Boot-Repair vs Plop Boot Manager

Boot-Repair is free Linux software for restoring access to operating systems after boot failures. It addresses common GRUB problems and situations where Ubuntu or Windows no longer starts after another operating system is installed. Its Recommended Repair can reinstall GRUB and recover access to previously installed systems. Advanced options provide partition-table and boot-sector backups, GRUB setting changes, restoration of a Windows-compatible MBR, and filesystem repair. Boot-Repair can produce a Boot-Info diagnosis for sharing with helpers by email or on a forum. You choose whether to upload that report to Pastebin or keep it local; uploaded reports are described as expiring after some days. Boot-Repair-Disk starts the tool automatically and also includes OS-Uninstaller and Boot-Info. It can also run from Ubuntu, Debian, and derivative live environments. The project describes automatic backups and says the software is distributed without warranty.

Plop Boot Manager is a free program for starting different operating systems from hard disk, floppy, CD/DVD, USB, or network. Its built-in USB driver can boot USB devices without BIOS USB boot support, and its IDE CD/DVD driver can start optical media without BIOS support. Installation can place it in the hard disk's first sectors before the first partition, avoiding the need for an extra partition. It can launch from LILO, Syslinux, GRUB, GRUB4DOS, GRUB2, Windows boot.ini, or Windows BCD; it can also start over a network with PXELINUX or be stored as a BIOS option ROM. Configuration includes operating system profiles, up to 16 partitions, partition hiding, a boot countdown, and text or graphical interfaces. Password protection covers the computer and its setup. The maker says it can access USB hard disks up to 2 TB even where BIOS has a 128 GiB limit. It is free for personal and commercial use, but may not be sold. The listed release is 5.0.15, dated 2013-04-15. When started from plpbt.bin rather than installed to the MBR, settings cannot be saved.