Re: Dual booting XP machine

From: Paul Lutus (nospam_at_nosite.zzz)
Date: 10/06/04 

Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2004 15:19:08 -0700

Michael C. wrote:

> On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 12:19:01 -0700,
> Paul Lutus <nospam@nosite.zzz> wrote:

/ ...

>> Please do not offer this advice. LILO is being phased out for
>> some very good reasons. Grub has many advantages over LILO,
>> such that it is scarcely possible to imagine a situation in
>> which LILO is to be preferred.
>
> I don't reinstall frequently anymore, as I seldom boot Windows,
> but where did the idea come from that anyone is phasing out LILO,
> and what are good reasons for it to be phased out?

Well, Red Hat says this:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/ref-guide/s1-grub-lilo.html

Quote:

********************************************************************************

 In general, LILO works similarly to GRUB except for three major
differences:

    *

      It has no interactive command interface.
    *

      It stores information about the location of the kernel or other
operating system it is to load on the MBR.
    *

      It cannot read ext2 partitions.

The first point means the command prompt for LILO is not interactive and
only allows one command with arguments.

The last two points mean that if you change LILO's configuration file or
install a new kernel, you must rewrite the Stage 1 LILO boot loader to the
MBR ...

********************************************************************************

>
> The last argument I heard in favor of LILO was the funstionality
> of /sbin/lilo -R windows, which would cause windows to boot next
> time wasn't available in grub. I don't use grub so I'm uncertain
> if that has changed.
>
>> Grub can certainly launch a Windows installation, with very
>> little difficulty. It also is very easy to install on an
>> existing HDD.
>
> And LILO can't?

Read the above link for several reasons Grub is preferable.

> For those of us who use it, LILO isn't that
> difficult. Though part of it for me is "Why learn the new way,
> if the old way still works."

Yes, understood. But you are talking to a new Linux user.

> Grub may have benefits, but they require you to have a clue, or
> documentation to make use of its unique features, which AFAICT is
> that you can modify how the machine boots from within grub
> instead of requiring a boot disk. Just how often is this ability
> required?

Umm, Grub is easier to install and then it is easier to use. This is why Red
hat replaced LILO.

The most important difference is that Grub doesn't need to rewrite the MBR
every time time user changes his configuration. 

-- 
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com

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