loadlin is a

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

boot loader A bootloader, also spelled as boot loader or called boot manager and bootstrap loader, is a computer program that is responsible for booting a computer. When a computer is turned off, its softwareincluding operating systems, application code, a ...

that runs under 16-bit

real-mode Real mode, also called real address mode, is an operating mode of all x86-compatible CPUs. The mode gets its name from the fact that addresses in real mode always correspond to real locations in memory. Real mode is characterized by a 20-bit seg ...

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

(including the MS-DOS mode of

Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...

Windows 98 Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to ...

and

Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (marketed with the pronunciation of the pronoun "me"), is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windo ...

startup disk). It allows the Linux system to load and replace the running DOS without altering existing DOS system files. loadlin and the

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...

are both files on a file system accessible to DOS. It loads the Linux

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

into memory from a file. It also places various configuration parameters into memory, and transfers control to the kernel. The kernel reads these parameters, initializes and runs, replacing DOS completely. Optionally, it can be configured to supply the kernel with an initial RAM disk, loaded into memory before transferring control to the Linux kernel. It passes to the kernel information about the RAM disk and its location. Furthermore, parameters can be passed to the Linux kernel that make it use that RAM disk as its root file system. The startup programs in that file system often cause Linux to mount another file system (perhaps on a fixed disk) and switch to using that as its root file system. loadlin operates as a separate program and does not modify the

master boot record A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond. The concept of MBR ...

, which can be useful for situations where there are concerns about modifying the MBR (which could lead to an unbootable system if done incorrectly). Due to its structure, loadlin only works on DOS-based operating systems, and will not work on NT-based versions of Windows.

External links

HOWTO
at the

Linux Documentation Project The Linux Documentation Project (LDP) is a dormant an all-volunteer project that maintains a large collection of GNU and Linux-related documentation and publishes the collection online. It began as a way for hackers to share their documentation wi ...

HOWTO
at the

Download

http://youpibouh.thefreecat.org/loadlin/ (archived)
Free boot loaders

See also

External links

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