ilovedonna,
Restoring a boot loader, be it a Windows, Linux Grub or Linux Lilo, requires overwriting the Master Boot Record (MBR) which is the first 512 bytes of the first bootable hard disk.
For Lilo (same for Grub) the standard way is to boot up "another Linux" first. Create a tempoarary subdirectory on its /mnt directory, mount the Linux partition that has a failed Lilo (or Grub), change root to it and restore the boot loader with the command
I am sorry that I can't make it simpler but the fact of the matter is any Linux user can boot up a LIveCD and therefore can slavage another Linux with it.
Change root, with "chroot" command, is to jump from Linux A to Linux B thereby a Linux user can work inside the distressed Linux B with a failed boot loader.
Lilo is hard-coded boot loader that cannot tolerate any change to its system settings or responding back with a screenful of 99 display. Therefore to survive in Linux one must know how to get Lilo back and this is easily done by Lilo's own command with "-b" parameter with the designation "/dev/hda" indicating the device hard disk "hda" meaning the MBR.
The above "lilo -b /dev/hda" simply instructs Lilo to replicate itself in the MBR.
If you still have a problem with it list here the content of
so that we know your partitioning arrangement and give you the precise instructions/commands if needed. At this moment we can't adivise which partition to mount..