Have you installed more than one operating system on your PC and need a practical and quick way to manage and select which one to use at each startup? You may be unable to access your computer’s operating system and wonder if there is any program, accessible via USB drive or CD, to fix this? Then you need to intervene on the boot using the software listed in this guide.
In the following lines, you will find what, in my humble opinion, are the best boot programs available on the market. There are several to meet all needs: to manage, repair, and customize boot settings, perform “first aid” on the computer, reinstall operating systems, and much more. You just have to identify which one you think will be most helpful and make use of it.
So? Can I ask what you’re still doing there? Take a few minutes just for yourself, get comfortable in front of your trusted multimedia setup, and start focusing on the reading below. I sincerely hope that by the end, you will be quite happy and satisfied with what you have learned: I wish you a good read.
Table of Contents
Preliminary Information
Before diving into the topic and discovering the best boot programs and how to use them, it is necessary for me to explain exactly what boot is. Specifically, it refers to the set of processes executed by a computer during the startup phase, from powering on to the completed loading of the operating system.
In configurations that involve multiple disks, the order of boot devices or partitions can be customized by the user through the BIOS or UEFI settings. The loading of necessary files for the basic operation of the operating system is then performed by a small program installed beforehand, called the boot loader. The choice of the operating system to boot, particularly in multi-boot configurations, is then made using a second software called the boot manager.
This guide aims to show you how to use some programs that allow you to work on the boot manager, in order to customize the order and boot menu of the various operating systems installed on your PC, and to present you with a particular boot loader called Plop that integrates support for booting from USB or network on computers that do not natively support it. For completeness, I will introduce some programs that allow you to create bootable USB drives and disks.
Dual Boot Programs
Having made all the necessary preambles, let me list a series of programs that can be used on dual boot PCs which allow you to modify the default settings of the boot loader installed by the operating system. Please be careful: only proceed if you fully understand what you are about to do, as a single mistake could make the computer unbootable and force you to perform emergency recovery maneuvers. I’ve warned you.
EasyBCD (Windows)
The first boot program I want to tell you about is EasyBCD: compatible with most existing editions of Windows, it allows you to manipulate the Windows boot loader through a user-friendly graphical interface. In practice, EasyBCD enables you to add or remove additional operating systems to the list of bootable ones, modify the boot order, rename various entries, add support for booting from ISO images and virtual disks, and much more.
Moreover, EasyBCD can be used to create backups of boot settings to restore them when necessary, as well as to reset the Windows boot loader in case of errors and accidental overwrites. By default, the program can be downloaded and used free of charge for personal purposes; however, there is a paid version starting from $39.99 one-time available for professional use that offers advanced support and documentation.
That said, to obtain the free version of EasyBCD, go to the program’s website and click on the Register button, located in the Non-commercial box; now, if you want to sign up for the Neosmart newsletter, enter your name and email address in the fields displayed on the screen and click the Download! button to download EasyBCD. Otherwise, leave both text boxes empty and simply click the Download! button.
Once the download is complete, run the obtained file and click the Yes, Next, I agree, Next, Install, and Finish buttons to complete the setup procedure and start EasyBCD; if the program does not automatically open, run it using the icon that has been added to the desktop and/or the Start menu of Windows.
Now, choose the language to be used in the drop-down menu presented, click the Yes and OK buttons (twice), and wait patiently for the EasyBCD interface to appear on the screen. To view the current status of the Windows boot manager, click the View Settings button and check the Preview box.
To change the order of boot menu entries, rename them, add a countdown or require user selection, use the Edit Boot Menu button; after making changes, click the Save Settings button at the bottom.
If you want to add entries for booting additional operating systems or drives, click the Add a new entry button, click on the tab related to the OS you want to add (for example Windows, Linux/BSD, or NeoGrub) and configure the various options, such as the name of the entry and the boot partition, according to your needs. When finished, click the (+) symbol to add the new entry to the list, and if you want to modify it, return to the Edit Boot Menu tab.
Finally, note that, through the Backup/Repair BCD section, you can create a backup copy of the boot data, restore it or return the Windows boot loader to its original state; in the BCD Path section, you can find advanced options for rewriting the Master Boot Record, while in Useful Tools you can access several small additional utilities suitable for performing some emergency operations (e.g., creating a recovery drive for Windows).
GRUB Customizer (Linux)
GRUB is the default boot loader for the vast majority of Linux distributions: in dual boot configurations, unless specific instructions are provided during the installation of the operating system, GRUB overwrites the default boot loader of Windows. The configuration of GRUB, as you can easily imagine, is customizable by editing the text files related to the settings.
In this regard, there is a very useful application called GRUB Customizer, which can operate on the GRUB configuration file through a user-friendly graphical interface. This application can be installed directly from the Terminal on Ubuntu and derivatives by entering the commands below, followed by pressing the Enter key.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt update && sudo apt install grub-customizer
When prompted, enter the administrator password of the computer to gain the necessary permissions, and confirm the willingness to proceed with the installation of the program by pressing the Enter key on the keyboard.
The GRUB Customizer window consists of three tabs: the first, called Configuration List, allows you to edit the current menu entries, add new ones, remove existing ones, and modify the boot order; through the General Settings tab, you can choose the default entry, set a timer, instruct GRUB to detect other operating systems, and access some advanced boot options. Finally, through the Appearance Settings tab, you can modify the graphical interface of GRUB.
The various functions of GRUB Customizer are available through the button bar at the top, and the context menu of the various windows and entries, accessible by right-clicking on the desired items. Once you have made the necessary changes, you must remember to apply them by clicking the Save button located at the top left.
Other Usable Solutions
In addition to the programs I have listed above, know that there are other equally valid solutions to fully customize the boot loader installed on the computer. Below, I will list a few.
- rEFInd (Windows/Linux): This is a boot manager that allows you to select every time which operating system to boot the computer with, through a very friendly graphical interface rich in icons. rEFInd can be installed on any computer with EFI firmware. In theory, it can also be installed on Macs, however, the strong restrictions introduced by Apple regarding third-party boot loaders may prevent it from booting, or force users to make deep modifications to macOS, disabling some basic protections. rEFInd is a free program.
- Clover (Windows/Linux): Another practical boot manager, compatible with any PC equipped with UEFI firmware, allowing you to select the boot operating system using a clean and elegant graphical interface. Clover can also theoretically be installed on macOS, but the restrictions imposed by Apple make correct functioning almost impossible. Clover is a free program.
- iReboot (Windows): Developed by the same software house behind EasyBCD, iReboot is a small program for Windows that, with the help of an icon positioned in the indicator area, allows you to select on the fly which operating system to reboot the computer with. iReboot is a free program for personal and non-commercial use.
USB Boot Program
Do you need to boot an old PC from a disk or USB drive, unfortunately, the BIOS system on the board does not support this type of boot? In this case, you can use a specific boot manager for this purpose, called Plop Boot Manager: it is a program that can be installed on a hard disk, capable of adding a series of boot options (e.g., USB boot and network boot) to PCs that natively do not have them.
To achieve the best results, Plop should be installed in the Master Boot Record (MBR) of Windows, which is the area that manages the loading of boot files for the operating system; therefore, pay particular attention and only act if you are fully aware of what you are about to do, as a single error during the installation of Plop could make the PC unbootable: then don’t say I didn’t warn you!
To download Plop on Windows, go to the program’s website and click on the link plpbt-xx.yy.z.zip, corresponding to the latest version; once downloaded, extract the obtained .zip package to a folder of your choice, enter it, and open the Windows sub-directory.
Now, to add Plop to the Windows boot menu, right-click on the InstallToBootMenu file, select the Run as administrator option from the opening menu and click the Yes button; once in the Command Prompt window, press the y key on the keyboard, and when prompted, press any key to exit the Prompt.
At this point, restart the computer and repeatedly press the F8 key on your keyboard immediately after the manufacturer logo appears to display the Windows boot menu; once there, select the Plop Boot Manager option, and to install the boot manager to disk, press the 1 and y keys on the keyboard in sequence.
The game is practically done! From now on, every time you boot your computer, you should see the Plop screen; to boot from a USB drive, connect it to the computer, select the USB option in the Plop menu and press Enter: if everything goes smoothly, the drive should boot without problems.
If you change your mind, you can restore the original Windows boot loader using the already mentioned EasyBCD: after opening the program, click the BCD Path button and then the Write MBR button.
Programs to Make USB Bootable
Lastly, but no less important, let me explain how some programs work that allow you to create bootable USB drives from ISO images of the same type. Before proceeding, connect the USB drive you want to make bootable to the computer.
Rufus (Windows)
An excellent boot program from USB drive is certainly Rufus: compatible with almost all existing versions of Windows (but also with Linux, after execution in a Wine environment), it allows you to create USB drives suitable for computers with either BIOS or UEFI firmware, starting from a bootable ISO image. Rufus is a portable software that requires no installation, and can be downloaded and used free of charge.
To obtain it, go to the software’s website, find the Download area, and click the download link best suited to your system’s platform (64-bit — x64 or 32-bit — x86); once downloaded, run the file received, click on the Yes button and specify your preferences regarding the automatic download of updates by responding appropriately to the warning that appears on the screen.
When you reach Rufus’s main screen, select the USB drive to use from the Device/Drive drop-down menu, set the System Type Boot menu to Disk image file or ISO (select) and then click the SELECT button to choose the ISO to load onto the drive.
Now, configure the Partition scheme and Target system type drop-down menus according to the expected boot parameters for the flash drive (if you don’t know what to choose, feel free to leave the default options unchanged), and, aware that writing data to the drive results in the loss of any existing files, press the Start and Yes buttons to initiate the data copy. If you need further indication on how to use Rufus, refer to the in-depth guide available on my website.
Etcher (Windows/macOS)
Another very practical free program that allows you to create bootable USB drives from ISO images containing operating systems is balenaEtcher, simply known as Etcher. To get it, go to the software’s website and click the Download Etcher button; then, find the entry that best suits your operating system (e.g., Etcher for Windows, Etcher for macOS, or Etcher for macOS ARM 64 if you have a Mac with Apple Silicon chip) and click on the corresponding Download link.
Once the download is complete, run the file received and, if you are using Windows, wait for the main window of the program to appear on the screen. If you are using a Mac, use the screen that appears to drag the icon of Etcher into the Applications folder of the computer; then double-click the copied icon and press the Open button to bypass the limitations imposed by Apple on developers without official certification (this only needs to be done at first launch).
When you see the Etcher window, click the Flash from file button, choose the ISO image to be loaded on the USB drive, and click the Select/Open button; next, press the Select target button, check the box next to the name of the USB drive to which you will transfer the files, and click the Select 1 button at the bottom.
Finally, aware that all previously saved data on the USB drive will be deleted, click the Flash button and, if you are using Windows, approve the writing of data by pressing the Yes button; if you are using macOS, enter the administrator password of the computer and click the OK button twice. Wait for the procedure to complete and you are done.
More Useful Solutions
In addition to the programs I have illustrated so far, there are other solutions that allow creating bootable USB drives of various categories. Below, I will list a few.
- Unetbootin (Windows/macOS): This program allows you to create bootable USB drives from various types of ISO files. Moreover, it includes the possibility of automatically downloading installation images for the most known and used Linux distros, eliminating the need to proceed manually. It is free of charge.
- Microsoft Media Creation Tool (Windows): Starting from Windows 8.1, Microsoft has introduced a practical utility that, if set up appropriately, allows the automatic download of the ISO image of Windows and use it to create a bootable USB drive for operating system installation.
- CreateInstallMedia (macOS): This is a command-line tool capable of creating a bootable device containing the copy of macOS installed on the computer.
- Kaspersky Rescue Disk (Windows): This is software that can easily create an emergency USB drive, which can be used to perform an antivirus scan of the system using the Kaspersky antivirus engine. It is free.