The rEFInd Boot Manager:
Installing rEFInd

by Roderick W. Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update: 3/26/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.2.3

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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 main page.

Once you've uncompressed a rEFInd binary zip file, you can copy the entire refind directory into your EFI System Partition's (ESP's) EFI directory on UEFI-based PCs, so that rEFInd resides in EFI/refind. If you've tried rEFInd using a CD-R image file, you can copy the files from the EFI/refind directory on the CD to create an equivalent directory on the ESP. To avoid confusion, though, you should delete the rEFInd binary file for the CPU type your computer does not use. To the best of my knowledge, all UEFI-based PCs use 64-bit CPUs, so you should keep the refind_x64.efi binary and delete the refind_ia32.efi binary. Most Intel-based Macs also have 64-bit EFI implementations, so you should do the same thing; but very early Intel-based Macs have 32-bit EFIs (and sometimes 32-bit CPUs), which require the refind_ia32.efi file. You can determine whether your Mac needs the x86-64 or IA32 build by typing the following command in a Mac Terminal window:

$ ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi

The result should read either EFI32 or EFI64, indicating that you should use the refind_ia32.efi or refind_x64.efi binary, respectively.

Of course, before you can install the files, you must be able to access the ESP. The details of this task vary from one OS to another. If you have a choice, I recommend using Linux for rEFInd installation on UEFI PCs and OS X on Macs. (On Macs, you can optionally use OS X's main partition rather than the ESP for this purpose.) Windows provides relatively primitive tools for accessing the ESP and manipulating the EFI's boot list. I also describe some options for naming rEFInd that may be useful on some systems. Finally, I describe how to install some extra tools that you may find useful but that are not included with rEFInd.

Accessing the ESP is easiest from Linux: The ESP is usually mounted at /boot/efi. You can verify that this is the case by using the df command:

$ df /boot/efi
Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1         191284 16604    174681   9% /boot/efi

This example shows that /dev/sda1 is mounted at /boot/efi, which is a typical configuration. (The ESP can be on another disk or partition, but /dev/sda1 is the most common place for an ESP.) If your output shows /boot or / under the Mounted on column, then your ESP isn't mounted. If you get a df: `/boot/efi': No such file or directory error message, then the /boot/efi directory doesn't even exist. In such cases, you may need to jump through some extra hoops, as described on my EFI Boot Loader Installation page.

Assuming the ESP is mounted at /boot/efi, you can install the rEFInd files as follows (you must be root to issue these commands, or precede each of them with sudo):

1. Type cp -r refind /boot/efi/EFI/ from the refind-version directory in which the refind directory exists. This copies all the files that rEFInd needs to work.
2. Type cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.
3. Type rm refind_ia32.efi to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an x86-64 (64-bit) system; or type rm refind_x64.efi to remove the x86-64 binary if you're using an x86 (32-bit) system. You can optionally rename the binary you keep as refind.efi, but this isn't required.
4. Rename the configuration file by typing mv refind.conf-sample refind.conf. Consult the Editing the rEFInd Configuration File page for information on how to adjust your options.

Warning: I've seen reports that Linux's efibootmgr utility can damage some Macs' firmware, necessitating re-flashing it. Therefore, I recommend using bless from OS X to do this job on Apple hardware.

5. On a UEFI-based system, type efibootmgr -c -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi -L rEFInd 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.
6. If other boot loaders are already installed, you can use efibootmgr to adjust their boot order. For instance, efibootmgr -o 3,7,2 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.

Note the use of doubled-up backslashes (\\) rather than forward slashes (/) in the directory separators when using efibootmgr. 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 efibootmgr man page if you need help.

On some systems, efibootmgr won't do what you expect. On such systems, you may have better luck renaming the rEFInd files, as described in the Alternative Naming Options section.

The procedure for installing rEFInd on a Mac is similar to that for installing it under Linux, except that you can install it to the OS X's system directory rather than to the ESP, and you must use the bless utility rather than efibootmgr. To be precise, you should follow these steps:

1. Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following commands.
2. If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You can do this by typing mkdir /Volumes/esp followed by sudo mount_msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp. Note that this step is optional. Also, you may need to change /dev/disk0s1 to something else if your ESP is at an unusual location. Use a tool such as my GPT fdisk (gdisk) to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.
3. Type sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind to create a suitable directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on your ESP, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in /Volumes/esp/efi/refind if you mounted your ESP as described in the previous step. Alternatively, you can use the Finder to create the directory.
4. Copy the files in the refind subdirectory of the rEFInd binary package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do this in the Finder or by typing sudo cp -r refind/* /efi/refind/ in your Terminal window after changing into the rEFInd package's main directory.
5. Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi on a Mac with a 64-bit EFI or sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi on a Mac with a 32-bit EFI.
6. If this is your first installation, type sudo mv /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)
7. Type sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi to tell the computer to use rEFInd as the primary boot program. (Adjust the path and filename as necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the 32-bit version.) If you're installing rEFInd to an ESP (or to any partition other than the OS X system partition), you may need to add --mount /Volumes/mounpoint to the command, where /Volumes/mounpoint is the location where you've mounted the partition.

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 bless command (if necessary, restoring the rEFInd files first). This might be necessary after installing system updates from Apple.

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 /Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser. 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 refit.efi file with refind_x64.efi or refind_ia32.efi (renaming it to refit.efi. Used in this way, rEFInd will still look for its own configuration file, refind.conf, so you'll need to move it but not 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.

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 bless 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.

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:

1. 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.
2. Type mountvol S: /S in the Administrator Command Prompt window. This makes the ESP accessible as drive S: from that window. (You can use a drive identifier other than S: if you like.)
3. Change into the main rEFInd package directory, so that the refind subdirectory is visible when you type dir.
4. Type xcopy /E refind S:\EFI\refind\ to copy the refind directory tree to the ESP's EFI directory. If you omit the trailing backslash from this command, xcopy will ask if you want to create the refind directory. Tell it to do so.
5. Type cd S: to change to the ESP.
6. Type cd EFI\refind to change into the refind subdirectory
7. Type del refind_ia32.efi 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.)
8. Type rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf to rename rEFInd's configuration file.

Unfortunately, I know of no Windows tool that's equivalent to efibootmgr under Linux or bless under OS X. (Such a tool must exist, but I don't know what it is. If you do, please e-mail me a pointer!) This can make adding rEFInd to your system a bit tricky, particularly if your firmware provides few boot options. In the best of all possible worlds, you'll be able to use your firmware's user interface to add rEFInd to your firmware's own boot manager; however, far too many EFI implementations lack even this modest capability. If you're stuck in this boat, you have several options, such as:

• You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, Alternative Naming Options.
• 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 sudo apt-get install efibootmgr to install efibootmgr, but you can then use that program as described earlier. (If you're using Ubuntu, you'll need to precede the command with sudo.
• 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 efibootmgr, bless, or some other tool to restore rEFInd as the default boot loader.

Some EFI implementations do a poor job of honoring the boot options set via Linux's efibootmgr 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:

1. Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.
2. Look for an existing directory called EFI/BOOT or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT. If neither of these directories exist, skip the next step. (Note that FAT is case-insensitive, so the name may vary in case.)
3. Rename the existing directory to something else. For EFI/BOOT, try renaming it to EFI/Oldboot. For EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, rename the Microsoft directory—say, to MS. Thus, you'll have EFI/MS and its contents, including EFI/MS/BOOT.
4. Rename/move your EFI/refind directory to EFI/BOOT (or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, if that directory existed and you've renamed it—but you'll first need to create a new EFI/Microsoft directory).
5. Rename EFI/BOOT/refind_x64.efi to the name of the boot loader it's replacing—it should become EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi.

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.

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:

• shell.efi—This file, placed in the ESP's efi/tools directory, adds the ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd will recognize it.
• gptsync.efi—This program creates a hybrid MBR from your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR will be useless at best, so you shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install gptsync.efi. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's efi/tools directory will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file from the original rEFIt package.
• diskpart.efi—This is a disk partitioning utility that's similar to one of the same name in Microsoft Windows. You can obtain it from Intel's site as part of a package with a few other tools. Place it in the efi/tools subdirectory of the ESP and rEFInd will detect it and give you the option to use it.
• Rescue Linux—If the file efi/rescue/elilo.efi exists, it will be given a special entry in the boot list. The intent seems to be to launch Linux in a rescue mode, but I've not gotten it to work.

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.

copyright © 2012 by Roderick W. Smith

This document is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL), version 1.3.

If you have problems with or comments about this Web page, please e-mail me at rodsmith@rodsbooks.com. Thanks.

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