diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 8e17c5064a44..3f23a42fa87b 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -1585,13 +1585,6 @@ SRST
     Use file as SecureDigital card image.
 ERST
 
-DEF("pflash", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_pflash,
-    "-pflash file    use 'file' as a parallel flash image\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
-SRST
-``-pflash file``
-    Use file as a parallel flash image.
-ERST
-
 DEF("snapshot", 0, QEMU_OPTION_snapshot,
     "-snapshot       write to temporary files instead of disk image files\n",
     QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
@@ -3684,12 +3677,67 @@ DEFHEADING()
 
 #endif
 
-DEFHEADING(Linux/Multiboot boot specific:)
+DEFHEADING(Boot Image or Kernel specific:)
+SRST
+There are broadly 4 ways you can boot a system with QEMU.
+
+ - specify a firmware and let it control finding a kernel
+ - specify a firmware and pass a hint to the kernel to boot
+ - direct kernel image boot
+ - manually load files into the guest's address space
+
+The third method is useful for quickly testing kernels but as there is
+no firmware to pass configuration information to the kernel the
+hardware must either be probeable, the kernel built for the exact
+configuration or passed some configuration data (e.g. a DTB blob)
+which tells the kernel what drivers it needs. This exact details are
+often hardware specific.
+
+The final method is the most generic way of loading images into the
+guest address space and used mostly for ``bare metal`` type
+development where the reset vectors of the processor are taken into
+account.
+
+ERST
+
 SRST
-When using these options, you can use a given Linux or Multiboot kernel
-without installing it in the disk image. It can be useful for easier
-testing of various kernels.
 
+For x86 machines and some other architectures ``-bios`` will generally
+do the right thing with whatever it is given. For other machines the
+more strict ``-pflash`` option needs an image that is sized for the
+flash device for the given machine type.
+
+Please see the :ref:`system-targets-ref` section of the manual for
+more detailed documentation.
+
+ERST
+
+DEF("bios", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_bios, \
+    "-bios file      set the filename for the BIOS\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
+SRST
+``-bios file``
+    Set the filename for the BIOS.
+ERST
+
+DEF("pflash", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_pflash,
+    "-pflash file    use 'file' as a parallel flash image\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
+SRST
+``-pflash file``
+    Use file as a parallel flash image.
+ERST
+
+SRST
+
+The kernel options were designed to work with Linux kernels although
+other things (like hypervisors) can be packaged up as a kernel
+executable image. The exact format of a executable image is usually
+architecture specific.
+
+The way in which the kernel is started (what address it is loaded at,
+what if any information is passed to it via CPU registers, the state
+of the hardware when it is started, and so on) is also architecture
+specific. Typically it follows the specification laid down by the
+Linux kernel for how kernels for that architecture must be started.
 
 ERST
 
@@ -3729,6 +3777,25 @@ SRST
     kernel on boot.
 ERST
 
+SRST
+
+Finally you can also manually load images directly into the address
+space of the guest. This is most useful for developers who already
+know the layout of their guest and take care to ensure something sane
+will happen when the reset vector executes.
+
+The generic loader can be invoked by using the loader device:
+
+``-device loader,addr=<addr>,data=<data>,data-len=<data-len>[,data-be=<data-be>][,cpu-num=<cpu-num>]``
+
+there is also the guest loader which operates in a similar way but
+tweaks the DTB so a hypervisor loaded via ``-kernel`` can find where
+the guest image is:
+
+``-device guest-loader,addr=<addr>[,kernel=<path>,[bootargs=<arguments>]][,initrd=<path>]``
+
+ERST
+
 DEFHEADING()
 
 DEFHEADING(Debug/Expert options:)
@@ -4179,13 +4246,6 @@ SRST
     To list all the data directories, use ``-L help``.
 ERST
 
-DEF("bios", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_bios, \
-    "-bios file      set the filename for the BIOS\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
-SRST
-``-bios file``
-    Set the filename for the BIOS.
-ERST
-
 DEF("enable-kvm", 0, QEMU_OPTION_enable_kvm, \
     "-enable-kvm     enable KVM full virtualization support\n",
     QEMU_ARCH_ARM | QEMU_ARCH_I386 | QEMU_ARCH_MIPS | QEMU_ARCH_PPC |