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14 <h1>The rEFInd Boot Manager:<br />Installing rEFInd</h1>
15
16 <p class="subhead">by Roderick W. Smith, <a
17 href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
18
19 <p>Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update:
20 1/26/2016, referencing rEFInd 0.10.2</p>
21
22
23 <p>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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120
121 <hr />
122
123 <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>
124
125 <hr />
126
127 <div style="float:right; width:55%">
128
129 <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>refind-install</tt> script in minute or two.</p>
130
131 <p>Once you've obtained a rEFInd binary file, as described on <a href="getting.html">the preceding page,</a> you must install it to your computer's EFI System Partition (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>refind-install</tt> script can be a good way to go. If you're using Windows, you'll have to install manually.</p>
132
133 <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 rEFInd binary 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>
134
135 </div>
136
137 <div class="navbar">
138
139 <h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
140
141 <ul class="tight">
142
143 <li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
144
145 <li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>refind-install</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
146
147 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
148
149 <ul>
150
151 <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
152
153 <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
154
155 <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
156
157 <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
158
159 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
160
161 <ul>
162
163 <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind</tt></li>
164
165 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
166
167 </ul></li>
168
169 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
170
171 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
172
173 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Macintosh Boot</a>
174
175 <ul>
176
177 <li class="tight"><a href="#shortform">Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</a></li>
178
179 <li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
180
181 <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
182
183 <li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
184
185 <li class="tight"><a href="#wakeprobs">Fixing Wake Problems</a></li>
186
187 <li class="tight"><a href="#nolinux">Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</a></li>
188
189 </ul></li>
190
191 <li class="tight"><a href="#winprob">Fixing Windows Boot Problems</a></li>
192
193 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a>
194
195 <ul>
196
197 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_linux">Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</a></li>
198
199 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_osx">Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</a></li>
200
201 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_windows">Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</a></li>
202
203 <li class="tight"><a href="#post_uninst">Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</a></li>
204
205 </ul></ul></li>
206
207 </div>
208
209 <a name="packagefile">
210 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
211 </a>
212
213 <p>I provide RPM and Debian package files for rEFInd; and starting with version 0.8.1, I'm maintaining an Ubuntu PPA 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>
214
215 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.10.0-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
216
217 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
218
219 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.10.0-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
220
221 <p>Either command produces output similar to that described for <a href="#installsh">using the <tt>refind-install</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. The shim program provided with more recent versions of Ubuntu should work correctly.</p>
222
223 <a name="ppa">
224 <p>If you're using Ubuntu, you should be able to install the PPA as follows:</p></a>
225
226 <pre class="listing">$ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rodsmith/refind</tt>
227 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-get update</tt>
228 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-get install refind</tt></pre></pre>
229
230 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> I know of one bug with the version of rEFInd built with GNU-EFI: On my 32-bit Mac Mini, the filesystem drivers hang when launched. This can render the system unbootable until you bypass rEFInd. This bug does <i>not</i> manifest when running the same binaries under a 32-bit VirtualBox, and I've never run into it on any 64-bit system (including a 64-bit MacBook Air). Debugging suggests that a function is being entered mid-function, which implies a bug in the EFI or in the development tools. In any event, the bottom line is to not use the PPA on a 32-bit Mac.</p>
231
232 <p>The PPA version asks if you want to install rEFInd to your ESP. (Chances are you want to respond affirmatively.) The PPA version will update automatically with your other software, which you might or might not want to have happen. It's also built with GNU-EFI rather than with TianoCore. This last detail <i>should</i> have no practical effects, but it might be important if you've got a buggy EFI or if there's some undiscovered rEFInd bug that interacts with the build environment.</p>
233
234 <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>refind-install</tt> uses might not persist for long. You might therefore want to use <tt><a href="#mvrefind">mvrefind</a></tt> to move your rEFInd installation to another name after you boot Linux for the first time from rEFInd.</p>
235
236 <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. (The PPA package omits the version number from the file paths.) Upon installation, the package runs the <tt>refind-install</tt> script to copy the files to the ESP. This enables you to re-install rEFInd after the fact by running <tt>refind-install</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>refind-install</tt></a> or <a href="#manual">install manually.</a></p>
237
238 <a name="installsh">
239 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>refind-install</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
240
241 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> If you're using a Macintosh, it's best to install rEFInd from OS X, if possible. In the past, the Mac's firmware was quirky enough that the Linux tools didn't always work reliably. The matter seems to have improved with recent versions of Linux tools, but I can't guarantee success if you use Linux for this task. There is one significant issue with OS X 10.11, though (see the next Warning sidebar).</p>
242
243 <p>If you're using Linux or Mac OS X, the easiest way to install rEFInd is to use the <tt>refind-install</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>refind-install</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="refind-install.html">man page</a> for this utility.</p>
244
245 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") implements a new feature called System Integrity Protection (SIP; aka "rootless" or "CSR"). When enabled, SIP prevents the final step of rEFInd installation&mdash;registering the boot loader with the firmware. Thus, to install rEFInd, you must either disable SIP or perform the installation from something other than your regular OS X installation. The <a href="sip.html">rEFInd and System Integrity Protection</a> page of this document describes the options.</p>
246
247 <p>By default, the <tt>refind-install</tt> script installs rEFInd to your disk's ESP. Under Mac OS X, you can instead install rEFInd to your current OS X boot partition by passing the script the <tt>--notesp</tt> option, or to a non-boot HFS+ partition by using the <tt>--ownhfs <tt class="variable">devicefile</tt></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>
248
249 <p>Under Linux, <tt>refind-install</tt> will be most reliable if your ESP is already 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.) If your ESP is not so mounted, <tt>refind-install</tt> will attempt to locate and mount an ESP, but this action is not guaranteed to work correctly. If you run <tt>refind-install</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</tt> script</a> after you've booted in EFI mode.</p>
250
251 <p>Prior to version 0.8.4, <tt>refind-install</tt> installed rEFInd to the OS X root partition by default. I changed this because the default configuration for OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") makes this placement unusable. Instead, <tt>refind-install</tt> now installs to the ESP under OS X, just as it does under Linux. <i>If you're upgrading a working install of rEFInd to the OS X root partition, it's best to pass the <tt>--notesp</tt> option to <tt>refind-install</tt>.</i> This option is described in more detail shortly.</p>
252
253 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
254
255 <pre class="listing">
256 # <tt class="userinput">./refind-install</tt>
257 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
258 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
259 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
260 Copied rEFInd binary files
261
262 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
263 rEFInd.
264
265
266 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
267
268 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
269
270 <pre class="listing">
271 $ <tt class="userinput">./refind-install</tt>
272 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
273 Password:
274 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
275 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at /Volumes/ESP
276 Found suspected Linux partition(s); installing ext4fs driver.
277 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_ia32.efi)
278 Copied rEFInd binary files
279
280 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
281 rEFInd.
282
283 Installation has completed successfully.
284
285 Unmounting install dir</pre>
286
287 <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>
288
289 <p>Note that the change to an ESP location for rEFInd with version 0.8.4 means that, if you upgrade rEFInd from an earlier version, you may notice a rEFInd boot option in the rEFInd menu. This option will boot the old version of rEFInd (or the new one, if something went wrong and the old version continues to boot). You can rid yourself of the unwanted boot menu by deleting the old files or by using <tt>dont_scan_dirs</tt> or <tt>dont_scan_files</tt> in <tt>refind.conf</tt>. Before you do this, you should use rEFInd to identify the unwanted files&mdash;the filename and volume identifier appear under the icons when you highlight the option. You can then locate and delete them from within OS X. Before you delete the old files, though, you may want to copy over any changes you've made to the rEFInd configuration, icons, and other support files.</p>
290
291 <p>The <tt>refind-install</tt> script supports a number of options that can affect how it operates. For information on these options, consult the script's man page: Type <tt class="userinput">man refind-install</tt> if you installed rEFInd via an RPM or Debian package; or read it in <a href="refind-install.html">HTML form.</a></p>
292
293 <a name="manual">
294 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
295 </a>
296
297 <p>Sometimes the <tt>refind-install</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>
298
299 <a name="linux">
300 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
301 </a>
302
303 <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>
304
305 <pre class="listing">
306 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
307 Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
308 /dev/sda1 191284 16604 174681 9% /boot/efi
309 </pre>
310
311 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</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, and older versions of <tt>efibootmgr</tt> didn't always work properly on Macs. This problem seems to have gone away with more recent versions of <tt>efibootmgr</tt>, but using OS X may still be more reliable. On the other hand, Apple's new (as of OS X 10.11) System Integrity Protection (SIP) feature blocks the use of <tt>bless</tt> under OS X and so prevents rEFInd installation. The <a href="sip.html">rEFInd and System Integrity Protection</a> page of this document covers how to overcome SIP and install rEFInd. One of these methods is to do the job from Linux.</p>
312
313 <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>
314
315 <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>
316
317 <ol>
318
319 <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>
320
321 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
322
323 <li>You may optionally remove the rEFInd binaries for the CPU types you're not using. For instance, you might type <tt class="userinput">rm refind_ia32.efi refind_aa64.efi</tt> to remove the IA32 and AARCH64 binaries if you're using an <i>x</i>86-64 (AMD64, X64) system.</li>
324
325 <li>Similarly, you may optionally remove the drivers subdirectories for the CPU types you're not using. For instance, you could type <tt class="userinput">rm -r drivers_ia32 drivers_aa64</tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86 and ARM64 drivers from an <i>x</i>86-64 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, loading unnecessary drivers can cause some systems to hang or interfere with the drivers you do need. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
326
327 <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>
328
329 <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, and by late 2013, at least some Lenovos were mercifully free of this bug.</p>
330
331 <a name="efibootmgr">
332 <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>. Shim 0.7 and later enables you to keep rEFInd's usual name by adding a <tt>-u "shim.efi refind_x64.efi"</tt> option to your <tt>efibootmgr</tt> command line, though. Change the filenames to the ones used by your actual Shim and rEFInd binaries, respectively.</li>
333 </a>
334
335 <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>
336
337 </ol>
338
339 <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>
340
341 <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>
342
343 <a name="osx">
344 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
345 </a>
346
347 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") implements a new feature called System Integrity Protection (SIP; aka "rootless" or "CSR"). When enabled, SIP prevents the final step of rEFInd installation&mdash;registering the boot loader with the firmware. Thus, to install rEFInd, you must either disable SIP or perform the installation from something other than your regular OS X installation. The <a href="sip.html">rEFInd and System Integrity Protection</a> page of this document describes the options. If you're an advanced enough user to be considering a manual rEFInd installation procedure, doing the job from the Recovery HD environment may be your best option.</p>
348
349 <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>
350
351 <pre class="listing">
352 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
353 </pre>
354
355 <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>
356
357 <p>You should also be aware of your OS X version and installation options. If you used whole-disk encryption (WDE) or a logical volume for installation, you <i>cannot</i> install to the OS X root partition; you <i>must</i> install to the ESP or to a separate HFS+ partition. WDE became an option with OS X 10.7 and logical volumes are the default in OS X 10.10. If in doubt, proceed with an installation to the ESP or to a separate HFS+ partition.</p>
358
359 <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>
360
361 <p>The procedure for installing rEFInd on a Mac is similar to that for installing it under Linux, except that you must use the <tt>bless</tt> utility rather than <tt>efibootmgr</tt> to register the program with the firmware. Also, you'll probably have to mount your ESP manually, since that's not done by default under OS X. To be precise, you should follow these steps:</p>
362
363 <ol>
364
365 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
366 commands.</li>
367
368 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. The
369 easy way to do this is to use the <tt>mountesp</tt> script that comes
370 with rEFInd. When you run it, the script should tell you where the ESP
371 was mounted. You can do the job manually by typing <b><tt>mkdir
372 /Volumes/ESP</tt></b> followed by <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos
373 /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/ESP</tt></b>. Note that you may need to change
374 <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
375 location. Type <tt class="userinput">diskutil list</tt> or use a tool
376 such as my <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk
377 (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a> to examine your partition table to find your ESP
378 if necessary.</li>
379
380 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind</tt></b> to create a
381 suitable directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the OS X
382 root partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
383 <tt>/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder to create
384 the directory.</li>
385
386 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
387 package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
388 this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
389 /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after
390 changing into the rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
391
392 <li>Remove the files for the versions of rEFInd you're not using, as in <tt
393 class="userinput">sudo rm Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi
394 Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_aa64.efi</tt> on a Mac with a 64-bit EFI or
395 <tt class="userinput">sudo rm /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi
396 Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_aa64.efi</tt> on a Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
397
398 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directories for the architectures you're not
399 using&mdash;<tt>/Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
400 <tt>/Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. (No Mac uses
401 an ARM CPU, so you'd also remove
402 <tt>/Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/drivers_aa64</tt> You may also want to remove
403 some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using; if you don't
404 need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
405 href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note that
406 Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver provided
407 with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
408
409 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
410 /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/refind.conf-sample
411 /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b> (adjusting the path as
412 necessary) to rename the sample configuration file so that it will
413 serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you can do this with the
414 Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
415
416 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
417 <ul>
418 <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
419 class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/ESP --setBoot --file
420 /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi --shortform</tt>, adjusting
421 the mount point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
422 installation.</li>
423 <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
424 class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
425 /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
426 necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
427 32-bit version.)</li>
428 </ul>
429 This is the step that's likely to fail if your system is booted
430 with SIP active.</li>
431
432 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
433 may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
434 umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
435 /Volumes/ESP</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
436 to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
437
438 </ol>
439
440 <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>
441
442 <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>
443
444 <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>
445
446 <a name="windows">
447 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
448 </a>
449
450 <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>
451
452 <p>I know relatively little about Windows EFI management tools; however, I do know that at least two relevant tools exist: the standard <tt>bcdedit</tt> and the third-party <i>EasyUEFI.</i></p>
453
454 <p>The <a href="http://www.easyuefi.com/index-us.html">EasyUEFI tool</a> is a free (as in beer) GUI tool for managing EFI boot programs. I've only tried it once, and it seemed fairly intuitive and easy to use, but I don't have detailed instructions on how to use it. If you want to use EasyUEFI, you'll have to use it in place of <tt>bcdedit</tt> at the end of the following procedure.</p>
455
456 <p class="sidebar"><b>Caution:</b> I've received reports that Windows 10 has made changes that make the following instructions not work. If you're using this OS, until I have a chance to investigate and update these instructions, your best bet may be to install rEFInd using a Linux live disk, such as an Ubuntu installation disk in its "try before installing" mode.</p>
457
458 <p>Attempt this method of installation only on a UEFI-based PC; this method will not work on Windows that's installed on a Mac in BIOS/CSM/legacy mode. 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>
459
460 <ol>
461
462 <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>
463
464 <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>
465
466 <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>
467
468 <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>
469
470 <li>Type <b><tt>S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
471
472 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
473
474 <li>You may want to selectively delete some of the drivers in the <tt>drivers_x64</tt>, <tt>drivers_ia32</tt>, or <tt>drivers_aa64</tt> directory, depending on your architecture and needs. Unnecessary drivers will slow the rEFInd start process, and can even cause the drivers you need to not work or cause a system crash. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
475
476 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
477
478 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> I've heard from a couple of Windows 10 users that the <tt>bcdedit</tt> commands described here don't work. I don't yet know if this is a coincidence or if Microsoft has changed <tt>bcdedit</tt> in such a way that these instructions no longer apply. If you run into this problem, either try using EasyUEFI or use another installation method, such as the <a href="#linux">Linux method</a> from a Linux emergency boot disc.</p>
479
480 <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. Also, change <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> to <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> on systems with 32-bit EFIs. Such computers are rare, and most of them are tablets. Check your Windows bit depth to determine which binary you should use.</li>
481
482 <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>
483
484 </ol>
485
486 <p>At this point, when you reboot, rEFInd should appear as your new default boot program. If it doesn't work for you, you have several other options, such as:</p>
487
488 <ul>
489
490 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described later, in <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
491
492 <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>. If you use an Ubuntu image, you can install rEFInd <a href="#ppa">via its PPA,</a> which is an easy way to do the job. (In fact, the rEFInd PPA depends on the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> package, so you shouldn't need to manually install it.) The PPA approach may even be easier than installing from Windows using its tools, at least if you're familiar with Linux and have an Ubuntu desktop image handy.</li>
493
494 <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>
495
496 </ul>
497
498 <a name="efishell">
499 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
500 </a>
501
502 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> Do not attempt to use the procedure described in this section on a Macintosh. Macs have a strange EFI implementation that does not use the EFI variables that this procedure manipulates. Therefore, chances are this procedure simply won't work. It's conceivable that this procedure will actually cause problems, but I'm not curious enough to try it and risk damaging my Mac!</p>
503
504 <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>
505
506 <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>
507
508 <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>
509
510 <ul>
511
512 <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>
513
514 <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>
515
516 <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>
517
518 </ul>
519
520 <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>
521
522 <ol>
523
524 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
525 FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
526 a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
527 needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
528
529 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
530 style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
531 filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
532 filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
533 then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
534 class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
535 Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
536 else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
537 need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
538 another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
539
540 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> Skip ahead to step #12 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>
541
542 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
543 class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
544 directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
545 though.)</li>
546
547 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
548
549 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to copy
550 the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using an IA32 or AARCH64
551 computer.)</li>
552
553 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
554 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
555 configuration file.</li>
556
557 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
558 rEFInd's icons.</li>
559
560 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
561 fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's X64 drivers. (You could instead copy
562 the IA32 or AARCH64 drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers you need,
563 of course.)</li>
564
565 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
566 ESP.</li>
567
568 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
569 installation directory.</li>
570
571 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
572 refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
573 Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
574 exit.</li>
575
576 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
577 existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
578 <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
579 preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
580 want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
581 use.</li>
582
583 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
584 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
585 (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
586 (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
587 you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
588 Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>), as directory separators. Note
589 that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
590 so watch for this possibility.</li>
591
592 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
593 the option number for the entry you created for <tt
594 class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
595 order.</li>
596
597 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
598
599 </ol>
600
601 <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>
602
603 <a name="naming">
604 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
605 </a>
606
607 <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>
608
609 <ul>
610
611 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>&mdash;This name
612 is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
613 bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
614 typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
615 loader.</li>
616
617 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>&mdash;This
618 filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
619 as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
620 boot loader in addition to or instead of
621 <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
622 high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
623 name!
624
625 </ul>
626
627 <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</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>
628
629 <a name="mvrefind">
630 <h3>Using <tt>mvrefind</tt></h3>
631 </a>
632
633 <p>The easiest way to move a rEFInd installation, at least in Linux, is to use the <tt>mvrefind</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>
634
635 <pre class="listing">
636 # <tt class="userinput">mvrefind /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
637 </pre>
638
639 <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:
640
641 <ul>
642
643 <li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
644 destination directories&mdash;for instance, <tt>mvrefind</tt> knows
645 that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
646 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
647 <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
648 when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
649 when copying to it.</li>
650
651 <li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
652 location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
653 refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
654 boot.</li>
655
656 <li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
657 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
658 locations. For the former location, the script backs up
659 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
660 moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
661 <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
662
663 </ul>
664
665 <p>The <tt>mvrefind</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>
666
667 <a name="manual_renaming">
668 <h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
669 </a>
670
671 <p>You can move and rename rEFInd manually from any OS by following these steps:</p>
672
673 <ol>
674
675 <li>Access your ESP, as described in earlier sections.</li>
676
677 <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>
678
679 <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>
680
681 <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>
682
683 <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>
684
685 </ol>
686
687 <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>
688
689 <a name="upgrading">
690 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
691 </a>
692
693 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
694
695 <ul>
696
697 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
698 old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
699 same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
700 UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
701 suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
702 icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
703
704 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
705 Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
706 over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
707 copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
708 to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
709 step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
710
711 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
712 probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
713
714 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>refind-install</tt> script. In
715 most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
716 icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
717 whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
718 this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
719 you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Under Linux, versions
720 0.6.2 and later of <tt>refind-install</tt> search for rEFInd in several
721 locations on the ESP, and will upgrade whatever is found. The same is
722 true with versions 0.8.5 and later under OS X when installing to the
723 ESP. If you install to a location other than the ESP under OS X, be
724 sure to include the same option to <tt>refind-install</tt>
725 (<tt>--notesp</tt> or <tt>--ownhfs</tt>) to replace the original rather
726 than create a new installation to the ESP.</li>
727
728 <li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
729 package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
730 that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
731 and re-run the <tt>refind-install</tt> script, so as with the previous
732 options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
733 process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
734
735 <li>If you installed using my Ubuntu PPA or a package provided by an OS
736 distribution (such as the packages that ship with Arch and ALT Linux),
737 performing a system update will probably update rEFInd, too. Depending
738 on how the package was created, though, this update might or might not
739 install the update to the ESP; you might need to manually re-run the
740 installation script. Consult your distribution's documentation for
741 details. My Ubuntu PPA will automatically run <tt>refind-install</tt> after
742 the package is installed <i>if</i> you selected the option to install
743 to the ESP; if you opted to skip this step, my PPA version will
744 continue to do so at every update, leaving you to manually update the
745 copy on the ESP. (You can change this behavior by typing <tt
746 class="userinput">sudo dpkg-reconfigure refind</tt>.)</li>
747
748 </ul>
749
750 <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>refind-install</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>
751
752 <p>If you're upgrading to rEFInd from rEFIt, you can simply run the <tt>refind-install</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>
753
754 <a name="addons">
755 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
756 </a>
757
758 <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>
759
760 <ul>
761
762 <li><b><a
763 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
764 file, placed in the ESP's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory, adds the
765 ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
766 download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
767 will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
768 href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
769 Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
770 find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
771
772 <li><b><a
773 href="http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm">Memtest86</a></b>&mdash;This
774 is a popular tool for performing basic hardware tests, and especially
775 memory tests. rEFInd recognizes this program when it is stored in the
776 <tt>EFI/tools</tt>, <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt>,
777 <tt>EFI/tools/memtest86</tt>, <tt>EFI/memtest</tt>, or
778 <tt>EFI/memtest86</tt> directory, with a program filename of
779 <tt>memtest86.efi</tt>, <tt>memtest86_x64.efi</tt>,
780 <tt>memtest86x64.efi</tt>, or <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>. (Change
781 <tt>x64</tt> to <tt>ia32</tt> on IA-32 systems.) Be sure to download
782 the EFI version of the program. If you get the USB flash drive version,
783 you should mount the flash drive's ESP (partition 2) and copy the
784 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> directory to your own ESP's
785 <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt> or other Memtest86 directory name, as just
786 specified. rEFInd should then recognize it, provided the
787 <tt>showtools</tt> line includes the <tt>memtest</tt> or
788 <tt>memtest86</tt> token.</li>
789
790 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt> or <tt>gptsync_<tt
791 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
792 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
793 your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
794 Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
795 UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR is likely to be useless at best, so you
796 shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install
797 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable
798 dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program
799 file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory
800 will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool
801 convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file
802 from the <a href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt
803 package,</a> or beginning with rEFInd 0.6.9, an updated version is
804 included in the rEFInd package. The rEFInd version of <tt>gptsync_<tt
805 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> uses a more sophisticated algorithm
806 for determining what GPT partitions to duplicate in the MBR and it
807 includes additional safeguards to minimize the risk of damage should
808 you run the program on a disk that might have been damaged. The
809 original rEFIt version of the program usually goes by the filename
810 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>, whereas the updated rEFInd version ships with an
811 architecture code, as in <tt>gptsync_x64.efi</tt> or
812 <tt>gptsync_ia32.efi</tt>. The rEFInd <tt>refind-install</tt> script
813 installs <tt>gptsync_<tt class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> when run
814 under OS X, but not when run on Linux. In addition to installing the
815 program, you must edit <tt>refind.conf</tt>, uncomment the
816 <tt>showtools</tt> line, and add <tt>gptsync</tt> to its list of
817 options.</li>
818
819 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
820 of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs, ext4fs, and
821 ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
822 support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
823 provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
824 from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
825 <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
826 topic.</li>
827
828 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
829 supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
830 as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
831 detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
832 page.</li>
833
834 <li><b><a href="http://ipxe.org/">iPXE</a></b>&mdash;This tool provides the
835 ability to boot a computer from a network server. Consult the
836 <tt>BUILDING.txt</tt> file in the rEFInd source code package for
837 information on building and installing these tools. You must also
838 activate rEFInd's support by adding the <tt>netboot</tt> option to the
839 <tt>scanfor</tt> and/or <tt>showtools</tt> lines in
840 <tt>refind.conf</tt>. <i>Network-boot/iPXE support is currently
841 experimental;</i> I recommend that only developers or those who are
842 willing to use "bleeding-edge" software try it. Once activated, rEFInd
843 will present a new menu item for booting from the network server.
844 rEFInd itself will normally be installed locally. (You can deliver
845 rEFInd as a network-boot image, but that image will be able to boot
846 only OSes on the local disk.)</li>
847
848 </ul>
849
850 <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>
851
852 <a name="sluggish">
853 <h2>Fixing Macintosh Boot Problems</h2>
854 </a>
855
856 <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, as well as some other Mac-specific peculiarities. I've been unable to replicate thess problems myself, and their true causes remains mysterious to me. I have found several possible solutions, though: <a href="#shortform">Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> option,</a> <a href="#fallback">using the fallback filename,</a> <a href="#moving">moving rEFInd to an HFS+ volume,</a> <a href="#clearing">clearing NVRAM entries,</a> <a href="#wakeprobs">fixing wake problems,</a> and <a href="#nolinux">fixing a failure to find Linux.</a></p>
857
858 <a name="shortform">
859 <h3>Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</h3>
860 </a>
861
862 <p>Prior to version 0.8.5, these instructions and the <tt>refind-install</tt> script omitted the <tt>--shortform</tt> option from the <tt>bless</tt> command when installing rEFInd to the ESP. A rEFInd user, however, discovered that using the option eliminated the 30-second delay, so it is now the default with 0.8.5's <tt>refind-install</tt>, and is specified in the instructions. If you installed rEFInd 0.8.4 or earlier, you may want to re-install or re-<tt>bless</tt> rEFInd using this option.</p>
863
864 <p>There is one caveat, though: The <tt>man</tt> page for <tt>bless</tt> notes that <tt>--shortform</tt> notes that its use can come "at the expense of boot time performance." Thus, it's not clear to me that this option might not actually <i>create</i> problems on some computers. (It's eliminated the boot delay on my 2014 MacBook Air and has no detrimental effect on an old 32-bit Mac Mini that's never had a boot delay problem, though.) Thus, if you have problems with rEFInd 0.8.5 or later, you might try running <tt>bless</tt>, as described in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using OS X's</a> step 8, but <i>omit</i> the <tt>--shortform</tt> option.</p>
865
866 <a name="fallback">
867 <h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
868 </a>
869
870 <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 a sluggish boot problem. In fact, version 0.8.4's <tt>refind-install</tt> script copied the rEFInd binary to this name when run under OS X. (Version 0.8.5 switches to using <tt>--shortform</tt> with the more conventional <tt>EFI/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt> or <tt>EFI/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt> name, as just noted.) If you installed to a name other than <tt>EFI/BOOT/BOOT<tt class="variable">{ARCH}</tt></tt>, either manually or by using the 0.8.5 or later <tt>refind-install</tt>, renaming (and re-<tt>bless</tt>ing) the installation is worth trying.</p>
871
872 <a name="moving">
873 <h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
874 </a>
875
876 <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. (This location is not an option when using WDE or OS X logical volumes.) 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>
877
878 <p>A variant of this solution is to create a small (~100MiB) HFS+ volume to be used exclusively by rEFInd. You can then install rEFInd to that volume with the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>refind-install</tt>, as in <tt class="userinput">./refind-install --ownhfs /dev/disk0s6</tt> if the volume is <tt>/dev/disk0s6</tt>. This approach has the advantage that it can be managed via OS X's own Startup Disk tool in System Preferences.</p>
879
880 <p>The biggest drawback to storing rEFInd on an HFS+ volume 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 on the OS X boot volume. This isn't as risky if you use a dedicated HFS+ rEFInd partition, though. 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.</p>
881
882 <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>
883
884 <a name="clearing">
885 <h3>Clearing the NVRAM Entries</h3>
886 </a>
887
888 <p>Another possible solution is documented in <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12256273&postcount=200">a Web forum post.</a> 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>
889
890 <ol>
891
892 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
893
894 <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>
895
896 <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>
897
898 <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>
899
900 </ol>
901
902 <a name="wakeprobs">
903 <h3>Fixing Wake Problems</h3>
904 </a>
905
906 <p>Some people have reported that installing rEFInd causes problems with resuming from a suspended OS X session. I know of two workarounds to such problems:</p>
907
908 <ul>
909
910 <li>Install rEFInd to an HFS+ volume using the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>refind-install</tt>. Unfortunately, this solution requires either creating a small HFS+ volume for rEFInd or using an already-existing non-bootable HFS+ volume (if you've got one for data storage, for example).</li>
911
912 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">sudo pmset -a autopoweroff 0</tt> in a Terminal window. This solution is likely to work if sleep operations work normally up to a point, but fail after about three hours.</li>
913
914 </ul>
915
916 <p>I've recently acquired a 2014 MacBook Air, but I haven't yet had the chance to try to reproduce this problem and find a workaround. It's on my to-do list, though.</p>
917
918 <a name="nolinux">
919 <h3>Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</h3>
920 </a>
921
922 <p>Some users report that rEFInd doesn't detect Linux, or won't boot it when it is found. Broadly speaking, there are two common causes of this problem:</p>
923
924 <ul>
925
926 <li><b>A malfunctioning BIOS/legacy boot</b>&mdash;If you installed Linux in BIOS/legacy mode, as most online documentation suggests, it could be that your <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> is missing or damaged. The usual symptom of this problem is that rEFInd shows a generic Linux penguin icon and that selecting it produces a message to the effect that a bootable OS could not be found. As hybrid MBRs are ugly and dangerous, I recommend avoiding them if possible, so my preferred solution to this problem is to set up EFI filesystem drivers and boot that way; however, fixing the hybrid MBR may be an easier solution. This is especially true if you installed a 32-bit version of Linux on a 64-bit Mac (or a 64-bit version on a rare Mac with a 64-bit CPU but a 32-bit EFI).</li>
927
928 <li><b>EFI filesystem driver problems</b>&mdash;Ideally, rEFInd should be able to load and run your Linux kernel directly, but this approach normally requires you to have a working EFI driver for the filesystem that holds your Linux kernel. This won't always be the case; and even if it is installed, there can be interference from other drivers, so you may need to <i>remove</i> the drivers that you don't use. If drivers are the root of your problem, you won't see any Linux options, or you'll see the one penguin icon (as above) with no others that point to your Linux kernel(s).</li>
929
930 </ul>
931
932 <p>If you suspect that your hybrid MBR is damaged, you can try re-creating it with my <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a> program. The GPT fdisk <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR documentation</a> covers this procedure in detail. You can run <tt>gdisk</tt> from either OS X or Linux, although you may need to install it, particularly in OS X.</p>
933
934 <p>If you suspect driver problems, you'll need to mount your ESP (as described in the <a href="#osx">manual OS X installation instructions</a>), locate the rEFInd <tt>drivers_x64</tt> directory, and adjust its contents. Make sure you have a driver for the filesystem that holds your Linux kernel. If you don't know what filesystem this is, it's probably ext4fs. rEFInd ships with several filesystem drivers, including one for ext4fs. You should also remove unnecessary filesystem drivers. I've seen several reports of one driver interfering with others' operation. The biggest culprit seems to be the HFS+ driver when used on Macs.</p>
935
936 <p></p>
937
938 <a name="winprob">
939 <h2>Fixing Windows Boot Problems</h2>
940 </a>
941
942 <p>Most Windows boot problems are best addressed on Windows-specific sites, so I recommend you make the rounds of Windows forums to solve such problems. There is one that deserves mention here, though: If you accidentally erase the Windows boot loader file, <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>, you won't be able to boot Windows. The simplest solution is to restore this file from a backup you prepared ahead of time. If you don't have such a backup, though, you can restore it as follows:</p>
943
944 <ol>
945
946 <li>Boot from an emergency Windows recovery disk. If you don't have one, you can prepare one from a working Windows system as described <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/create-a-system-repair-disc">here.</a></li>
947
948 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">diskpart</tt> to enter the Windows disk-partitioning tool.</li>
949
950 <li>In <tt>diskpart</tt>, type <tt class="userinput">sel disk 0</tt> followed by <tt>list vol</tt>. You should see a set of partitions. This step is intended to help you identify your ESP, which will probably be the only FAT32 partition on the disk. (If you have multiple disks, you may need to try again with <tt class="userinput">sel disk 1</tt> or higher.) Note the volume number of your ESP.</li>
951
952 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">sel vol 1</tt>, changing <tt>1</tt> to whatever the ESP's volume number is.</li>
953
954 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">assign letter=S:</tt> to assign the ESP a Windows disk identifier of <tt>S:</tt>. (You can use another letter if you prefer.)</li>
955
956 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">exit</tt> to exit from <tt>diskutil</tt>.</li>
957
958 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd /d s:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\</tt> to change into the Windows boot loader directory. (If this directory doesn't exist, you may need to create it first with <tt>mkdir</tt>. If rEFInd or some other boot loader occupies this directory, back it up first.</li>
959
960 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bootrec /fixboot</tt>.</li>
961
962 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcdboot c:\Windows /s s: /f ALL</tt>. Note that this command should set the Windows boot loader as the default. Omit <tt>/f ALL</tt> if you don't want to adjust the EFI's default boot program.</li>
963
964 <li>Reboot and hope it works! If the computer boots straight to Windows and you want to use rEFInd, use <tt>bcdedit</tt> in Windows, as described in step 9 of the <a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a> section of this page.</li>
965
966 </ol>
967
968 <p>For more information, see <a href="http://superuser.com/questions/460762/how-can-i-repair-the-windows-8-efi-bootloader">this SuperUser question and answer.</a></p>
969
970 <a name="uninstalling">
971 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
972 </a>
973
974 <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). The exact details of how to do this vary from one OS to another, though; and in some cases there are alternatives to completely uninstalling rEFInd that are easier to implement.</p>
975
976 <a name="uinst_linux">
977 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</h3>
978 </a>
979
980 <p>In Linux, a command like the following, typed as <tt>root</tt>, should remove rEFInd:</p>
981
982 <pre class="listing">
983 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
984 </pre>
985
986 <p>You must type this command as <tt>root</tt> (or use <tt>sudo</tt> in some environments, such as under Ubuntu). 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>
987
988 <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>
989
990 <a name="uinst_osx">
991 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</h3>
992 </a>
993
994 <p>The easiest way to restore the standard OS X boot loader on a Mac is not to uninstall rEFInd; it's to bypass it. This can be accomplished with the Startup Disk item in the System Preferences panel:</p>
995
996 <br /><center><img src="startup-disk.png" align="center" width="669"
997 height="402" alt="The OS X Startup Disk tool enables you to reset a Mac
998 to use the standard OS X boot loader." border=2> </center><br />
999
1000 <p>Select your startup disk (<i>Macintosh HD OS X, 10.11.3</i> in this example) and then click Restart. The computer should reboot into OS X, bypassing rEFInd.</p>
1001
1002 <p>I recommend stopping here, because the procedure for completely removing rEFInd from a Mac depends on your installation method and tends to be challenging for many Mac users, who are unfamiliar with the necessary command-line tools. Basically, you must reverse the steps described earlier, in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X:</a></p>
1003
1004 <ol>
1005
1006 <li>You must first determine where rEFInd is installed. This can be any of
1007 several locations:
1008
1009 <ul>
1010
1011 <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier with the default options,
1012 or if you used the <tt>--notesp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.4 or
1013 later, it will be <tt>/EFI/refind</tt> on your main partition</li>
1014
1015 <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.4 or later with the default options, or
1016 if you used the <tt>--esp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier,
1017 it will be in <tt>EFI/refind</tt> or <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> on the
1018 ESP.</li>
1019
1020 <li>If you used the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>refind-install</tt>,
1021 rEFInd will be in the <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt>
1022 directory on the volume you specified.</li>
1023
1024 <li>If you installed rEFInd manually, it will be wherever you put
1025 it.</li>
1026
1027 <li>In all cases, there could be duplicate (inactive) rEFInd files in
1028 unexpected places. This is particularly true if you tried
1029 installing rEFInd multiple times, each with different options to
1030 <tt>refind-install</tt>. Thus, if you delete rEFInd and it still comes
1031 up, you may have deleted the wrong files. (Note that dragging files
1032 to the Trash may have no effect, though&mdash;at least, not until
1033 you empty the Trash.)</li>
1034
1035 </ul>
1036
1037 <li>If necessary, mount the ESP or rEFInd-specific HFS+ volume, as
1038 described in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS
1039 X.</a> (The <tt>mountesp</tt> script that comes with rEFInd will handle
1040 this task.)</li>
1041
1042 <li>Verify that rEFInd is installed in the directory noted in step #1. If a
1043 <tt>refind.conf</tt> file is present, rEFInd is almost certainly
1044 installed in that directory. If not, it's not rEFInd there and you
1045 should <i>not</i> proceed. <b><i>Be extra cautious about deleting the
1046 <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt> directory,</i></b> since that's
1047 the default location of the OS X boot loader! <i>Never</i> delete this
1048 directory from your OS X root (<tt>/</tt>) partition, only from the
1049 partition you specified to <tt>refind-install</tt> using the
1050 <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option.</li>
1051
1052 <li>Once you've identified the rEFInd directory, delete it, or at least the
1053 rEFInd boot file. This file may be called <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>,
1054 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>, <tt>boot.efi</tt>, or conceivably something else.
1055 You may need to use <tt>sudo rm</tt> at the command line to accomplish
1056 this task, as in <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r
1057 /Volumes/ESP/EFI/refind</tt>.</li>
1058
1059 </ol>
1060
1061 <a name="uinst_windows">
1062 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</h3>
1063 </a>
1064
1065 <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>
1066
1067 <a name="post_uninst">
1068 <h3>Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</h3>
1069 </a>
1070
1071 <p>On a UEFI-based PC, 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>
1072
1073 <pre class="listing">
1074 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
1075 Timeout: 10 seconds
1076 BootOrder: 0000,0007
1077 Boot0000* rEFInd HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)
1078 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r .
1079 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
1080 Timeout: 10 seconds
1081 BootOrder: 0007
1082 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
1083
1084 <p>This example shows use of <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>--verbose</tt> (<tt>-v</tt>) option to display boot programs 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 program 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>
1085
1086 <p>If you're not using Linux, you may be able to find a utility that serves
1087 a similar function. Under Windows, the <tt>bcdedit</tt> command, described
1088 in the <a href="#windows">section on installing rEFInd under Windows,</a>
1089 may work, although I've not attempted this.</p>
1090
1091 <hr />
1092
1093 <p>copyright &copy; 2012&ndash;2015 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
1094
1095 <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>
1096
1097 <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>
1098
1099 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
1100
1101 <p><a href="bootcoup.html">Preventing and Repairing Boot Coups</a></p>
1102
1103 <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
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