editing elilo.conf

Discussion:

editing elilo.conf

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john connolly

2020-04-21 14:11:26 UTC

Hi, I bought a refirb desktop with windows10 on it and added
slackware-current to it but I butchered the installation by using lilo
instead of using cfdisk to install the needed efi partition.. Since then
I have reinstalled slackware using the uefi procedure. The windows files
are still there but as of now I cannot boot windows. Below is my current
elilo.conf and partition table. I would appreciate any suggestions for
editing this file so I can boot windows as well.

elilo.conf:

chooser=simple
delay=1
timeout=1
#
image=vmlinuz
label=vmlinuz
initrd=initrd.gz
read-only
append="root=/dev/sdb2 vga=normal ro"

partiton table:

Device Start End Sectors Size Type

/dev/sda1 2048 718847 716800 350M Microsoft basic

data
/dev/sda2 718848 425236647 424517800 202.4G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sda3 998676648 1000212647 1536000 750M Windows recovery
environme
/dev/sda4 425238528 425463807 225280 110M EFI System
/dev/sda5 425463808 425465855 2048 1M BIOS boot
/dev/sda6 425465856 998676647 573210792 273.3G Linux filesystem

Thanks, jwc

Rich

2020-04-21 14:31:57 UTC

Permalink

Post by john connolly
Hi, I bought a refirb desktop with windows10 on it and added
slackware-current to it but I butchered the installation by using lilo
instead of using cfdisk to install the needed efi partition.. Since then
I have reinstalled slackware using the uefi procedure. The windows files
are still there but as of now I cannot boot windows. Below is my current
elilo.conf and partition table. I would appreciate any suggestions for
editing this file so I can boot windows as well.

Based on your description above, I'd suggest you've likely butchered
the w-10 boot code sufficiently that you will not be able to boot
windows, at least not without first reinstalling windows to get its
boot code working again.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 15:21:23 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:11:26 -0500

/dev/sda1 2048 718847 716800 350M Microsoft basic

Assuming efivarfs is mounted, what do you get when you
run /usr/sbin/efibootmgr? And what happens when you try to boot
windows? ("I cannot boot windows" is not very informative.) Also,
what is in the /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT, /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot
and /boot/efi/EFI/Slackware directories? (If you haven't mounted your
EFI partition on /boot/efi then you should temporarily do so to find
out.)

You cannot boot windows from elilo, if that is what you were trying to
do. To select which OS is to boot, you either have to boot via your
system EFI boot menu, or you will have to install grub or rEFInd.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 15:30:49 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 16:21:23 +0100

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:11:26 -0500

/dev/sda1 2048 718847 716800 350M Microsoft basic

Assuming efivarfs is mounted, what do you get when you
run /usr/sbin/efibootmgr? And what happens when you try to boot
windows? ("I cannot boot windows" is not very informative.) Also,
what is in the /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT, /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot
and /boot/efi/EFI/Slackware directories? (If you haven't mounted your
EFI partition on /boot/efi then you should temporarily do so to find
out.)
You cannot boot windows from elilo, if that is what you were trying to
do. To select which OS is to boot, you either have to boot via your
system EFI boot menu, or you will have to install grub or rEFInd.

By the way, if you got your computer with windows preinstalled and it
is an EFI computer, then you didn't need to use "cfdisk to install the
needed efi partition", as the partition would already have been there
(and lilo has nothing to do with creating a partition so I doubt that
lilo has done anything too appalling, although something else you did
might have).

john connolly

2020-04-21 19:31:54 UTC

Permalink

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:11:26 -0500

/dev/sda1 2048 718847 716800 350M Microsoft basic

Assuming efivarfs is mounted, what do you get when you
run /usr/sbin/efibootmgr? And what happens when you try to boot
windows? ("I cannot boot windows" is not very informative.) Also,
what is in the /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT, /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot
and /boot/efi/EFI/Slackware directories? (If you haven't mounted your
EFI partition on /boot/efi then you should temporarily do so to find
out.)
You cannot boot windows from elilo, if that is what you were trying to
do. To select which OS is to boot, you either have to boot via your
system EFI boot menu, or you will have to install grub or rEFInd.

efivarfs is now mounted and rEFInd is installed. I should have mentioned
earlier that the windows/slackware mess is on /dev/sdb and a separate
installation of slackware is on /dev/sda. When I boot now I get a
graphical display that ideally would give three choices, one each for
windows or slackware on /dev/sdb and one for slackware on /dev/sda,
however I get seven choices. One (or more?) goes to the slackware
installed on /debv/sda and at least one goes to the completely
configured slackware installation which is on /dev/sdb (where windows
is). None of the options include windows. Some go to a choice which
results in a 'manual' boot that takes more than 15 minutes and I have
never waited it out. Some go to a kernel panic. It's a mess.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 20:13:14 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 14:31:54 -0500

Post by john connolly
efivarfs is now mounted and rEFInd is installed. I should have mentioned
earlier that the windows/slackware mess is on /dev/sdb and a separate
installation of slackware is on /dev/sda. When I boot now I get a
graphical display that ideally would give three choices, one each for
windows or slackware on /dev/sdb and one for slackware on /dev/sda,
however I get seven choices. One (or more?) goes to the slackware
installed on /debv/sda and at least one goes to the completely
configured slackware installation which is on /dev/sdb (where windows
is). None of the options include windows. Some go to a choice which
results in a 'manual' boot that takes more than 15 minutes and I have
never waited it out. Some go to a kernel panic. It's a mess.

Oh dear. Does efibootmgr show that refind handles the default boot? If
elilo is still trying to do that, then it won't show a windows menu
item. However if you are getting a number of different linux boot
options that you have not put in elilo.conf, then it sounds as if
refind is doing the search and is correctly handling the boot up but it
has not found windows. In that case your windows boot loader may well
have been broken by your previous slackware installing. If you really
did set up an EFI partition using cfdisk at that time, then you have
probably reformatted the previous EFI partition and so deleted its
previous contents, and so the windows boot loader contained in it.

What happens if you bring up your firmware's EFI system boot menu? You
can bring it up using a magic key, usually Esc, F2, F10 or F12. The
key to press should flash up for you for a short period after you have
pressed the On button. It should have windows in the menu list.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 20:34:34 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:13:14 +0100

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 14:31:54 -0500

Oh dear. Does efibootmgr show that refind handles the default boot? If
elilo is still trying to do that, then it won't show a windows menu
item. However if you are getting a number of different linux boot
options that you have not put in elilo.conf, then it sounds as if
refind is doing the search and is correctly handling the boot up but it
has not found windows. In that case your windows boot loader may well
have been broken by your previous slackware installing. If you really
did set up an EFI partition using cfdisk at that time, then you have
probably reformatted the previous EFI partition and so deleted its
previous contents, and so the windows boot loader contained in it.
What happens if you bring up your firmware's EFI system boot menu? You
can bring it up using a magic key, usually Esc, F2, F10 or F12. The
key to press should flash up for you for a short period after you have
pressed the On button. It should have windows in the menu list.

And as a last resort, if a firmware menu boot doesn't work for windows,
see if you can find files bootmgfw.efi or bootmgr.efi (the windows EFI
boot loader binaries) anywhere on a VFAT formatted partition: it is
possible that when you made a new EFI partition on /dev/sda, and you
left the windows boot loader on an EFI partition on /dev/sdb intact. I
have also heard that windows does not like being on the second
partition, but that shouldn't stop rEFInd finding it.

john connolly

2020-04-21 20:52:29 UTC

Permalink

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:13:14 +0100

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 14:31:54 -0500

Oh dear. Does efibootmgr show that refind handles the default boot? If
elilo is still trying to do that, then it won't show a windows menu
item. However if you are getting a number of different linux boot
options that you have not put in elilo.conf, then it sounds as if
refind is doing the search and is correctly handling the boot up but it
has not found windows. In that case your windows boot loader may well
have been broken by your previous slackware installing. If you really
did set up an EFI partition using cfdisk at that time, then you have
probably reformatted the previous EFI partition and so deleted its
previous contents, and so the windows boot loader contained in it.
What happens if you bring up your firmware's EFI system boot menu? You
can bring it up using a magic key, usually Esc, F2, F10 or F12. The
key to press should flash up for you for a short period after you have
pressed the On button. It should have windows in the menu list.

I know it doesn't make sense but windows was never installed on
/dev/sda. I changed the order of the disks during this process, so
windows is on /dev/sdb.
I have the windows distribution mounted under /windows in my slackware
system on /dev/sdb and there is a /windows/bootmgr program there but so
far I can't get to it.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 21:23:38 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:52:29 -0500

Post by john connolly

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:13:14 +0100

Post by Chris Vine
On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 14:31:54 -0500

Oh dear. Does efibootmgr show that refind handles the default boot? If
elilo is still trying to do that, then it won't show a windows menu
item. However if you are getting a number of different linux boot
options that you have not put in elilo.conf, then it sounds as if
refind is doing the search and is correctly handling the boot up but it
has not found windows. In that case your windows boot loader may well
have been broken by your previous slackware installing. If you really
did set up an EFI partition using cfdisk at that time, then you have
probably reformatted the previous EFI partition and so deleted its
previous contents, and so the windows boot loader contained in it.
What happens if you bring up your firmware's EFI system boot menu? You
can bring it up using a magic key, usually Esc, F2, F10 or F12. The
key to press should flash up for you for a short period after you have
pressed the On button. It should have windows in the menu list.

The windows EFI boot manager binary will not be on the main windows
partition. It will be on a (VFAT-formatted) EFI partition, type 0xEF
(EFI System).

What happens with the firmware's EFI system boot menu?

Henrik Carlqvist

2020-04-22 05:26:03 UTC

Permalink

Post by john connolly
I know it doesn't make sense but windows was never installed on
/dev/sda. I changed the order of the disks during this process, so
windows is on /dev/sdb.

As that kind of changes might not make sense to boot loaders or operating
systems, if you are lucky you might get Windows booting again simply by
reverting that change. Lets hope Windows will feel more at home once back
at /dev/sda.

Once that is done you will need to tell Linux that it instead is on /dev/
sdb. Those changes might include editing of /etc/fstab and reconfiguring
the boot loader but most people here (including myself) will feel more
comfortable trying to help you with Linux.

regards Henrik

Ned Latham

2020-04-21 17:25:54 UTC

Permalink

other = /dev/sda3
label = windoze
table = /dev/sda1
# or maybe /dev/sda2

At (e)lilo configuration time, you should have been given the option
to boot into windows. Accepting at that point lets you set up boot
time choices between systems.

Post by john connolly
Device Start End Sectors Size Type

/dev/sda1 2048 718847 716800 350M Microsoft basic

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 17:41:59 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 12:25:54 -0500

Post by Ned Latham

other = /dev/sda3
label = windoze
table = /dev/sda1
# or maybe /dev/sda2

Nope. You can't boot windows with elilo.

Ned Latham

2020-04-21 18:50:58 UTC

Permalink

Post by Chris Vine

Post by Ned Latham

other = /dev/sda3
label = windoze
table = /dev/sda1
# or maybe /dev/sda2

Nope. You can't boot windows with elilo.

Then go to legacy bios and use lilo.

Chris Vine

2020-04-21 19:27:13 UTC

Permalink

On Tue, 21 Apr 2020 13:50:58 -0500

Post by Ned Latham

Post by Chris Vine
Nope. You can't boot windows with elilo.

Then go to legacy bios and use lilo.

Somewhat easier if you want to keep your windows installation intact
are:

1. On those few occasions when you want to boot windows, use the
firmware boot menu that the EFI specification requires to be provided.
There is a magic key to press when the computer is switched on for
this to appear, usually Esc, F2, F10 or F12. You can set elilo/Linux as
the default if the magic key is not pressed (and a standard slackware
install does so). efibootmgr manages the firmware boot menu.

2. With some firmwares you can specify in elilo.conf, and label as
"windows", a dummy non-existent kernel image. When the chosen
non-existent kernel image fails to boot, some EFI firmwares will then
try and boot /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI as a rescue image which on a
pre-installed windows machine will probably be the windows boot loader.

3. Install grub (comes with slackware).

4. Make up a slackbuild rEFInd package. Painless, visually excellent,
very easy to set up and usually the best way to go if you are a
frequent windows user.