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Global options

 

/etc/lilo.conf begins with a possibly empty global options section. Many global options can also be set from the command line, but storing permanent options in the configuration file is more convenient.

The following global options are recognized:

backup= backup_file
Copy the original boot sector to backup_file (which may also be a device, e.g. /dev/null) instead of /boot/boot. number
boot= boot_device
Sets the name of the device (e.g. a hard disk partition) that contains the boot sector. If boot is omitted, the boot sector is read from (and possibly written to) the device that is currently mounted as root.
compact
Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single read request. This drastically reduces load time and keeps the map smaller. Using compact is especially recommended when booting from 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.
delay= tsecs
Specifies the number of tenths of a second LILO should wait before booting the first image. This is useful on systems that immediately boot from the hard disk after enabling the keyboard. LILO doesn't wait if delay is omitted or if delay is set to zero.
disk= device_name
Defines non-standard parameters for the specified disk. See section 3.4 for details.
disktab= disktab_file
Specifies the name of the disk parameter table (see section 3.4.3). The map installer looks for /etc/disktab if disktab is omitted. The use of disktabs is discouraged; see section 3.4 for a vastly superior approach.
fix-table
 allows LILO to adjust 3D addresses in partition tables. Each partition entry contains a 3D (sector/head/cylinder) 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 or OS/2) 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
Like backup, but overwrite an old backup copy if it exists. backup= backup_file is ignored if force-backup appears in the same configuration file.
ignore-table
tells LILO to ignore corrupt partition tables.
install= boot_sector
Install the specified file as the new boot sector. If install is omitted, /boot/boot.b is used as the default.
linear
Generate linear sector addresses instead of sector/head/cylinder addresses. Linear addresses are translated at run time and do not depend on disk geometry. Note that boot disks may not be portable if linear is used, because the BIOS service to determine the disk geometry does not work reliably for floppy disks. When using linear with large disks, /sbin/lilo may generate references to inaccessible disk areas (see section 1.3.1), because 3D sector addresses are not known before boot time.
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.
map= map_file
Specifies the location of the map file. If map is omitted, a file /boot/map is used.
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. 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.
nowarn
Disables warnings about possible future dangers.
optional
makes all images optional. (See below.)
password= password
sets a password for all images. (See below.)
prompt
forces entering the boot prompt without expecting any prior key-presses. Unattended reboots are impossible if prompt is set and timeout isn't.
restricted
relaxes the password protection. (See below.)
serial= parameters
enables control from a serial line. The specified serial port is initialized and LILO 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 LILO '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
The components bps, parity and bits can be omitted. If a component is omitted, all following components have to be omitted too. Additionally, the comma has to be omitted if only the port number is specified.
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, 4800 and 9600 bps. Default is 2400 bps.
parity
the parity used on the serial line. LILO 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.

timeout= tsecs
sets a timeout (in tenths of a second) for keyboard input. If no key is pressed for the specified time, the first image is automatically booted. Similarly, password input is aborted if the user is idle for too long. The default timeout is infinite.
verbose= level
Turns on lots of progress reporting. Higher numbers give more verbose output. If -v is additionally specified on the command line, level is increased accordingly. The following verbosity levels exist:
<0
only warnings and errors are shown
0
prints one line for each added or skipped image
1
mentions names of important files and devices and why they are accessed. Also displays informational messages for exceptional but harmless conditions and prints the version number.
2
displays statistics and processing of temporary files and devices
3
displays disk geometry information
4
lists sector mappings as they are written into the map file (i.e. after compaction, in a format suitable to pass it to the BIOS)
5
lists the mapping of each sector (i.e. before compaction, raw)

When using the -q option, the levels have a slightly different meaning:
0
displays only image names
1
also displays all global and per-image settings
2
displays the address of the first map sector

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. See below for a description.

The plethora of options may be intimidating at first, but in ``normal'' configurations, hardly any options but boot, compact, delay, root, and vga are used.



next up previous contents
Next: General per-image options Up: Configuration Previous: Syntax



Ross Biro
Sat May 20 13:51:22 PDT 1995