Difference between revisions of "Bootloader"

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(adding more boot loaders)
(sort the table alphabetically, add Blackfin to the mix, and use condensed format to make the table easier to read)
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{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
−
! Bootloaders !! x86 (IA32) !! ARM / XScale !! MIPS !! PowerPC !! SuperH || remarks
+
|+ align="bottom" | Legend: '''?''':Unknown '''-''':Not supported
 +
! Bootloader !! ARM !! BFIN !! MIPS !! PPC !! SH !! x86 || remarks
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[U-Boot]]
+
! [[APEX]]
−
|                no        || yes          || yes || yes    || yes    || allows networked setup
+
|                y  ||   -  ||  ?  || ?  || ?  ||  ?  ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[RedBoot]]
+
! [[Blob]]
−
|                yes        || yes          || yes || yes    || yes    || allows networked setup
+
|                y  ||   -  ||  -  || -  || -  ||  -  ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[Lilo]] 
+
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/Common_Firmware_Environment CFE]
−
|                yes        || -           ||  -   ||   -     || -     || x86 only, requires nasm to build
+
|                -  ||   - ||  y   || - || - ||  -  || for specific BroadCom chipsets
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[Grub]]  
+
! [http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot coreboot (LinuxBIOS)]
−
|                yes        || -           ||  -  ||   yes  || -     ||
+
|                -  ||   - ||  -  || -  || - || y  || Conference talk by Peter Stuge at Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2008, [http://free-electrons.com/pub/video/2008/elce/nluug-fall2008-stuge-coreboot.ogv video]
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[Syslinux]]
+
! [[U-Boot|Das U-Boot]]
−
|                yes        ||  -          || -   ||   -    || -      || variants (including) isolinux are very flexible for booting x86
+
|                y  ||   y ||  y  || y  || y ||  y  || allows networked setup
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot coreboot], formerly known as LinuxBIOS
+
! [[Grub]]  
−
|                yes        || -           || -   ||   -    || -      || Conference talk by Peter Stuge at Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2008, [http://free-electrons.com/pub/video/2008/elce/nluug-fall2008-stuge-coreboot.ogv video]
+
|                ?  ||   - ||  ?  || y  || ?  ||  y  ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[APEX]]
+
! [[Lilo]]
−
|                -         ||  yes        || -   ||   -     || -     ||
+
|                - ||   - ||  -  || - || - || y  || x86 only, requires nasm to build
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [[Blob]]
+
! [http://www.microcross.com/html/micromonitor.html MicroMonitor]
−
|                -          ||  yes        ||  -  ||  -    || -      ||
+
|                y  ||   y ||   ? || y  || y  ||  ?  ||
−
|-
+
−
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/YAMON YAMON]
+
−
|                -          ||  -          ||  yes ||   -    || -      ||
+
 
|-
 
|-
 
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/PMON_2000 PMON 2000]
 
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/PMON_2000 PMON 2000]
−
|                -         || -           ||  yes ||   -     || -     ||
+
|                - ||   - ||  y  || - || - ||  -  ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/Common_Firmware_Environment CFE]
+
! [[RedBoot]]
−
|                -          ||  -           ||  yes ||  -     || -     || for specific BroadCom chipsets
+
|                y  ||   ? ||  y  ||  y  ||  y ||  y  || allows networked setup
 +
|-
 +
! [[Syslinux]]
 +
|                 -  ||  - || -   ||  - || - ||  y  || variants (including) isolinux are very flexible for booting x86
 
|-
 
|-
 
! [http://yaboot.ozlabs.org/ Yaboot]
 
! [http://yaboot.ozlabs.org/ Yaboot]
−
|                -         ||  -           ||  -  ||   yes   || -     ||
+
|                - ||  -  ||  -   ||  y  ||  - ||  -  ||
 +
|-
 +
! [http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/YAMON YAMON]
 +
|                -  ||   -  || y   || - ||  -  ||  -  ||
 
|}
 
|}
−
 
−
A dash '-' means: '''not researched...'''
 
  
 
A lot more exhaustive list is available at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_boot_loaders Wikipedia]
 
A lot more exhaustive list is available at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_boot_loaders Wikipedia]

Revision as of 23:29, 13 April 2009

Briefly, a bootloader is the first software program that runs when a computer starts. It is responsible for loading and transferring control to the operating system kernel software (such as the Hurd or the Linux). The kernel, in turn, initializes the rest of the operating system (e.g. GNU).

List of bootloaders

Legend: ?:Unknown -:Not supported
Bootloader ARM BFIN MIPS PPC SH x86 remarks
APEX y -  ?  ?  ?  ?
Blob y - - - - -
CFE - - y - - - for specific BroadCom chipsets
coreboot (LinuxBIOS) - - - - - y Conference talk by Peter Stuge at Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2008, video
Das U-Boot y y y y y y allows networked setup
Grub  ? -  ? y  ? y
Lilo - - - - - y x86 only, requires nasm to build
MicroMonitor y y  ? y y  ?
PMON 2000 - - y - - -
RedBoot y  ? y y y y allows networked setup
Syslinux - - - - - y variants (including) isolinux are very flexible for booting x86
Yaboot - - - y - -
YAMON - - y - - -

A lot more exhaustive list is available at Wikipedia


List of legacy boot loaders

Please don't pick any of these for new designs!

  • rrload (RidgeRun, used for older TI OMAP boards)
  • pmon (used for Linux MIPS, including BroadCom wifi router boards like Linksys)

See also

Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=Bootloader&oldid=10787"