR of device 0x80, if
              such a boot record is desired, this is one way to have it written. Use  of  mbr  is
              the other way to force writing to the MBR of device 0x80.

       restricted
              The per-image password 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 connected to a modem. The parameter string has the following 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(default), 4800, 9600, plus the extended rates 19200,
              38400,  and  57600(56000).   115200 is allowed, but may not work with all COMx port
              hardware.

              <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 automatically raised to 20.

              Example: "serial=0,2400n8" initializes COM1 with the default parameters.

       single-key
              This option specifies that boot images or 'other's are to be selected and  launched
              with a single keystroke.  Selection is based upon the first character of each name,
              which must be unique.  This option should not be used with the menu or bitmap  user
              interface ("install=").

       static-BIOS-codes
              Causes  the  operation  of  the boot installer and boot loader to bypass the use of
              Volume-ID information, and to revert to a mode of operation  of  versions  of  LILO
              from  22.4  backward.   With  Volume-ID booting (22.5 and later), the BIOS codes of
              disks are determined at boot time, not install time; hence  they  may  be  switched
              around, either by adding or removing disk(s) from the hardware configuration, or by
              using a BIOS menu to select the boot device.

              With the use of this option, BIOS codes of disks MUST  be  correctly  specified  at
              install time; either guessed correctly by LILO (which often fails on mixed IDE/SCSI
              systems), or explicitly specified with 'disk=/dev/XXX bios=0xYY'  statements.   The
              use  of  this  option precludes any activity which may switch around the BIOS codes
              assigned to particular disk devices, as noted above.

              In general, this option should never be used, except as a bug workaround.

       suppress-boot-time-BIOS-data
              This global option suppresses the boot-time real mode collection of  BIOS  data  on
              systems  which hang on certain BIOS calls.  It is equivalent to using the boot-time
              switch 'nobd'.

              This option defeats the disk volume recognition  and  BIOS  device  code  detection
              features  of  LILO  on systems with more than one disk. Thus the use of this option
              will produce a strong cautionary message, which cannot be suppressed.

       timeout=<tsecs>
              sets a timeout (in tenths of a second) for keyboard  input  at  the  boot:  prompt.
              "timeout"  only has meaning if "prompt" is mentioned.  If no key is pressed for the
              specified time, the default image is automatically booted. The default  timeout  is
              infinite.

       unattended
              (22.6)  Alters the operation of the "timeout" parameter in a manner which is useful
              on noisy serial lines.  Each typed (or  noise)  character  restarts  the  "timeout"
              timer  and  a  timeout  will  always  boot  the  default  descriptor, even if noise
              characters have appeared on the input line.

       verbose=<number>
              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.

       vmdefault=<name>
              The named boot image is used as the default boot if booting in "virtual" mode  with
              a  virtual  monitor,  such as VMware(tm).  Thus a real mode boot and a virtual mode
              boot can be made to have different default boot images.

       Additionally, the kernel configuration parameters append, ramdisk, read-only,  read-write,
       root  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=<device>

       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>
           range=<start>+<nsec>
           range=<sector>

       In the third case, 'nsec=1' is assumed.

KERNEL OPTIONS (image=)

       If  the  booted image is a Linux kernel, then one may pass command line parameters to this
       kernel.

       addappend=<string>
              The kernel parameters of this string are concatenated to the parameter(s)  from  an
              append= option (see below).  The string of addappend must be enclosed within double
              quotes.  Usually, the previous append= will set parameters common to all kernels by
              appearing  in  the  global section of the configuration file and addappend= will be
              used to add local parameter(s) to an individual image.  The addappend option may be
              used only once per "image=" section.

              If the string is a very long line, this line can be divided in more lines using "\"
              as last character of a line, e.g.

                  addappend="noapic acpi=off pci=usepirqmask \
                          pnpbios=off pnpacpi=off noisapnp"

       append=<string>
              Appends the options specified to the parameter line passed to the kernel.  This  is
              typically  used to specify hardware parameters that can't be entirely auto-detected
              or for which probing may be dangerous. Multiple kernel parameters are separated  by
              a  blank  space, and the string must be enclosed in double quotes.  A local append=
              appearing withing an image= section overrides any global append= appearing  in  the
              global  section of the configuration file.  The append option may be used only once
              per "image=" section. To concatenate parameter strings, use "addappend=". Example:

                   append="mem=96M hd=576,64,32 console=ttyS1,9600"

              If the string is a very long line, this line can be divided in more lines using "\"
              as last character of a line. See example of addappend option.

       initrd=<name>
              Specifies  the  initial ramdisk image to be loaded with the kernel.  The image will
              contain modules needed at boot time, such as network  and  scsi  drivers.  See  man
              pages for mkinitrd(8).

       literal=<string>
              Like  `append',  but  removes  all other options (e.g. setting of the root device).
              'literal' overrides all 'append' and 'addappend' options.   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 (e.g., "4096k") 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.   It  may  be
              specified  as  a  global option.  Typically, the system startup procedure 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.  It  may  be
              specified as a global option.

       root=<root-device>
              This specifies the device that should be mounted as root.  It may be specified as a
              global option.  If the special name current is used, the root device is set to  the
              device  on  which  the  root file system is currently mounted. If the root has been
              changed with  -r , the respective  device  is  used.  If  the  variable  `root'  is
              omitted,  the  root  device  setting contained in the running kernel image is used.
              Warning: This can induce to an unbootable system!

              The root filesystem may also be specified by a LABEL= or  UUID=  directive,  as  in
              '/etc/fstab'.   In  this  case, the argument to root= must be enclosed in quotation
              marks, to avoid a syntax error on the second equal sign, e.g.:

                   root="LABEL=MyDisk"
                   root="UUID=5472fd8e-9089-4256-bcaa-ceab4f01a439"

              Note:   The  command  line  root=  parameter  passed  to  the   kernel   will   be:
              'root=LABEL=MyDisk';  i.e.,  without the quotation marks. If the root= parameter is
              passed from the boot time boot: prompt, no quotes are used.  The  quotes  are  only
              there  to  satisfy  the  requirements of the boot-installer parser, which treats an
              equal sign as an operator.  The kernel command line parser is  very  much  simpler,
              and  must not see any quotation marks.  Simply stated, only use the quotation marks
              within /etc/lilo.conf.

       vga=<mode>
              This specifies the VGA text mode that should be selected when booting.  It  may  be
              specified  as  a  global  option.   The  following  values  are recognized (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 (can specify the number in decimal or  in
              hex  with the usual '0x' convention).  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 contained 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.)

ALTERNATE SYSTEM (other=)

       Used to load systems other than Linux. The `other = <device>' specifies the boot sector of
       an  alternate  system  contained  on  a  device  or  disk  partition;  e.g.,  DOS on, say,
       `/dev/hda2', or a floppy on `/dev/fd0'.  In the case of booting another system  there  are
       these options:

       loader=<chain-loader>
              This specifies the chain loader that should be used.  It may also be specified as a
              global option.  By default chain is used.  This chain loader passes  partition  and
              drive  information  in  the  boot  sector  it  loads only to DOS on FAT12 or FAT16,
              Windows on FAT16 or FAT32. (see also table=<letter> below).

       table=<device>
              This specifies the device that contains the partition table.  The boot loader  will
              pass  default partition information 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.

       change This  keyword  starts  a  section  which  describes  how  primary partition IDs are
              changed, and how primary partitions are activated and deactivated.   If  change  is
              omitted, change rules are generated as though the automatic keyword were specified.
              The keyword change alone, without any  rules  following,  will  suppress  automatic
              change-rules.  For example,

                 other=/dev/hda2
                    label=dos
                    table=/dev/hda
                    change
                      automatic
                      partition=/dev/hda1
                         set=DOS12_hidden
                         deactivate
                      partition=/dev/hda2
                         set=DOS16_big_normal
                         activate

              specifies  that  when primary partition /dev/hda2 is booted, automatic change-rules
              will be in effect; plus, partition 1, a DOS12 partition, will be  set  hidden,  and
              deactivated.   In  addition,  partition  2,  will  be  set  normal,  and activated.
              Activation sets the boot-flag in the partition table.  The  automatic  keyword  may
              conflict with default change rules, so the set= lines above may be redundant.

       boot-as=<bios>
              This  option  (LILO  version  22.5.1)  indicates the BIOS device code which must be
              assigned to the specified drive in order for the "other=" operating system to boot.
              If the chain loader detects that another BIOS device code is assigned to this disk,
              then it will dynamically swap the assigned device code with  the  specified  device
              code.

              This  option  is easier to specify than "map-drive=" and more general than "master-
              boot" in  that  any  device  code  may  be  specified.   Unlike  "map-drive=",  the
              determination  whether to swap device codes is made at boot time, not install time.
              This is advantageous on systems where the BIOS presents a boot menu of devices, and
              will  map  disks  to  devices  in  different  ways,  depending  upon  the BIOS boot
              selection.

              This option may be specified as a global option, in which case it  applies  to  all
              "other="  sections  unless overridden with a specific "master-boot" option.  If one
              of "boot-as=" or "master-boot" is specified as a global option,  it  is  better  to
              specify  "master-boot"  as  the global option, as it will not interfere with floppy
              disk BIOS device codes; "boot-as=" is then used  as  a  local  option  to  override
              "master-boot" as necessary.

       master-boot
              This  flag  (LILO  version 22.5) indicates a DOS/Windows or other system which will
              only boot from BIOS device 0x80, the "C:" drive, or BIOS device 0,  the  A:  drive.
              When this flag is specified, if this drive is not assigned device code 0x80 or 0 by
              the BIOS, then the chain loader will dynamically  swap  the  device  code  actually
              assigned  with device code 0x80 or 0 to make this drive appear to be the first hard
              or floppy drive, "C:" or "A:".

              This flag is easier to use than "map-drive=" (see  below),  and  is  preferred,  if
              simple  forcing  of  device  code  0x80  is  all  that is required. It is also more
              general, in that the necessity to swap BIOS device codes is determined  dynamically
              at  boot-time, not at boot install-time, as with "map-drive=".  It is slightly more
              powerful than "boot-as=", in that the device code which is assigned, 0 or 0x80,  is
              determined dynamically.

              This  option  may  be specified as a global option, in which case it applies to all
              "other=" sections unless overridden with a specific "boot-as=" option.

       map-drive=<num>
              Maps BIOS calls for the specified drive to the device code specified  on  the  next
              line  as  to=<num>.   This mapping is useful for booting operating systems, such as
              DOS, from the second hard drive.  The following, swaps the C: and D: drives,

                 map-drive=0x80
                    to=0x81
                 map-drive=0x81
                    to=0x80

              This option is largely  rendered  obsolete  by  "boot-as=",  introduced  with  LILO
              version 22.5.

       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. If the boot sector is on a  hard  drive,  the
              BIOS  device  code  of  the  drive  will  have  to  be  specified  explicitly  with
              "disk=/dev/XXXX bios=0x8X inaccessible" in the configuration  file.   `unsafe'  and
              `table' (explicit or implicit) are mutually incompatible.

COMMON DESCRIPTOR OPTIONS (image= & other=)

       In both the image= and other= cases, the following options apply.

       bypass No  password  is  required  to  boot  this  image. Used to indicate that the global
              password does not apply to this `image=' or `other='.  See 'password=' below.

       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 specifying an alias.

       bmp-retain
              The bitmap graphic (install=bmp) is retained when control is passed to  the  loaded
              kernel image, or other= bootloader; i.e., the screen is not blanked to alphanumeric
              mode before starting the kernel.  This  feature  is  considered  EXPERIMENTAL,  for
              those users working with startup splash screens.

       fallback=<command-line>
              Specifies  a string that is stored as the default command line if the current image
              is booted. This is useful when experimenting with kernels which  may  crash  before
              allowing interaction with the system. If using the fallback option, the next reboot
              (e.g.  triggered by a manual reset or by a watchdog timer) will  load  a  different
              (supposedly  stable)  kernel.  The command line stored by the fallback mechanism is
              cleared by removing or changing the default command line with the -R option,  which
              should be a part of the boot startup scripts.

       lock   (See above.)

       optional
              Omit the image if it is not available at map creation time.  It may be specified as
              a global option.  This is useful to  specify  test  kernels  that  are  not  always
              present.

       password=<password>
              Protect  the  `image='  or  `other='  with  a  password (or passphrase).  It may be
              specified as a global option.  The interpretation of  the  `password='  setting  is
              modified by the words `mandatory', `restricted', and `bypass' (see below).
              The  password  may  be specified in the config-file (less secure) or entered at the
              time the boot loader is installed. To request interactive entry of the password, it
              should be specified: password="".  Passwords entered interactively are not required
              to be entered again if the boot installer is re-run. They  are  cached,  in  hashed
              form,  in a companion file to the config-file, default name: /etc/lilo.conf.crc. If
              the config-file is updated, a warning message will be issued telling you to  re-run
              lilo -p to force re-creation of the password cache file.

       mandatory
              A  password  is  required to boot this image. This is the default. May be used on a
              single `image=' or `other=' to override a different global setting.

       nokbdisable
              (22.7.2) The specified descriptor is not bootable if the  IBM-PC  keyboard  is  not
              present.   This  option  is really only useful if the "serial=" boot terminal is in
              use.  With no  keyboard  (and  no  serial  terminal)  attached,  selecting  a  boot
              descriptor other than the default is impossible.  See nokbdefault above.

       restricted
              A password is only required to boot the image if kernel parameters are specified on
              the command line (e.g. 'single').  May be used on a single `image=' or `other='  to
              override a different global setting.

       vmwarn If  booting  under  a virtual monitor such as VMware(tm), the image with this label
              will cause a cautionary warning to be issued at boot time,  and  user  intervention
              will be required to continue or to abort the boot process.

       vmdisable
              If booting under a virtual monitor, the image with this label will not be displayed
              as a boot option.  The image is only bootable in real mode.  See vmdefault above.

SEE ALSO

       lilo(8), mkinitrd(8), mknod(1), mkrescue(8), rdev(8).

                                            June 2013                                LILO.CONF(5)