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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 4/25/2013, referencing rEFInd 0.6.9</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>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>
134
135 <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>
136
137 </div>
138
139 <div class="navbar">
140
141 <h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
142
143 <ul class="tight">
144
145 <li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
146
147 <li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
148
149 <ul class="tight">
150
151 <li class="tight"><a href="#quickstart">Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
152
153 <li class="tight"><a href="#extra_installsh">Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
154
155 </ul></li>
156
157 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
158
159 <ul>
160
161 <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
162
163 <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
164
165 <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
166
167 <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
168
169 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
170
171 <ul>
172
173 <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></li>
174
175 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
176
177 </ul></li>
178
179 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
180
181 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
182
183 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</a>
184
185 <ul>
186
187 <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
188
189 <li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
190
191 <li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
192
193 </ul></li>
194
195 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
196
197 </ul>
198
199 </div>
200
201 <a name="packagefile">
202 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
203 </a>
204
205 <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>
206
207 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.6.9-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
208
209 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
210
211 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.6.9-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
212
213 <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>
214
215 <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>
216
217 <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>
218
219 <a name="installsh">
220 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
221
222 <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>
223
224 <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>
225
226 <a name="quickstart">
227 <h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
228 </quickstart>
229
230 <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>
231
232 <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>
233
234 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
235
236 <pre class="listing">
237 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
238 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
239 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
240 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
241 Copied rEFInd binary files
242
243 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
244 rEFInd.
245
246
247 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
248
249 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
250
251 <pre class="listing">
252 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
253 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
254 Password:
255 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
256 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
257 Copied rEFInd binary files
258
259 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
260 rEFInd.
261
262
263 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
264 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
265 on some systems!!
266
267
268 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
269
270 <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>
271
272 <a name="extra_installsh">
273 <h3>Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
274 </a>
275
276 <p>Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
277
278 <ul>
279
280 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
281 <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
282 on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
283 you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
284 Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
285 <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
286
287 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
288 session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
289 the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
290 run the script.</li>
291
292 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
293 <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>--esp</tt> option to
294 <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
295 what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
296 href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
297 forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
298
299 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
300 <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a program
301 called <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want
302 to delete it. This program is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
303 manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
304 changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
305 primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this program. If
306 you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
307 class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
308 delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
309 subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
310 manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
311
312 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
313 <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
314 --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
315 been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
316
317 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes on a UEFI-based PC, you
318 <i>must</i> edit the <tt>refind.conf</tt> file's <tt>scanfor</tt> line
319 to enable the relevant searches. This is <i>not</i> necessary on Macs,
320 though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
321 the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
322
323 <li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
324 <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
325 available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
326 on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
327 filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
328 installed. This feature is unlikely to work properly from an emergency
329 system, although it might if you have a separate <tt>/boot</tt>
330 partition and if you mount that partition at <tt>/boot</tt> in your
331 emergency system, and the ESP at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
332
333 <li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
334 <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
335 <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
336 sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
337 Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
338 partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
339 result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
340 correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
341 <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though&mdash;for instance, to add
342 <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
343
344 </ul>
345
346 <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>
347
348 <pre class="listing">
349 install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> ] \
350 [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
351 </pre>
352
353 <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>
354
355 <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>
356 <tr>
357 <th>Option</th>
358 <th>Explanation</th>
359 </tr>
360 <tr>
361 <td><tt>--esp</tt></td>
362 <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>
363 </tr>
364 <tr>
365 <td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
366 <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>
367 </tr>
368 <tr>
369 <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
370 <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>
371 </tr>
372 <tr>
373 <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
374 <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>
375 </tr>
376 <tr>
377 <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
378 <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>
379 </tr>
380 <tr>
381 <td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt></td>
382 <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.) 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 will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key. This 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> In the not-too-distant future, most distributions will provide their own shim programs, so you'll be able to point to them&mdash;for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
383 </tr>
384 <tr>
385 <td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
386 <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>
387 </tr>
388 <tr>
389 <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
390 <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>
391 </tr>
392 </table>
393
394 <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>
395
396 <a name="manual">
397 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
398 </a>
399
400 <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>
401
402 <a name="linux">
403 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
404 </a>
405
406 <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>
407
408 <pre class="listing">
409 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
410 Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
411 /dev/sda1 191284 16604 174681 9% /boot/efi
412 </pre>
413
414 <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>
415
416 <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>
417
418 <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>
419
420 <ol>
421
422 <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>
423
424 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
425
426 <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>
427
428 <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>
429
430 <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>
431
432 <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>
433
434 <a name="efibootmgr">
435 <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>
436 </a>
437
438 <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>
439
440 </ol>
441
442 <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>
443
444 <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>
445
446 <a name="osx">
447 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
448 </a>
449
450 <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>
451
452 <pre class="listing">
453 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
454 </pre>
455
456 <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>
457
458 <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>
459
460 <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>
461
462 <ol>
463
464 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
465 commands.</li>
466
467 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
468 can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
469 <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
470 that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
471 more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
472 installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
473 encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
474 <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
475 location. Use a tool such as my <a
476 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
477 to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
478
479 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
480 directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
481 other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
482 <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
483 to create the directory.</li>
484
485 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
486 package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
487 this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
488 /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
489 rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
490
491 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
492 <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
493 64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
494 Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
495
496 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
497 not using&mdash;<tt>/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
498 <tt>/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may also want to
499 remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using;
500 if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
501 href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note
502 that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver
503 provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
504
505 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
506 /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
507 (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
508 file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
509 can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
510
511 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
512 <ul>
513 <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
514 class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
515 /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
516 necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
517 32-bit version.)</li>
518 <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
519 class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
520 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
521 point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
522 installation.</li>
523 </ul>
524 As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
525 <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
526 unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
527 disk.</li>
528
529 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
530 may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
531 umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
532 /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
533 to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
534
535 </ol>
536
537 <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>
538
539 <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>
540
541 <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>
542
543 <a name="windows">
544 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
545 </a>
546
547 <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>
548
549 <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>
550
551 <ol>
552
553 <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>
554
555 <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>
556
557 <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>
558
559 <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>
560
561 <li>Type <b><tt>S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
562
563 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
564
565 <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>
566
567 <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>
568
569 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
570
571 <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>
572
573 <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>
574
575 </ol>
576
577 <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>
578
579 <ul>
580
581 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
582
583 <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>
584
585 <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>
586
587 </ul>
588
589 <a name="efishell">
590 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
591 </a>
592
593 <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>
594
595 <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>
596
597 <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>
598
599 <ul>
600
601 <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>
602
603 <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>
604
605 </ul>
606
607 <p>Note that the 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. Once you've booted the shell, you can proceed as follows:</p>
608
609 <ol>
610
611 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
612 FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
613 a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
614 needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
615
616 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
617 style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
618 filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
619 filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
620 then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
621 class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
622 Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
623 else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
624 need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
625 another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
626
627 <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>
628
629 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
630 class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
631 directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
632 though.)</li>
633
634 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
635
636 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
637 copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
638 computer.)</li>
639
640 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
641 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
642 configuration file.</li>
643
644 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
645 rEFInd's icons.</li>
646
647 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
648 fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
649 instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
650 you need, of course.)</li>
651
652 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
653 ESP.</li>
654
655 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
656 installation directory.</li>
657
658 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
659 refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
660 Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
661 exit.</li>
662
663 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
664 existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
665 <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
666 preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
667 want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
668 use.</li>
669
670 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
671 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
672 (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
673 (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
674 you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
675 Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) as directory separators. Note
676 that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
677 so watch for this possibility.</li>
678
679 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
680 the option number for the entry you created for <tt
681 class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
682 order.</li>
683
684 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
685
686 </ol>
687
688 <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>
689
690 <a name="naming">
691 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
692 </a>
693
694 <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>
695
696 <ul>
697
698 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>&mdash;This name
699 is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
700 bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
701 typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
702 loader.</li>
703
704 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>&mdash;This
705 filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
706 as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
707 boot loader in addition to or instead of
708 <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
709 high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
710 name!
711
712 </ul>
713
714 <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>
715
716 <a name="mvrefind">
717 <h3>Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></h3>
718 </a>
719
720 <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>
721
722 <pre class="listing">
723 # <tt class="userinput">mvrefind.sh /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
724 </pre>
725
726 <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:
727
728 <ul>
729
730 <li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
731 destination directories&mdash;for instance, <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> knows
732 that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
733 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
734 <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
735 when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
736 when copying to it.</li>
737
738 <li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
739 location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
740 refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
741 boot.</li>
742
743 <li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
744 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
745 locations. For the former location, the script backs up
746 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
747 moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
748 <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
749
750 </ul>
751
752 <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>
753
754 <a name="manual_renaming">
755 <h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
756 </a>
757
758 <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>
759
760 <ol>
761
762 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
763
764 <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>
765
766 <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>
767
768 <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>
769
770 <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>
771
772 </ol>
773
774 <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>
775
776 <a name="upgrading">
777 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
778 </a>
779
780 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
781
782 <ul>
783
784 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
785 old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
786 same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
787 UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
788 suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
789 icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
790
791 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
792 Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
793 over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
794 copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
795 to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
796 step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
797
798 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
799 probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
800
801 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
802 most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
803 icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
804 whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
805 this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
806 you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Since version 0.6.2,
807 <tt>install.sh</tt> has searched for rEFInd in several locations on the
808 ESP, and will upgrade whatever it finds.</li>
809
810 <li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
811 package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
812 that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
813 and re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script, so as with the previous
814 options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
815 process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
816
817 </ul>
818
819 <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>
820
821 <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>
822
823 <a name="addons">
824 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
825 </a>
826
827 <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>
828
829 <ul>
830
831 <li><b><a
832 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
833 file, placed in the ESP's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory, adds the
834 ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
835 download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
836 will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
837 href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
838 Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
839 find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
840
841 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt> or <tt>gptsync_<tt
842 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
843 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
844 your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
845 Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
846 UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR is likely to be useless at best, so you
847 shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install
848 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable
849 dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program
850 file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory
851 will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool
852 convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file
853 from the <a href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt
854 package,</a> or beginning with rEFInd 0.6.9, an updated version is
855 included in the rEFInd package. The rEFInd version of <tt>gptsync_<tt
856 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> uses a more sophisticated algorithm
857 for determining what GPT partitions to duplicate in the MBR and it
858 includes additional safeguards to minimize the risk of damage should
859 you run the program on a disk that might have been damaged. The
860 original rEFIt version of the program usually goes by the filename
861 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>, whereas the updated rEFInd version ships with an
862 architecture code, as in <tt>gptsync_x64.efi</tt> or
863 <tt>gptsync_ia32.efi</tt>. The rEFInd <tt>install.sh</tt> script
864 installs <tt>gptsync_<tt class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> when run
865 under OS X, but not when run on Linux. In addition to installing the
866 program, you must edit <tt>refind.conf</tt>, uncomment the
867 <tt>showtools</tt> line, and add <tt>gptsync</tt> to its list of
868 options.</li>
869
870 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
871 of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs, ext4fs, and
872 ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
873 support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
874 provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
875 from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
876 <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
877 topic.</li>
878
879 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
880 supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
881 as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
882 detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
883 page.</li>
884
885 </ul>
886
887 <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>
888
889 <a name="sluggish">
890 <h2>Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</h2>
891 </a>
892
893 <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>
894
895 <a name="moving">
896 <h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
897 </a>
898
899 <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>
900
901 <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>
902
903 <a name="fallback">
904 <h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
905 </a>
906
907 <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>
908
909 <a name="clearing">
910 <h3>Clearing the NVRAM Entries</h3>
911 </a>
912
913 <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>
914
915 <ol>
916
917 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
918
919 <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>
920
921 <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>
922
923 <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>
924
925 </ol>
926
927 <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>
928
929 <a name="uninstalling">
930 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
931 </a>
932
933 <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>
934
935 <pre class="listing">
936 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
937 </pre>
938
939 <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>
940
941 <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>
942
943 <pre class="listing">
944 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r /EFI/refind</tt>
945 </pre>
946
947 <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>
948
949 <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>
950
951 <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>
952
953 <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>
954
955 <pre class="listing">
956 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
957 Timeout: 10 seconds
958 BootOrder: 0000,0007
959 Boot0000* rEFInd HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)
960 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r .
961 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
962 Timeout: 10 seconds
963 BootOrder: 0007
964 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
965
966 <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>
967
968 <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>
969
970 <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>
971
972 <hr />
973
974 <p>copyright &copy; 2012&ndash;2013 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
975
976 <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>
977
978 <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>
979
980 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
981
982 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
983
984 <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
985 </body>
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