bootmanagement

BootManagement refers to the set of processes, interfaces, and tools that control the start of a computer system. It encompasses firmware interfaces such as BIOS and UEFI, the bootloaders, and the boot configuration data that determine how control is transferred from hardware initialization to an operating system load.

During startup, firmware initializes hardware, performs basic checks, and selects a boot device according to a configured boot order. The bootloader is then loaded; on many systems it may involve a staged process in which a small program loads a larger second-stage loader. The bootloader reads its configuration, presents a menu of available operating systems or kernels, and loads the chosen one along with its initial RAM disk or image.

Boot management supports single- and multi-boot configurations. Boot entries are stored in separate data stores—for example GRUB's grub.cfg or the Windows BCD store—and can be edited with system utilities. Boot managers may also provide options for recovery, safe mode, memory tests, or network boot (PXE).

Security aspects play a central role, with features such as Secure Boot in UEFI that requires signatures for bootloaders and kernels, and trusted boot environments designed to prevent tampering of the boot process. Modern systems may support features like measured boot and tamper-evident logs.

Common implementations include GRUB, Windows Boot Manager, rEFInd, and systemd-boot. Some environments rely on firmware-level boot managers or network boot services. The evolution from BIOS-based booting to UEFI has increased flexibility, security, and integration with modern hardware and virtualization.