boot loader

See also: bootloader

English

Windows boot loader

Alternative forms

• bootloader

Etymology

From boot +‎ loader.

Noun

boot loader (plural boot loaders)

1. (computing) A small program that initiates the bootstrap process by loading the operating system proper.

   Synonym: boot manager

   • 2007, Roderick W. Smith, Linux+ Study Guide: Exam XK0-002, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 41:

     In the case of a PC that runs nothing but Windows, the boot loader in the MBR is hard-coded to check for a secondary boot loader in the active primary partition. This secondary boot loader directly loads the Windows kernel.

   • 2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, quoting Elon Musk, chapter 13, in God, Human, Animal, Machine […] , →ISBN:

     It was a thought that returned to me days later while reading an article about Elon Musk, one of the loudest voices calling to reopen the economy–a man who once referred to humanity as the “biological bootloaders” for AI.

Translations

A program that initiates the bootstrap process

• Finnish: käynnistyslataaja (fi), alkulatausohjelma, käynnistyslatain
• French: bootloader (fr) m
• German: Bootloader m, Bootmanager (de) m
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: pêşbarker

• Turkish: bootloader (tr)