Question on installing Red Hat 7.1

[DaFunkyUnit]

Ok I'm trying to install Red Hat 7.1 (just coz I have the distro readily available). I have a 10 GB FAT32 partition available (no data on it) that I would like to use for the Linux installation. After going through the Red Hat installation process, I was able to do the "partitionless installation" where I just installed the /root file system and the swap file system on the 10 GB partition. However, I can't boot into Linux. I didnt install LILO (at least, I dont think I did) but I made a boot disk, but it won't go. Do i need a /boot partition somewhere? If I do, how do I put it in the same partition along with /root and the swap file partition? I want to put everything in the empty 10GB partition.

Thanks for any help.
-daUnit

[mojo]

ok...you could install lilo after the fact...(not installing lilo or grub is the equivalent of not installing the windows bootloader on the mbr in windows)...but first of all, your partitioning scheme is screwy. if i were you, i'd reinstall it and let it partition your stuff so that you have at least seperate partitions for swap and stuff...and possibly have a /home partition as well as root and stuff. it will automatically do the swap partitions for you if you let it.

anyhow, that's just me. and the install process would be faster anyhow than showing a newbie how to boot the boot disk, make virtual partitions on the ram, then change the root to the root of the hard drive, and run lilo from there (the first time is the hardest, but it's not so bad). it should take a half hour to run the reinstall, but prolly longer to do a rescue (and since it's partitionless and i haven't done one of those, i have no idea where the bootloader would go anyhow).

maybe someone else would know about the partitionless thing that could help better.

[DaFunkyUnit]

Got fed up with it, and installed Mandrake 9.1

Mandrake rulez!!! :P

[look_ma]

Debian > all

[Nija]

Originally posted by DaFunkyUnit
Got fed up with it, and installed Mandrake 9.1

Mandrake rulez!!! :P

yeah, i'm really happy with 9.1. The software installation is so much easier . Hell, They have a almost windows like control panel to install new programs, makes it much easier.

[mojo]

easier? ok...but maybe i just don't see what's so hard about letting the redhat install do everything for you, except telling it your monitor and mouse and stuff :confused:

i think really the only thing on the redhat install that may be confusing is the sizes of the partitions and if you wanna use lilo or grub. for the 2nd question, the answer is you wanna use grub. for the first one, you wanna use twice your ram for swap, a /boot large enough for the kernel, and the rest for /. you can make more partitions if you wanna, but redhat still does most of this for you (if not all).