SDB:Uninstalling the Boot Manager LILO from the MBR

Situation

You want to remove LILO from the hard disk's MBR (Master Boot Record).

Procedure

There are several methods to uninstall the boot manager LILO both under Linux and under other operating systems.

Procedure with YaST2 under Linux

During the installation of Lilo on the MBR, a copy of the MBR has been stored in a file that can be restored by way of YaST2 (from SuSE Linux 7.3 on) or from the text console. The following lines describe the procedure with YaST2 on SuSE Linux 8.0:

Start YaST2 and change to the dialog "Bootloader configuration". Select "Modify current configuration" -> "Uninstall boot loader". Confirm with "Next" and "Finish". The boot loader Lilo will be uninstalled and the original MBR will be restored.

Please note that, by doing this, the MBR will be restored to the state previous to the installation of SuSE Linux. If the MBR already contained a Lilo through a former installation, use a different operating system to restore the MBR as described at the end of this article.

Procedure with the text console under Linux

Alternatively, Lilo can be uninstalled by executing a command on a text console. To do this, open a root shell and enter:

     lilo -u /dev/hda

Here /dev/hda stands for the first IDE hard disk (attached as primary master). If your boot disk is called differently, the command

     fdisk -l

provides you with an overview. If the output of lilo -u is an error message, you can suppress the time stamp check with the command lilo -U. Note that, by doing this, the MBR will be restored to the state previous to the SuSE Linux installation.

Procedure by means of a different operating system

You can remove LILO by rewriting the MBR with another operating system. This is advisable e.g. in cases where the MBR copy cannot be restored using Linux.

Procedure with DOS and Windows 9x/ME boot disks

Use fdisk for this purpose. Create a rescue disk under DOS or Windows 9x/ME, use it to boot the machine, and start fdisk with:

     fdisk /mbr

Procedure with OS/2 boot disks

The command under OS/2 reads:

     fdisk /newmbr

Procedure with Windows XP

Under Windows XP, you can restore the original MBR (thus uninstalling Lilo) as follows:

Boot from the Windows XP CD, press the key "R" in the setup in order to start the restoration console. Select your Windows XP installation from the list, and enter the administrator password. Enter the command "FIXMBR" at the input prompt and confirm the next question with "y". Finally, use "exit" to restore the computer.

Procedure with Windows 2000

Boot from the Windows 2000 CD, press the key "R" in the setup and the key "K" in the next menu in order to start the restoration console. Select your Windows 2000 installation from the list and enter the administrator password. Enter the command "FIXMBR" at the input prompt and confirm the next question with "y". Finally, use "exit" to restart the computer. <keyword>boot,lilo,mbr,deinstall,uninstall,remove</keyword>