This is a linux-related configuration file which, if you use linux on an
intel based machine, you're probably going to edit or atleast have a look at some time.
It is responsible for telling LILO how to install itself. It lives in /etc and should be found there on any LILO using system.
It is a plain text file, easily edited with any text editor (vi is my reccomendation, PICO is good for newbies, and comes on most systems). It accepts global options and parameters, as well as options and parameters specific to each image you intend to boot.
I will demonstrate a simple lilo.conf file here, using only common options. Please do not use this as an absolute guide (for that, refer to the man page).
# start of lilo.conf
boot = /dev/hda # The device to install the boot loader on. Can be a disk or a partition within a disk.
prompt # Give a boot prompt to allow you to choose which OS or kernel image to boot.
lba32 # With newer versions of LILO, allows booting from partitions past the 1024th cylinder.
timeout = 500 # Delay, in hundredths of a second, to wait for a selection before booting the default image.
delay = 50 # Delay to wait for keyboard input, in tenths of a second.
# Here is the image-specific configuration:
image = /boot/vmlinuz # The kernel file to boot
root = /dev/hda2 # The root (/) partition to be used for this kernel.
label = linux # The label used to select this kernel from the prompt.
append = "mem=128M" # The append parameter passes options to the kernel. The mem option is neccesary on many systems with more than 64MB of RAM.
read-only # Directs the kernel to mount the root filesystem read-only. You probably want this.
# That block can be repeated for all the images you wish to boot, just be sure to make the labels different.
# To boot another OS, Windows, for example:
other = /dev/hda4
label = win2k
# That, too, may be repeated for as many OS's as installed.
# end of lilo.conf
Those are some of the most common options, and that should be enough to allow you to make some sense of that file. I would urge you to back it up before you edit it.
Oh yes, and once done editing the file, you must type lilo as root in order to actually write the new boot loader to the drive.
LILO has many options, and i've really only scratched the surface. Please see the LILO manual page for all the in depth details. Happy Tweaking.
i realize one of the lines is indented wrong, my tab key seems to have ceased functioning.