[lug] mkbootdisk -- no space left on device

[Brian Rodriguez]

> 
>> evidently I have scsi emulation to implement in
>> /etc/modules.conf (perhaps 'alias scsi_hostadapter ide-scsi')
>> and further modifications in /etc/lilo.conf -- in addition I
>> presently I have scsi adapter installed (but no device connected
>> to it) that may muddy the waters a bit.
> 
> 
> What are you planning to change in lilo.conf?  Why?  It should have 
> nothing to do with a CD-RW.
> 

You can read CDs with the ide-cd driver, but in order to use the writer 
features you have to use SCSI emulation. This involves adding 
"hdX=ide-scsi" for each device in lilo.conf, and adding a line in 
modules.conf to preload the ide-scsi driver before ide-cd can calim the 
devices. So you could screw up something in those two files if you 
really tried. However, in both cases, unless you delete or alter a bunch 
of unrelated stuff, the worst the will happen is that the cd writer 
still won't be recognized. It should not affect bootability.

A simpler way of recovering in case something does get screwed up is to 
back up lilo.conf and modules.conf to another name in their current 
directories. If the system no longer boots, use the install cd from any 
modern distribution to boot into recovery mode, mount you root partition 
to a temporary directory, chroot to that partition, move the original 
files back, and rerun lilo. Don't forget to exit from the chroot shell 
and unmount the partition before rebooting the system.

Another way of doing this safely is to copy the lilo.conf entry that you 
are currently using to a new entry, modify that one (but don't make it 
the default), select it manually on your next boot up and see if it 
works, and then make it the default once you have confirmed that it 
works. The modules.conf change shouldn't keep you from booting even if 
you screw it up.

Brian