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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 8/25/2013, referencing rEFInd 0.7.4</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="#wde">Using OS X Whole-Disk Encryption</a></li>
 172
 173 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
 174
 175    <ul>
 176
 177    <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></li>
 178
 179    <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
 180
 181    </ul></li>
 182
 183 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
 184
 185 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
 186
 187 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a  Macintosh Boot</a>
 188
 189    <ul>
 190
 191    <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
 192
 193    <li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
 194
 195    <li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
 196
 197    </ul></li>
 198
 199 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
 200
 201 </ul>
 202
 203 </div>
 204
 205 <a name="packagefile">
 206 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
 207 </a>
 208
 209 <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>
 210
 211 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.7.4-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
 212
 213 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
 214
 215 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.7.4-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
 216
 217 <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>
 218
 219 <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>
 220
 221 <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>
 222
 223 <a name="installsh">
 224 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
 225
 226 <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>
 227
 228 <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>
 229
 230 <a name="quickstart">
 231 <h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
 232 </quickstart>
 233
 234 <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>
 235
 236 <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>
 237
 238 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
 239
 240 <pre class="listing">
 241 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 242 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
 243 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
 244 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
 245 Copied rEFInd binary files
 246
 247 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 248 rEFInd.
 249
 250
 251 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 252
 253 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
 254
 255 <pre class="listing">
 256 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 257 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
 258 Password:
 259 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
 260 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
 261 Copied rEFInd binary files
 262
 263 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 264 rEFInd.
 265
 266
 267 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
 268 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
 269 on some systems!!
 270
 271
 272 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 273
 274 <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>
 275
 276 <a name="extra_installsh">
 277 <h3>Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
 278 </a>
 279
 280 <p>Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
 281
 282 <ul>
 283
 284 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
 285     <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
 286     on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
 287     you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
 288     Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
 289     <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
 290
 291 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
 292     session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
 293     the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
 294     run the script.</li>
 295
 296 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
 297     <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>--esp</tt> option to
 298     <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
 299     what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
 300     href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
 301     forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
 302
 303 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
 304     <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a program
 305     called <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want
 306     to delete it. This program is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
 307     manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
 308     changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
 309     primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this program. If
 310     you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
 311     class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
 312     delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
 313     subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
 314     manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
 315
 316 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
 317     <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
 318     --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
 319     been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
 320
 321 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes on a UEFI-based PC, you
 322     <i>must</i> edit the <tt>refind.conf</tt> file's <tt>scanfor</tt> line
 323     to enable the relevant searches. This is <i>not</i> necessary on Macs,
 324     though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
 325     the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
 326
 327 <li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
 328     <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
 329     available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
 330     on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
 331     filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
 332     installed. This feature is unlikely to work properly from an emergency
 333     system, although it might if you have a separate <tt>/boot</tt>
 334     partition and if you mount that partition at <tt>/boot</tt> in your
 335     emergency system, and the ESP at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
 336
 337 <li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
 338     <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
 339     <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
 340     sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
 341     Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
 342     partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
 343     result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
 344     correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
 345     <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though&mdash;for instance, to add
 346     <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
 347
 348 </ul>
 349
 350 <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>
 351
 352 <pre class="listing">
 353 install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> ] \
 354            [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
 355 </pre>
 356
 357 <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>
 358
 359 <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>
 360 <tr>
 361    <th>Option</th>
 362    <th>Explanation</th>
 363 </tr>
 364 <tr>
 365    <td><tt>--esp</tt></td>
 366    <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>
 367 </tr>
 368 <tr>
 369    <td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
 370    <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>
 371 </tr>
 372 <tr>
 373    <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
 374    <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>
 375 </tr>
 376 <tr>
 377    <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
 378    <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>
 379 </tr>
 380 <tr>
 381    <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
 382    <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>
 383 </tr>
 384 <tr>
 385    <td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt> or <tt>--preloader <tt class="variable">preloader-filename</tt></tt></td>
 386    <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>
 387 </tr>
 388 <tr>
 389    <td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
 390    <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>
 391 </tr>
 392 <tr>
 393    <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
 394    <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>
 395 </tr>
 396 </table>
 397
 398 <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>
 399
 400 <a name="manual">
 401 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
 402 </a>
 403
 404 <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>
 405
 406 <a name="linux">
 407 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
 408 </a>
 409
 410 <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>
 411
 412 <pre class="listing">
 413 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
 414 Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 415 /dev/sda1         191284 16604    174681   9% /boot/efi
 416 </pre>
 417
 418 <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>
 419
 420 <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>
 421
 422 <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>
 423
 424 <ol>
 425
 426 <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>
 427
 428 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
 429
 430 <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>
 431
 432 <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>
 433
 434 <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>
 435
 436 <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>
 437
 438 <a name="efibootmgr">
 439 <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>
 440 </a>
 441
 442 <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>
 443
 444 </ol>
 445
 446 <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>
 447
 448 <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>
 449
 450 <a name="osx">
 451 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
 452 </a>
 453
 454 <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>
 455
 456 <pre class="listing">
 457 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
 458 </pre>
 459
 460 <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>
 461
 462 <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>
 463
 464 <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>
 465
 466 <ol>
 467
 468 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
 469     commands.</li>
 470
 471 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
 472     can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
 473     <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
 474     that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
 475     more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
 476     installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
 477     encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
 478     <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
 479     location. Use a tool such as my <a
 480     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
 481     to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
 482
 483 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
 484     directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
 485     other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
 486     <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
 487     to create the directory.</li>
 488
 489 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
 490     package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
 491     this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
 492     /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
 493     rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
 494
 495 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
 496     <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
 497     64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
 498     Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
 499
 500 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
 501     not using&mdash;<tt>/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
 502     <tt>/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may also want to
 503     remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using;
 504     if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
 505     href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note
 506     that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver
 507     provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
 508
 509 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
 510     /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
 511     (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
 512     file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
 513     can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
 514
 515 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
 516     <ul>
 517     <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
 518         class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
 519         /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
 520         necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
 521         32-bit version.)</li>
 522     <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
 523         class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
 524         /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
 525         point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
 526         installation.</li>
 527     </ul>
 528     As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
 529     <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
 530     unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
 531     disk.</li>
 532
 533 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
 534     may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
 535     umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
 536     /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
 537     to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
 538
 539 </ol>
 540
 541 <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>
 542
 543 <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>
 544
 545 <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>
 546
 547 <a name="windows">
 548 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
 549 </a>
 550
 551 <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>
 552
 553 <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>
 554
 555 <ol>
 556
 557 <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>
 558
 559 <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>
 560
 561 <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>
 562
 563 <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>
 564
 565 <li>Type <b><tt>S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
 566
 567 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
 568
 569 <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>
 570
 571 <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>
 572
 573 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
 574
 575 <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>
 576
 577 <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>
 578
 579 </ol>
 580
 581 <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>
 582
 583 <ul>
 584
 585 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
 586
 587 <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>
 588
 589 <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>
 590
 591 </ul>
 592
 593 <a name="efishell">
 594 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
 595 </a>
 596
 597 <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>
 598
 599 <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>
 600
 601 <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>
 602
 603 <ul>
 604
 605 <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>
 606
 607 <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>
 608
 609 <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>
 610
 611 </ul>
 612
 613 <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>
 614
 615 <ol>
 616
 617 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
 618     FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
 619     a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
 620     needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
 621
 622 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
 623     style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
 624     filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
 625     filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
 626     then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
 627     class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
 628     Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
 629     else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
 630     need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
 631     another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
 632
 633 <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>
 634
 635 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
 636     class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
 637     directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
 638     though.)</li>
 639
 640 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
 641
 642 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
 643     copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
 644     computer.)</li>
 645
 646 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
 647     fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
 648     configuration file.</li>
 649
 650 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
 651     rEFInd's icons.</li>
 652
 653 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
 654     fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
 655     instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
 656     you need, of course.)</li>
 657
 658 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
 659     ESP.</li>
 660
 661 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
 662     installation directory.</li>
 663
 664 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
 665     refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
 666     Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
 667     exit.</li>
 668
 669 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
 670     existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
 671     <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
 672     preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
 673     want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
 674     use.</li>
 675
 676 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
 677     fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
 678     (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
 679     (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
 680     you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
 681     Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) as directory separators. Note
 682     that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
 683     so watch for this possibility.</li>
 684
 685 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
 686     the option number for the entry you created for <tt
 687     class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
 688     order.</li>
 689
 690 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
 691
 692 </ol>
 693
 694 <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>
 695
 696 <a name="wde">
 697 <h2>Using OS X Whole-Disk Encryption</h2>
 698 </a>
 699
 700 <p>If you're using OS X's Whole-Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you must do two extra things:</p>
 701
 702 <ul>
 703
 704 <li>You must install rEFInd to the ESP. Unfortunately, as described earlier, this can result in a delay (usually of 30 seconds) as the firmware launches rEFInd. See the upcoming <a href="#sluggish">section on fixing sluggish Mac boots</a> if you run into this problem.</li>
 705
 706 <li>You must uncomment the <tt>dont_scan_volumes</tt> line in <tt>refind.conf</tt> and ensure that <tt>"Recovery HD"</tt> is <i>not</i> among its options. (You can use a blank line or provide a dummy value if you want to scan all your volumes.) Alternatively, you can create a manual boot stanza to boot OS X.</li>
 707
 708 </ul>
 709
 710 <a name="naming">
 711 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
 712 </a>
 713
 714 <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>
 715
 716 <ul>
 717
 718 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>&mdash;This name
 719     is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
 720     bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
 721     typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
 722     loader.</li>
 723
 724 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>&mdash;This
 725     filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
 726     as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
 727     boot loader in addition to or instead of
 728     <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
 729     high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
 730     name!
 731
 732 </ul>
 733
 734 <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>
 735
 736 <a name="mvrefind">
 737 <h3>Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></h3>
 738 </a>
 739
 740 <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>
 741
 742 <pre class="listing">
 743 # <tt class="userinput">mvrefind.sh /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
 744 </pre>
 745
 746 <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:
 747
 748 <ul>
 749
 750 <li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
 751     destination directories&mdash;for instance, <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> knows
 752     that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
 753     <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
 754     <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
 755     when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
 756     when copying to it.</li>
 757
 758 <li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
 759     location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
 760     refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
 761     boot.</li>
 762
 763 <li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
 764     <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
 765     locations. For the former location, the script backs up
 766     <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
 767     moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
 768     <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
 769
 770 </ul>
 771
 772 <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>
 773
 774 <a name="manual_renaming">
 775 <h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
 776 </a>
 777
 778 <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>
 779
 780 <ol>
 781
 782 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
 783
 784 <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>
 785
 786 <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>
 787
 788 <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>
 789
 790 <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>
 791
 792 </ol>
 793
 794 <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>
 795
 796 <a name="upgrading">
 797 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
 798 </a>
 799
 800 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
 801
 802 <ul>
 803
 804 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
 805     old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
 806     same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
 807     UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
 808     suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
 809     icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
 810
 811 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
 812     Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
 813     over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
 814     copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
 815     to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
 816     step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
 817
 818 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
 819     probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
 820
 821 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
 822     most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
 823     icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
 824     whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
 825     this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
 826     you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Since version 0.6.2,
 827     <tt>install.sh</tt> has searched for rEFInd in several locations on the
 828     ESP, and will upgrade whatever it finds.</li>
 829
 830 <li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
 831     package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
 832     that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
 833     and re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script, so as with the previous
 834     options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
 835     process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
 836
 837 </ul>
 838
 839 <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>
 840
 841 <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>
 842
 843 <a name="addons">
 844 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
 845 </a>
 846
 847 <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>
 848
 849 <ul>
 850
 851 <li><b><a
 852     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
 853     file, placed in the ESP's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory, adds the
 854     ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
 855     download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
 856     will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
 857     href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
 858     Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
 859     find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
 860
 861 <li><b><a
 862     href="http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm">Memtest86</a></b>&mdash;This
 863     is a popular tool for performing basic hardware tests, and especially
 864     memory tests. rEFInd recognizes this program when it is stored in the
 865     <tt>EFI/tools</tt>, <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt>,
 866     <tt>EFI/tools/memtest86</tt>, <tt>EFI/memtest</tt>, or
 867     <tt>EFI/memtest86</tt> directory, with a program filename of
 868     <tt>memtest86.efi</tt>, <tt>memtest86_x64.efi</tt>,
 869     <tt>memtest86x64.efi</tt>, or <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>. (Change
 870     <tt>x64</tt> to <tt>ia32</tt> on IA-32 systems.) Be sure to download
 871     the EFI version of the program. If you get the USB flash drive version,
 872     you should mount the flash drive's ESP (partition 2) and copy the
 873     <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> directory to your own ESP's
 874     <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt> or other Memtest86 directory name, as just
 875     specified. rEFInd should then recognize it, provided the
 876     <tt>showtools</tt> line includes the <tt>memtest</tt> or
 877     <tt>memtest86</tt> token.</li>
 878
 879 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt> or <tt>gptsync_<tt
 880     class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
 881     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
 882     your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
 883     Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
 884     UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR is likely to be useless at best, so you
 885     shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install
 886     <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable
 887     dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program
 888     file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory
 889     will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool
 890     convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file
 891     from the <a href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt
 892     package,</a> or beginning with rEFInd 0.6.9, an updated version is
 893     included in the rEFInd package. The rEFInd version of <tt>gptsync_<tt
 894     class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> uses a more sophisticated algorithm
 895     for determining what GPT partitions to duplicate in the MBR and it
 896     includes additional safeguards to minimize the risk of damage should
 897     you run the program on a disk that might have been damaged. The
 898     original rEFIt version of the program usually goes by the filename
 899     <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>, whereas the updated rEFInd version ships with an
 900     architecture code, as in <tt>gptsync_x64.efi</tt> or
 901     <tt>gptsync_ia32.efi</tt>. The rEFInd <tt>install.sh</tt> script
 902     installs <tt>gptsync_<tt class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> when run
 903     under OS X, but not when run on Linux. In addition to installing the
 904     program, you must edit <tt>refind.conf</tt>, uncomment the
 905     <tt>showtools</tt> line, and add <tt>gptsync</tt> to its list of
 906     options.</li>
 907
 908 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
 909     of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs, ext4fs, and
 910     ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
 911     support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
 912     provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
 913     from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
 914     <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
 915     topic.</li>
 916
 917 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
 918     supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
 919     as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
 920     detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
 921     page.</li>
 922
 923 </ul>
 924
 925 <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>
 926
 927 <a name="sluggish">
 928 <h2>Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</h2>
 929 </a>
 930
 931 <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>
 932
 933 <a name="moving">
 934 <h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
 935 </a>
 936
 937 <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>
 938
 939 <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>
 940
 941 <p>A variant of this solution is suggested in <a href="http://www.sparxeng.com/blog/software/fixing-slow-boot-on-a-triple-boot-mountain-lion-mac">this blog post,</a> which recommends placing rEFInd on an HFS+ volume on the first SATA channel. (In the blogger's case, that channel used to hold an optical drive, but that drive was replaced by a hard disk.)</p>
 942
 943 <a name="fallback">
 944 <h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
 945 </a>
 946
 947 <p>I've received a few reports 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>
 948
 949 <a name="clearing">
 950 <h3>Clearing the NVRAM Entries</h3>
 951 </a>
 952
 953 <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>
 954
 955 <ol>
 956
 957 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
 958
 959 <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>
 960
 961 <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>
 962
 963 <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>
 964
 965 </ol>
 966
 967 <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>
 968
 969 <a name="uninstalling">
 970 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
 971 </a>
 972
 973 <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>
 974
 975 <pre class="listing">
 976 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
 977 </pre>
 978
 979 <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>
 980
 981 <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>
 982
 983 <pre class="listing">
 984 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r /EFI/refind</tt>
 985 </pre>
 986
 987 <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>
 988
 989 <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>
 990
 991 <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>
 992
 993 <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>
 994
 995 <pre class="listing">
 996 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
 997 Timeout: 10 seconds
 998 BootOrder: 0000,0007
 999 Boot0000* rEFInd        HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)
1000 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive  BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r     .
1001 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
1002 Timeout: 10 seconds
1003 BootOrder: 0007
1004 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
1005
1006 <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>
1007
1008 <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>
1009
1010 <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>
1011
1012 <hr />
1013
1014 <p>copyright &copy; 2012&ndash;2013 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
1015
1016 <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>
1017
1018 <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>
1019
1020 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
1021
1022 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
1023
1024   <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
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