Skip to Content
Learning Red Hat Linux, Second Edition
book

Learning Red Hat Linux, Second Edition

by Bill McCarty
January 2002
Beginner
368 pages
10h 52m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Learning Red Hat Linux, Second Edition

Appendix C. Managing the Boot Process

In this appendix, you’ll learn more about how to boot a Linux system; in particular, you’ll learn more about configuring your computer system to boot any of several operating systems. The appendix focuses on GNU GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootloader, and loadlin, the most popular utilities for booting Linux systems.

Booting Linux

When you boot a PC, you cause it to execute a small program known as a boot loader. The purpose of the boot loader is to locate and read into memory the first stage of an operating system and transfer control to it. The operating system then locates and reads its remaining components as needed.

The simplest way to boot Linux is by using a floppy diskette. By doing so, you’re able to leave the boot information on your hard drive untouched, ensuring that you can still boot Microsoft Windows or another operating system stored on the same hard drive. Moreover, some operating systems and virus protection programs prevent modification of the boot information on your hard drive. By booting from a floppy diskette, you avoid several potential problems.

However, many users find booting from a floppy disk slow or inconvenient. You don’t have to boot Linux from a floppy diskette; you can boot it in any of several other ways. The two most popular alternatives are by using GRUB, which replaces the boot loader stored on your hard drive, or loadlin, which lets you first boot DOS and then boot Linux from DOS.

This ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Learning Red Hat Linux, Third Edition

Learning Red Hat Linux, Third Edition

Bill McCarty

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596000715Catalog PageErrata