Apparent freeze during installation of system.

[globetrotterdk]

I am trying to install Salix using the Salix64 Xfce 14.2 DVD iso. I am installing on a triple boot system with 2 Linuxes and Win 10 on each their own hard disk.The install works fine until I choose to install the Lilo using the "simple" procedure. My computer has been siting for half an hour with the message "Installing the Linux Loader..." and a blinking cursor at the bottom left corner. I assume something has frozen? This is the second time that this has happened, so I made sure to erase the MBR (where I am installing Lilo) before I tried to install this second time. What is going on? My computer has a recent BIOS, but I am using Legacy mode. I have never run into problems since I replaced my motherboard about six months ago.

[mimosa]

Short of working out what's going on, you could just not install the bootloader (that is, presumably leave things as they are), boot the other Linux as currently, and update its bootloader (probably Grub) to include Salix as an option.

[globetrotterdk]

As a work around, I have installed Salix on another hard disk without any boot loader. I have at the same time reinstalled a vanilla Devuan Jessie system as my primary system, but with Lilo as the boot loader for Devuan. This worked, fine. Unfortunately, I don't know how to add Salix to the lilo.conf file. I have never configured Lilo before. I assume that it would be best to use the UUID of the drive that Salix is installed on...
Here is the default Lilo config file that was generated at install:

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# Automatically added by lilo postinst script
large-memory

(...)

#boot=/dev/sda
boot = /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST2000DM001-1CH164_S1E21XPJ

# Specifies the device that should be mounted as root. (`/')
#
#root=/dev/sda1
root = "UUID=2e1478a0-3356-4ce7-9efe-f72cb7e85a2b"

(...)

# Specifies the location of the map file
#
map=/boot/map

(...)

# Specifies the number of deciseconds (0.1 seconds) LILO should
# wait before booting the first image.
#
delay=20

(...)

#
# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Linux

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Linux
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=1

	initrd=/initrd.img

image=/vmlinuz.old
	label=LinuxOLD
	read-only
	optional
#	restricted
#	alias=2

	initrd=/initrd.img.old


# If you have another OS on this machine to boot, you can uncomment the
# following lines, changing the device name on the `other' line to
# where your other OS' partition is.
#
# other=/dev/hda4
#	label=HURD
#	restricted
#	alias=3
other=/dev/sdc1
	label=Windows
#	restricted
#	alias=2

I assume that for Salix, I could change the "other=/dev/hda4" to

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other=UUID="9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd"

Not sure if I could change the following like this to differentiate:

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# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Devuan

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Devuan
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=1

Lastly, Windows could also do with a UUID identification:

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other=UUID="E6BCC326BCC2F05B"

Replacing "other=/dev/sdc1"

[globetrotterdk]

Short of working out what's going on, you could just not install the bootloader (that is, presumably leave things as they are), boot the other Linux as currently, and update its bootloader (probably Grub) to include Salix as an option.

Thanks for the reply mimosa. This all started with Grub not being able to figure out the boot order. I would have had to convert everything to UUID anyway, and trying to edit the individual files, is a real pain. So I was highly motivated to try to move over to Lilo, which as a point of departure only has one file.

[mimosa]

That doesn't look right to me. Have a look here:
https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:slack ... ent_naming

The other thing to watch out for with Lilo is the partition with the OS you want to add needs to be mounted at the time you update the bootloader, ie execute
lilo -v

The path in lilo.conf should be the path on which the device is mounted at the time you do so.

[globetrotterdk]

That doesn't look right to me. Have a look here:
https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:slack ... ent_naming

It does state:

UUIDs can also be referenced by using just UUID=226f1db3-2f14-4862-9998-8be1e8f7cdc9 in your /etc/lilo.conf and /etc/fstab files.

however I don't have any problem using "/dev/disk/by-uuid:" Would it then look like this for Salix?

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other=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd

The other thing to watch out for with Lilo is the partition with the OS you want to add needs to be mounted at the time you update the bootloader, ie execute
lilo -v

The path in lilo.conf should be the path on which the device is mounted at the time you do so.

[globetrotterdk]

Hmm. Nothing seems to happen. I have changed labels and "default=" and attempted to change the entry for Salix:

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# /dev/sdd1
other=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd
	image=/vmlinuz
	label=Salix
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=3
other=/dev/sdc1
	label=Windows
#	restricted
#	alias=2

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# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Devuan

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Devuan
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=1

	initrd=/initrd.img

I remembered to mount the target disk before I ran "lilo -v":

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$ udisksctl mount -b /dev/sdd1
Mounted /dev/sdd1 at /media/username/9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd.
$ sudo lilo -v
LILO version 24.1 (released 17-October-2014)
  * Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger  (until v20)
  * Copyright (C) 1999-2007 John Coffman  (until v22)
  * Copyright (C) 2009-2014 Joachim Wiedorn  (since v23)
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software 
distributed under the BSD License (3-clause). Details can be found in 
the file COPYING, which is distributed with this software.
Compiled at 19:47:36 on Oct 17 2014
Debian GNU/Linux

Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed
Reading boot sector from /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST2000DM001-1CH164_S1E21XPJ
Using MENU secondary loader
Calling map_insert_data

Boot image: /vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
Mapping RAM disk /initrd.img -> /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-amd64
Added Devuan  *

Skipping /vmlinuz.old
Boot image: /vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
Added Salix

Boot other: /dev/sdc1, on /dev/sdc, loader CHAIN
Added Windows

Writing boot sector.
/boot/boot.0800 exists - no boot sector backup copy made.
One warning was issued.

[globetrotterdk]

OK, I made some progress. I reconfigured and now have working labels. However, I get a kernel panic when I choose the Salix option. Again, not sure what I am doing wrong, but here are the entries from lilo.conf:

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# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Devuan

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Devuan
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=1

	initrd=/initrd.img

image=/vmlinuz.old
	label=LinuxOLD
	read-only
	optional
#	restricted
#	alias=2

	initrd=/initrd.img.old
# End Devuan section
# /dev/sdd1
# image=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd
root=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd
	image=/vmlinuz
	label=Salix
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=3
# End Salix OS section

It must have something with "image=/vmlinuz", but I am unsure how to refer to the Salix install.
----
Woops, I changed the output in the post above by accident. The output belongs here:

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$ sudo lilo -v
LILO version 24.1 (released 17-October-2014)
  * Copyright (C) 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger  (until v20)
  * Copyright (C) 1999-2007 John Coffman  (until v22)
  * Copyright (C) 2009-2014 Joachim Wiedorn  (since v23)
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software 
distributed under the BSD License (3-clause). Details can be found in 
the file COPYING, which is distributed with this software.
Compiled at 19:47:36 on Oct 17 2014
Debian GNU/Linux

Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed
Reading boot sector from /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST2000DM001-1CH164_S1E21XPJ
Using MENU secondary loader
Calling map_insert_data

Boot image: /vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
Mapping RAM disk /initrd.img -> /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-amd64
Added Devuan  *

Skipping /vmlinuz.old
Boot image: /vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
Added Salix

Boot other: /dev/sdc1, on /dev/sdc, loader CHAIN
Added Windows

Writing boot sector.
/boot/boot.0800 exists - no boot sector backup copy made.
One warning was issued.

Getting bleary eyed over this.
----
I think that this is the important part of the output from lilo -v:

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Boot image: /vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
Added Salix

I am pretty sure that vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64 refers to the Devuan kernel and not the Salix kernel. I know that the boot parameter is set at the top of the lilo.config file with:

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boot = /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST2000DM001-1CH164_S1E21XPJ

However I don't know how this can be changed on a per section basis, as with the Salix entries:

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root=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd
	image=/vmlinuz
	label=Salix
	read-only
#	restricted
#	alias=3
# End Salix OS configuration

[mimosa]

I am pretty sure that vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64 refers to the Devuan kernel and not the Salix kernel.

Yes, that's it. The path given to the kernel in the Salix stanza of lilo.conf needs to be the path to it as mounted at the time you reinstall the bootloader. Like this:

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root=/dev/disk/by-uuid:9d2c1561-d6d7-4651-9373-bcd440c289dd
   image=/path/to/mounted/dd1/boot/vmlinuz
   label=Salix
   read-only
#   restricted
#   alias=3
# End Salix OS configuration

Your stanza is pointing to the Devuan kernel, thus causing a panic when Salix boots.

I copied that stanza from your post and it may not be the right one - so do check the rest apart from the 'image' line.

It also does pay to do a last-minute check it's present and correct:

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ls /path/to/mounted/dd1/boot/ | grep vmlinuz
sudo lilo -v

EDIT
The image line in your Devuan stanza doesn't look right to me. It presumably should be:

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image=/boot/vmlinuz

though the output you posted makes it look as though you may have a symlink at your root pointing at it.

[djemos]

Edit lilo.conf.

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root=/dev/sdd1
   image=/dev/sdd1/boot/vmlinuz
   label=Salix
   read-only

or

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image=/boot/vmlinuz

If you use an initrd add

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initrd=/dev/sdd1/boot/initrd.img

or

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initrd=/boot/initrd.img

Be sure you have vmlinuz and initrd in /dev/sdd1/boot folder
Run as root
lilo -v

Another approach is ince you use devuan to update lilo.conf to boot salix is to copy salix vmlinuz and initrd.img if you use one to /boot folder in devuan partition.
If there is already vmlinuz and initrd.img file with the same name there can named vmlinuz1 and initrd1.img the salix files.

Then edit lilo.conf in devuan partition and add

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image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sdd1      
label = Salix
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
read-only

and run lilo -v