Multiboot Specification
E299192
The Multiboot Specification is a standard that defines a common interface between bootloaders and operating systems, enabling bootloaders like GNU GRUB to load a wide variety of kernels in a uniform way.
All labels observed (5)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Multiboot2 Specification | 2 |
| Multiboot Specification canonical | 1 |
| Multiboot Specification version 0.6.96 | 1 |
| Multiboot Specification version 0.7 | 1 |
| Multiboot Specification version 1 | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2792535 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Multiboot Specification Context triple: [GNU GRUB, supportsStandard, Multiboot Specification]
-
A.
GNU GRUB
GNU GRUB is a widely used open-source bootloader that allows users to select and load different operating systems and kernels at startup.
-
B.
Trusted Platform Module 2.0
Trusted Platform Module 2.0 is a hardware-based security chip standard that provides cryptographic functions and secure key storage to enhance system integrity and protection against tampering.
-
C.
systemd-boot
systemd-boot is a simple, UEFI-only boot manager from the systemd project that loads and starts Linux kernels and other EFI executables.
-
D.
Dracut
Dracut is a town in northeastern Massachusetts, United States, known for its suburban character and proximity to the city of Lowell.
-
E.
The Universal Operating System
The Universal Operating System is the official motto of the Debian project, emphasizing its goal of providing a versatile, freely available operating system that runs on a wide range of hardware and use cases.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Multiboot Specification Target entity description: The Multiboot Specification is a standard that defines a common interface between bootloaders and operating systems, enabling bootloaders like GNU GRUB to load a wide variety of kernels in a uniform way.
-
A.
GNU GRUB
GNU GRUB is a widely used open-source bootloader that allows users to select and load different operating systems and kernels at startup.
-
B.
Trusted Platform Module 2.0
Trusted Platform Module 2.0 is a hardware-based security chip standard that provides cryptographic functions and secure key storage to enhance system integrity and protection against tampering.
-
C.
systemd-boot
systemd-boot is a simple, UEFI-only boot manager from the systemd project that loads and starts Linux kernels and other EFI executables.
-
D.
Dracut
Dracut is a town in northeastern Massachusetts, United States, known for its suburban character and proximity to the city of Lowell.
-
E.
The Universal Operating System
The Universal Operating System is the official motto of the Debian project, emphasizing its goal of providing a versatile, freely available operating system that runs on a wide range of hardware and use cases.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (41)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
boot protocol specification
ⓘ
software standard ⓘ |
| appliesTo | PC-compatible systems ⓘ |
| associatedWith | GNU Project ⓘ |
| category |
booting
ⓘ
computer standards ⓘ |
| compatibleWith | x86 architecture ⓘ |
| defines |
Multiboot header structure in kernel image
ⓘ
bootloader name information field ⓘ command line information field ⓘ common interface between bootloaders and operating systems ⓘ magic value for Multiboot header ⓘ memory map information format ⓘ modules information format ⓘ video mode information fields ⓘ |
| documentType | technical specification ⓘ |
| domain | operating system booting ⓘ |
| enables |
bootloader independence for kernels
ⓘ
uniform kernel loading interface ⓘ |
| goal | to avoid kernel dependence on a particular bootloader ⓘ |
| hasVersion |
Multiboot Specification
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 0.6.96
Multiboot Specification self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 0.7
Multiboot Specification self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 1
Multiboot Specification self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form:
Multiboot2 Specification
|
| influenced | design of Multiboot2 ⓘ |
| intendedFor |
bootloader developers
ⓘ
operating system developers ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| license | free documentation license (FSF style) ⓘ |
| purpose | to enable bootloaders to load a wide variety of kernels in a uniform way ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
GNU GRUB
ⓘ
surface form:
GNU GRUB bootloader
operating system kernels ⓘ |
| requires | Multiboot header to be within first 8 KB of kernel image ⓘ |
| specifies |
boot information structure
ⓘ
requirements for Multiboot-compliant bootloaders ⓘ requirements for Multiboot-compliant kernels ⓘ |
| standardizedBy | Free Software Foundation ⓘ |
| successor |
Multiboot Specification
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Multiboot2 Specification
|
| supports |
loading of operating system kernels
ⓘ
passing boot information to kernels ⓘ |
| usedBy | GNU GRUB ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Multiboot Specification Description of subject: The Multiboot Specification is a standard that defines a common interface between bootloaders and operating systems, enabling bootloaders like GNU GRUB to load a wide variety of kernels in a uniform way.
Referenced by (6)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 0.6.96
this entity surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 0.7
this entity surface form:
Multiboot Specification version 1
this entity surface form:
Multiboot2 Specification
this entity surface form:
Multiboot2 Specification