This chapter provides a quick overview of the EnGarde Secure Linux boot-up process for users who are not familiar with Linux. If you have used Linux you can safely skip this chapter.
The startup process of EnGarde Secure Linux is broken down into two phases which are explained below.
Once your system's BIOS self-tests are complete you are taken to the EnGarde Boot Screen where you will be presented with a screen similar to the one in Figure 3-1 which asks you to choose which kernel image to load.
The kernel is the core operating system component of EnGarde Secure Linux responsible for I/O, filesystem access, and many other things. There are two kernel images available:
secure
This is the default kernel image which you will be taken into if you do not explicitly select another image. You should always boot into this image unless you have an explicit reason to disable the kernel security features present in EnGarde Secure Linux.
standard
This kernel image disables most of the kernel security features present in EnGarde Secure Linux. You should only boot into this image if you know what you are doing or if you were instructed to by Guardian Digital Master Support.
You do not have to do anything at this screen. Your EnGarde Secure Linux machine will automatically boot into the secure kernel after five seconds. If you'd like to boot into the standard kernel image, type the word "standard" at the boot: prompt.