diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/arch/uefi/uefildr.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/arch/uefi/uefildr.c
index 9f801d978a8..69d5041d2ca 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/arch/uefi/uefildr.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/arch/uefi/uefildr.c
@@ -26,17 +26,19 @@ EfiEntry(
     _In_ EFI_HANDLE ImageHandle,
     _In_ EFI_SYSTEM_TABLE *SystemTable)
 {
+    PCSTR CmdLine = ""; // FIXME: Determine a command-line from UEFI boot options
+
     SystemTable->ConOut->OutputString(SystemTable->ConOut, L"UEFI EntryPoint: Starting freeldr from UEFI");
     GlobalImageHandle = ImageHandle;
     GlobalSystemTable = SystemTable;
 
-    /* Needed for default settings */
-    CmdLineParse("");
+    /* Load the default settings from the command-line */
+    LoadSettings(CmdLine);
 
     /* Debugger pre-initialization */
-    DebugInit(0);
+    DebugInit(BootMgrInfo.DebugString);
 
-    MachInit("");
+    MachInit(CmdLine);
 
     /* UI pre-initialization */
     if (!UiInitialize(FALSE))
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/bootmgr.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/bootmgr.c
index f843e6addb9..04d8683a64d 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/bootmgr.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/bootmgr.c
@@ -322,28 +322,6 @@ EditOperatingSystemEntry(
 }
 #endif // HAS_OPTION_MENU_EDIT_CMDLINE
 
-static LONG
-GetTimeOut(
-    IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId)
-{
-    LONG TimeOut = -1;
-    CHAR TimeOutText[20];
-
-    TimeOut = CmdLineGetTimeOut();
-    if (TimeOut >= 0)
-        return TimeOut;
-
-    TimeOut = -1;
-
-    if ((FrLdrSectionId != 0) &&
-        IniReadSettingByName(FrLdrSectionId, "TimeOut", TimeOutText, sizeof(TimeOutText)))
-    {
-        TimeOut = atoi(TimeOutText);
-    }
-
-    return TimeOut;
-}
-
 BOOLEAN
 MainBootMenuKeyPressFilter(
     IN ULONG KeyPress,
@@ -370,14 +348,12 @@ MainBootMenuKeyPressFilter(
 
 VOID RunLoader(VOID)
 {
-    ULONG_PTR SectionId;
-    LONG      TimeOut;
-    ULONG     OperatingSystemCount;
     OperatingSystemItem* OperatingSystemList;
-    PCSTR*    OperatingSystemDisplayNames;
-    ULONG     DefaultOperatingSystem;
-    ULONG     SelectedOperatingSystem;
-    ULONG     i;
+    PCSTR* OperatingSystemDisplayNames;
+    ULONG OperatingSystemCount;
+    ULONG DefaultOperatingSystem;
+    ULONG SelectedOperatingSystem;
+    ULONG i;
 
     if (!MachInitializeBootDevices())
     {
@@ -395,24 +371,23 @@ VOID RunLoader(VOID)
 #endif
 #endif
 
+    /* Open FREELDR.INI and load the global FreeLoader settings */
     if (!IniFileInitialize())
     {
         UiMessageBoxCritical("Error initializing .ini file.");
         return;
     }
-
-    /* Open the [FreeLoader] section */
-    if (!IniOpenSection("FreeLoader", &SectionId))
+    LoadSettings(NULL);
+#if 0
+    if (FALSE)
     {
-        UiMessageBoxCritical("Section [FreeLoader] not found in freeldr.ini.");
+        UiMessageBoxCritical("Could not load global FreeLoader settings.");
         return;
     }
+#endif
 
     /* Debugger main initialization */
-    DebugInit(SectionId);
-
-    /* Retrieve the default timeout */
-    TimeOut = GetTimeOut(SectionId);
+    DebugInit(BootMgrInfo.DebugString);
 
     /* UI main initialization */
     if (!UiInitialize(TRUE))
@@ -421,8 +396,7 @@ VOID RunLoader(VOID)
         return;
     }
 
-    OperatingSystemList = InitOperatingSystemList(SectionId,
-                                                  &OperatingSystemCount,
+    OperatingSystemList = InitOperatingSystemList(&OperatingSystemCount,
                                                   &DefaultOperatingSystem);
     if (!OperatingSystemList)
     {
@@ -446,7 +420,7 @@ VOID RunLoader(VOID)
     }
 
     /* Find all the message box settings and run them */
-    UiShowMessageBoxesInSection(SectionId);
+    UiShowMessageBoxesInSection(BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection);
 
     for (;;)
     {
@@ -461,7 +435,7 @@ VOID RunLoader(VOID)
                            OperatingSystemDisplayNames,
                            OperatingSystemCount,
                            DefaultOperatingSystem,
-                           TimeOut,
+                           BootMgrInfo.TimeOut,
                            &SelectedOperatingSystem,
                            FALSE,
                            MainBootMenuKeyPressFilter,
@@ -471,7 +445,7 @@ VOID RunLoader(VOID)
             goto Reboot;
         }
 
-        TimeOut = -1;
+        BootMgrInfo.TimeOut = -1;
 
         /* Load the chosen operating system */
         LoadOperatingSystem(&OperatingSystemList[SelectedOperatingSystem]);
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/freeldr.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/freeldr.c
index da9f8964fdb..c7bac46d93f 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/freeldr.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/freeldr.c
@@ -42,10 +42,11 @@ CCHAR FrLdrBootPath[MAX_PATH] = "";
 
 VOID __cdecl BootMain(IN PCCH CmdLine)
 {
-    CmdLineParse(CmdLine);
+    /* Load the default settings from the command-line */
+    LoadSettings(CmdLine);
 
     /* Debugger pre-initialization */
-    DebugInit(0);
+    DebugInit(BootMgrInfo.DebugString);
 
     MachInit(CmdLine);
 
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/debug.h b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/debug.h
index 3c9d741dac6..6460cacd2c3 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/debug.h
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/debug.h
@@ -40,7 +40,10 @@
 
 #if DBG
 
-    VOID    DebugInit(IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId);
+    VOID
+    DebugInit(
+        _In_ PCSTR DebugString);
+
     ULONG   DbgPrint(const char *Format, ...);
     VOID    DbgPrint2(ULONG Mask, ULONG Level, const char *File, ULONG Line, char *Format, ...);
     VOID    DebugDumpBuffer(ULONG Mask, PVOID Buffer, ULONG Length);
@@ -114,7 +117,7 @@ void    MEMORY_WRITE_BREAKPOINT4(unsigned long addr);
 
     #define UNIMPLEMENTED
 
-    #define DebugInit(FrLdrSectionId)
+    #define DebugInit(DebugString)
     #define BugCheck(fmt, ...)
     #define DbgDumpBuffer(mask, buf, len)
     #define DebugDisableScreenPort()
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/oslist.h b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/oslist.h
index b4bf62f9d43..4356b99659f 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/oslist.h
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/oslist.h
@@ -29,6 +29,5 @@ typedef struct tagOperatingSystemItem
 
 OperatingSystemItem*
 InitOperatingSystemList(
-    IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId,
-    OUT PULONG OperatingSystemCount,
-    OUT PULONG DefaultOperatingSystem);
+    _Out_ PULONG OperatingSystemCount,
+    _Out_ PULONG DefaultOperatingSystem);
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/settings.h b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/settings.h
index 47a733b60ef..8c60a145068 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/settings.h
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/include/settings.h
@@ -1,28 +1,24 @@
 /*
- *  FreeLdr boot loader
- *  Copyright (C) 2002, 2003 ReactOS Team
- *
- *  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
- *  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
- *  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
- *  (at your option) any later version.
- *
- *  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
- *  GNU General Public License for more details.
- *
- *  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
- *  with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
- *  51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ * PROJECT:     FreeLoader
+ * LICENSE:     MIT (https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT)
+ * PURPOSE:     Command-line parsing and global settings management
+ * COPYRIGHT:   Copyright 2024 Hermès Bélusca-Maïto <hermes.belusca-maito@reactos.org>
  */
 
 #pragma once
 
-VOID  CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine);
+typedef struct _BOOTMGRINFO
+{
+    PCSTR DebugString;
+    PCSTR DefaultOs;
+    LONG  TimeOut;
+    ULONG_PTR FrLdrSection;
+} BOOTMGRINFO, *PBOOTMGRINFO;
 
-PCSTR CmdLineGetDebugString(VOID);
-PCSTR CmdLineGetDefaultOS(VOID);
-LONG  CmdLineGetTimeOut(VOID);
+extern BOOTMGRINFO BootMgrInfo;
+
+VOID
+LoadSettings(
+    _In_opt_ PCSTR CmdLine);
 
 /* EOF */
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/lib/debug.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/lib/debug.c
index 4edb35e4bae..c1f9d954cd3 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/lib/debug.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/lib/debug.c
@@ -59,11 +59,14 @@ VOID
 ARMWriteToUART(UCHAR Data);
 #endif
 
-VOID DebugInit(IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId)
+VOID
+DebugInit(
+    _In_ PCSTR DebugString)
 {
-    PCHAR CommandLine, PortString, BaudString, IrqString;
+    static BOOLEAN Initialized = FALSE;
+    PSTR CommandLine, PortString, BaudString, IrqString;
     ULONG Value;
-    CHAR  DebugString[256];
+    CHAR DbgStringBuffer[256];
 
     /* Always reset the debugging channels */
 
@@ -87,29 +90,20 @@ VOID DebugInit(IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId)
     DbgChannels[DPRINT_WINDOWS] = MAX_LEVEL;
 #endif
 
-    /* Check for pre- or main initialization phase */
-    if (FrLdrSectionId == 0)
+    CommandLine = NULL;
+    if (!DebugString || !*DebugString)
     {
-        /* Pre-initialization phase: use the FreeLdr command-line debugging string */
-        CommandLine = (PCHAR)CmdLineGetDebugString();
-
-        /* If no command-line is provided, initialize the debug port with default settings */
-        if (CommandLine == NULL)
+        /* No command-line is provided: during pre-initialization,
+         * initialize the debug port with default settings;
+         * otherwise just return during main initialization */
+        if (!Initialized)
             goto Done;
-
-        strcpy(DebugString, CommandLine);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        /* Main initialization phase: use the FreeLdr INI debugging string */
-        if (!IniReadSettingByName(FrLdrSectionId, "Debug", DebugString, sizeof(DebugString)))
-        {
-            return;
-        }
+        return;
     }
 
-    /* Get the Command Line */
-    CommandLine = DebugString;
+    /* Get a copy of the command-line */
+    strcpy(DbgStringBuffer, DebugString);
+    CommandLine = DbgStringBuffer;
 
     /* Upcase it */
     _strupr(CommandLine);
@@ -193,6 +187,8 @@ VOID DebugInit(IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId)
     }
 
 Done:
+    Initialized = TRUE;
+
     /* Try to initialize the port; if it fails, remove the corresponding flag */
     if (DebugPort & RS232)
     {
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/oslist.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/oslist.c
index 3a05ebd2fba..a472345aa87 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/oslist.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/oslist.c
@@ -44,15 +44,12 @@ static PCSTR CopyString(PCSTR Source)
 
 OperatingSystemItem*
 InitOperatingSystemList(
-    IN ULONG_PTR FrLdrSectionId,
-    OUT PULONG OperatingSystemCount,
-    OUT PULONG DefaultOperatingSystem)
+    _Out_ PULONG OperatingSystemCount,
+    _Out_ PULONG DefaultOperatingSystem)
 {
-    ULONG DefaultOS = 0;
-    PCSTR DefaultOSName = NULL;
-    CHAR  DefaultOSText[80];
-
     OperatingSystemItem* Items;
+    PCSTR DefaultOSName;
+    ULONG DefaultOS = 0;
     ULONG Count;
     ULONG i;
     ULONG_PTR OsSectionId, SectionId;
@@ -63,7 +60,7 @@ InitOperatingSystemList(
     CHAR SettingName[260];
     CHAR SettingValue[260];
     CHAR BootType[80];
-    CHAR TempBuffer[sizeof(SettingValue)/sizeof(CHAR)];
+    CHAR TempBuffer[_countof(SettingValue)];
 
     /* Open the [Operating Systems] section */
     if (!IniOpenSection("Operating Systems", &OsSectionId))
@@ -77,16 +74,8 @@ InitOperatingSystemList(
     if (!Items)
         return NULL;
 
-    /* Retrieve which OS is the default one */
-    DefaultOSName = CmdLineGetDefaultOS();
-    if (!DefaultOSName || !*DefaultOSName)
-    {
-        if ((FrLdrSectionId != 0) &&
-            IniReadSettingByName(FrLdrSectionId, "DefaultOS", DefaultOSText, sizeof(DefaultOSText)))
-        {
-            DefaultOSName = DefaultOSText;
-        }
-    }
+    /* Retrieve the default OS */
+    DefaultOSName = BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs;
 
     /* Now loop through the operating system section and load each item */
     for (i = 0; i < Count; ++i)
diff --git a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/settings.c b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/settings.c
index c41466e6163..82051714bcc 100644
--- a/boot/freeldr/freeldr/settings.c
+++ b/boot/freeldr/freeldr/settings.c
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 /*
- * PROJECT:         ReactOS Boot Loader
- * LICENSE:         BSD - See COPYING.ARM in the top level directory
- * FILE:            boot/freeldr/freeldr/cmdline.c
- * PURPOSE:         FreeLDR Command Line Parsing
- * PROGRAMMERS:     ReactOS Portable Systems Group
+ * PROJECT:     FreeLoader
+ * LICENSE:     BSD - See COPYING.ARM in the top level directory
+ *              or MIT (https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT)
+ * PURPOSE:     Command-line parsing and global settings management
+ * COPYRIGHT:   Copyright 2008-2010 ReactOS Portable Systems Group <ros.arm@reactos.org>
+ *              Copyright 2015-2024 Hermès Bélusca-Maïto <hermes.belusca-maito@reactos.org>
  */
 
 /* INCLUDES *******************************************************************/
@@ -12,32 +13,27 @@
 
 /* GLOBALS ********************************************************************/
 
-typedef struct tagCMDLINEINFO
-{
-    PCSTR DebugString;
-    PCSTR DefaultOs;
-    LONG  TimeOut;
-} CMDLINEINFO, *PCMDLINEINFO;
-
-CCHAR DebugString[256];
-CCHAR DefaultOs[256];
-CMDLINEINFO CmdLineInfo;
+static CCHAR DebugString[256];
+static CCHAR DefaultOs[256];
+BOOTMGRINFO BootMgrInfo = {0};
 
 /* FUNCTIONS ******************************************************************/
 
-VOID
-CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
+static VOID
+CmdLineParse(
+    _In_ PCSTR CmdLine)
 {
     PCHAR End, Setting;
     ULONG_PTR Length, Offset = 0;
 
     /* Set defaults */
-    CmdLineInfo.DebugString = NULL;
-    CmdLineInfo.DefaultOs = NULL;
-    CmdLineInfo.TimeOut = -1;
+    BootMgrInfo.DebugString = NULL;
+    BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs = NULL;
+    BootMgrInfo.TimeOut = -1;
+    // BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection = 0;
 
     /*
-     * Get debug string, in the following format:
+     * Get the debug string, in the following format:
      * "debug=option1=XXX;option2=YYY;..."
      * and translate it into the format:
      * "OPTION1=XXX OPTION2=YYY ..."
@@ -62,18 +58,18 @@ CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
             Setting++;
         }
 
-        CmdLineInfo.DebugString = DebugString;
+        BootMgrInfo.DebugString = DebugString;
     }
 
-    /* Get timeout */
+    /* Get the timeout */
     Setting = strstr(CmdLine, "timeout=");
     if (Setting)
     {
-        CmdLineInfo.TimeOut = atoi(Setting +
+        BootMgrInfo.TimeOut = atoi(Setting +
                                    sizeof("timeout=") - sizeof(ANSI_NULL));
     }
 
-    /* Get default OS */
+    /* Get the default OS */
     Setting = strstr(CmdLine, "defaultos=");
     if (Setting)
     {
@@ -84,10 +80,10 @@ CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
 
         /* Copy the default OS */
         RtlStringCbCopyNA(DefaultOs, sizeof(DefaultOs), Setting, Length);
-        CmdLineInfo.DefaultOs = DefaultOs;
+        BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs = DefaultOs;
     }
 
-    /* Get ramdisk base address */
+    /* Get the ramdisk base address */
     Setting = strstr(CmdLine, "rdbase=");
     if (Setting)
     {
@@ -97,7 +93,7 @@ CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
                                        NULL, 0);
     }
 
-    /* Get ramdisk size */
+    /* Get the ramdisk size */
     Setting = strstr(CmdLine, "rdsize=");
     if (Setting)
     {
@@ -106,7 +102,7 @@ CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
                                    NULL, 0);
     }
 
-    /* Get ramdisk offset */
+    /* Get the ramdisk offset */
     Setting = strstr(CmdLine, "rdoffset=");
     if (Setting)
     {
@@ -119,20 +115,60 @@ CmdLineParse(IN PCSTR CmdLine)
     gInitRamDiskBase = (PVOID)((ULONG_PTR)gInitRamDiskBase + Offset);
 }
 
-PCSTR
-CmdLineGetDebugString(VOID)
+VOID
+LoadSettings(
+    _In_opt_ PCSTR CmdLine)
 {
-    return CmdLineInfo.DebugString;
+    /* Pre-initialization: The settings originate from the command-line.
+     * Main initialization: Overwrite them if needed with those from freeldr.ini */
+    if (CmdLine)
+    {
+        CmdLineParse(CmdLine);
+        return;
+    }
+    else if (IsListEmpty(&IniFileSectionListHead))
+    {
+        // ERR("LoadSettings() called but no freeldr.ini\n");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* Open the [FreeLoader] section and load the settings */
+    if ((BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection == 0) &&
+        !IniOpenSection("FreeLoader", &BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection))
+    {
+        UiMessageBoxCritical("Section [FreeLoader] not found in freeldr.ini");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* Get the debug string. Always override it with the one from freeldr.ini */
+    if (IniReadSettingByName(BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection, "Debug",
+                             DebugString, sizeof(DebugString)))
+    {
+        BootMgrInfo.DebugString = DebugString;
+    }
+
+    /* Get the timeout. Keep the existing one if it is valid,
+     * otherwise retrieve it from freeldr.ini */
+    if (BootMgrInfo.TimeOut < 0)
+    {
+        CHAR TimeOutText[20];
+        BootMgrInfo.TimeOut = -1;
+        if (IniReadSettingByName(BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection, "TimeOut",
+                                 TimeOutText, sizeof(TimeOutText)))
+        {
+            BootMgrInfo.TimeOut = atoi(TimeOutText);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Get the default OS */
+    if (!BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs || !*BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs)
+    {
+        if (IniReadSettingByName(BootMgrInfo.FrLdrSection, "DefaultOS",
+                                 DefaultOs, sizeof(DefaultOs)))
+        {
+            BootMgrInfo.DefaultOs = DefaultOs;
+        }
+    }
 }
 
-PCSTR
-CmdLineGetDefaultOS(VOID)
-{
-    return CmdLineInfo.DefaultOs;
-}
-
-LONG
-CmdLineGetTimeOut(VOID)
-{
-    return CmdLineInfo.TimeOut;
-}
+/* EOF */