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7 <title>The rEFInd Boot Manager: Installing rEFInd</title>
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12 <h1>The rEFInd Boot Manager:<br />Installing rEFInd</h1>
13
14 <p class="subhead">by Roderick W. Smith, <a
15 href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
16
17 <p>Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update:
18 7/8/2013, referencing rEFInd 0.7.1</p>
19
20
21 <p>I'm a technical writer and consultant specializing in Linux technologies. This Web page is provided free of charge and with no annoying outside ads; however, I did take time to prepare it, and Web hosting does cost money. If you find this Web page useful, please consider making a small donation to help keep this site up and running. Thanks!</p>
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125 <hr />
126
127 <p>This page is part of the documentation for the rEFInd boot manager. If a Web search has brought you here, you may want to start at the <a href="index.html">main page.</a></p>
128
129 <hr />
130
131 <div style="float:right; width:55%">
132
133 <p><b>Don't be scared by the length of this page!</b> Only portions of this page apply to any given user, and most people can install rEFInd from an RPM or Debian package in a matter of seconds or by using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script in minute or two.</p>
134
135 <p>Once you've obtained a rEFInd binary file, you must install it to your computer's ESP (or conceivably to some other location). The details of how you do this depend on your OS and your computer (UEFI-based PC vs. Macintosh). The upcoming sections provide details. See the Contents sidebar to the left for links to specific installation procedures. For most Linux users, an RPM or Debian package is the best way to go. If your Linux system doesn't support these formats, though, or if you're running OS X, using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script can be a good way to go. If you're using Windows, you'll have to install manually.</p>
136
137 <p class="sidebar" style="width:95%"><b>Important:</b> A rEFInd zip file, when uncompressed, creates a directory called <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt>, where <tt><i>version</i></tt> is the version number. This directory includes a subdirectory called <tt>refind</tt> that holds the boot loader, along with another that holds documentation, as well as miscellaneous files in <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> itself. When I refer to "the <tt>refind</tt> directory" on this page, I mean the directory with that precise name, not the <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> directory that is its parent.</p>
138
139 </div>
140
141 <div class="navbar">
142
143 <h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
144
145 <ul class="tight">
146
147 <li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
148
149 <li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
150
151 <ul class="tight">
152
153 <li class="tight"><a href="#quickstart">Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
154
155 <li class="tight"><a href="#extra_installsh">Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
156
157 </ul></li>
158
159 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
160
161 <ul>
162
163 <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
164
165 <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
166
167 <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
168
169 <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
170
171 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
172
173 <ul>
174
175 <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></li>
176
177 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
178
179 </ul></li>
180
181 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
182
183 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
184
185 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</a>
186
187 <ul>
188
189 <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
190
191 <li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
192
193 <li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
194
195 </ul></li>
196
197 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
198
199 </ul>
200
201 </div>
202
203 <a name="packagefile">
204 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
205 </a>
206
207 <p>Beginning with version 0.6.2, I've included RPM and Debian package files for rEFInd. If you have a working RPM-based or Debian-based Linux installation that boots in EFI mode, using one of these files is likely to be the easiest way to install rEFInd: You need only download the file and issue an appropriate installation command. In some cases, double-clicking the package in your file manager will install it. If that doesn't work, a command like the following will install the RPM on an RPM-based system:</p>
208
209 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.6.11-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
210
211 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
212
213 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.6.11-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
214
215 <p>Either command produces output similar to that described for <a href="#installsh">using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script,</a> so you can check it for error messages and other signs of trouble. The package file installs rEFInd and registers it with the EFI to be the default boot loader. The script that runs as part of the installation process tries to determine if you're using Secure Boot, and if so it will try to configure rEFInd to launch using shim; however, this won't work correctly on all systems. Ubuntu 12.10 users who are booting with Secure Boot active should be wary, since the resulting installation will probably try to use Ubuntu's version of shim, which won't work correctly with rEFInd.</p>
216
217 <p>Since version 0.6.3, the installation script makes an attempt to install rEFInd in a bootable way even if you run the script from a BIOS-mode boot, and therefore the RPM and Debian packages do the same. I cannot guarantee that this will work, though, and even if it does, some of the tricks that <tt>install.sh</tt> uses might not last for long. You might therefore want to use <tt><a href="#mvrefind">mvrefind.sh</a></tt> to move your rEFInd installation to another name after you boot Linux for the first time from rEFInd.</p>
218
219 <p>Since version 0.6.2-2, my package files have installed the rEFInd binaries to <tt>/usr/share/refind-<tt class="variable">version</tt></tt>, the documentation to <tt>/usr/share/doc/refind-<tt class="variable">version</tt></tt>, and a few miscellaneous files elsewhere. Upon installation, the package runs the <tt>install.sh</tt> script to copy the files to the ESP. This enables you to re-install rEFInd after the fact by running <tt>install.sh</tt>, should some other tool or OS wipe the ESP or should the installation go awry. In such cases you can <a href="#installsh">use <tt>install.sh</tt></a> or <a href="#manual">install manually.</a></p>
220
221 <a name="installsh">
222 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
223
224 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> If you're using a Macintosh, you should run <tt>install.sh</tt> from Mac OS X rather than from Linux. If run from Linux, rEFInd is unlikely to be fully installed. Worse, it's conceivable that running <tt>install.sh</tt> from Linux will damage your firmware, requiring that it be re-flashed. The reason is that Apple uses non-standard methods to enable a boot loader, and the Linux functions in <tt>install.sh</tt> assume standard EFI installation methods.</p>
225
226 <p>If you're using Linux or Mac OS X, the easiest way to install rEFInd is to use the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. This script automatically copies rEFInd's files to your ESP or other target location and makes changes to your firmware's NVRAM settings so that rEFInd will start the next time you boot. If you've booted to OS X or in non-Secure-Boot EFI mode to Linux on a UEFI-based PC, <tt>install.sh</tt> will probably do the right thing, so you can get by with the quick instructions. If your setup is unusual, if your computer uses Secure Boot, or if you want to create a USB flash drive with rEFInd on it, you should read the <a href="#extra_installsh">extra instructions</a> for this utility.</p>
227
228 <a name="quickstart">
229 <h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
230 </quickstart>
231
232 <p>Under Linux, the <tt>install.sh</tt> script installs rEFInd to your disk's ESP. Under Mac OS X, the script installs rEFInd to your current OS X boot partition by default; but you can install to your ESP instead by passing the script the <tt>--esp</tt> option. Under either OS, you can install to something other than the currently-running OS by using the <tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mountpoint</tt></tt> option. (See <a href="#table1">Table 1</a> for details.)</p>
233
234 <p>Before running this script under Linux, you should ensure that your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi</tt>, as described in more detail in the <a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a> section. (If you installed Linux in EFI mode, chances are your ESP is properly mounted.) This precaution isn't necessary under OS X. If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> from a BIOS/legacy-mode boot, particularly on a computer that also runs Windows, you should be aware that the tricks the script uses to install itself from BIOS mode are rather delicate. You can convert to a more conventional configuration using the <a href="#mvrefind"><tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script.</a></p>
235
236 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
237
238 <pre class="listing">
239 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
240 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
241 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
242 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
243 Copied rEFInd binary files
244
245 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
246 rEFInd.
247
248
249 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
250
251 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
252
253 <pre class="listing">
254 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
255 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
256 Password:
257 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
258 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
259 Copied rEFInd binary files
260
261 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
262 rEFInd.
263
264
265 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
266 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
267 on some systems!!
268
269
270 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
271
272 <p>In either case, the details of the output differ depending on your existing configuration and how you ran the program. Unless you see an obvious warning or error, you shouldn't be concerned about minor deviations from these examples. If you run into such a situation, or if you want to install in an unusual way, read on....</p>
273
274 <a name="extra_installsh">
275 <h3>Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
276 </a>
277
278 <p>Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
279
280 <ul>
281
282 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
283 <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
284 on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
285 you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
286 Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
287 <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
288
289 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
290 session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
291 the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
292 run the script.</li>
293
294 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
295 <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>--esp</tt> option to
296 <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
297 what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
298 href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
299 forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
300
301 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
302 <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a program
303 called <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want
304 to delete it. This program is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
305 manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
306 changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
307 primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this program. If
308 you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
309 class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
310 delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
311 subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
312 manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
313
314 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
315 <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
316 --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
317 been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
318
319 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes on a UEFI-based PC, you
320 <i>must</i> edit the <tt>refind.conf</tt> file's <tt>scanfor</tt> line
321 to enable the relevant searches. This is <i>not</i> necessary on Macs,
322 though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
323 the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
324
325 <li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
326 <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
327 available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
328 on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
329 filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
330 installed. This feature is unlikely to work properly from an emergency
331 system, although it might if you have a separate <tt>/boot</tt>
332 partition and if you mount that partition at <tt>/boot</tt> in your
333 emergency system, and the ESP at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
334
335 <li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
336 <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
337 <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
338 sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
339 Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
340 partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
341 result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
342 correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
343 <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though&mdash;for instance, to add
344 <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
345
346 </ul>
347
348 <p>In addition to these quirks, you should be aware of some options that <tt>install.sh</tt> supports to enable you to customize your installation in various ways. The syntax for <tt>install.sh</tt> is as follows:</p>
349
350 <pre class="listing">
351 install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> ] \
352 [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
353 </pre>
354
355 <p>The details of the options are summarized in <a href="#table1">Table 1.</a> Broadly speaking, they come in four classes: installation location options (<tt>--esp</tt>, <tt>--usedefault</tt>, and <tt>--root</tt>), driver options (<tt>--nodrivers</tt> and <tt>--alldrivers</tt>), Secure Boot options (<tt>--shim</tt> and <tt>--localkeys</tt>), and a user input option (<tt>--yes</tt>). Using some of these options in unusual conditions can generate warnings and prompts to confirm your actions. In particular, using <tt>--shim</tt> or <tt>--localkeys</tt> when you're <i>not</i> booted in Secure Boot mode, or failing to use <tt>--shim</tt> when you <i>are</i> booted in Secure Boot mode, will generate a query and a request to confirm your installation. Consult the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a> page for more on this topic.</p>
356
357 <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" summary="Table 1: Options to <tt>install.sh</tt>"><a name="table1"><caption><b>Table 1: Options to <tt>install.sh</tt></b></caption></a>
358 <tr>
359 <th>Option</th>
360 <th>Explanation</th>
361 </tr>
362 <tr>
363 <td><tt>--esp</tt></td>
364 <td>This option tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to install rEFInd to the ESP of your computer. This option is only useful on OS X; on Linux, installing to the ESP is a practical necessity, so <tt>--esp</tt> is implicit on Linux. Be aware that some users have reported sluggish boots when installing rEFInd to the ESP on Macs. Installing rEFInd anywhere but the ESP makes little sense on UEFI-based PCs, except for the partial exception of removable boot media, which you can prepare with <tt>--usedefault</tt>.</td>
365 </tr>
366 <tr>
367 <td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
368 <td>You can install rEFInd to a disk using the default/fallback filename of <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> (and <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt>, if the 32-bit build is available) using this option. The <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> should be an <i>unmounted</i> ESP, or at least a FAT partition, as in <tt>--usedefault /dev/sdc1</tt>. Your computer's NVRAM entries will <i>not</i> be modified when installing in this way. The intent is that you can create a bootable USB flash drive or install rEFInd on a computer that tends to "forget" its NVRAM settings with this option. This option is mutually exclusive with <tt>--esp</tt> and <tt>--root</tt> (except for implicit use of <tt>--esp</tt> on Linux).</td>
369 </tr>
370 <tr>
371 <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
372 <td>This option is intended to help install rEFInd from a "live CD" or other emergency system. To use it, you should mount your regular installation at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt>, including your <tt>/boot</tt> directory (if it's separate) at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot</tt> and (on Linux) your ESP at that location or at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/efi</tt>. The <tt>install.sh</tt> script then installs rEFInd to the appropriate location&mdash;on Linux, <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/EFI/refind</tt> or <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>, depending on where you've mounted your ESP; or on OS X, to <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/EFI/refind</tt>. The script also adds an entry to your NVRAM for rEFInd at this location. You cannot use this option with either <tt>--esp</tt> or <tt>--usedefault</tt>, except for implicit use of <tt>--esp</tt> on Linux. Note that this option is <i>not</i> needed when doing a dual-boot Linux/OS X installation; just install normally in OS X.</td>
373 </tr>
374 <tr>
375 <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
376 <td>Ordinarily <tt>install.sh</tt> attempts to install the driver required to read <tt>/boot</tt> on Linux. This attempt works only if you're using ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS on the relevant partition. If you want to forego this driver installation, pass the <tt>--nodrivers</tt> option. This option is the default on OS X or when you use <tt>--usedefault</tt>.</td>
377 </tr>
378 <tr>
379 <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
380 <td>When you specify this option, <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <i>all</i> the driver files for your architecture. You may want to remove unused driver files after you use this option, especially if your computer uses Secure Boot.</td>
381 </tr>
382 <tr>
383 <td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt> or <tt>--preloader <tt class="variable">preloader-filename</tt></tt></td>
384 <td>If you pass this option to <tt>install.sh</tt>, the script will copy the specified shim program file to the target directory, copy the <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> file from the shim program file's directory to the target directory, copy the 64-bit version of rEFInd as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>, and register shim with the firmware. (If you also specify <tt>--usedefault</tt>, the NVRAM registration is skipped.) When the target file is identified as PreLoader, much the same thing happens, but <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <tt>HashTool.efi</tt> instead of <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> and copies rEFInd as <tt>loader.efi</tt> rather than as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. The intent is to simplify rEFInd installation on a computer that uses Secure Boot; when so set up, rEFInd will boot in Secure Boot mode, with one caveat: The first time you boot, MokManager/HashTool will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key or register rEFInd as a trusted application. The rEFInd public key file will be located in the rEFInd directory's <tt>keys</tt> subdirectory under the name <tt>refind.cer</tt>. Note that I'm not providing a shim binary myself, but you can download one from <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/shim-signed/">here.</a> Some distributions also provide their own shim programs, so can point to them&mdash;for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
385 </tr>
386 <tr>
387 <td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
388 <td>This option tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to generate a new Machine Owner Key (MOK), store it in <tt>/etc/refind.d/keys</tt> as <tt>refind_local.*</tt>, and re-sign all the 64-bit rEFInd binaries with this key before installing them. This is the preferable way to install rEFInd in Secure Boot mode, since it means your binaries will be signed locally rather than with my own key, which is used to sign many other users' binaries; however, this method requires that both the <tt>openssl</tt> and <tt>sbsign</tt> binaries be installed. The former is readily available in most distributions' repositories, but the latter is not, so this option is not the default.</td>
389 </tr>
390 <tr>
391 <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
392 <td>This option causes the script to assume a <tt>Y</tt> input to every yes/no prompt that can be generated under certain conditions, such as if you specify <tt>--shim</tt> but <tt>install.sh</tt> detects no evidence of a Secure Boot installation. This option is intended mainly for use by scripts such as those that might be used as part of an installation via an RPM or Debian package.</td>
393 </tr>
394 </table>
395
396 <p>In any event, you should peruse the script's output to ensure that everything looks OK. <tt>install.sh</tt> displays error messages when it encounters errors, such as if the ESP is mounted read-only or if you run out of disk space. You may need to correct such problems manually and re-run the script. In some cases you may need to fall back on manual installation, which gives you better control over details such as which partition to use for installation.</p>
397
398 <a name="manual">
399 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
400 </a>
401
402 <p>Sometimes the <tt>install.sh</tt> script just won't do the job, or you may need to install using an OS that it doesn't support, such as Windows. In these cases, you'll have to install rEFInd the old-fashioned way, using file-copying commands and utilities to add the program to your EFI's boot loader list. I describe how to do this with <a href="#linux">Linux</a>, <a href="#osx">OS X</a>, <a href="#windows">Windows</a>, and <a href="#efishell">the EFI shell.</a></p>
403
404 <a name="linux">
405 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
406 </a>
407
408 <p>On a UEFI-based PC, you'll normally install rEFInd to the ESP, which is usually mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>. You can verify that this is the case by using the <tt>df</tt> command:</p>
409
410 <pre class="listing">
411 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
412 Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
413 /dev/sda1 191284 16604 174681 9% /boot/efi
414 </pre>
415
416 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> If you're running Linux on a Mac, I recommend you install rEFInd under OS X. The Mac's boot process deviates a bit from EFI standards, so you'll probably have to use a tool called <tt>bless</tt> under Mac OS to do the job. Alternatively, there's a new Linux program, <tt>hfs-bless</tt>, part of the <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/mactel-boot/"><tt>mactel-boot</tt></a> package, that's supposed to work with <tt>efibootmgr</tt> to make a Mac HFS partition bootable. I've not yet tried it, though. There are also reports that the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> tool used under Linux can corrupt some Macs' firmware. Although I've seen some vague suggestions that this problem has been fixed under 3.<i>x</i> kernels, I haven't tested this claim.</p>
417
418 <p>This example shows that <tt>/dev/sda1</tt> is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>, which is a typical configuration. (The ESP can be on another disk or partition, but <tt>/dev/sda1</tt> is the most common place for an ESP.) If your output shows <tt>/boot</tt> or <tt>/</tt> under the <tt>Mounted on</tt> column, then your ESP isn't mounted. (An exception is if you're mounting the ESP at <tt>/boot</tt>. This is an unusual configuration. If you're using it, you can proceed, making suitable adjustments to subsequent commands.) If you get a <tt>df: `/boot/efi': No such file or directory</tt> error message, then the <tt>/boot/efi</tt> directory doesn't even exist. In such cases, you may need to jump through some extra hoops, as described on my <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloaders/installation.html">EFI Boot Loader Installation</a> page.</p>
419
420 <p>Assuming the ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>, you can install the rEFInd files as follows (you must be <tt>root</tt> to issue these commands, or precede each of them with <tt><b>sudo</b></tt>):</p>
421
422 <ol>
423
424 <li>Type <tt><b>cp -r refind /boot/efi/EFI/</b></tt> from the <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> directory in which the <tt>refind</tt> directory exists. This copies all the files that rEFInd needs to work. Note that this includes <i>all</i> of rEFInd's drivers. This command also copies the rEFInd binaries as signed by me; if you prefer to re-sign the binaries yourself, you'll have to do so before or during the copy operation, as described on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a> page.</li>
425
426 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
427
428 <li>Type <tt><b>rm refind_ia32.efi</b></tt> to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86-64 (64-bit) system; or type <tt><b>rm refind_x64.efi</b></tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86-64 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86 (32-bit) system. (Note that you must keep the version that's the correct bit width for your EFI; if you've installed a 32-bit Linux on a 64-bit PC with a 64-bit EFI, you'd keep <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>.</li>
429
430 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">rm -r drivers_ia32</tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86 drivers from an <i>x</i>86-64 system, or <tt class="userinput">rm -r drivers_x64</tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86-64 drivers from a 32-bit <i>x</i>86 system. You may also want to remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using. If you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process, and worse, if you're using Secure Boot, rEFInd can load just one shim/MOK-signed driver. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
431
432 <li>Rename the configuration file by typing <tt><b>mv refind.conf-sample refind.conf</b></tt>. Consult the <a href="configfile.html">Editing the rEFInd Configuration File</a> page for information on how to adjust your options.</li>
433
434 <p class="sidebar"><b>Weird:</b> A <a href="http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/20187.html">bug exists</a> in some Lenovo computers (and perhaps in some others, too) that causes the firmware's boot manager to refuse to boot any boot loader that doesn't have the name <tt>Windows Boot Manager</tt> or <tt>Red Hat Enterprise Linux</tt>. If you have such a system, you must pass one of those names (in quotes) rather than <tt>rEFInd</tt> to <tt>efibootmgr</tt> via its <tt>-L</tt> option. This bug was reported to Lenovo in mid-November 2012, so with any luck updated firmware without this bug will be available later this year or early in 2013. I can make no promises about this, though.</p>
435
436 <a name="efibootmgr">
437 <li>On a UEFI-based system, type <tt><b>efibootmgr -c -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi -L rEFInd</b></tt> to add rEFInd to your EFI's list of available boot loaders, which it stores in NVRAM. Adjust the path to the binary as required if you install somewhere else. You may also need to include additional options if your ESP isn't on <tt>/dev/sda1</tt> or if your configuration is otherwise unusual; consult the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> man page for details. You may need to install this program on some systems; it's a standard part of most distributions' repositories. Also, if you're installing in Secure Boot mode, you must normally register <tt>shim.efi</tt> rather than the rEFInd binary, and rename <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> to <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>.</li>
438 </a>
439
440 <li>If other boot loaders are already installed, you can use <tt>efibootmgr</tt> to adjust their boot order. For instance, <b><tt>efibootmgr -o 3,7,2</tt></b> sets the firmware to try boot loader #3 first, followed by #7, followed by #2. (The program should have displayed a list of boot loaders when you added yours in the preceding step.) Place rEFInd's number first to set it as the default boot program.</li>
441
442 </ol>
443
444 <p>Note the use of doubled-up backslashes (<tt>\\</tt>) rather than forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) in the directory separators when using <tt>efibootmgr</tt>. This command will work on most systems that are already booted into EFI mode; however, it won't work if you're booted in BIOS mode. You may also need to add options if your ESP is in some unusual location or if your system is unusual in some way. Consult the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> man page if you need help.</p>
445
446 <p>On some systems, <tt>efibootmgr</tt> won't do what you expect. On such systems, you may have better luck renaming the rEFInd files, as described in the <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a> section.</p>
447
448 <a name="osx">
449 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
450 </a>
451
452 <p>Before installing rEFInd on a Mac, you must determine whether it uses a 32-bit or 64-bit EFI implementation. Most Intel-based Macs have 64-bit EFIs, so you should use the <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> file with them; but very early Intel-based Macs have 32-bit EFIs (and sometimes 32-bit CPUs), which require the <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> file. You can determine whether your Mac needs the <i>x</i>86-64 or IA32 build by typing the following command in a Mac Terminal window:</p>
453
454 <pre class="listing">
455 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
456 </pre>
457
458 <p>The result should include either <tt>EFI32</tt> or <tt>EFI64</tt>, indicating that you should use the <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> or <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> binary, respectively.</p>
459
460 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> Numerous rEFIt bug reports indicate disk corruption problems on disks over about 500 GiB. <a href="https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3218104&group_id=161917&atid=821764">This</a> report on the problem, and particularly the post by mic-marchen, suggests that the problem is related to a bug in OS X's <tt>bless</tt> utility, and particularly its <tt>--info</tt> option, that causes it to corrupt data on disks with 4 KiB sectors. These <i>Advanced Format</i> disks are becoming increasingly common, particularly at larger disk sizes. Therefore, I <i>strongly</i> recommend that you <i>not</i> type <tt class="userinput">sudo bless --info</tt> to check the status of your installation if you have such a disk, or even if you suspect you might have such a disk. (I've seen Advanced Format disks as small as 320 GB.)</p>
461
462 <p>The procedure for installing rEFInd on a Mac is similar to that for installing it under Linux, except that you can (and probably should) install it to OS X's system partition or some other HFS+ partition rather than to the ESP, and you must use the <tt>bless</tt> utility rather than <tt>efibootmgr</tt>. To be precise, you should follow these steps:</p>
463
464 <ol>
465
466 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
467 commands.</li>
468
469 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
470 can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
471 <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
472 that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
473 more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
474 installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
475 encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
476 <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
477 location. Use a tool such as my <a
478 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
479 to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
480
481 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
482 directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
483 other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
484 <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
485 to create the directory.</li>
486
487 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
488 package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
489 this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
490 /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
491 rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
492
493 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
494 <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
495 64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
496 Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
497
498 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
499 not using&mdash;<tt>/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
500 <tt>/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may also want to
501 remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using;
502 if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
503 href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note
504 that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver
505 provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
506
507 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
508 /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
509 (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
510 file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
511 can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
512
513 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
514 <ul>
515 <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
516 class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
517 /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
518 necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
519 32-bit version.)</li>
520 <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
521 class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
522 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
523 point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
524 installation.</li>
525 </ul>
526 As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
527 <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
528 unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
529 disk.</li>
530
531 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
532 may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
533 umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
534 /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
535 to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
536
537 </ol>
538
539 <p>When you reboot, your Mac should bring up the rEFInd menu, and should continue to do so thereafter. If you make changes that break this association, you can re-run the <tt>bless</tt> command (if necessary, restoring the rEFInd files first). This might be necessary after installing system updates from Apple or if you upgrade rEFInd to a newer version.</p>
540
541 <p>If you're replacing rEFIt, you may discover that rEFInd works on the first boot, but the system reverts back to rEFIt or a direct boot to OS X on the second boot. To fix this problem, you can remove the rEFItBlesser program, which is located at <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt>. This program attempts to keep rEFIt set as the default boot loader, but it also has the purpose of protecting the computer from launching the wrong OS after waking from sleep. If you want that protection, my suggestion is to install rEFIt and rEFItBlesser and then replace the <tt>refit.efi</tt> file with <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> or <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> (renaming it to <tt>refit.efi</tt>. Used in this way, rEFInd will still look for its own configuration file, <tt>refind.conf</tt>, so you'll need to move it but <i>not</i> rename it. If you don't move the icons from the rEFInd package, your icons will continue to look like rEFIt icons, and you'll be missing the new icons for specific Linux distributions that rEFInd provides. One final caveat: It's conceivable that rEFItBlesser is what's causing filesystem corruption for some users, so if you've been having this problem with rEFIt, it might be worth disabling this program and not using it with rEFInd.</p>
542
543 <p>If you want to remove rEFInd from your system, you can delete its files. The Mac will revert to booting using whatever standard boot loader it can find. Alternatively, you can use <tt>bless</tt> to bless another EFI boot loader. The GUI Startup Disk utility in System Preferences provides a simplified interface that enables you to select which OS X installation to boot, but it doesn't look for non-Apple boot loaders, so you can't use it to enable rEFInd.</p>
544
545 <a name="windows">
546 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
547 </a>
548
549 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> Windows 8 implements a fast shutdown feature that helps speed up shutdown and startup operations on a single-boot computer. Unfortunately, this feature can cause filesystem corruption if it's used on a multi-boot computer. You can disable the feature by launching an Administrator Command Prompt window and typing <tt class="userinput">powercfg /h off</tt> in it.</p>
550
551 <p>To install rEFInd under Windows, you must first find a way to access the ESP, which Windows normally hides from view. One way to accomplish this goal, and to proceed forward once the ESP is accessible, is as follows:</p>
552
553 <ol>
554
555 <li>Locate Command Prompt in the Start menu, right-click it, and select Run as Administrator. This action opens a Command Prompt window with administrative privileges.</li>
556
557 <li>Type <b><tt>mountvol S: /S</tt></b> in the Administrator Command Prompt window. This makes the ESP accessible as drive <tt>S:</tt> from that window. (You can use a drive identifier other than <tt>S:</tt> if you like.)</li>
558
559 <li>Change into the main rEFInd package directory, so that the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory is visible when you type <b><tt>dir</tt></b>.</li>
560
561 <li>Type <b><tt>xcopy /E refind S:\EFI\refind\</tt></b> to copy the <tt>refind</tt> directory tree to the ESP's <tt>EFI</tt> directory. If you omit the trailing backslash from this command, <tt>xcopy</tt> will ask if you want to create the <tt>refind</tt> directory. Tell it to do so.</li>
562
563 <li>Type <b><tt>S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
564
565 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
566
567 <li>Type <b><tt>del refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> to delete the unused 32-bit version of rEFInd. (Windows only supports EFI boots on 64-bit EFI implementations and in 64-bit versions of Windows.)</li>
568
569 <li>Optionally type <tt class="userinput">rd /s drivers_ia32</tt> to delete the <tt>drivers_ia32</tt> directory and its contents. You may also want to selectively delete some of the drivers in the <tt>drivers_x64</tt> directory, depending on your needs. Unnecessary drivers may slow the rEFInd start process. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
570
571 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
572
573 <li>Type <b><tt>bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt></b> to set rEFInd as the default EFI boot program. Note that <tt>{bootmgr}</tt> is entered as such; that's not a notation for a variable.</li>
574
575 <li>If you like, type <b><tt>bcdedit /set {bootmgr} description "<i>rEFInd description</i>"</tt></b> to set a description (change <tt><i>rEFInd description</i></tt> as you see fit).</li>
576
577 </ol>
578
579 <p>At this point, when you reboot, rEFInd should appear as your new default boot program. One caveat: My only EFI Windows installation uses UEFI DUET, which "forgets" its boot options upon reboot. Thus, I'm unable to test the last two steps (which were provided by a helpful user) myself. If it doesn't work for you, you have several other options, such as:</p>
580
581 <ul>
582
583 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
584
585 <li>You can boot from an optical disc into an emergency OS to do the job. Ubuntu, for instance, provides an EFI-bootable installer with a "try before installation" mode. You'll need to type <b><tt>sudo apt-get install efibootmgr</tt></b> to install <tt>efibootmgr</tt>, but you can then use that program as described <a href="#efibootmgr">earlier</a>. (If you're using Ubuntu, you'll need to precede the command with <b><tt>sudo</tt></b>.</li>
586
587 <li>You may be able to use rEFInd's bootable CD image to use rEFInd to boot an OS that's been installed but rendered inoperable because of changes to your boot order. You can then use <tt>efibootmgr</tt>, <tt>bless</tt>, or some other tool to restore rEFInd as the default boot loader.</li>
588
589 </ul>
590
591 <a name="efishell">
592 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
593 </a>
594
595 <p>If you can't currently boot any OS (say, because a firmware update has wiped your NVRAM entries), you may find it convenient to install rEFInd using an EFI version 2 shell. Unfortunately, the <tt>bcfg</tt> command described here is not available in the EFI version 1 shell, and the version 2 shell is unusable on many firmware implementations prior to 2.3.1. Thus, this procedure won't work for all systems.</p>
596
597 <p>In addition to emergency situations, using <tt>bcfg</tt> can be desirable if <tt>efibootmgr</tt> or other OS-hosted tools don't do the job. This happens under VirtualBox, for instance. An alternative in such cases can be to use <a href="#naming">alternative names for rEFInd.</a></p>
598
599 <p>To begin, you must have a way to launch your shell. Unfortunately, this can pose a dilemma, since without rEFInd or some other boot manager, many EFI implementations lack the means to launch a shell. Some will do so, though, if the shell is stored as <tt>shellx64.efi</tt> (for <i>x</i>86-64) or <tt>shellia32.efi</tt> (for <i>x</i>86) in the root directory of the ESP. Thus, you can try copying your shell file there. You can obtain EFI 2 shells here:</p>
600
601 <ul>
602
603 <li><a href="https://edk2.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/edk2/trunk/edk2/ShellBinPkg/UefiShell/X64/Shell.efi"><i>x</i>86-64 (64-bit) shell 2</a></li>
604
605 <li><a href="https://edk2.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/edk2/trunk/edk2/ShellBinPkg/UefiShell/Ia32/Shell.efi"><i>x</i>86 (32-bit) shell 2</a></li>
606
607 <li><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17629062/Shell2.zip">Alternate <i>x</i>86-64 (64-bit) shell 2 for older EFIs</a></li>
608
609 </ul>
610
611 <p>Note that the IA32 shell included in rEFInd's CD-R image version is a version 1 shell, so you can't use it for this purpose. You can, however, copy rEFInd's files from the CD-R. You can even launch the version 1 shell included with rEFInd and then use that to launch a version 2 shell. The <i>x</i>86-64 shell on the CD-R is the alternate shell, which should work on any <i>x</i>86-64 computer. Once you've booted the shell, you can proceed as follows:</p>
612
613 <ol>
614
615 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
616 FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
617 a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
618 needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
619
620 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
621 style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
622 filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
623 filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
624 then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
625 class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
626 Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
627 else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
628 need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
629 another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
630
631 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> Skip ahead to step #9 if you're merely re-activating an already-installed rEFInd binary. If an entry exists but it's no longer the primary one, you can skip ahead to step #14.</p>
632
633 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
634 class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
635 directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
636 though.)</li>
637
638 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
639
640 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
641 copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
642 computer.)</li>
643
644 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
645 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
646 configuration file.</li>
647
648 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
649 rEFInd's icons.</li>
650
651 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
652 fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
653 instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
654 you need, of course.)</li>
655
656 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
657 ESP.</li>
658
659 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
660 installation directory.</li>
661
662 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
663 refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
664 Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
665 exit.</li>
666
667 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
668 existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
669 <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
670 preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
671 want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
672 use.</li>
673
674 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
675 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
676 (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
677 (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
678 you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
679 Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) as directory separators. Note
680 that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
681 so watch for this possibility.</li>
682
683 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
684 the option number for the entry you created for <tt
685 class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
686 order.</li>
687
688 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
689
690 </ol>
691
692 <p>With any luck, rEFInd will start up at this point. If not, you can check your settings using a shell or an emergency system for your OS of choice. In an EFI shell, you might type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to view your boot loader entries and verify that rEFInd appears at the top of the list. Be sure to check the pathname for typos. If you continue to have problems, you might look into giving rEFInd a <a href="#naming">fallback filename</a> that your firmware will recognize.</p>
693
694 <a name="naming">
695 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
696 </a>
697
698 <p>Some EFI implementations do a poor job of honoring the boot options set via Linux's <tt>efibootmgr</tt> or other tools. You may also lack access to such utilities, such as if you must install rEFInd in Windows. In such cases, you may need to change the boot loader's name so that the EFI will see it as the default boot loader. rEFInd should then boot when your NVRAM lacks information on specific boot loaders to use. Broadly speaking, there are two alternative names that are most useful:</p>
699
700 <ul>
701
702 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>&mdash;This name
703 is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
704 bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
705 typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
706 loader.</li>
707
708 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>&mdash;This
709 filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
710 as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
711 boot loader in addition to or instead of
712 <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
713 high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
714 name!
715
716 </ul>
717
718 <p>If you need to use one of these names, or something more exotic, you can do so in either of two ways: You can <a href="#mvrefind">use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script</a> to move your installation in one step, or you can <a href="#manual_renaming">move and rename your files manually.</a></p>
719
720 <a name="mvrefind">
721 <h3>Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></h3>
722 </a>
723
724 <p>The easiest way to move a rEFInd installation, at least in Linux, is to use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script. If you installed from one of my RPM or Debian packages, this script should be installed in <tt>/usr/sbin</tt>, so you can use it like a regular Linux command; otherwise you'll need to install it to your path yourself or type its complete path. Either way, it works much like the Linux <tt>mv</tt> command, but you pass it the directory in which a rEFInd installation appears and a target location:</p>
725
726 <pre class="listing">
727 # <tt class="userinput">mvrefind.sh /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
728 </pre>
729
730 <p>This example moves rEFInd from <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt> to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>. It differs from <tt>mv</tt> in several ways:
731
732 <ul>
733
734 <li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
735 destination directories&mdash;for instance, <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> knows
736 that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
737 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
738 <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
739 when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
740 when copying to it.</li>
741
742 <li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
743 location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
744 refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
745 boot.</li>
746
747 <li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
748 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
749 locations. For the former location, the script backs up
750 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
751 moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
752 <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
753
754 </ul>
755
756 <p>The <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script is likely to be useful in resolving boot problems&mdash;if your system won't boot, you can try copying the installation to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>, and <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> in turn, testing the boot process after each attempt. (These filenames all assume your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.) You could also copy a BIOS-mode install from <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> to make it more robust against Windows repairs (assuming your firmware isn't broken).</p>
757
758 <a name="manual_renaming">
759 <h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
760 </a>
761
762 <p>Some EFI implementations do a poor job of honoring the boot options set via Linux's <tt>efibootmgr</tt> or other tools. You may also lack access to such utilities, such as if you must install rEFInd in Windows. In such cases, you may need to change the boot loader's name so that the EFI will see it as the default boot loader. rEFInd should then boot when your NVRAM lacks information on specific boot loaders to use. To do this, follow these steps:</p>
763
764 <ol>
765
766 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
767
768 <li>Look for an existing directory called <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. If neither of these directories exist, skip the next step. (Note that FAT is case-insensitive, so the name may vary in case.)</li>
769
770 <li>Rename the existing directory or boot loader file to something else. For <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt>, try renaming it to <tt>EFI/Oldboot</tt>. For <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>, move or rename the <tt>bootmgfw.efi</tt> file it contains. For instance, you can move it to <tt>EFI/Microsoft</tt>. This will keep the boot loader accessible to rEFInd's menu, while preventing the firmware from launching it automatically.</li>
771
772 <li>Rename/move your <tt>EFI/refind</tt> directory to <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt>. If you're working from <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>, you should move the contents of your rEFInd directory to <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>.</li>
773
774 <li>Rename <tt>EFI/BOOT/refind_x64.efi</tt> to the name of the boot loader it's replacing&mdash;it should become <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
775
776 </ol>
777
778 <p>When you reboot, rEFInd should come up. With any luck, it will detect your old boot loader as an option, if one was installed before.</p>
779
780 <a name="upgrading">
781 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
782 </a>
783
784 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
785
786 <ul>
787
788 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
789 old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
790 same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
791 UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
792 suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
793 icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
794
795 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
796 Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
797 over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
798 copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
799 to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
800 step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
801
802 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
803 probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
804
805 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
806 most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
807 icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
808 whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
809 this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
810 you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Since version 0.6.2,
811 <tt>install.sh</tt> has searched for rEFInd in several locations on the
812 ESP, and will upgrade whatever it finds.</li>
813
814 <li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
815 package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
816 that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
817 and re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script, so as with the previous
818 options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
819 process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
820
821 </ul>
822
823 <p>In all cases, if the new version includes new or altered configuration file options, you may need to manually update your configuration file. Alternatively, if you've used the default configuration file, you can replace your working <tt>refind.conf</tt> with <tt>refind.conf-sample</tt> from the rEFInd zip file. (When using <tt>install.sh</tt>, this file will be copied to rEFInd's installation directory under its original name, so you can rename it within that directory to replace the old file.)</p>
824
825 <p>If you're upgrading to rEFInd from rEFIt, you can simply run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script as described earlier or perform a manual installation. Once installed, rEFInd will take over boot manager duties. You'll still be able to launch rEFIt from rEFInd; a rEFIt icon will appear in rEFInd's menu. You can eliminate this option by removing the rEFIt files, which normally reside in <tt>/EFI/refit</tt>.</p>
826
827 <a name="addons">
828 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
829 </a>
830
831 <p>rEFInd includes the ability to launch any EFI program; however, rEFInd detects only certain programs. These include boot loaders in traditional locations and a handful of other programs. To launch most of these other programs, you must download and install them separately from rEFInd:</p>
832
833 <ul>
834
835 <li><b><a
836 href="http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=EdkShellBinPkg/FullShell/X64/Shell_Full.efi;hb=HEAD"><tt>shell.efi</tt></a></b>&mdash;This
837 file, placed in the ESP's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory, adds the
838 ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
839 download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
840 will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
841 href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
842 Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
843 find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
844
845 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt> or <tt>gptsync_<tt
846 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
847 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
848 your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
849 Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
850 UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR is likely to be useless at best, so you
851 shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install
852 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable
853 dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program
854 file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory
855 will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool
856 convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file
857 from the <a href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt
858 package,</a> or beginning with rEFInd 0.6.9, an updated version is
859 included in the rEFInd package. The rEFInd version of <tt>gptsync_<tt
860 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> uses a more sophisticated algorithm
861 for determining what GPT partitions to duplicate in the MBR and it
862 includes additional safeguards to minimize the risk of damage should
863 you run the program on a disk that might have been damaged. The
864 original rEFIt version of the program usually goes by the filename
865 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>, whereas the updated rEFInd version ships with an
866 architecture code, as in <tt>gptsync_x64.efi</tt> or
867 <tt>gptsync_ia32.efi</tt>. The rEFInd <tt>install.sh</tt> script
868 installs <tt>gptsync_<tt class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> when run
869 under OS X, but not when run on Linux. In addition to installing the
870 program, you must edit <tt>refind.conf</tt>, uncomment the
871 <tt>showtools</tt> line, and add <tt>gptsync</tt> to its list of
872 options.</li>
873
874 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
875 of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs, ext4fs, and
876 ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
877 support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
878 provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
879 from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
880 <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
881 topic.</li>
882
883 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
884 supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
885 as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
886 detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
887 page.</li>
888
889 </ul>
890
891 <p>I've seen links to other versions of these tools from time to time on the Web, so if you try one of these programs and it crashes or behaves strangely, try performing a Web search; you may turn up something that works better for you than the one to which I've linked.</p>
892
893 <a name="sluggish">
894 <h2>Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</h2>
895 </a>
896
897 <p>I've received a few reports of a sluggish boot process (a delay of about 30 seconds before starting rEFInd) on some Macs after installing rEFInd. I've been unable to replicate this problem myself, and its true cause remains mysterious to me. I have found three possible solutions, though: <a href="#moving">moving rEFInd to an HFS+ volume,</a> <a href="#fallback">using the fallback filename,</a> and <a href="#clearing">clearing NVRAM entries.</a></p>
898
899 <a name="moving">
900 <h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
901 </a>
902
903 <p>Most of the reports of sluggish Macintosh boots I've seen note that the user installed rEFInd to the ESP rather than to the OS X root partition. Some users have reported that re-installing rEFInd to the OS X root partition clears up the problem. This is obviously a straightforward solution to the problem, if it works. Note that rEFInd can launch boot loaders that are stored on any partition that the EFI can read no matter where it's installed; therefore, you'll still be able to launch boot loaders stored on the ESP (or elsewhere) if you install it in this way.</p>
904
905 <p>The biggest drawback to this approach is that you won't be able to edit the rEFInd configuration file or move rEFInd-related binaries from an EFI shell if you install it in this way, since Apple's HFS+ driver for EFI is read-only. (The same is true of rEFInd's HFS+ driver, so it won't help you overcome this limitation.) You may also be limited in making changes to your rEFInd configuration from Linux or other OSes, too, since Linux's HFS+ drivers disable write support by default on volumes with an active journal. You can force write access by using the <tt>force</tt> option to <tt>mount</tt>; however, this procedure is noted as being risky in the Linux HFS+ documentation, so I don't recommend doing this on a regular basis. As a compromise, you might try creating a small non-journaled HFS+ volume that's dedicated to holding rEFInd. You could even mount it as the Linux <tt>/boot</tt> partition, in which case it would also hold the Linux kernel and related files. You'll need to install rEFInd manually if you try this.</p>
906
907 <a name="fallback">
908 <h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
909 </a>
910
911 <p>I've received one report that installing rEFInd to the ESP using the fallback filename (<tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> on most systems, or <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt> on very old Macs) can work around the problem.</p>
912
913 <a name="clearing">
914 <h3>Clearing the NVRAM Entries</h3>
915 </a>
916
917 <p>The first is <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12256273&postcount=200">a Web forum post</a> that describes a possible fix. Be aware, though, that this procedure involves using the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> utility on Macs, which has been known to damage the firmware on some Macs. Other reports indicate that this problem has been fixed with 3.3.0 and later kernels. Thus, I present this information cautiously and with a strong "use at your own risk" warning. If you care to proceed, I recommend you update your Linux kernel to the latest possible version and then proceed as follows:</p>
918
919 <ol>
920
921 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
922
923 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr</tt> as <tt>root</tt> to obtain a list of your boot loader entries. Each entry includes a boot number, as in <tt>Boot0003</tt> or <tt>Boot0027</tt>.</li>
924
925 <li>Remove all of the boot loader entries <i>except</i> rEFInd's by using <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>-b <tt class="variable">bootnum</tt></tt> option to specify the boot entry and <tt>-B</tt> to delete it. For instance, typing <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr -b 0027 -B</tt> as <tt>root</tt> deletes boot entry <tt>Boot0027</tt>. Issue a separate <tt>efibootmgr</tt> command for each boot entry.</li>
926
927 <li>Re-install rEFInd using the install script. It's unclear from the original post if this meant installing from Linux or from OS X.</li>
928
929 </ol>
930
931 <p>Some sources suggest that delayed launches of rEFInd on Macs are more common when installing rEFInd to the ESP, so if you've done this, you could try re-installing it to your OS X boot partition.</p>
932
933 <a name="uninstalling">
934 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
935 </a>
936
937 <p>If you decide you don't want to keep rEFInd, you can uninstall it. Doing so is a matter of removing the rEFInd files from your ESP (or from your OS X boot partition, if you installed the program there). In Linux, a command like the following, typed as <tt>root</tt>, should do the trick:</p>
938
939 <pre class="listing">
940 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
941 </pre>
942
943 <p>This example assumes that your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt> and that rEFInd is installed in <tt>EFI/refind</tt> on that partition. If you've mounted your ESP elsewhere, or installed rEFInd elsewhere, you should adjust the command appropriately.</p>
944
945 <p>The same procedure works in OS X, with the caveat that the ESP isn't normally mounted in OS X and rEFInd is installed to the OS X boot partition by default. You'll also need to use <tt>sudo</tt> to acquire <tt>root</tt> privileges. Thus, you'd probably use a command like the following in OS X:</p>
946
947 <pre class="listing">
948 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r /EFI/refind</tt>
949 </pre>
950
951 <p>Many variants of both of these commands are possible on both OS X and Linux. For instance, you'd probably use <tt>sudo</tt> on Ubuntu; and if you installed rEFInd to your ESP on a Mac, you'd need to first mount the ESP and include its path in the <tt>rm</tt> command.</p>
952
953 <p>If you installed via an RPM or Debian package in Linux, using your package manager will remove the package files, but not the files that the installer places on your ESP. Thus, you must uninstall those files manually, as just described. To complete the job, you'll also have to remove <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt>, and perhaps the <tt>/etc/refind.d</tt> directory.</p>
954
955 <p>From Windows, you must reverse the directions for <a href="#windows">installing in Windows</a>&mdash;type <tt class="userinput">mountvol S: /S</tt> to mount your ESP as <tt>S:</tt>, then navigate to the <tt>S:\EFI</tt> directory and delete the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory.</p>
956
957 <p>In any of these cases, when the computer boots and cannot find the rEFInd files, it should move on to the next boot loader in its list. In my experience, some EFI firmware implementations remove boot loaders they can't find from their NVRAM lists, so nothing else will be required, provided you have another working boot loader in your firmware's list. If your firmware doesn't automatically clean up its NVRAM entries, rEFInd's entry will do little harm; however, you can delete it with the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> utility in Linux:</p>
958
959 <pre class="listing">
960 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
961 Timeout: 10 seconds
962 BootOrder: 0000,0007
963 Boot0000* rEFInd HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)
964 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r .
965 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
966 Timeout: 10 seconds
967 BootOrder: 0007
968 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
969
970 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> As noted earlier, <tt>efibootmgr</tt> has been linked to firmware corruption on some Macs, at least with pre-3.0 Linux kernels. Therefore, I don't recommend using <tt>efibootmgr</tt> on Macs.</p>
971
972 <p>This example shows use of <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>--verbose</tt> (<tt>-v</tt>) option to display boot loaders so as to identify which one is rEFInd, followed by <tt>--delete-bootnum</tt> (<tt>-B</tt>) to delete a boot program and <tt>--bootnum</tt> (<tt>-b</tt>) to identify which one to delete. Of course, in this example there's not much else left, so you'd presumably want to install another boot loader at this point! If you already have another one installed, you may want to check the <tt>BootOrder</tt> line to determine which one will take precedence when you reboot. If you don't like what it shows, you can adjust it with the <tt>--bootorder</tt> (<tt>-o</tt>) option; consult <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>man</tt> page for details.</p>
973
974 <p>If you're not using Linux, you may be able to find a utility that serves a similar function. The OS X <tt>bless</tt> utility (or its GUI equivalent, the Startup Disk item in System Preferences) should do the trick; but Macs pick up standard OS X boot loaders when they boot and find that a configured non-standard boot loader is missing, so this shouldn't be necessary on Macs. Under Windows, the <tt>bcdedit</tt> command, described in the <a href="#windows">section on installing rEFInd under Windows,</a> may work, although I've not attempted this.</p>
975
976 <hr />
977
978 <p>copyright &copy; 2012&ndash;2013 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
979
980 <p>This document is licensed under the terms of the <a href="FDL-1.3.txt">GNU Free Documentation License (FDL), version 1.3.</a></p>
981
982 <p>If you have problems with or comments about this Web page, please e-mail me at <a href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com.</a> Thanks.</p>
983
984 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
985
986 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
987
988 <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
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