Boot-US vs QEFI Entry Manager

Boot-US is a boot manager for x86 machines that lets you start existing operating systems independently, including multiple separate Windows systems. It supports both BIOS and UEFI booting and works with MBR and GPT disks of any size. The package has a graphical configuration program for Windows and command-line versions for Windows and 64-bit Linux. It also includes tools to inspect partition details, hide partitions, and back up or restore disks and partitions. The site lists version 4.2.4, including a Linux 64-bit command-line version and a service for restoring UEFI variables when Windows starts or shuts down. SHA256 values are listed for that version’s downloads. The non-licensed package is free for private PCs and public schools, and can be tried for one month. Commercial use requires a license after the trial. Listed licenses are one-time payments, starting at €24.50 for one PC; some password protection functions require a version 4 license. The license page says the software is provided without warranty and used at the user’s own risk.

QEFI Entry Manager is a free, GPL-3.0 Qt application for managing EFI boot entries and EFI system partitions. On Linux and Windows, users can change boot order, add or import entries, and select the next boot entry for an immediate or later reboot. Entries can be enabled, disabled, deleted, or opened for detailed properties. EFI partitions can be mounted or unmounted, opened, and modified by moving, renaming, or copying files. Creating an entry from an EFI application file is available as a beta feature that may not work on every system. Release 0.5.0 adds a command-line tool for EFI entry manipulation. The app requires root or sudo on Linux and administrator privileges on Windows. Arch packages and downloads for other Linux distributions are listed, along with Windows downloads. The project also states native FreeBSD operation. Prebuilt binaries are unavailable for some older Ubuntu releases and architectures such as ARM and aarch64.