[SOLVED] Booting from lilo

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davecoventry
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[SOLVED] Booting from lilo

Post#1 by davecoventry » 06 Nov 2013, 07:28

My Porteus entry in /etc/lilo.conf is as follows:

Code: Select all

image = /porteus/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
  label = Porteus
  initrd = /porteus/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
  read-only
  root = /dev/sda2
# Linux bootable partition config ends
The /porteus directory is on sda2 and is extracted from the ISO file I downloaded.

However, when lilo boots it says "Porteus Data not found" and gives me the option to reboot or drop down to the console.

Can anyone suggest what I should do to show Lilo where the Porteus Data is? What is the Porteus Data it's looking for, anyway?
Last edited by davecoventry on 08 Nov 2013, 20:48, edited 1 time in total.

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fanthom
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#2 by fanthom » 06 Nov 2013, 09:22

our forum header says:
"Please read our documentation before starting with Porteus: FAQ, Cheatcodes, Tips and Tricks"

hint: it's under cheatcodes but please do read the whole documentation. it will save your time and ours :wink:
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davecoventry
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#3 by davecoventry » 06 Nov 2013, 17:53

I really don't understand why you couldn't just point me to the relevant documentation rather than saying RTFM.

I have been using linux in one form or another since the mid-nineties and I have a lot of experience with various distros including Gentoo and Arch Linux and have even used Slax quite a lot.

Still, I suppose it makes you feel important if you can make people that have just started to use Porteus feel small.

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#4 by fanthom » 06 Nov 2013, 20:07

please look at it from my point of view: coming here every day and answering the same questions over and over again. sounds boring - isn't it?
my logic is simple (and comes from 4 years as a distro maintainer): if i point you right to the answer then there is a chance that you wont read the rest of docs and keep asking. if you read whole set then you get the knowledge and wont ask again (at least about the things which have been covered by the docs).
I have been using linux in one form or another since the mid-nineties and I have a lot of experience with various distros including Gentoo and Arch Linux and have even used Slax quite a lot.
and how i supposed to know that?
Still, I suppose it makes you feel important if you can make people that have just started to use Porteus feel small.
nope - you are wrong. explained above.
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#5 by Ed_P » 06 Nov 2013, 21:50

fanthom wrote:please look at it from my point of view: coming here every day and answering the same questions over and over again. sounds boring - isn't it?
Yes, it does. Unless you are being forced to do this you should find something else to do that is more enjoyable.
Ed

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#6 by brokenman » 06 Nov 2013, 22:24

I really don't understand why you couldn't just point me to the relevant documentation
I believe he did. His post says 'our forum header' which means on the front page at the very top. There is a link there to documentation and FAQ's. Check out the cheatcodes link. This is a super valuable document for information about booting Porteus.

@EdP. Please don't temp him.
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Wear your underpants on the outside and put on a cape.

davecoventry
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#7 by davecoventry » 07 Nov 2013, 06:49

To be honest, I had already read the cheatcodes before and I'm largely familiar with most of them, as I had previously installed Slax.

I found this section, which is presumably what fanthom was referring to:
from=/dev/device
from=/path/folder
from=/path/porteus.iso

... Loads Porteus from the specified device, folder or ISO file.
Examples:
'from=/dev/sdb2' will attempt to load the Porteus data from
the second partition on your second drive.
'from=/mnt/sda2/linux-testing' will attempt to load Porteus data
from the 'linux-testing' folder placed on the second partition.
'from=/linux-ISO/porteus.iso' will attempt to load the Porteus
data from an ISO file placed inside the 'linux-ISO' folder.

If the destination partition is not provided with this
cheatcode, the booting script will search through all available
devices for your data.
Also this, in the introduction of the cheatcodes section:
Here's an example of what the boot line would look like, adding the noauto and copy2ram cheatcodes to a standard Porteus boot option (which already has some other cheatcodes by default):

APPEND initrd=initrd.xz lxde changes=/porteus/ noauto copy2ram

These cheatcodes can also be added to the APPEND line of your /boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg entries (or other bootloader config files) to apply them automatically on every boot


Placing "APPEND from=/dev/sda2/porteus/porteus" in /etc/lilo.conf generates an error when I run /sbin/lilo -v.

Placing "APPEND initrd=initrd.xz changes=/porteus from=/dev/sda2/porteus/porteus" in /boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg has no effect and I get the error on booting as before.

However, in view of the nature of the responses I have recieved on here, I'm very much disinclined to pursue this any further.

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#8 by davecoventry » 07 Nov 2013, 07:57

brokenman wrote:
I really don't understand why you couldn't just point me to the relevant documentation
I believe he did. His post says 'our forum header' which means on the front page at the very top. There is a link there to documentation and FAQ's. Check out the cheatcodes link. This is a super valuable document for information about booting Porteus.

@EdP. Please don't temp him.
No, he didn't.

He basically said RTFM. And then he said "hint: look in the cheatcodes". That's not relevant documentation.

What fanthom did was point me at all documentation and leave it to me to wade through it.

What I was hoping for was for someone who is familiar with the problem (or familiar with the documentation) to suggest why Lilo couldn't find the Porteus data. If I have to read through every word of ever paragraph just to get it to boot, then I can probably use that time more productively elsewhere.

Moreover, I have googled for configuration of Lilo, but didn't find anything to address my issue. Certainly, there is plenty in reference to Grub, but I could find very little with respect to Lilo. Indeed, had this question been answered here, it may have provided a useful resource for anyone wishing to use Porteus with Lilo subsequently.

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#9 by fanthom » 07 Nov 2013, 10:39

@davecoventry
this entry should work for you:

Code: Select all

image = /porteus/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
initrd = /porteus/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
label = Porteus
append = "from=/dev/sda2 other_cheatcodes"
btw: Porteus is different than most of the distros out there because we use aufs and modules. you have to read our documentation to understand what this is all about. if you think reading it it's not worth your time then you are free to use any other distro. why there is no other choice?
because i'm not willing to waste my time to repeat things over and over again. i prefer to spend it on bugfixing or implementing new features to actually make our distro better. time spend on repeating things does not improve it.
we do an effort by creating distro and documentation. users part is to read few pages of docs.
this deal is quite fair i think?
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#10 by davecoventry » 07 Nov 2013, 14:34

Yes, I understand that: I've used Slax for a few years and understand how it operates.

I have already added the append line to /etc/lilo.conf, but running /sbin/lilo -v produces this error:
Value expected for 'append' at or above line 92 in file '/etc/lilo.conf'

Code: Select all

image = /porteus/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
  label = Porteus
  initrd = /porteus/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
  read-only
  root = /dev/sda2
  append "from = /dev/sda2"
[/buries hatchet.]

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#11 by Ed_P » 07 Nov 2013, 14:46

fanthom wrote:because i'm not willing to waste my time to repeat things over and over again. i prefer to spend it on bugfixing or implementing new features to actually make our distro better. time spend on repeating things does not improve it.
@fanthom, I understand where you are coming from. Really I do. And the answer is to indeed spend time bugfixing and implementing new features. You are very good at it and I suspect enjoy doing it. To save time when you read a question that you think is repetitive or best left to the user to read the documentation DON'T respond. Ignore the question. Say "dummy" or "newbie" under your breathe and go back to new features and bugfixing. That's a win-win situation. You save time, the poster saves time, other forum readers save time, there is less bandwidth used, etc., etc.

But don't forget the question, or how many times it's been asked. Maybe, just maybe, it might suggest an idea to add a new feature that nullifies a user's need to ask such a question. Maybe rewording an error msg might help, or better instructions in completing a form, etc.

:)


@davecoventry

Try the code exactly as @fanthom suggested, with no additional options or spaces.
Ed

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#12 by fanthom » 07 Nov 2013, 15:03

@davecoventry
you are missing '=' in the append line.
also - please do not put extra spaces into 'from=' cheatcode as it wont work.
also2 - from the lilo config you provided i see that Porteus is unpacked to a subfolder named 'porteus'. your 'from=' cheatcode should look exactly like here:

Code: Select all

append = "from=/dev/sda2/porteus"
@EdP
thanks for your suggestion. Porteus installer prints necessary info how to use LILO in Porteus but davecoventry is not using our installer so in this particular case there is no way to pass the info to him other than through the forum.
but in general i agree with you. we need to make our tools more verbose, more user friendly (puppy like).
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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#13 by donald » 07 Nov 2013, 15:34

@fanthom
The tools are userfriendly...they are just a little picky who the friends are... :)

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#14 by davecoventry » 07 Nov 2013, 16:26

fanthom wrote:@davecoventry
you are missing '=' in the append line.
also - please do not put extra spaces into 'from=' cheatcode as it wont work.
also2 - from the lilo config you provided i see that Porteus is unpacked to a subfolder named 'porteus'. your 'from=' cheatcode should look exactly like here:

Code: Select all

append = "from=/dev/sda2/porteus"
@EdP
thanks for your suggestion. Porteus installer prints necessary info how to use LILO in Porteus but davecoventry is not using our installer so in this particular case there is no way to pass the info to him other than through the forum.
but in general i agree with you. we need to make our tools more verbose, more user friendly (puppy like).

Thanks. That did it.

Can I suggest you amend the Cheatcodes Page to reflect that?

Many thanks,

Dave

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Re: Booting from lilo

Post#15 by fanthom » 08 Nov 2013, 06:42

Can I suggest you amend the Cheatcodes Page to reflect that?
which info should be added?
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