On Sat 09 Jul 2016 at 13:19:08 -0400, Stephen Powell wrote: > On Sat, Jul 9, 2016, at 10:53, Felix Miata wrote: > > Stephen Powell composed on 2016-07-09 08:58 (UTC-0400): > > > >> As for features, LILO has all the features that I need. > > > > One feature it never acquired AFAIK, which Grub shares with Syslinux, is > > the > > ability to edit the kernel cmdline at boot time, before kernel load. With > > problematic hardware, problematic BIOS, and pre-release kernel and distro > > versions, that ability is a big troubleshooting convenience. It's one of > > the > > features that facilitated my decision to migrate from OS/2 to Linux as > > primary OS. > > Not true. I use the traditional text-mode interface of LILO (install=text). > To supply kernel options during boot, press the Shift key (by itself) before > the "delay" timer expires to get a boot prompt ("boot:"). Then type the > label of the kernel you want followed by the desired boot parameters. > For example, > > Linux single > > to boot the kernel in single-user mode. Or > > Linux forcepae > > to get a PAE-requiring kernel to boot on a Banias-class Pentium M or > Celeron M processor, if you forgot to specify > > append="forcepae" > > in /etc/lilo.conf before running lilo. If you can't remember the names of > your kernel labels, press the Tab key at a "boot:" prompt. LILO will > display the names of your kernel labels followed by another "boot:" prompt. > > I've never used the menu-based interface of LILO, but I'm sure that there > is a way to supply kernel options at boot time with the menu-based interface > as well. > > See my LILO web page at > > http://www.stevesdebianstuff.org/lilo.htm > > for more information.
All well and good but the installer inexplicably offers a choice between GRUB and LILO. The installer manual is unhelpful on which to choose. A newcomer wouldn't have a clue. We do them no service with this retrograde offering. Get rid of it. What is the point of a choice? Just offer GRUB; it is the bootloader for Debian and has many advantages over LILO in todayss Linux ecosystem. People who have a great desire to use LILO can search it out. Unmaintained in Debian, The bit-rot starts here.