Alternative boot loaders

There are a few other boot loaders in Linux besides GRUB. Here is a brief description of some of them:

  • ISOLINUX – a boot loader from the SYSLINUX Project. Generally used by Linux Live CDs and bootable install CDs.
  • LILO (Linux Loader) – the most common Linux boot loader in the 1990s. Works only on BIOS-based computers.
  • ELILO (EFI Linux Loader) – a boot loader for EFI-based computers. Similar to LILO.
  • gummiboot – a boot loader for EFI-based computers with a text-mode interface.
  • rEFIt – a boot manager for EFI-based computers that features a GUI. Development on rEFIt has been abandoned, but it has been forked as rEFInd.
  • rEFInd – a boot manager derived from rEFIt for EFI-based computers.
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