lilo

grub2 has become bloatware afaiac, and i'd been meaning to move away for a while. i just didn't have the time, patience, and redundancy on my systems.

if you've been following me, you might have noticed that i like to trash bloatware. i'm always seeking smaller packages, and removing bigger ones. bloatwares are not just unnecessary resource hogs, but security concerns (malware?) too. bigger the code base, the easier it is to hide malware traits. much easier to read/understand smaller code.

my path away from grub2 took me to lilo. small & sweet, lilo reminded me of my early linux days - not so pretty, but extremely efficient, and very functional. i did briefly consider grub, or grub-legacy as some call it.

migrating to lilo was rather easy.

step 1: install the package

# apt-get --no-install-recommends install lilo

step 2: edit config carefully noting your root/boot partition

# vi /etc/lilo.conf

verbose=1

boot=/dev/sda7
map=/boot/map
compact

install=menu
menu-scheme=wk
menu-title="lilo menu"
delay=100
prompt
timeout=30

root="LABEL=debian32"
append="quiet"
#default="debian32"

image=/vmlinuz
label="vmlinuz"
initrd=/initrd.img
append="3 ipv6.disable=1 quiet"
read-only

image=/vmlinuz.old
label="vmlinuz.old"
initrd=/initrd.img.old
append="3 ipv6.disable=1 quiet"
read-only
optional

other=/dev/sda5
label="cb32"

step 3: finally install to pbr (or mbr if you prefer)

# lilo -v -C /etc/lilo.conf

notice that lilo backups your current bootloader pbr (or mbr, if you so chose). copy it safely elsewhere, if you might want to revert.

reboot, and enjoy your lilo menu!

my dread was unnecessary. lilo does have some quirks, occasionally misfiring. but it is very easy to reset from a rescue disk. no need to trawl through hoops fscking grub2. just boot from any rescue/system, and run step 3 with *your* lilo.conf.

# lilo -v -C /mnt/etc/lilo.conf

finally reboot once again, to confirm you can boot, before saying good riddance to yet another bloatware!

# apt-get purge --auto-remove grub2

what a great feeling it is to reclaim your system, and see bloatwares (along with all their dependencies) being purged!