3.4. Starting SUSE LINUX

SUSE LINUX – Administration Guide Chapter 3. Special Installation Procedures / 3.4. Starting SUSE LINUX
	3.3. Text-Based Installation with YaST		3.5. Special Installation Procedures

Following the installation, decide how to boot Linux for daily operations. The following overview introduces various alternatives for booting Linux. The most suitable method depends on the intended purpose.

Linux Boot Loader

The most versatile and technically elegant solution for booting your system is the use of a Linux boot manager like GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) or LILO (Linux Loader), which allow selection from various operating systems prior to booting. The boot loader can either be configured during the installation or later with the help of YaST.

Boot Disk

You can boot Linux from a boot disk. This approach only works if your system has a floppy drive. The boot disk can be created with YaST. See 2.8.3. “Creating a Boot, Rescue, or Module Disk”.

The boot disk is a useful interim solution if you have difficulties configuring the other possibilities or if you want to postpone the decision regarding the final boot mechanism. A boot disk may also be a suitable solution in connection with OS/2 or Windows NT.

	Warning
There are BIOS variants that check the structure of the boot sector (MBR) and erroneously display a virus warning after the installation of GRUB or LILO. Solve this problem by entering the BIOS and looking for corresponding adjustable settings. For example, switch off ‘virus protection’. You can switch this option back on again later. It is unnecessary, however, if Linux is the only operating system you use.

Warning

There are BIOS variants that check the structure of the boot sector (MBR) and erroneously display a virus warning after the installation of GRUB or LILO. Solve this problem by entering the BIOS and looking for corresponding adjustable settings. For example, switch off ‘virus protection’. You can switch this option back on again later. It is unnecessary, however, if Linux is the only operating system you use.

A detailed discussion of various boot methods is available in 7. Booting and Boot Managers.

3.4.1. The Graphical SUSE Screen

Since SUSE LINUX 7.2, the graphical SUSE screen is displayed on the first console if the option “vga=<value>” is used as a kernel parameter. If you install using YaST, this option is automatically activated in accordance with the selected resolution and the graphics card.

3.4.2. Disabling the SUSE Screen

There are three ways to disable the SUSE screen:

Disabling the SUSE screen whenever necessary.

Enter the command echo 0 >/proc/splash on the command line to disable the graphical screen. To activate it again, enter echo 0x0f01 >/proc/splash.

Disabling the SUSE screen by default

Add the kernel parameter splash=0 to your boot loader configuration. 7. Booting and Boot Managers provides more information about this. However, if you prefer the text mode, which was the default in earlier versions, set vga=normal.

Completely disabling the SUSE screen

Compile a new kernel and disable the option ‘Use splash screen instead of boot logo’ in ‘framebuffer support’.

	Tip
Disabling framebuffer support in the kernel automatically disables the splash screen as well. SUSE cannot provide any support for your system if you run it with a custom kernel.