Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
LILO (Linux Loader) is a bootloader for Linux and was the default boot loader for most Linux distributions [when? Unlike loadlin , it allowed booting Linux without having DOS on the computer. [ 3 ] As of 2009, most distributions have switched to GRUB as the default boot loader. [ 4 ]
GNU GRUB (short for GNU GRand Unified Bootloader, commonly referred to as GRUB) is a boot loader package from the GNU Project.GRUB is the reference implementation of the Free Software Foundation's Multiboot Specification, which provides a user the choice to boot one of multiple operating systems installed on a computer or select a specific kernel configuration available on a particular ...
On a Linux system, the boot partition (/boot) may be encrypted if the bootloader itself supports LUKS (e.g. GRUB). This is undertaken to prevent tampering with the Linux kernel. However, the first stage bootloader or an EFI system partition cannot be encrypted (see Full disk encryption#The boot key problem). [14]
Note: The column MBR (Master Boot Record) refers to whether or not the boot loader can be stored in the first sector of a mass storage device. The column VBR (Volume Boot Record) refers to the ability of the boot loader to be stored in the first sector of any partition on a mass storage device.
Some boot loaders can also load other boot loaders; for example, GRUB loads BOOTMGR instead of loading Windows directly. Usually a default choice is preselected with a time delay during which a user can press a key to change the choice; after this delay, the default choice is automatically run so normal booting can occur without interaction.
When Secure Boot is enabled, it is initially placed in "setup" mode, which allows a public key known as the "platform key" (PK) to be written to the firmware. Once the key is written, Secure Boot enters "User" mode, where only UEFI drivers and OS boot loaders signed with the platform key can be loaded by the firmware.
The boot partition (or boot volume) [5] is the disk partition that contains the operating system folder, known as the system root or %systemroot% in Windows NT. [ 6 ] : 174 Before Windows 7 , the system and boot partitions were, by default, the same and were given the "C:" drive letter .
The official kernel, that is the Linus git branch at the kernel.org repository, contains binary blobs released under the terms of the GNU GPLv2 license. [ 6 ] [ 11 ] Linux can also search filesystems to locate binary blobs, proprietary firmware, drivers, or other executable modules, then it can load and link them into kernel space.