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7 <title>The rEFInd Boot Manager: Installing rEFInd</title>
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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 9/14/2015, referencing rEFInd 0.9.1</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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126
127 <hr />
128
129 <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>
130
131 <hr />
132
133 <div style="float:right; width:55%">
134
135 <p><b>Don't be scared by the length of this page!</b> Only portions of this page apply to any given user, and most people can install rEFInd from an RPM or Debian package in a matter of seconds or by using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script in minute or two.</p>
136
137 <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>install.sh</tt> script can be a good way to go. If you're using Windows, you'll have to install manually.</p>
138
139 <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>
140
141 </div>
142
143 <div class="navbar">
144
145 <h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
146
147 <ul class="tight">
148
149 <li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
150
151 <li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
152
153 <ul class="tight">
154
155 <li class="tight"><a href="#quickstart">Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
156
157 <li class="tight"><a href="#extra_installsh">Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
158
159 </ul></li>
160
161 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
162
163 <ul>
164
165 <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
166
167 <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
168
169 <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
170
171 <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
172
173 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
174
175 <ul>
176
177 <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></li>
178
179 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
180
181 </ul></li>
182
183 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
184
185 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
186
187 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Macintosh Boot</a>
188
189 <ul>
190
191 <li class="tight"><a href="#shortform">Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</a></li>
192
193 <li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
194
195 <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
196
197 <li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
198
199 <li class="tight"><a href="#wakeprobs">Fixing Wake Problems</a></li>
200
201 <li class="tight"><a href="#nolinux">Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</a></li>
202
203 </ul></li>
204
205 <li class="tight"><a href="#winprob">Fixing Windows Boot Problems</a></li>
206
207 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a>
208
209 <ul>
210
211 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_linux">Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</a></li>
212
213 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_osx">Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</a></li>
214
215 <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_windows">Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</a></li>
216
217 <li class="tight"><a href="#post_uninst">Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</a></li>
218
219 </ul></ul></li>
220
221 </div>
222
223 <a name="packagefile">
224 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
225 </a>
226
227 <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>
228
229 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.9.1-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
230
231 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
232
233 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.9.1-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
234
235 <p>Either command produces output similar to that described for <a href="#installsh">using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script,</a> so you can check it for error messages and other signs of trouble. The package file installs rEFInd and registers it with the EFI to be the default boot loader. The script that runs as part of the installation process tries to determine if you're using Secure Boot, and if so it will try to configure rEFInd to launch using shim; however, this won't work correctly on all systems. Ubuntu 12.10 users who are booting with Secure Boot active should be wary, since the resulting installation will probably try to use Ubuntu's version of shim, which won't work correctly with rEFInd. The shim program provided with more recent versions of Ubuntu should work correctly.</p>
236
237 <a name="ppa">
238 <p>If you're using Ubuntu, you should be able to install the PPA as follows:</p></a>
239
240 <pre class="listing">$ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rodsmith/refind</tt>
241 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-get update</tt>
242 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo apt-get install refind</tt></pre></pre>
243
244 <p>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>
245
246 <p>Since version 0.6.3, the installation script makes an attempt to install rEFInd in a bootable way even if you run the script from a BIOS-mode boot, and therefore the RPM and Debian packages do the same. I cannot guarantee that this will work, though, and even if it does, some of the tricks that <tt>install.sh</tt> uses might not persist for long. You might therefore want to use <tt><a href="#mvrefind">mvrefind.sh</a></tt> to move your rEFInd installation to another name after you boot Linux for the first time from rEFInd.</p>
247
248 <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>install.sh</tt> script to copy the files to the ESP. This enables you to re-install rEFInd after the fact by running <tt>install.sh</tt>, should some other tool or OS wipe the ESP or should the installation go awry. In such cases you can <a href="#installsh">use <tt>install.sh</tt></a> or <a href="#manual">install manually.</a></p>
249
250 <a name="installsh">
251 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
252
253 <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. 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>
254
255 <p>If you're using Linux or Mac OS X, the easiest way to install rEFInd is to use the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. This script automatically copies rEFInd's files to your ESP or other target location and makes changes to your firmware's NVRAM settings so that rEFInd will start the next time you boot. If you've booted to OS X or in non-Secure-Boot EFI mode to Linux on a UEFI-based PC, <tt>install.sh</tt> will probably do the right thing, so you can get by with the quick instructions. If your setup is unusual, if your computer uses Secure Boot, or if you want to create a USB flash drive with rEFInd on it, you should read the <a href="#extra_installsh">extra instructions</a> for this utility.</p>
256
257 <a name="quickstart">
258 <h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
259 </quickstart>
260
261 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> I've received reports that the OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") beta has made changes to the OS that break the rEFInd installation procedure. This problem has been publicly reported as a bug in <tt>bless</tt>&mdash;see, for instance, <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22397509">here</a> and <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22170141">here.</a> It seems to be related to a new feature called System Integrity Protection. If possible, I recommend using OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") or earlier to install rEFInd until this issue is resolved. It's reportedly possible to disable this feature by booting to recovery mode (by holding down Alt while booting) and typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil disable</tt> in a Terminal. After installing rEFInd, you can re-enable this feature by repeating the process, but typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil enable</tt>.</p>
262
263 <p>By default, the <tt>install.sh</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>
264
265 <p>Under Linux, <tt>install.sh</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>install.sh</tt> will attempt to locate and mount an ESP, but this action is not guaranteed to work correctly. If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> from a BIOS/legacy-mode boot, particularly on a computer that also runs Windows, you should be aware that the tricks the script uses to install itself from BIOS mode are rather delicate. You can convert to a more conventional configuration using the <a href="#mvrefind"><tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script</a> after you've booted in EFI mode.</p>
266
267 <p>Prior to version 0.8.4, <tt>install.sh</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>install.sh</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>install.sh</tt>.</i> This option is described in more detail shortly.</p>
268
269 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
270
271 <pre class="listing">
272 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
273 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
274 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
275 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
276 Copied rEFInd binary files
277
278 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
279 rEFInd.
280
281
282 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
283
284 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
285
286 <pre class="listing">
287 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
288 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
289 Password:
290 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
291 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at /Volumes/ESP
292 Found suspected Linux partition(s); installing ext4fs driver.
293 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_ia32.efi)
294 Copied rEFInd binary files
295
296 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
297 rEFInd.
298
299
300 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
301 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
302 on some systems!!
303
304
305 Installation has completed successfully.
306
307 Unmounting install dir</pre>
308
309 <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>
310
311 <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>
312
313 <a name="extra_installsh">
314 <h3>Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
315 </a>
316
317 <p>Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
318
319 <ul>
320
321 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
322 <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
323 on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
324 you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
325 Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
326 <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
327
328 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
329 session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
330 the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
331 run the script.</li>
332
333 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, or the
334 loogical volumes feature in OS X 10.10, you <i>must</i> install rEFInd
335 to the ESP or to a separate HFS+ partition. The default in rEFInd 0.8.4
336 and later is to install to the ESP. If you prefer to use a separate
337 HFS+ volume, the <tt>--ownhfs <tt
338 class="variable">device-file</tt></tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt> is
339 required.</li>
340
341 <li>If you're <i>not</i> using WDE or logical volumes, you can install
342 rEFInd to the OS X root (<tt>/</tt>) partition by using the
343 <tt>--notesp</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>. Using this option is
344 recommended when upgrading from a working rEFInd installation in this
345 location.</li>
346
347 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
348 <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a program
349 called <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want
350 to delete it. This program is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
351 manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
352 changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
353 primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this program. If
354 you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
355 class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
356 delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
357 subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
358 manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
359
360 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
361 <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
362 --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
363 been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
364
365 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes on a UEFI-based PC, you
366 <i>must</i> edit the <tt>refind.conf</tt> file's <tt>scanfor</tt> line
367 to enable the relevant searches. This is <i>not</i> necessary on Macs,
368 though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
369 the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
370
371 <li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
372 <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
373 available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
374 on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
375 filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
376 installed. This feature is unlikely to work properly from an emergency
377 system, although it might if you have a separate <tt>/boot</tt>
378 partition and if you mount that partition at <tt>/boot</tt> in your
379 emergency system, and the ESP at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
380
381 <li>On OS X, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks your partition tables for signs of
382 a Linux installation. If such a sign is found, the script installs the
383 EFI filesystem driver for the Linux ext4 filesystem. This will enable
384 rEFInd to read your Linux kernel <i>if</i> it's on an ext2, ext3, or
385 ext4 filesystem. Note that some configurations will require a
386 <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> file, which can be reliably generated
387 only under Linux. (The <tt>mkrlconf.sh</tt> script that comes with
388 rEFInd will do this job once you've booted Linux.) In the meantime, you
389 can launch GRUB from rEFInd or press F2 or Insert twice after
390 highlighting the Linux option in rEFInd. This will enable you to enter
391 a <tt>root=/dev/<tt class="variable">whatever</tt></tt> specification,
392 where <tt>/dev/<tt class="variable">whatever</tt></tt> is the device
393 identifier of your Linux root (<tt>/</tt>) filesystem.
394
395 <li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
396 <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
397 <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
398 sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
399 Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
400 partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
401 result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
402 correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
403 <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though&mdash;for instance, to add
404 <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
405
406 </ul>
407
408 <p>In addition to these quirks, you should be aware of some options that <tt>install.sh</tt> supports to enable you to customize your installation in various ways. The syntax for <tt>install.sh</tt> is as follows:</p>
409
410 <pre class="listing">
411 install.sh [--notesp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> | \
412 --ownhfs <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> ] \
413 [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
414 </pre>
415
416 <p>The details of the options are summarized in <a href="#table1">Table 1.</a> Broadly speaking, they come in four classes: installation location options (<tt>--notesp</tt>, <tt>--usedefault</tt>, and <tt>--root</tt>), driver options (<tt>--nodrivers</tt> and <tt>--alldrivers</tt>), Secure Boot options (<tt>--shim</tt> and <tt>--localkeys</tt>), and a user input option (<tt>--yes</tt>). Using some of these options in unusual conditions can generate warnings and prompts to confirm your actions. In particular, using <tt>--shim</tt> or <tt>--localkeys</tt> when you're <i>not</i> booted in Secure Boot mode, or failing to use <tt>--shim</tt> when you <i>are</i> booted in Secure Boot mode, will generate a query and a request to confirm your installation. Consult the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a> page for more on this topic.</p>
417
418 <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" summary="Table 1: Options to <tt>install.sh</tt>"><a name="table1"><caption><b>Table 1: Options to <tt>install.sh</tt></b></caption></a>
419 <tr>
420 <th>Option</th>
421 <th>Explanation</th>
422 </tr>
423 <tr>
424 <td><tt>--notesp</tt></td>
425 <td>This option, which is valid only under OS X, tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to install rEFInd to the OS X root partition rather than to the ESP. This behavior was the default in rEFInd 0.8.3 and earlier, so you may want to use it when upgrading installations of that version, unless you used <tt>--esp</tt> (which is now the default behavior, although the <tt>--esp</tt> option no longer exists) or <tt>--ownhfs</tt>. You may also want to use <tt>--notesp</tt> on new installations if you're sure you're <i>not</i> using whole-disk encryption or logical volumes.</td>
426 </tr>
427 <tr>
428 <td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
429 <td>You can install rEFInd to a disk using the default/fallback filename of <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> (and <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt>, if the 32-bit build is available) using this option. The <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> should be an <i>unmounted</i> ESP, or at least a FAT partition, as in <tt>--usedefault /dev/sdc1</tt>. Your computer's NVRAM entries will <i>not</i> be modified when installing in this way. The intent is that you can create a bootable USB flash drive or install rEFInd on a computer that tends to "forget" its NVRAM settings with this option. This option is mutually exclusive with <tt>--notesp</tt> and <tt>--root</tt>.</td>
430 </tr>
431 <tr>
432 <td><tt>--ownhfs <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
433 <td>This option should be used <i>only</i> under OS X. It's used to install rEFInd to an HFS+ volume <i>other than</i> a standard Mac boot volume. The result should be that rEFInd will show up in the Mac's own boot manager. More importantly, suspend-to-RAM operations may work correctly. Note that this option requires an HFS+ volume that is <i>not</i> currently an OS X boot volume. This can be a data volume or a dedicated rEFInd partition. The ESP might also work, if it's converted to use HFS+.</td>
434 </tr>
435 <tr>
436 <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
437 <td>This option is intended to help install rEFInd from a "live CD" or other emergency system. To use it, you should mount your regular installation at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt>, including your <tt>/boot</tt> directory (if it's separate) at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot</tt> and (on Linux) your ESP at that location or at <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/efi</tt>. The <tt>install.sh</tt> script then installs rEFInd to the appropriate location&mdash;on Linux, <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/EFI/refind</tt> or <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>, depending on where you've mounted your ESP. Under OS X, this option is only useful in conjunction with <tt>--notesp</tt>, in which case rEFInd will install to <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt><tt>/EFI/refind</tt>. The script also adds an entry to your NVRAM for rEFInd at this location. You cannot use this option with <tt>--usedefault</tt>. Note that this option is <i>not</i> needed when doing a dual-boot Linux/OS X installation; just install normally in OS X.</td>
438 </tr>
439 <tr>
440 <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
441 <td>Ordinarily <tt>install.sh</tt> attempts to install the driver required to read <tt>/boot</tt> on Linux. This attempt works only if you're using ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS on the relevant partition. If you want to forego this driver installation, pass the <tt>--nodrivers</tt> option. This option is the implicit when you use <tt>--usedefault</tt>.</td>
442 </tr>
443 <tr>
444 <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
445 <td>When you specify this option, <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <i>all</i> the driver files for your architecture. You may want to remove unused driver files after you use this option, especially if your computer uses Secure Boot. Note that some computers hang or fail to work with any drivers if you use this option, so use it with caution.</td>
446 </tr>
447 <tr>
448 <td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt> or <tt>--preloader <tt class="variable">preloader-filename</tt></tt></td>
449 <td>If you pass this option to <tt>install.sh</tt>, the script will copy the specified shim program file to the target directory, copy the <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> file from the shim program file's directory to the target directory, copy the 64-bit version of rEFInd as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>, and register shim with the firmware. (If you also specify <tt>--usedefault</tt>, the NVRAM registration is skipped.) When the target file is identified as PreLoader, much the same thing happens, but <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <tt>HashTool.efi</tt> instead of <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> and copies rEFInd as <tt>loader.efi</tt> rather than as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. The intent is to simplify rEFInd installation on a computer that uses Secure Boot; when so set up, rEFInd will boot in Secure Boot mode, with one caveat: The first time you boot, MokManager/HashTool will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key or register rEFInd as a trusted application. The rEFInd public key file will be located in the rEFInd directory's <tt>keys</tt> subdirectory under the name <tt>refind.cer</tt>. Note that I'm not providing a shim binary myself, but you can download one from <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/shim-signed/">here.</a> Some distributions also provide their own shim programs, so can point to them&mdash;for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
450 </tr>
451 <tr>
452 <td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
453 <td>This option tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to generate a new Machine Owner Key (MOK), store it in <tt>/etc/refind.d/keys</tt> as <tt>refind_local.*</tt>, and re-sign all the 64-bit rEFInd binaries with this key before installing them. This is the preferable way to install rEFInd in Secure Boot mode, since it means your binaries will be signed locally rather than with my own key, which is used to sign many other users' binaries; however, this method requires that both the <tt>openssl</tt> and <tt>sbsign</tt> binaries be installed. The former is readily available in most distributions' repositories, but the latter is not, so this option is not the default.</td>
454 </tr>
455 <tr>
456 <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
457 <td>This option causes the script to assume a <tt>Y</tt> input to every yes/no prompt that can be generated under certain conditions, such as if you specify <tt>--shim</tt> but <tt>install.sh</tt> detects no evidence of a Secure Boot installation. This option is intended mainly for use by scripts such as those that might be used as part of an installation via an RPM or Debian package.</td>
458 </tr>
459 </table>
460
461 <p>After you run <tt>install.sh</tt>, 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>
462
463 <a name="manual">
464 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
465 </a>
466
467 <p>Sometimes the <tt>install.sh</tt> script just won't do the job, or you may need to install using an OS that it doesn't support, such as Windows. In these cases, you'll have to install rEFInd the old-fashioned way, using file-copying commands and utilities to add the program to your EFI's boot loader list. I describe how to do this with <a href="#linux">Linux</a>, <a href="#osx">OS X</a>, <a href="#windows">Windows</a>, and <a href="#efishell">the EFI shell.</a></p>
468
469 <a name="linux">
470 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
471 </a>
472
473 <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>
474
475 <pre class="listing">
476 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
477 Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
478 /dev/sda1 191284 16604 174681 9% /boot/efi
479 </pre>
480
481 <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> RPM package or as part of the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~detly/+archive/ubuntu/mactel-utils">mactel-utils PPA for Ubuntu</a>, 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>
482
483 <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>
484
485 <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>
486
487 <ol>
488
489 <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>
490
491 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
492
493 <li>Type <tt><b>rm refind_ia32.efi</b></tt> to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86-64 (64-bit) system; or type <tt><b>rm refind_x64.efi</b></tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86-64 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86 (32-bit) system. (Note that you must keep the version that's the correct bit width for your EFI; if you've installed a 32-bit Linux on a 64-bit PC with a 64-bit EFI, you'd keep <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>.</li>
494
495 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">rm -r drivers_ia32</tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86 drivers from an <i>x</i>86-64 system, or <tt class="userinput">rm -r drivers_x64</tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86-64 drivers from a 32-bit <i>x</i>86 system. You may also want to remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using. If you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process, and worse, 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>
496
497 <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>
498
499 <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>
500
501 <a name="efibootmgr">
502 <li>On a UEFI-based system, type <tt><b>efibootmgr -c -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi -L rEFInd</b></tt> to add rEFInd to your EFI's list of available boot loaders, which it stores in NVRAM. Adjust the path to the binary as required if you install somewhere else. You may also need to include additional options if your ESP isn't on <tt>/dev/sda1</tt> or if your configuration is otherwise unusual; consult the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> man page for details. You may need to install this program on some systems; it's a standard part of most distributions' repositories. Also, if you're installing in Secure Boot mode, you must normally register <tt>shim.efi</tt> rather than the rEFInd binary, and rename <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> to <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>.</li>
503 </a>
504
505 <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>
506
507 </ol>
508
509 <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>
510
511 <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>
512
513 <a name="osx">
514 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
515 </a>
516
517 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> I've received reports that the OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") beta has made changes to the OS that break the rEFInd installation procedure. This problem has been publicly reported as a bug in <tt>bless</tt>&mdash;see, for instance, <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22397509">here</a> and <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22170141">here.</a> It seems to be related to a new feature called System Integrity Protection. If possible, I recommend using OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") or earlier to install rEFInd until this issue is resolved. It's reportedly possible to disable this feature by booting to recovery mode (by holding down Alt while booting) and typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil disable</tt> in a Terminal. After installing rEFInd, you can re-enable this feature by repeating the process, but typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil enable</tt>.</p>
518
519 <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>
520
521 <pre class="listing">
522 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
523 </pre>
524
525 <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>
526
527 <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>
528
529 <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>
530
531 <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>
532
533 <ol>
534
535 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
536 commands.</li>
537
538 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
539 can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
540 <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
541 that you may need to change <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if
542 your ESP is at an unusual location. Type <tt class="userinput">diskutil
543 list</tt> or use a tool such as my <a
544 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
545 to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
546
547 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt></b> to create a
548 suitable directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the OS X
549 root partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
550 <tt>/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder to create
551 the directory.</li>
552
553 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
554 package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
555 this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
556 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after
557 changing into the rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
558
559 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
560 <b><tt>sudo rm Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac
561 with a 64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm
562 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a 32-bit
563 EFI.</li>
564
565 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
566 not using&mdash;<tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
567 <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may
568 also want to remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you
569 are using; if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process.
570 See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this
571 topic. Note that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the
572 HFS+ driver provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
573
574 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
575 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind.conf-sample
576 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b> (adjusting the path as
577 necessary) to rename the sample configuration file so that it will
578 serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you can do this with the
579 Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
580
581 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
582 <ul>
583 <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
584 class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
585 /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi --shortform</tt>, adjusting
586 the mount point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
587 installation.</li>
588 <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
589 class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
590 /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
591 necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
592 32-bit version.)</li>
593 </ul>
594 As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
595 <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
596 unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
597 disk.</li>
598
599 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
600 may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
601 umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
602 /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
603 to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
604
605 </ol>
606
607 <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>
608
609 <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>
610
611 <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>
612
613 <a name="windows">
614 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
615 </a>
616
617 <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>
618
619 <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>
620
621 <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>
622
623 <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>
624
625 <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>
626
627 <ol>
628
629 <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>
630
631 <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>
632
633 <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>
634
635 <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>
636
637 <li>Type <b><tt>S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
638
639 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
640
641 <li>You may want to selectively delete some of the drivers in the <tt>drivers_x64</tt> or <tt>drivers_ia32</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>
642
643 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
644
645 <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>
646
647 <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>
648
649 <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>
650
651 </ol>
652
653 <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>
654
655 <ul>
656
657 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described later, in <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
658
659 <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>
660
661 <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>
662
663 </ul>
664
665 <a name="efishell">
666 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
667 </a>
668
669 <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>
670
671 <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>
672
673 <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>
674
675 <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>
676
677 <ul>
678
679 <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>
680
681 <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>
682
683 <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>
684
685 </ul>
686
687 <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>
688
689 <ol>
690
691 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
692 FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
693 a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
694 needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
695
696 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
697 style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
698 filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
699 filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
700 then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
701 class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
702 Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
703 else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
704 need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
705 another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
706
707 <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>
708
709 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
710 class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
711 directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
712 though.)</li>
713
714 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
715
716 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
717 copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
718 computer.)</li>
719
720 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
721 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
722 configuration file.</li>
723
724 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
725 rEFInd's icons.</li>
726
727 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
728 fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
729 instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
730 you need, of course.)</li>
731
732 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
733 ESP.</li>
734
735 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
736 installation directory.</li>
737
738 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
739 refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
740 Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
741 exit.</li>
742
743 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
744 existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
745 <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
746 preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
747 want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
748 use.</li>
749
750 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
751 fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
752 (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
753 (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
754 you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
755 Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>), as directory separators. Note
756 that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
757 so watch for this possibility.</li>
758
759 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
760 the option number for the entry you created for <tt
761 class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
762 order.</li>
763
764 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
765
766 </ol>
767
768 <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>
769
770 <a name="naming">
771 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
772 </a>
773
774 <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>
775
776 <ul>
777
778 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>&mdash;This name
779 is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
780 bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
781 typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
782 loader.</li>
783
784 <li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>&mdash;This
785 filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
786 as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
787 boot loader in addition to or instead of
788 <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
789 high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
790 name!
791
792 </ul>
793
794 <p>If you need to use one of these names, or something more exotic, you can do so in either of two ways: You can <a href="#mvrefind">use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script</a> to move your installation in one step, or you can <a href="#manual_renaming">move and rename your files manually.</a></p>
795
796 <a name="mvrefind">
797 <h3>Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></h3>
798 </a>
799
800 <p>The easiest way to move a rEFInd installation, at least in Linux, is to use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script. If you installed from one of my RPM or Debian packages, this script should be installed in <tt>/usr/sbin</tt>, so you can use it like a regular Linux command; otherwise you'll need to install it to your path yourself or type its complete path. Either way, it works much like the Linux <tt>mv</tt> command, but you pass it the directory in which a rEFInd installation appears and a target location:</p>
801
802 <pre class="listing">
803 # <tt class="userinput">mvrefind.sh /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
804 </pre>
805
806 <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:
807
808 <ul>
809
810 <li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
811 destination directories&mdash;for instance, <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> knows
812 that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
813 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
814 <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
815 when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
816 when copying to it.</li>
817
818 <li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
819 location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
820 refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
821 boot.</li>
822
823 <li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
824 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
825 locations. For the former location, the script backs up
826 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
827 moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
828 <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
829
830 </ul>
831
832 <p>The <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script is likely to be useful in resolving boot problems&mdash;if your system won't boot, you can try copying the installation to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>, and <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> in turn, testing the boot process after each attempt. (These filenames all assume your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.) You could also copy a BIOS-mode install from <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> to make it more robust against Windows repairs (assuming your firmware isn't broken).</p>
833
834 <a name="manual_renaming">
835 <h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
836 </a>
837
838 <p>You can move and rename rEFInd manually from any OS by following these steps:</p>
839
840 <ol>
841
842 <li>Access your ESP, as described in earlier sections.</li>
843
844 <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>
845
846 <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>
847
848 <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>
849
850 <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>
851
852 </ol>
853
854 <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>
855
856 <a name="upgrading">
857 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
858 </a>
859
860 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
861
862 <ul>
863
864 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
865 old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
866 same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
867 UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
868 suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
869 icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
870
871 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
872 Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
873 over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
874 copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
875 to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
876 step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
877
878 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
879 probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
880
881 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
882 most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
883 icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
884 whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
885 this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
886 you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Under Linux, versions
887 0.6.2 and later of <tt>install.sh</tt> search for rEFInd in several
888 locations on the ESP, and will upgrade whatever is found. The same is
889 true with versions 0.8.5 and later under OS X when installing to the
890 ESP. If you install to a location other than the ESP under OS X, be
891 sure to include the same option to <tt>install.sh</tt>
892 (<tt>--notesp</tt> or <tt>--ownhfs</tt>) to replace the original rather
893 than create a new installation to the ESP.</li>
894
895 <li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
896 package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
897 that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
898 and re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script, so as with the previous
899 options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
900 process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
901
902 <li>If you installed using my Ubuntu PPA or a package provided by an OS
903 distribution (such as the packages that ship with Arch and ALT Linux),
904 performing a system update will probably update rEFInd, too. Depending
905 on how the package was created, though, this update might or might not
906 install the update to the ESP; you might need to manually re-run the
907 installation script. Consult your distribution's documentation for
908 details. My Ubuntu PPA will automatically run <tt>install.sh</tt> after
909 the package is installed.</li>
910
911 </ul>
912
913 <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>
914
915 <p>If you're upgrading to rEFInd from rEFIt, you can simply run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script as described earlier or perform a manual installation. Once installed, rEFInd will take over boot manager duties. You'll still be able to launch rEFIt from rEFInd; a rEFIt icon will appear in rEFInd's menu. You can eliminate this option by removing the rEFIt files, which normally reside in <tt>/EFI/refit</tt>.</p>
916
917 <a name="addons">
918 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
919 </a>
920
921 <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>
922
923 <ul>
924
925 <li><b><a
926 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
927 file, placed in the ESP's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory, adds the
928 ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
929 download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
930 will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
931 href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
932 Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
933 find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
934
935 <li><b><a
936 href="http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm">Memtest86</a></b>&mdash;This
937 is a popular tool for performing basic hardware tests, and especially
938 memory tests. rEFInd recognizes this program when it is stored in the
939 <tt>EFI/tools</tt>, <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt>,
940 <tt>EFI/tools/memtest86</tt>, <tt>EFI/memtest</tt>, or
941 <tt>EFI/memtest86</tt> directory, with a program filename of
942 <tt>memtest86.efi</tt>, <tt>memtest86_x64.efi</tt>,
943 <tt>memtest86x64.efi</tt>, or <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>. (Change
944 <tt>x64</tt> to <tt>ia32</tt> on IA-32 systems.) Be sure to download
945 the EFI version of the program. If you get the USB flash drive version,
946 you should mount the flash drive's ESP (partition 2) and copy the
947 <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> directory to your own ESP's
948 <tt>EFI/tools/memtest</tt> or other Memtest86 directory name, as just
949 specified. rEFInd should then recognize it, provided the
950 <tt>showtools</tt> line includes the <tt>memtest</tt> or
951 <tt>memtest86</tt> token.</li>
952
953 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt> or <tt>gptsync_<tt
954 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
955 href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
956 your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
957 Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
958 UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR is likely to be useless at best, so you
959 shouldn't create one, and it's safest to not install
960 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If you're using a hybrid MBR to enable
961 dual-booting Windows and OS X on a Mac, though, placing this program
962 file in the ESP's or Mac boot partition's <tt>EFI/tools</tt> directory
963 will enable you to regenerate your hybrid MBR should some other tool
964 convert the MBR to a standard protective MBR. You can obtain the file
965 from the <a href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt
966 package,</a> or beginning with rEFInd 0.6.9, an updated version is
967 included in the rEFInd package. The rEFInd version of <tt>gptsync_<tt
968 class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> uses a more sophisticated algorithm
969 for determining what GPT partitions to duplicate in the MBR and it
970 includes additional safeguards to minimize the risk of damage should
971 you run the program on a disk that might have been damaged. The
972 original rEFIt version of the program usually goes by the filename
973 <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>, whereas the updated rEFInd version ships with an
974 architecture code, as in <tt>gptsync_x64.efi</tt> or
975 <tt>gptsync_ia32.efi</tt>. The rEFInd <tt>install.sh</tt> script
976 installs <tt>gptsync_<tt class="variable">arch</tt>.efi</tt> when run
977 under OS X, but not when run on Linux. In addition to installing the
978 program, you must edit <tt>refind.conf</tt>, uncomment the
979 <tt>showtools</tt> line, and add <tt>gptsync</tt> to its list of
980 options.</li>
981
982 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
983 of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs, ext4fs, and
984 ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
985 support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
986 provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
987 from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
988 <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
989 topic.</li>
990
991 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
992 supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
993 as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
994 detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
995 page.</li>
996
997 <li><b><a href="http://ipxe.org/">iPXE</a></b>&mdash;This tool provides the
998 ability to boot a computer from a network server. Consult the
999 <tt>BUILDING.txt</tt> file in the rEFInd source code package for
1000 information on building and installing these tools. You must also
1001 activate rEFInd's support by adding the <tt>netboot</tt> option to the
1002 <tt>scanfor</tt> and/or <tt>showtools</tt> lines in
1003 <tt>refind.conf</tt>. <i>Network-boot/iPXE support is currently
1004 experimental;</i> I recommend that only developers or those who are
1005 willing to use "bleeding-edge" software try it. Once activated, rEFInd
1006 will present a new menu item for booting from the network server.
1007 rEFInd itself will normally be installed locally. (You can deliver
1008 rEFInd as a network-boot image, but that image will be able to boot
1009 only OSes on the local disk.)</li>
1010
1011 </ul>
1012
1013 <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>
1014
1015 <a name="sluggish">
1016 <h2>Fixing Macintosh Boot Problems</h2>
1017 </a>
1018
1019 <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>
1020
1021 <a name="shortform">
1022 <h3>Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</h3>
1023 </a>
1024
1025 <p>Prior to version 0.8.5, these instructions and the <tt>install.sh</tt> script omitted the <tt>--shortform</tt> option from the <tt>bless</tt> command when installing rEFInd to the ESP. An 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>install.sh</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>
1026
1027 <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>
1028
1029 <a name="fallback">
1030 <h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
1031 </a>
1032
1033 <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>install.sh</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>install.sh</tt>, renaming (and re-<tt>bless</tt>ing) the installation is worth trying.</p>
1034
1035 <a name="moving">
1036 <h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
1037 </a>
1038
1039 <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>
1040
1041 <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>install.sh</tt>, as in <tt class="userinput">./install.sh --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>
1042
1043 <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>
1044
1045 <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>
1046
1047 <a name="clearing">
1048 <h3>Clearing the NVRAM Entries</h3>
1049 </a>
1050
1051 <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>
1052
1053 <ol>
1054
1055 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
1056
1057 <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>
1058
1059 <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>
1060
1061 <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>
1062
1063 </ol>
1064
1065 <a name="wakeprobs">
1066 <h3>Fixing Wake Problems</h3>
1067 </a>
1068
1069 <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>
1070
1071 <ul>
1072
1073 <li>Install rEFInd to an HFS+ volume using the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</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>
1074
1075 <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>
1076
1077 </ul>
1078
1079 <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>
1080
1081 <a name="nolinux">
1082 <h3>Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</h3>
1083 </a>
1084
1085 <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>
1086
1087 <ul>
1088
1089 <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>
1090
1091 <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>
1092
1093 </ul>
1094
1095 <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>
1096
1097 <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>
1098
1099 <p></p>
1100
1101 <a name="winprob">
1102 <h2>Fixing Windows Boot Problems</h2>
1103 </a>
1104
1105 <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>
1106
1107 <ol>
1108
1109 <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>
1110
1111 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">diskpart</tt> to enter the Windows disk-partitioning tool.</li>
1112
1113 <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>
1114
1115 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">sel vol 1</tt>, changing <tt>1</tt> to whatever the ESP's volume number is.</li>
1116
1117 <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>
1118
1119 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">exit</tt> to exit from <tt>diskutil</tt>.</li>
1120
1121 <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>
1122
1123 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bootrec /fixboot</tt>.</li>
1124
1125 <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>
1126
1127 <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>
1128
1129 </ol>
1130
1131 <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>
1132
1133 <a name="uninstalling">
1134 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
1135 </a>
1136
1137 <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>
1138
1139 <a name="uinst_linux">
1140 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</h3>
1141 </a>
1142
1143 <p>In Linux, a command like the following, typed as <tt>root</tt>, should remove rEFInd:</p>
1144
1145 <pre class="listing">
1146 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
1147 </pre>
1148
1149 <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>
1150
1151 <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>
1152
1153 <a name="uinst_osx">
1154 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</h3>
1155 </a>
1156
1157 <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>
1158
1159 <br /><center><img src="startup-disk.png" align="center" width="668"
1160 height="355" alt="The OS X Startup Disk tool enables you to reset a Mac
1161 to use the standard OS X boot loader." border=2> </center><br />
1162
1163 <p>Select your startup disk (<i>Macintosh HD OS X, 10.10.1</i> in this example) and then click Restart. The computer should reboot into OS X, bypassing rEFInd.</p>
1164
1165 <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>
1166
1167 <ol>
1168
1169 <li>You must first determine where rEFInd is installed. This can be any of
1170 several locations:
1171
1172 <ul>
1173
1174 <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier with the default options,
1175 or if you used the <tt>--notesp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.4 or
1176 later, it will be <tt>/EFI/refind</tt> on your main partition</li>
1177
1178 <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.4 or later with the default options, or
1179 if you used the <tt>--esp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier,
1180 it will be in <tt>EFI/refind</tt> or <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> on the
1181 ESP.</li>
1182
1183 <li>If you used the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>,
1184 rEFInd will be in the <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt>
1185 directory on the volume you specified.</li>
1186
1187 <li>If you installed rEFInd manually, it will be wherever you put
1188 it.</li>
1189
1190 <li>In all cases, there could be duplicate (inactive) rEFInd files in
1191 unexpected places. This is particularly true if you tried
1192 installing rEFInd multiple times, each with different options to
1193 <tt>install.sh</tt>. Thus, if you delete rEFInd and it still comes
1194 up, you may have deleted the wrong files. (Note that dragging files
1195 to the Trash may have no effect, though&mdash;at least, not until
1196 you empty the Trash.)</li>
1197
1198 </ul>
1199
1200 <li>If necessary, mount the ESP or rEFInd-specific HFS+ volume, as
1201 described in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS
1202 X.</a></li>
1203
1204 <li>Verify that rEFInd is installed in the directory noted in step #1. If a
1205 <tt>refind.conf</tt> file is present, rEFInd is almost certainly
1206 installed in that directory. If not, it's not rEFInd there and you
1207 should <i>not</i> proceed. <b><i>Be extra cautious about deleting the
1208 <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt> directory,</i></b> since that's
1209 the default location of the OS X boot loader! <i>Never</i> delete this
1210 directory from your OS X root (<tt>/</tt>) partition, only from the
1211 partition you specified to <tt>install.sh</tt> using the
1212 <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option.</li>
1213
1214 <li>Once you've identified the rEFInd directory, delete it, or at least the
1215 rEFInd boot file. This file may be called <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>,
1216 <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>, <tt>boot.efi</tt>, or conceivably something else.
1217 You may need to use <tt>sudo rm</tt> at the command line to accomplish
1218 this task, as in <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r
1219 /Volumes/esp/EFI/refind</tt>.</li>
1220
1221 </ol>
1222
1223 <a name="uinst_windows">
1224 <h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</h3>
1225 </a>
1226
1227 <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>
1228
1229 <a name="post_uninst">
1230 <h3>Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</h3>
1231 </a>
1232
1233 <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>
1234
1235 <pre class="listing">
1236 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
1237 Timeout: 10 seconds
1238 BootOrder: 0000,0007
1239 Boot0000* rEFInd HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)
1240 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r .
1241 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
1242 Timeout: 10 seconds
1243 BootOrder: 0007
1244 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
1245
1246 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> As noted earlier, <tt>efibootmgr</tt> has been linked to firmware corruption on some Macs, at least with pre-3.3.0 Linux kernels. Therefore, I don't recommend using <tt>efibootmgr</tt> on Macs.</p>
1247
1248 <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>
1249
1250 <p>If you're not using Linux, you may be able to find a utility that serves
1251 a similar function. Under Windows, the <tt>bcdedit</tt> command, described
1252 in the <a href="#windows">section on installing rEFInd under Windows,</a>
1253 may work, although I've not attempted this.</p>
1254
1255 <hr />
1256
1257 <p>copyright &copy; 2012&ndash;2015 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
1258
1259 <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>
1260
1261 <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>
1262
1263 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
1264
1265 <p><a href="yosemite.html">Comments on rEFInd and OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)</a></p>
1266
1267 <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
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