Using LILO

[pini]

I'm planning to use LILO as a bootloader and I need some help.
Which filesystems does LILO supports ?
What is the state of the computer when LILO gives the hand to the kernel (A20 line status, Adress where the kernel is loaded and so on...) ?
Any idea that could help me using LILO as bootloader will be wonderful !

Thank you for all your help

[Whatever5k]

LILO is the LInux LOader - I don't think it is able to load any other OS than Linux, Windows and some others.

[Pype.Clicker]

i guess it will depend on what you'd like it to do for you ... i guess lilo should be able to detect partition X is active and load its bootsector at 7C00 and run it. If it can do it for MS-(win)DO(w)S, why couldn't it do it for YourOs ?

now, if you'd like it to load your kernel, enable pmode, etc. it will be harder ... i don't even wonder (2 check) whether Lilo must be feeded with informations like the list of sectors where your kernel can be found ...
-- this is far from what can be called a filesystem support .

[Whatever5k]

now, if you'd like it to load your kernel, enable pmode, etc. it will be harder ... i don't even wonder (2 check) whether Lilo must be feeded with informations like the list of sectors where your kernel can be found ...

Well, that's what I meant. You will need to give LILO some information about the kernel, I don't think you'll be able to do this using non-Linux or non-Windows.
However, I suggest you use GRUB, it's free, it's good and it's widely used.

[slacker]

yea..LILO supports a wide range of filesystems. i used it to dual boot linux/windows on my PC..

[Curufir]

AFAIK LILO doesn't support any filesystems. It works on the principle of known sectors (Which is why if you recompile the linux kernel and are using LILO you need to run the LILO boot installer again)
and chainloading (Eg When loading win98 LILO just fools the windows bootloader into thinking it was loaded at boot-time).

[Pype.Clicker]

remember most (if not all) MS OSes don't install their bootloader in the master boot record, but instead in the boot sector of the partition.

The master boot record's sector has the partition table in addition of the code, and that code usually just selects a partition to be booted.

As LILO want to be a multi-option booter, it sometimes *has* to be put at the MBR level, to make things transparent for MS (and other) oses ... but basically these are 2 different things : a realmode "select your OS" and a linux-specific bootloader.