010-100 · Question #49
Where can a boot loader be installed?
The correct answer is B. The MBR on a hard drive. A boot loader must be installed in the Master Boot Record (MBR) of a hard drive so the BIOS can locate and execute it during the boot process.
Question
Where can a boot loader be installed?
Options
- AThe boot ROM
- BThe MBR on a hard drive
- CThe /boot partition
- DThe boot RAM
How the community answered
(42 responses)- A5% (2)
- B83% (35)
- C2% (1)
- D10% (4)
Why each option
A boot loader must be installed in the Master Boot Record (MBR) of a hard drive so the BIOS can locate and execute it during the boot process.
The boot ROM is firmware embedded on the motherboard (BIOS/UEFI) and is not a writable location where a boot loader is installed.
The MBR is the first 512 bytes of a hard drive and contains the partition table and boot loader code. The BIOS hands off execution to the MBR after POST, making it the standard installation location for boot loaders like GRUB. This allows the boot loader to then locate and load the operating system kernel.
The /boot partition stores kernel images and boot loader configuration files, but the boot loader itself is installed to the MBR, not the partition.
Boot RAM is not a real storage location; RAM is volatile and does not persist between power cycles, making it unsuitable for boot loader installation.
Concept tested: Boot loader installation location on MBR
Source: https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Installing-GRUB-using-grub_002dinstall
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