Use PINN on a Raspberry Pi to boot multiple systems
One Card, Many Systems
© Lead Image © dmitr1, 123RF.com
SD cards are getting larger and cheaper all the time – why not share a card between two operating systems for the Raspberry Pi? The PINN OS installer lets you automate the process.
When you run Linux on a PC or notebook you're used to using a boot manager that lets you select the operating system (OS). Many Linux users like to set up their computer as a dual-boot or multiboot system with more than one OS. The default boot manager in the Linux world, GRUB [1], lets you select a default OS that starts when you don't interfere with the boot process.
You may be used to installing Linux on a computer that came out of the factory with a pre-installed Windows version: The Linux distribution's installer program will repartition the hard drive, organize disk space for Linux, install the Linux kernel and all the tools and applications, and then configure and install GRUB. The next time you boot the machine, you can choose between Windows and Linux.
There are alternatives to using a boot manager. You could have two internal disks, use each of them exclusively for one OS, and then select the boot device in the BIOS or UEFI settings or via a hotkey that brings up the computer's built-in boot menu. Using GRUB is more user-friendly than those alternatives, which is why it is the more popular choice.
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