SYSLINUX

Windows · Linux

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.5

SYSLINUX is ranked #6 of 26 in boot manager software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Windows. There is a free plan.

SYSLINUX plans and pricing

SYSLINUX Free GNU GPL version 2 or later github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Purpose: Syslinux is a suite of bootloaders for Linux, including loaders for FAT filesystems, PXE network booting, ISO9660 CD-ROMs, and Linux ext2/ext3 filesystems.
FAT loader: SYSLINUX boots from MS-DOS or Windows FAT filesystems.
Network booting: PXELINUX supports PXE network booting.
CD booting: ISOLINUX supports booting from ISO9660 CD-ROMs.
Linux filesystems: EXTLINUX supports Linux ext2 and ext3 filesystems.
MEMDISK: The project includes MEMDISK, a tool for loading legacy operating systems from supported media.
Configuration: Boot settings can be configured in a text file named syslinux.cfg.
Boot menu: The documentation describes menu and graphical menu interface modules.
Build requirements: The project README says building from source requires Linux and NASM version 2.03 or later, with 2.07 or later recommended.
License: The project README says SYSLINUX is free software under the GNU General Public License version 2 or, at the user's option, any later version.
Limit: Syslinux does not support FAT filesystems with a sector size other than 512 bytes.
UEFI limit: UEFI Syslinux does not support chainloading other EFI applications such as UEFI Shell or Windows Boot Manager.
Support: The project README points users to a SYSLINUX mailing list for support details.
Price from: Free

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