LILO, the linux boot loader uses a somewhat cryptic way to tell us when an error happens. It displays each of the letters in LILO to describe what kind of error has happened, as shown below

(nothing)	No part of LILO has been loaded. LILO either isn't installed or the partition on which its boot sector is located isn't active.
L	The first stage boot loader has been loaded and started, but it can't load the second stage boot loader. The two-digit error codes indicate the type of problem. (See also section ``Disk error codes''.) This condition usually indicates a media failure or a geometry mismatch (e.g. bad disk parameters).
LI	The first stage boot loader was able to load the second stage boot loader, but has failed to execute it. This can either be caused by a geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/boot.b without running the map installer.
LIL	The second stage boot loader has been started, but it can't load the descriptor table from the map file. This is typically caused by a media failure or by a geometry mismatch.
LIL?	The second stage boot loader has been loaded at an incorrect address. This is typically caused by a subtle geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/boot.b without running the map installer.
LIL-	The descriptor table is corrupt. This can either be caused by a geometry mismatch or by moving /boot/map without running the map installer.
LILO	All parts of LILO have been successfully loaded.

-- MattWalsh - 14 May 2003