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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 11/7/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.4.7</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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  87 <hr />
  88
  89 <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>
  90
  91 <hr />
  92
  93 <p class="sidebar"><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>
  94
  95 <p>Once you've uncompressed a rEFInd binary zip 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. For Linux and Mac OS X, you can use the installation script, <a href="#installsh"><tt>install.sh</tt>,</a> which provides easy one-command installation on most systems. Occasionally this script will fail, though, so I also provide explicit instructions for <a href="#linux">Linux</a> and <a href="#osx">Mac OS X.</a> Installation under <a href="#windows">Windows</a> also must be done manually. In some cases, you'll have to deviate from the default naming conventions, as described in <a href="#naming">a section on this topic.</a> If you're upgrading rEFInd, see the <a href="#upgrading">section on upgrading.</a> Finally, I describe how to install some <a href="#addons">additional components</a> you might find useful.</a> Note that this page describes installing the main rEFInd program; if you want to use the EFI filesystem drivers included with rEFInd, you should consult the <a href="drivers.html">page on using drivers with rEFInd.</a></p>
  96
  97 <a name="installsh">
  98 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
  99
 100 <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>
 101
 102 <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. Under Linux, this 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.</p>
 103
 104 <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.</p>
 105
 106 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
 107
 108 <pre class="listing">
 109 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 110 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
 111 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
 112 Copied rEFInd binary file refind_x64.efi
 113
 114 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 115 rEFInd.
 116
 117
 118 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 119
 120 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
 121
 122 <pre class="listing">
 123 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 124 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
 125 Password:
 126 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
 127 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
 128 Copied rEFInd binary file refind_ia32.efi
 129
 130 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 131 rEFInd.
 132
 133
 134 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
 135 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
 136 on some systems!!
 137
 138 NOTE: If you want to boot an OS via BIOS emulation (such as Windows or some
 139 Linux installations), you *MUST* edit the ///EFI/refind/refind.conf
 140 file's 'scanfor' line to include the 'hdbios' option, and perhaps
 141 'biosexternal' and 'cd', as well.
 142
 143
 144 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 145
 146 <p>In either case, the details of the output differ depending on your existing configuration and how you ran the program. Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
 147
 148 <ul>
 149
 150 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
 151     <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
 152     on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
 153     you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
 154     Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
 155     <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
 156
 157 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
 158     session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
 159     the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
 160     run the script.</li>
 161
 162 <li>Under OS X, passing the "esp" option causes the script to install
 163     rEFInd to the ESP. The script finds the first ESP that's identified by
 164     the <tt>diskutil</tt> program and, if it's not already mounted, mounts
 165     it to install rEFInd. Thus, it's conceivable that <tt>install.sh</tt>
 166     will install rEFInd to the wrong partition if you have multiple disks
 167     or if a disk has multiple ESPs. If you believe this has happened, you
 168     may need to re-install manually.</li>
 169
 170 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
 171     <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>esp</tt> option to
 172     <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
 173     what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
 174     href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
 175     forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
 176
 177 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
 178     <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a file called
 179     <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want to
 180     delete the file. This file is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
 181     manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
 182     changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
 183     primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this file. If
 184     you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
 185     class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
 186     delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
 187     subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
 188     manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
 189
 190 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
 191     <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
 192     --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
 193     been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
 194
 195 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes, such as most Windows
 196     installations and some Linux installations, you <i>must</i> edit the
 197     <tt>refind.conf</tt> file, as noted near the end of the installation
 198     script's output. (Note that rEFInd can only boot such OSes on Macs at
 199     the moment.)</li>
 200
 201 </ul>
 202
 203 <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>
 204
 205 <a name="linux">
 206 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h2>
 207 </a>
 208
 209 <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>
 210
 211 <pre class="listing">
 212 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
 213 Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 214 /dev/sda1         191284 16604    174681   9% /boot/efi
 215 </pre>
 216
 217 <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>
 218
 219 <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>
 220
 221 <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>
 222
 223 <ol>
 224
 225 <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.</li>
 226
 227 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
 228
 229 <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. You can optionally rename the binary you keep as <tt>refind.efi</tt>, but this isn't required. (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>
 230
 231 <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. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
 232
 233 <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>
 234
 235 <p class="sidebar"><b>Weird:</b> I've received one report about a Lenovo computer that works only if rEFInd is installed using the name (<tt>-L</tt> parameter) <tt>Windows Boot Manager</tt> and the existing Windows boot loader, if present, is renamed.</p>
 236
 237 <a name="efibootmgr">
 238 <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 need to install this program on some systems; it's a standard part of most distributions' repositories.</li>
 239 </a>
 240
 241 <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>
 242
 243 </ol>
 244
 245 <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>
 246
 247 <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>
 248
 249 <a name="osx">
 250 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h2>
 251 </a>
 252
 253 <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>
 254
 255 <pre class="listing">
 256 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
 257 </pre>
 258
 259 <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>
 260
 261 <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>
 262
 263 <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>
 264
 265 <ol>
 266
 267 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
 268     commands.</li>
 269
 270 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
 271     can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
 272     <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
 273     that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
 274     more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
 275     installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
 276     encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
 277     <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
 278     location. Use a tool such as my <a
 279     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
 280     to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
 281
 282 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
 283     directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
 284     other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
 285     <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
 286     to create the directory.</li>
 287
 288 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
 289     package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
 290     this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
 291     /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
 292     rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
 293
 294 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
 295     <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
 296     64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
 297     Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
 298
 299 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
 300     not using&mdash;<tt>/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
 301     <tt>/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may also want to
 302     remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using;
 303     if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
 304     href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note
 305     that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver
 306     provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
 307
 308 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
 309     /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
 310     (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
 311     file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
 312     can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
 313
 314 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
 315     <ul>
 316     <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
 317         class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
 318         /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
 319         necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
 320         32-bit version.)</li>
 321     <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
 322         class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
 323         /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
 324         point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
 325         installation.</li>
 326     </ul>
 327     As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
 328     <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
 329     unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
 330     disk.</li>
 331
 332 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
 333     may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
 334     umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
 335     /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
 336     to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
 337
 338 </ol>
 339
 340 <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>
 341
 342 <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>
 343
 344 <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>
 345
 346 <a name="windows">
 347 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h2>
 348 </a>
 349
 350 <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>
 351
 352 <ol>
 353
 354 <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>
 355
 356 <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>
 357
 358 <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>
 359
 360 <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>
 361
 362 <li>Type <b><tt>cd S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
 363
 364 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
 365
 366 <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>
 367
 368 <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>
 369
 370 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
 371
 372 <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>
 373
 374 <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>
 375
 376 </ol>
 377
 378 <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>
 379
 380 <ul>
 381
 382 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
 383
 384 <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>
 385
 386 <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>
 387
 388 </ul>
 389
 390 <a name="naming">
 391 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
 392 </a>
 393
 394 <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>
 395
 396 <ol>
 397
 398 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
 399
 400 <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>
 401
 402 <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>
 403
 404 <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>
 405
 406 <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>
 407
 408 </ol>
 409
 410 <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>
 411
 412 <p>If your computer seems to insist on booting an EFI boot loader called <tt>EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi</tt>, be aware that it might not actually be looking for that filename, but for a boot manager with the EFI description <tt>Microsoft Boot Manager</tt>. Changing the description of the "real" <tt>EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi</tt> using <tt>efibootmgr</tt> and then giving rEFInd that description, even when rEFInd is installed in a more conventional location, may work. I've received a report that at least one Lenovo model has this peculiar affliction.</p>
 413
 414 <a name="upgrading">
 415 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
 416 </a>
 417
 418 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
 419
 420 <ul>
 421
 422 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
 423     old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
 424     same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
 425     UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
 426     suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
 427     icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
 428
 429 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
 430     Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
 431     over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
 432     copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
 433     to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
 434     step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
 435
 436 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
 437     probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
 438
 439 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
 440     most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
 441     icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
 442     whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
 443     this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
 444     you'll need to copy your altered icons back.</li>
 445
 446 </ul>
 447
 448 <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>
 449
 450 <a name="addons">
 451 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
 452 </a>
 453
 454 <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 these other programs, you must download and install them separately from rEFInd:</p>
 455
 456 <ul>
 457
 458 <li><b><a
 459     href="http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=EdkShellBinPkg/FullShell/X64/Shell_Full.efi;hb=HEAD">shell.efi</a></b>&mdash;This
 460     file, placed in the ESP's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory, adds the
 461     ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
 462     download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
 463     will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
 464     href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
 465     Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
 466     find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
 467
 468 <li><b>gptsync.efi</b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
 469     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
 470     your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
 471     Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
 472     UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR will be useless at best, so you shouldn't
 473     create one, and it's safest to not install <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If
 474     you're using a hybrid MBR to enable dual-booting Windows and OS X on a
 475     Mac, though, placing this program file in the ESP's or Mac boot
 476     partition's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory will enable you to regenerate
 477     your hybrid MBR should some other tool convert the MBR to a standard
 478     protective MBR. You can obtain the file from the <a
 479     href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt package.</a></li>
 480
 481 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
 482     of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs and
 483     ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
 484     support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
 485     provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
 486     from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
 487     <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
 488     topic.</li>
 489
 490 </ul>
 491
 492 <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>
 493
 494 <a name="sluggish">
 495 <h2>Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</h2>
 496 </a>
 497
 498 <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 <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12256273&postcount=200">a Web forum post</a> describing 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>
 499
 500 <ol>
 501
 502 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
 503
 504 <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>
 505
 506 <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>
 507
 508 <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>
 509
 510 </ol>
 511
 512 <hr />
 513
 514 <p>copyright &copy; 2012 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
 515
 516 <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>
 517
 518 <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>
 519
 520 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
 521
 522 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
 523
 524   <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
 525 </body>
 526 </html>