Task 10: Creating a Bootable System

After configuring the time zone, the Main Menu will look like:

Main Menu: Make Linux Bootable Directly From Hard Disk Even when you choose to make Linux bootable from the hard disk, you should still probably create a boot floppy afterwards to insure a bootable system. LILO is a reliable boot loader when it is configured properly. Depending on various hardware issues, the initial configuration may not work correctly. For this reason a boot floppy is a valuable tool early in the new system's life. Choosing Next will present the following screen:

Where do we put LILO? As this screen suggests, the first option is the most likely. The only reason you might not want LILO on the Master Boot Record is when the system is set up with another boot manager to be able to boot an operating system other than Linux. After installing LILO the Main Menu will look like:

Main Menu: Make a Boot Floppy. As suggested earlier it is a good idea to create a boot floppy as a backup boot capability. You may never need it, but it never hurts to have insurance. Pressing ENTER presents the next screen:

Change Disk You will need to insert a blank floppy into the drive. When you press ENTER the drive will be formatted and a kernel installed and made bootable. On successful completion this will have produced a floppy that can be used to reboot the system.