| SUSE LINUX – Administration Guide Chapter 7. Booting and Boot Managers / 7.2. Boot Management | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Chapter 7. Booting and Boot Managers | 7.3. Selecting a Boot Loader |  | |
| SUSE LINUX – Administration Guide Chapter 7. Booting and Boot Managers / 7.2. Boot Management | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7. Booting and Boot Managers | 7.3. Selecting a Boot Loader | | |
In the easiest case — if only one operating system is installed on a computer — the boot management takes place as described above. If several operating systems are installed on a computer, the following options are available:
One of the operating systems is booted from the hard disk. The other operating systems are booted by means of a boot manager installed on an external medium (floppy disk, CD, USB storage medium). Because GRUB is able to boot all other operating systems, no external boot loader needs to be used.
A boot manager enables the concurrent installation and alternate use of several systems on one computer. The users can select the system to boot during the boot process. To change to a another system, the computer must be rebooted. This is only possible if the selected boot manager is compatible with the installed operating systems. GRUB, the boot manager used in SUSE LINUX, is able to boot all common operating systems. By default, SUSE LINUX installs the selected boot manager in the MBR.
