Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 15899
LILO unable to install on RAID partitions, must use MBR...
Last modified: 2008-05-01 11:37:57 EDT
Boot failed on ProLiant ML330 using LC2 controller as a boot device during installation. It appears that LILO is unable to properly handle installing to partitions on RAID (or Array) controllers, and must install to the MBR instead. H/W System: ML330 controller: boot - <A HREF="http://www.compaq.com/products/quickspecs/10652_na/10652_na.HTML">RAID LC2 Controller</A> other - Embedded SCSI S/W OS: Redhat 7.0 beta 5 Partition: / - /dev/ida/c0d0p1 swap - /dev/ida/c0d0p5 lilo config: /dev/ida/c0d0p1 Steps: 1. Erase the system using Smartstart 2. Start Installation 3. Add partition: / - /dev/ida/c0d0p1 swap - /dev/ida/c0d0p5 4. Configure lilo on /dev/ida/c0d0p1 5. make boot disk 6. reboot 7. boot stops at "attempting boot from hard drive (c:)" Workaround: boot from floppy made during installation and edit "boot=/dev/ida/c0d0p1" to "boot=/dev/ida/c0d0" in lilo.conf and re-run "lilo"
I don't know if we have this hardware in-house. Are you willing (assuming we don't have it) to send a unit here to Durham so we have time to reproduce this behavior, if it comes to it? We're really running short on time for Winston. I'll get back with you SOON on this either way.
Yes. Do you just need the LC2 controller? Just let me know your shipping address.
... ship to: Glen Foster Red Hat, Inc. 2600 Meridian Parkway Durham, NC 27713
This defect is considered MUST-FIX for Winston Gold-release
LILO only supports booting raid partitions off of the MBR. There is no need to put it on the first sector of the partition -- the only time you would ever need to do that is in a dual-boot situation.
We install Red Hat on bootable hardware arrays all the time, and we don't put LILO on the MBR. We have to maintain the legacy MBR to allow the F10 key to boot the Compaq System Partition. We always put LILO on /boot. BTW, Glen received the LC2 controller this morning.
Lilo usually works fine from a partition table entry. *However*, lilo makes no attempt to ensure that a DOS compatible master boot record is in place when lilo is installed to the partition instead of the master boot record. The description you give above sounds like the master boot record of the system might be wiped out. If, instead of using the workaround you have listed, you instead put a DOS floppy into the drive and run fdisk /mbr to make sure that there is a valid master boot record does that help? What about the partitions themselves? Did you use Disk Druid or fdisk, and since you are wanting lilo on the partition, did you make sure that the partition you put lilo on to is marked as active in the partition table?
After retesting, we agree -- must have been a bad MBR. Thanks!