GAG (boot loader)
| Developer(s) | Sergio Costas Rodriguez |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 4.10 / August 11, 2008 |
| Written in | Assembly language |
| Operating system | OS independent, X86 architecture |
| Available in | Multilingual (6) |
| Type | Boot Loader |
| License | GNU GPL |
| Website | gag.sourceforge.net |
GAG (Gestor de Arranque Gráfico, English: "Graphical Boot Manager") is a GNU GPL boot loader for x86 computers. GAG does not need its own partition — it installs directly to the boot sector of Hard disk or floppy disk which allows it to survive to repartitioning or formatting. It is distributed as a bootable disk image, which makes it fully operating system-independent. It can be installed from a CD-ROM or from a linux terminal too (this last method allows to install it in a USB pendrive).
GAG works on x86 processor with standard VGA graphic adapter or compatible (it can't be properly run under Hercules, CGA or EGA).
GAG aims to be an easy-to-use boot manager, but allows certain advanced features. It has a classic 3D-looking GUI driven by a keyboard. It allows to have up to 9 operating systems installed. Every OS (boot partition) has an icon, label and, if needed, password protection. Configuration is menu-driven, and can be protected with its own password too.
It allows to hide primary partitions (to avoid OS collisions between C:/D: primary partitions) and auto-choose using timer.
Grub2 incompatibility
Because GAG is a pure chain loading boot loader, it requires a kernel loader to be installed in the superblock of each bootable partition to handle the different filesystems or kernels. This means that users of GNU/Linux are required to install LILO or GRUB in the superblock of the partition in order to be able to boot from GAG; however it seems that installing GRUB2 in a superblock is discouraged as in case of repartitioning, some Grub'data could be moved and the partition could not be booted anymore by GAG. A solution is to boot the broken partition from another GNU/Linux operating system and running sudo grub-install /dev/sdaX (where /dev/sdaX represents the root partition).