Provided by: lilo_24.2-1_amd64 
NAME
lilo - install boot loader of LiLO
SYNOPSIS
Main function:
lilo
Auxiliary uses:
lilo -A # activate/show active partition
lilo -E # edit header or update a bitmap file
lilo -I # inquire path name of current kernel
lilo -M # write a Master Boot Loader on a device
lilo -q # query map and show its content
lilo -R # set default command line for next reboot
lilo -T # tell more about specified topic
lilo {-u|-U} # uninstall LiLO boot loader
DESCRIPTION
lilo installs a boot loader that will be activated the next time you boot your system. The
default configuration file /etc/lilo.conf (see manpage lilo.conf(5)) will contain most
options, but many, including those which override the configuration file, may be specified
on the command line.
OPTIONS
-A master-device [N]
Used with a single argument, inquire of active partition on device master-device; e.g.
/dev/sda. With N==0: deactivate all partitions on the device. With N in the range
[1..n]: activate the specified partition and deactivate all others. Normally, only
primary partitions [1..4] may be activated, but if the 'Extended Master Boot Loader'
is present on the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the device (see the -M option), any
partition may be made active. Whether the actual OS in the partition will boot from a
logical partition depends on the characteristics of the OS. LILO boot records for
Linux may be booted from a logical partition.
-b bootdev
Set the boot device where the boot loader will be installed. For example "-b /dev/sda"
set the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the first disk as boot device. "-b /dev/sdb5" set
the first logical partition on the second disk as boot device.
-B bitmap-file
Define a bitmap file for the boot-time graphics screen, preferably one already pre-
processed with the -E option.
-c Enable map compaction. This will merge read requests from adjacent sectors. Speeds up
the booting especially from floppy.
-C config-file
Set another pathname and filename for the configuration file. The default
configuration file is /etc/lilo.conf.
-d delay-time
Set the delay time in tenths of a second ('20' = 2 sec) before automatically booting
the first image. This give you time to interrupt the automatic boot process with:
Shift, Alt, Ctrl, ScrollLock, or CapsLock. If interrupted, the boot: prompt will be
displayed.
This switch will be overridden by the appearance of prompt in the configuration file!
-D label
Use the kernel with the given label as the default kernel to boot, instead of the
first one in the list of the configuration file.
-E filename.xxx
If the extension .xxx is .bmp, then take the file to be a bitmap graphic file for use
in the bitmap= configuration file directive. Enter an interactive editor to create or
update the color/placement information in the LILO header of this bitmap file. (see
bmp-colors, bmp-table, and bmp-timer on the manual page for lilo.conf (5).)
If .xxx is .dat then take this file to be a configuration file to set bitmap graphic
parameters, which are transferred into the LILO header in the bitmap file of the same
name.
When a .bmp file is modified using a graphics editor (e.g. GIMP), the LILO header will
be lost. It can be restored using the dat file, which is used as a text-based backup
for the LILO header information.
-f disk-tab
Set another disk geometry parameter file. The default is /etc/disktab.
-F Override boot sector check for filesystems (e.g., swap, ext4, xfs ...) which might be
destroyed by the installation of the LILO boot sector on the first sector of the
partition if these filesystems use the first sector as a superblock.
Compare with -P ignore, which bypasses certain partition table checks.
-g Generate 'cylinder/head/sector' (CHS geometric) disk addresses. Limited to cylinders
up to 1023. Forces compatibility with very old versions of LILO (obsolete switch).
-H Override fatal halt if a RAID array does not have all disks active.
-I label [D|a|i|k|r|R]
label is taken to be the name of an image specified in the configuration file. This
command will print the path name of the corresponding kernel file, keytable file,
initial ramdisk file, root specification, or "append=" string ("i", "k", "r", "R", or
"a" option). The "D" option ignores the label parameter and prints the default
"image=" label, or the first "image=" label is selected if no default image is set.
-l Generate 24-bit linear sector addresses instead of cylinder/head/sector addresses.
-L Generate 32-bit Logical Block Addresses (LBA) instead of cylinder/head/sector (CHS)
addresses, allowing access to all partitions on disks with more than 1024 cylinders.
(This is the default geometry).
-m map-file
Use another map file instead of the default file /boot/map.
-M master-device {mbr|ext}
Install a Master Boot Record on the device specified as master-device, selecting the
Standard or Extended Master Boot Loader per option. The primary partition table on
master-device is undisturbed. If no valid Volume-ID (serial number) is present, then
generate one and write it to the MBR. If mbr is set, the Standard Master Boot Loader
will search partitions 1-4 for an active flag, and boot the flagged partition. Only
one active flag is allowed. If ext is set, the search for an active partition will
include logical partitions as well. The presence of the Extended Master Boot Loader
on the Master Boot Record (MBR = sector 0) of a disk affects the operation of the -A
option.
-p Require interactive entry of all passwords set as "" in the configuration file.
-P {fix|ignore|<global-option}>
Fix or ignore 'corrupt' partition tables, e.g. partition tables with linear and
cylinder/head/sector addresses that do not correspond. Always try ignore first, as fix
will re-write the partition table, possibly destroying all partitions on the disk.
ignore is also used to bypass the partition table check for partition types within the
partition table which might not allow the installation of a LILO boot sector. Compare
with the '-F' flag, which overrides the check of the actual boot sector.
<global-option> allows the passing of any global option which may appear in the global
section (top) of the configuration file (/etc/lilo.conf). For instance '-P nowarn'
will pass the 'nowarn' option, just as though 'nowarn' appeared in the configuration
file (same as the '-w' switch). Similarly '-P timeout=50' will add or override the
'timeout=' line in the configuration file. Note that the general -P switch actually
duplicates a number of command line option switches. However, it is not strictly the
same as some switches which cause an override of other options; e.g. '-g' (-P
geometric), '-L' (-P lba32).
-q List the currently mapped files. lilo maintains a file, by default /boot/map,
containing each name and location of the kernel(s) to boot. This option will list the
names therein. Use with -v for more detailed information about the installed boot
loader.
-r root-directory
Before doing anything else, do a 'chroot' to the indicated directory. The new root
directory must contain a /dev directory and may need a /boot directory. It may also
need an /etc/lilo.conf file.
-R command-line
This option sets the default command for the boot loader for the next time it
executes. After execution the boot loader will erase this line because it is a once-
only command. It is typically used in reboot scripts, just before calling 'shutdown
-r'. Used without any arguments, it will cancel a lock-ed or fallback command line.
This Command line starts with image identifier (as shown during map file update), then
space, then kernel parameters. The kernel parameters are appended to kernel command
line constructed routinely. In either case, it there were parameters or not, such one-
time command will be treated by loaders code, as if it is set at 'boot:' prompt. This
could lead to 'password:' prompt at boot time. Be warned! Refer to lilo.conf(5) for
details.
-s save-file
When lilo writes a new boot sector, it preserves the former contents of the boot
sector in a file, named by default /boot/boot.NNNN, where NNNN is the hexadecimal
representation of the major and minor device numbers of the drive/partition.
This option defines the backup save file in one of three ways: a save directory
(default is '/boot') using the default filename 'boot.NNNN' in the defined directory;
a pathname template to which '.NNNN' is appended (default would be '/boot/boot'); or
the full pathname of the file, which must include the correct '.NNNN' suffix. When
used with the -u option, the full file pathname must be set.
-S save-file
Normally lilo will not overwrite an existing boot sector save file. This options says
that overwriting is to be forced. As with -s, the setting may be of a save directory,
pathname template, or full pathname (which includes the '.NNNN' suffix).
-t Test only. Do not really write a new boot sector or map file. Use together with -v to
find out what lilo is about to do.
-T option
Print out system information, some of it extracted from system bios. This is more
convenient than booting the LILO diagnostic floppy on problem systems. option may be
any one of the following:
help print a list of available diagnostics
ChRul list the partition types subject to
Change-Rules
EBDA list Extended BIOS Data Area information
geom=<drive> list drive geometry for bios drive;
e.g. geom=0x80
geom list drive geometry for all drives
table=<drive> list the primary partition table;
e.g. table=/dev/sda
video list graphic modes available to boot
loader
-u [device-name]
Uninstall lilo by copying the saved boot sector back. The -s and -C switches may be
used with this option. The device-name is optional. A time-stamp is checked.
-U [device-name]
The same as '-u', but do not check the time-stamp.
-v [number]
Increase verbosity. Giving one to five -v options will make lilo more verbose. The
number (range 1..5) set verbosity level.
-V Print version number.
-w[+|-]
Used as -w or -w- to suppress warning messages. Used as '-w+' to override 'nowarn' in
the configuration file and show warning messages.
-x option
For RAID installations only. The option may be any of the keywords: none, auto, mbr,
mbr-only, or a comma separated list of additional boot devices (no spaces allowed in
the list).
RAID installations write the boot record to the RAID partition. Conditional writing of
MBRs may occur to aid in making the RAID set bootable in a recovery situation, but all
default actions may be overridden. Action similar to previous versions is achieved
using the '-x mbr-only' switch.
-X Reserved for LILO internal use. May produce different output for different LILO
versions. The line beginning "CFLAGS=" will contain the compiler options used to
generate this version of LILO.
-z When used with the '-M' switch, clears the Volume-ID. Usually used in the following
sequence to generate a new Volume-ID:
lilo -z -M /dev/sda
lilo -M /dev/sda
-Z option
Tells the boot installer whether special precautions need to be taken because the BIOS
fails to pass the correct device code in DL (-Z0). Or may specify that the BIOS always
gets DL right (-Z1). Corresponds to, and overrides, the configuration file option
'bios-passes-dl='.
CONFIG OPTIONS
The above command line options correspond to the key words in the config file indicated
below.
-b bootdev boot=bootdev
-B file.bmp bitmap=file.bmp
-c compact
-d dsec delay=dsec
-D label default=label
-f file disktab=file
-g geometric
-l linear
-L lba32
-m mapfile map=mapfile
-P fix fix-table
-P ignore ignore-table
-s file backup=file
-S file force-backup=file
-v [N] verbose=N
-w nowarn
-x option raid-extra-boot=option
-Z option bios-passes-dl=option
BOOT OPTIONS
The options described here may be specified at boot time on the command line when a
kernel image is booted. These options are processed by LILO, and are removed from the
command line before it is passed to the kernel, unless otherwise noted.
lock
Locks the command line, as though 'lock' had been defined in /etc/lilo.conf.
mem=###[,K,M,G]
Set the maximum memory in the system in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes.
This option is not removed from the command line, and is always passed to the kernel.
nobd
Suppresses the BIOS data check. This option is reserved for use with non-IBM-compliant
BIOS's which hang with the lines:
Loading...............
BIOS data check
vga=[ASK,EXT,EXTENDED,NORMAL,###,0x###]
Allows overriding the default video mode upon kernel startup.
BOOT ERRORS
The boot process takes place in two stages. The first stage loader is a single sector,
and is loaded by the BIOS or by the loader in the MBR. It loads the multi-sector second
stage loader, but is very space limited. When the first stage loader gets control, it
types the letter 'L'; when it is ready to transfer control to the second stage loader it
types the letter 'I'. If any error occurs, like a disk read error, it will put out a
hexadecimal error code and then re-try the operation. All hex error codes are BIOS return
values, except for the lilo-generated codes: 40, 99 and 9A. A partial list of error codes
follows:
00 no error
01 invalid disk command
02 address mark not found
03 disk write-protected
04 sector not found
06 floppy disk removed
08 DMA overrun
0A bad sector flag
0B bad track flag
20 controller failure
40 seek failure (BIOS)
40 cylinder>1023 (LILO)
99 invalid second stage index sector (LILO)
9A no second stage loader signature (LILO)
AA drive not ready
FF sense operation failed
Error code 40 is generated by the BIOS, or by LILO during the conversion of a linear
(24-bit) disk address to a geometric (C:H:S) address. On older systems which do not
support lba32 (32-bit) addressing, this error may also be generated. Errors 99 and 9A
usually mean the map file ('-m' or 'map=') is not readable, likely because LILO was not
re-run after some system change, or there is a geometry mismatch between what LILO used
(lilo -v3 to display) and what is actually being used by the BIOS (one of the lilo
diagnostic disks, available in the source distribution, may be needed to diagnose this
problem).
When the second stage loader has received control from the first stage, it prints the
letter 'L', and when it has initialized itself, including verifying the "Descriptor Table"
- the list of kernels/others to boot - it will print the letter "O", to form the full word
"LILO", in uppercase.
All second stage loader error messages are English text and try to pinpoint, more or less
successfully, the point of failure.
BUGS
Configuration file options 'backup' and 'force-backup' should specify a backup directory
or backup file pathname template on all RAID installations. Use of an explicit filename
may not allow multiple backup files to be created correctly. It is best to use the
default mechanism, as it works correctly in all cases.
COPYRIGHT and LICENSE
Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger
Copyright (C) 1999-2007 John Coffman
Copyright (C) 2009-2014 Joachim Wiedorn
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are
permitted under the terms of the BSD license found in the COPYING file.
AUTHOR
lilo was written by:
Werner Almesberger (version 0 to 21),
John Coffman (version 21.2 to 22.8),
Joachim Wiedorn (since version 23.0).
This manual page was written by Werner Almesberger and Joachim Wiedorn <joodevel at
joonet.de>.
SEE ALSO
lilo.conf(5), liloconfig(8), lilo-uuid-diskid(8), mkrescue(8), fdisk(8), mkinitrd(8)