<s>
loadlin	B-Application
is	O
a	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
boot	B-Application
loader	I-Application
that	O
runs	O
under	O
16-bit	O
real-mode	B-Application
DOS	B-Device
(	O
including	O
the	O
MS-DOS	O
mode	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Me	I-Device
startup	O
disk	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allows	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
system	O
to	O
load	O
and	O
replace	O
the	O
running	O
DOS	B-Device
without	O
altering	O
existing	O
DOS	B-Device
system	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
loadlin	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
are	O
both	O
files	O
on	O
a	O
file	O
system	O
accessible	O
to	O
DOS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
loads	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
into	O
memory	O
from	O
a	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
places	O
various	O
configuration	O
parameters	O
into	O
memory	O
,	O
and	O
transfers	O
control	O
to	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
reads	O
these	O
parameters	O
,	O
initializes	O
and	O
runs	O
,	O
replacing	O
DOS	B-Device
completely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Optionally	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
to	O
supply	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
with	O
an	O
initial	B-Application
RAM	I-Application
disk	I-Application
,	O
loaded	O
into	O
memory	O
before	O
transferring	O
control	O
to	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
passes	O
to	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
information	O
about	O
the	O
RAM	O
disk	O
and	O
its	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
parameters	O
can	O
be	O
passed	O
to	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
that	O
make	O
it	O
use	O
that	O
RAM	O
disk	O
as	O
its	O
root	O
file	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
startup	O
programs	O
in	O
that	O
file	O
system	O
often	O
cause	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
to	O
mount	O
another	O
file	O
system	O
(	O
perhaps	O
on	O
a	O
fixed	O
disk	O
)	O
and	O
switch	O
to	O
using	O
that	O
as	O
its	O
root	O
file	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
loadlin	B-Application
operates	O
as	O
a	O
separate	O
program	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
modify	O
the	O
master	B-Device
boot	I-Device
record	I-Device
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
useful	O
for	O
situations	O
where	O
there	O
are	O
concerns	O
about	O
modifying	O
the	O
MBR	O
(	O
which	O
could	O
lead	O
to	O
an	O
unbootable	O
system	O
if	O
done	O
incorrectly	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
structure	O
,	O
loadlin	B-Application
only	O
works	O
on	O
DOS-based	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
will	O
not	O
work	O
on	O
NT-based	B-Device
versions	I-Device
of	I-Device
Windows	I-Device
.	O
</s>
