When there are multiple kernels installed on CentOS, GRUB/GRUB2 boot loader chooses and loads one of them as the default kernel during boot time. The default kernel can be chosen differently. For example, CentOS can be configured to boot into a newly installed kernel (e.g., CentOS 6), or it can boot a last saved entry regardless of the kernel is newer or older (e.g., CentOS 7).
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