HD Install :: Installing on /dev/hdc

DSL looks like the perfect distro for an old system being pressed back into service, but installation keeps failing. This machine has two hard drives, hda holding the old Windows system and hdc used to hold an old Red Hat (5? 6? 7?) system. I attempted to install SusE on the machine, but that was too heavyweight for this old box. DSL from LiveCD worked great, so I thought I'd install.

SusE had partitioned the drive into hdc1 - /boot, hdc2 - / and hdc3 swap. All attempts to install on hdc2 failed. I have now merged hdc1 and hdc2 into hdc1 (Primary, Boot), and am at the point where problems showed up before. I've booted from CD and just run dsl-hdinstall, which ran mkliloboot. In the process it reported the following:

...
Do you want to run mkliloboot now? (y/...) y
mount: dev/hdc1 already mounted or /mnt/hd busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hdc1 is already mounted on /mnt/hd
/dev/root on / type ext2 (rw)
/dev/scd0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro)
/dev/cloop on /KNOPPIX type iso9660 (ro)
/ramdisk on /ramdisk type tmpfs (rw,size=44608k)
/proc/bus/usb on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw,devmode=0666)
/dev/hdc1 on /mnt/hd type ext2 (rw)
Setting up boot loader (LILO) in the master boot record...
part: /dev/hda1, typ: 11
Warning: '/proc/partitions' does not exist, disk scan bypassed
Warning: /dev/hdc is not on the first disk
Added Linux *
Skipping vmlinuz.old
Added Windows(hda1)
}The lilo boot installation process is finished.
You must reboot...

The first pair of warnings from "mount:" is troubling but the system seems to have recovered. The second pair, though...

I don't know anything about /proc/partitions (yet). Perhaps I need to create that?

And the second warning, that hdc is not on the first disk... I don't understand. I had LILO on this machine originally, until SuSE replaced it with its loader. But when the machine boots up it still has the SuSE loader. Perhaps LILO is being written to the wrong drive?

Rebooting...

Well, a change. Now it comes up with GNU Grub 0.94, and a prompt:
grub>

That's it. If I tell it to boot, it tells me the kernel must be loaded before booting.

Slowly sliding backwards... what am I doing wrong? Or what is it I need to do differently so it is right?

Hmmm... the thot plickens.

Re-installed, but didn't reboot. Went looking around.

Found /mnt/hd/etc/lilo.conf. Looks like what's wanted, but it lists the boot device as /dev/hdc instead of /dev/hda. Edited it (gosh, how many years since I last used vi?) to use /dev/hda, ran lilo... oops. lilo is using /etc/lilo.conf which is NOT what I want -- not even close... possibly to boot the LiveCD system? Time to re-learn lilo.

Hm... in /mnt/hd/etc, run: sudo lilo.real -C lilo.conf
Fatal: creat /boot/map~:read-only file system

Hmmm... lilo -r /mnt/hd seems to be what I want. Same warnings again, though. but the "map" file is there.

Only way to know is to reboot...
Lilo shows... good sign. Booting... nope. :-(

"INIT: entering runlevel : 5
mount: no medium found
umount: /cdrom: not mounted
mount: can't find /mnt/hda1
/mnt/hda1 in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab
umount: /mnt/hda1
/mnt/hda1: not found
mount: can't find /mnt/sda
/mnt/sda in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab
umount: /mnt/sda
/mnt/sda: not found

box login: " dsl <pass>

Whoops! it's up!

(Now, can I delete this thread?)

No

Believe it or not, this thread will be helpful for someone else with the same problem in the future, even though you solved the problem for yourself.

your original error is the exact same error message i get when trying to use the "install to hard drive" when installing it on my usb thumb drive.
no im not doing the thumb drive install,,, im doing the hd install to the pendrive. lol i know i know but im just testing.

Quote

Do you want to run mkliloboot now? (y/...) y
mount: dev/hdc1 already mounted or /mnt/hd busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hdc1 is already mounted on /mnt/hd
/dev/root on / type ext2 (rw)
/dev/scd0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro)
/dev/cloop on /KNOPPIX type iso9660 (ro)
/ramdisk on /ramdisk type tmpfs (rw,size=44608k)
/proc/bus/usb on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw,devmode=0666)
/dev/hdc1 on /mnt/hd type ext2 (rw)
Setting up boot loader (LILO) in the master boot record...
part: /dev/hda1, typ: 11
Warning: '/proc/partitions' does not exist, disk scan bypassed
Warning: /dev/hdc is not on the first disk
Added Linux *
Skipping vmlinuz.old
Added Windows(hda1)
}The lilo boot installation process is finished.
You must reboot...

basically what it appears to be doing since i have been trying for 2 days to get my thing to work is that lilo isnt being created properly its being told to go somewhere and whatever it needs either 1)isnt there or 2) its to stupid to see the files and errors out.

I have never had a lilo install work ever,, not one single linux distro i have ever used that tried to use lilo installed lilo correctly.

i believe this truly needs to be removed from dsl and grub used instead.
grub is the laoder of choice for just about anyone i know who uses linux (which arent many)
lilo is just a big headache. and rarely does what it should

i have everthing installed on my pendrive and i just cant get lilo to load,, nor grub,,, but grub is run from a pure command line and i have no bloody clue what im doing there.

I cant even get DDSL to mount my hard drive.

it see's it during the boot proces and clearly says its HDM
but inside dsl there is no hdm
there is no hdm1
there is an hdg that i have no idea what that is.
there are two other drives that are my sata raid. which of course arent raid according to linux. >:|

anyways,,, i dont understand why it wont see the 1 gig FAT partition i made on that hard drive... all i want to do is install the bloody os!!

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