On 27-Dec-98 Akintayo Holder wrote:
> My Linux HD died (may she RIP) but I was able to use the LILO boot menu
> as before. I was also able to 'boot' Linux and login as root - I think
> it was single user or some kind of maintenance mode. What I want to know
> is how come ?.
That's probably because your root file-system is on a seperate partition.
On a typical setup, the root file-system would be on a small partition,
seperate from the other main partition. The root file-system would normally
contain all essential files, and any utilities required to repair a file-system
or restore a backup. Due to the small size of the root file-system, the
probability of it being affected by a hard disk surface error is relatively
small. As such, dispite the fact that the main partitions where the bulk of
your software and files are stored is not accessible, you can still boot up and
login for emergency maintenance.
LILO is partially stored on the root partition and the boot sector. It's _very_
tiny and is less likely to be affected than the root file-system.
As I've mentioned in my previous post, hard disk errors tends to propagate, now
would be a good time to start planning how to recover any important document
left on your hard disk. It's not impossible to recover some data (text are
normally the easiest), but the longer you leave your hard disk running, the
more likely it is for the problem to worsen, so you'll need to plan in advance
and work fast.
Cort
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
