EasyBCD vs Plop Boot Manager

EasyBCD is a Windows bootloader editor for setting up multiboot systems and changing boot menus. It can configure systems involving Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD, and boot from USB drives, ISO images, and virtual disks. Users can add, rename, remove, configure, and reorder boot entries, including entries for recovery utilities or safe mode. The tool can back up and repair a bootloader, and its NeoGrub scripting can hide partitions, change active flags, and support complex boot setups. EasyBCD supports BIOS and UEFI. Personal, non-commercial use is free; the Commercial plan costs $39.99 as a one-time purchase. NeoSmart advises care when modifying boot settings and says EasyBCD cannot fix a PC that will not boot, directing users to EasyRE for that situation. The latest release listed in the changelog is version 2.4.0.237, dated November 28, 2018.

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.