dual boot

(operating system)Any system offering the user the choice oftwo operation systems (OSes) under which to start acomputer. A dual boot system allows the user to run programsfor both operating systems on a single computer (though notsimultaneously). The term "multiple boot" or "multiboot"extends the idea to more than two OSes.

The OSes are generally unaware of each other's existence.They are installed on separate hard disk partitions or onseparate disks. They may be able to access each other'sfiles, possibly via some extra driver software if they usedifferent file systems.

The OSes need not be completely different - they might bedifferent versions of Microsoft Windows (e.g. Windows XPand Windows NT) or Linux (e.g. Debian and Fedora).

A dual boot system differs from an emulator such asvmware, which runs one or more OSes "on top" of the primaryOS, using its resources.

dual boot

A computer with two operating systems. At startup, a boot manager program lets the user choose which one to load. "Multiboot" may refer to a dual boot system or to hosting more than two operating systems.

All the Boots You Ever Wanted

System Commander from V Communications was a boot manager that let you install multiple operating systems.