X-Git-Url: https://code.delx.au/refind/blobdiff_plain/1f5e6865fb9bf8ebb78b4818a6d54440c7c4004a..7d3dcb8b4f3e617d60b753757e97f16325b77f4b:/docs/refind/linux.html diff --git a/docs/refind/linux.html b/docs/refind/linux.html index 939e798..011611a 100644 --- a/docs/refind/linux.html +++ b/docs/refind/linux.html @@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
by Roderick W. Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com
-Originally written: 3/19/2012; last Web page update: 4/9/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.2.5
+Originally written: 3/19/2012; last Web page update: +12/5/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.5.0
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@@ -123,20 +124,48 @@ another possibility.The intent of this system is that distribution maintainers can place their kernels, initial RAM disks, and a refind_linux.conf file in their own subdirectory on the ESP. rEFInd will detect their kernels and create one main menu entry for each kernel. Each entry will implement as many options as there are lines in the refind_linux.conf file. In this way, two or more distributions can each maintain their boot loader entries, without being too concerned about who maintains rEFInd as a whole.
+The scan_all_linux_kernels option is intended to help users and distribution maintainers when rEFInd is used in conjunction with a Linux filesystem driver for EFI or when the ESP is mounted as the Linux /boot partition. In these cases, if all the kernels in Linux's /boot directory include EFI stub loader support, rEFInd will automatically detect and use kernels installed in the usual way, such as via an automatic system update. You won't even need to move or rename your kernels. You will need to set up a refind_linux.conf file and you may need to install a driver or set the also_scan_dirs option in refind.conf; but these are one-time requirements. Set up in this way, ongoing maintenance to handle kernel updates drops to zero!
+As an example, consider the following file configuration:
@@ -157,7 +186,7 @@ total 17943 # "Boot alternate install" "root=/dev/sdb9 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7"-
Ordinarily, both fields in this file must be enclosed in quotes. You can include as much white space as you like between options. You can also place comments in the file, or remove an option by commenting it out with a leading hash mark (#), as in the fourth line in this example.
+Ordinarily, both fields in this file must be enclosed in quotes. If you have to pass an option that includes quotes, you can do so by doubling up on them, as in "root=/dev/sdb9 my_opt=""this is it""", which passes root=/dev/sdb9 my_opt="this is it" to the shell. You can include as much white space as you like between options. You can also place comments in the file, or remove an option by commenting it out with a leading hash mark (#), as in the fourth line in this example.
In the preceding example, the first line sets the options that rEFInd passes to the kernel by default (along with the name of the initrd.img-3.3.0 file, since its version string matches that of the kernel). The next two lines set options that you can obtain by pressing Insert, F2, or + on the main menu, as shown here:
@@ -174,16 +203,33 @@ total 17943Ordinarily, a kernel booted in this way must reside on the ESP, or at least on another FAT partition. On a Macintosh, though, you can use HFS+ to house your kernel files. In fact, that may be necessary; my Mac Mini hangs when I try to boot a Linux kernel via an EFI stub loader from the computer's ESP, but it works fine when booting from an HFS+ partition. If you use EFI drivers, though, you can place your kernel on any filesystem for which an EFI driver exists. This list is currently rather limited (ext2fs/ext3fs, ReiserFS, ISO-9660, and HFS+), but even just one or two options might help a lot if you've got an undersized ESP or if copying your kernel file to the ESP is a hassle you'd rather avoid.
+ +Beginning with version 0.3.1, rEFInd sorts boot loader entries within each directory by time stamp, so that the most recent entry comes first. Thus, if you specify a directory name (or a volume label, for loaders stored in a volume's root directory) as the default_selection, rEFInd will make the most recent loader in the directory the default. This can obviate the need to adjust this configuration parameter when you add a new kernel; chances are you want the most recently-added kernel to be the default, and rEFInd makes it so when you set the default_selection in this way. If you don't want the latest kernel to become the default, you can use touch to give the desired kernel (or other boot loader) in the directory a more recent time stamp, or you can set default_selection to a value that uniquely identifies your desired default loader. One caveat you should keep in mind is that the EFI and Windows interpret the hardware clock as local time, whereas Mac OS X uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Linux can work either way. Thus, time stamps for boot loaders can be skewed by several hours depending on the environment in which they were created or last modified.
+On the whole, this method of configuration has a lot going for it. For distribution maintainers, if you place your Linux kernel files (with EFI stub support) on the ESP, with suitable filenames, matching initial RAM disk files, and a refind_linux.conf file, then any rEFInd 0.2.3 or later installation should detect your files, even if the user installs another distribution with another rEFInd that takes over from yours. (If the user, or this other rEFInd installation, disables auto-detection, this won't work.)
@@ -200,7 +246,7 @@ total 17943 - +Learn how to manage Secure Boot
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