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  12   <h1>The rEFInd Boot Manager:<br />Installing rEFInd</h1>
  13
  14 <p class="subhead">by Roderick W. Smith, <a
  15 href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
  16
  17 <p>Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update:
  18 5/4/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.3.2</p>
  19
  20
  21 <p>I'm a technical writer and consultant specializing in Linux technologies. This Web page is provided free of charge and with no annoying outside ads; however, I did take time to prepare it, and Web hosting does cost money. If you find this Web page useful, please consider making a small donation to help keep this site up and running. Thanks!</p>
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  86
  87 <hr />
  88
  89 <p>This page is part of the documentation for the rEFInd boot manager. If a Web search has brought you here, you may want to start at the <a href="index.html">main page.</a></p>
  90
  91 <hr />
  92
  93 <p class="sidebar"><b>Important:</b> A rEFInd zip file, when uncompressed, creates a directory called <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt>, where <tt><i>version</i></tt> is the version number. This directory includes a subdirectory called <tt>refind</tt> that holds the boot loader, along with another that holds documentation, as well as miscellaneous files in <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> itself. When I refer to "the <tt>refind</tt> directory" on this page, I mean the directory with that precise name, not the <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> directory that is its parent.</p>
  94
  95 <p>Once you've uncompressed a rEFInd binary zip file, you must install it to your computer's ESP (or conceivably to some other location). The details of how you to this depend on your OS and your computer (UEFI-based PC vs. Macintosh). The upcoming sections provide details. For Linux and Mac OS X, you can use the installation script, <a href="#installsh"><tt>install.sh</tt>,</a> which provides easy one-command installation on most systems. Occasionally this script will fail, though, so I also provide explicit instructions for <a href="#linux">Linux</a> and <a href="#osx">Mac OS X.</a> Installation under <a href="#windows">Windows</a> also must be done manually. In some cases, you'll have to deviate from the default naming conventions, as described in <a href="#naming">a section on this topic.</a> If you're upgrading rEFInd, see the <a href="#upgrading">section on upgrading.</a> Finally, I describe how to install some <a href="#addons">additional components</a> you might find useful.</a></p>
  96
  97 <!--
  98
  99 can copy the entire <tt>refind</tt> directory into your EFI System Partition's (ESP's) <tt>EFI</tt> directory on UEFI-based PCs, so that rEFInd resides in <tt>EFI/refind</tt>. If you've tried rEFInd using a CD-R image file, you can copy the files from the <tt>EFI/refind</tt> directory on the CD to create an equivalent directory on the ESP. To avoid confusion, though, you should delete the rEFInd binary file for the CPU type your computer does <i>not</i> use. To the best of my knowledge, all UEFI-based PCs use 64-bit CPUs, so you should keep the <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> binary and delete the <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> binary. Most Intel-based Macs also have 64-bit EFI implementations, so you should do the same thing; but very early Intel-based Macs have 32-bit EFIs (and sometimes 32-bit CPUs), which require the <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>
 100
 101 <pre class="listing">
 102 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
 103 </pre>
 104
 105 <p>The result should read 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>
 106
 107 <p>Of course, before you can install the files, you must be able to access the ESP. The details of this task vary from one OS to another. If you have a choice, I recommend using <a href="#linux">Linux</a> for rEFInd installation on UEFI PCs and <a href="#osx">OS X</a> on Macs. (On Macs, you can optionally use OS X's main partition rather than the ESP for this purpose.) <a href="#windows">Windows</a> provides relatively primitive tools for accessing the ESP and manipulating the EFI's boot list. I also describe some <a href="#naming">options for naming rEFInd</a> that may be useful on some systems. Finally, I describe how to install some <a href="#addons">extra tools</a> that you may find useful but that are not included with rEFInd.</p>
 108
 109 -->
 110
 111 <a name="installsh">
 112 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
 113
 114 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> If you're using a Macintosh, you should run <tt>install.sh</tt> from Mac OS X rather than from Linux. If run from Linux, rEFInd is unlikely to be fully installed. Worse, it's conceivable that running <tt>install.sh</tt> from Linux will damage your firmware, requiring that it be re-flashed. The reason is that Apple uses non-standard methods to enable a boot loader, and the Linux functions in <tt>install.sh</tt> assume standard EFI installation methods.</p>
 115
 116 <p>If you're using Linux or Mac OS X, the easiest way to install rEFInd is to use the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. Under Linux, this script installs rEFInd to your disk's ESP. Under Mac OS X, the script installs rEFInd to your current OS X boot partition by default; but you can install to your ESP instead by passing the script the <tt>esp</tt> option.</p>
 117
 118 <p>Before running this script under Linux, you should ensure that your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi</tt>, as described in more detail in the <a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a> section. (If you installed Linux in EFI mode, chances are your ESP is properly mounted.) This precaution isn't necessary under OS X.</p>
 119
 120 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
 121
 122 <pre class="listing">
 123 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 124 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
 125 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
 126 Copied rEFInd binary file refind_x64.efi
 127
 128 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 129 rEFInd.
 130
 131
 132 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 133
 134 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
 135
 136 <pre class="listing">
 137 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 138 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
 139 Password:
 140 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
 141 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
 142 Copied rEFInd binary file refind_ia32.efi
 143
 144 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 145 rEFInd.
 146
 147
 148 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
 149 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
 150 on some systems!!
 151
 152
 153 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 154
 155 <p>In either case, the details of the output differ depending on your existing configuration and how you ran the program. Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
 156
 157 <ul>
 158
 159 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
 160     <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
 161     on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
 162     you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
 163     Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
 164     <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
 165
 166 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
 167     session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
 168     the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
 169     run the script.</li>
 170
 171 <li>Under OS X, passing the "esp" option causes the script to install
 172     rEFInd to the ESP. The script finds the first ESP that's identified by
 173     the <tt>diskutil</tt> program and, if it's not already mounted, mounts
 174     it to install rEFInd. Thus, it's conceivable that <tt>install.sh</tt>
 175     will install rEFInd to the wrong partition if you have multiple disks
 176     or if a disk has multiple ESPs. If you believe this has happened, you
 177     may need to re-install manually.</li>
 178
 179 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
 180     <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>esp</tt> option to
 181     <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
 182     what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
 183     href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
 184     forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
 185
 186 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
 187     <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
 188     --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
 189     been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
 190
 191 </ul>
 192
 193 <p>In any event, you should peruse the script's output to ensure that everything looks OK. <tt>install.sh</tt> displays error messages when it encounters errors, such as if the ESP is mounted read-only or if you run out of disk space. You may need to correct such problems manually and re-run the script. In some cases you may need to fall back on manual installation, which gives you better control over details such as which partition to use for installation.</p>
 194
 195 <a name="linux">
 196 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h2>
 197 </a>
 198
 199 <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>
 200
 201 <pre class="listing">
 202 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
 203 Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 204 /dev/sda1         191284 16604    174681   9% /boot/efi
 205 </pre>
 206
 207 <p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> If you're running Linux on a Mac, I recommend you install rEFInd under OS X. The Mac's boot process deviates a bit from EFI standards, so you'll probably have to use a tool called <tt>bless</tt> under Mac OS to do the job. Alternatively, there's a new Linux program, <tt>hfs-bless</tt>, part of the <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/mactel-boot/"><tt>mactel-boot</tt></a> package, that's supposed to work with <tt>efibootmgr</tt> to make a Mac HFS partition bootable. I've not yet tried it, though. There are also reports that the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> tool used under Linux can corrupt some Macs' firmware. Although I've seen some vague suggestions that this problem has been fixed under 3.<i>x</i> kernels, I haven't tested this claim.</p>
 208
 209 <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>
 210
 211 <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>
 212
 213 <ol>
 214
 215 <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.</li>
 216
 217 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
 218
 219 <li>Type <tt><b>rm refind_ia32.efi</b></tt> to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86-64 (64-bit) system; or type <tt><b>rm refind_x64.efi</b></tt> to remove the <i>x</i>86-64 binary if you're using an <i>x</i>86 (32-bit) system. You can optionally rename the binary you keep as <tt>refind.efi</tt>, but this isn't required. (Note that you must keep the version that's the correct bit width for your EFI; if you've installed a 32-bit Linux on a 64-bit PC with a 64-bit EFI, you'd keep <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>.</li>
 220
 221 <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>
 222
 223 <a name="efibootmgr">
 224 <li>On a UEFI-based system, type <tt><b>efibootmgr -c -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi -L rEFInd</b></tt> to add rEFInd to your EFI's list of available boot loaders, which it stores in NVRAM. (Adjust the path to the binary as required if you install somewhere else.) You may need to install this program on some systems; it's a standard part of most distributions' repositories.</li>
 225 </a>
 226
 227 <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>
 228
 229 </ol>
 230
 231 <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>
 232
 233 <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>
 234
 235 <a name="osx">
 236 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h2>
 237 </a>
 238
 239 <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>
 240
 241 <pre class="listing">
 242 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
 243 </pre>
 244
 245 <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>
 246
 247 <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>
 248
 249 <p>The procedure for installing rEFInd on a Mac is similar to that for installing it under Linux, except that you can (and probably should) install it to OS X's system partition or some other HFS+ partition rather than to the ESP, and you must use the <tt>bless</tt> utility rather than <tt>efibootmgr</tt>. To be precise, you should follow these steps:</p>
 250
 251 <ol>
 252
 253 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
 254     commands.</li>
 255
 256 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
 257     can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
 258     <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
 259     that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
 260     more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
 261     installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
 262     encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
 263     <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
 264     location. Use a tool such as my <a
 265     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
 266     to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
 267
 268 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
 269     directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
 270     other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
 271     <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
 272     to create the directory.</li>
 273
 274 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
 275     package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
 276     this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
 277     /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
 278     rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
 279
 280 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
 281     <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
 282     64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
 283     Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
 284
 285 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
 286     /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
 287     (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
 288     file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
 289     can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
 290
 291 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
 292     <ul>
 293     <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
 294         class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
 295         /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
 296         necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
 297         32-bit version.)</li>
 298     <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
 299         class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
 300         /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
 301         point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
 302         installation.</li>
 303     </ul>
 304     As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
 305     <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
 306     unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
 307     disk.</li>
 308
 309 </ol>
 310
 311 <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>
 312
 313 <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>
 314
 315 <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>
 316
 317 <a name="windows">
 318 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h2>
 319 </a>
 320
 321 <p>To install rEFInd under Windows, you must first find a way to access the ESP, which Windows normally hides from view. One way to accomplish this goal, and to proceed forward once the ESP is accessible, is as follows:</p>
 322
 323 <ol>
 324
 325 <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>
 326
 327 <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>
 328
 329 <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>
 330
 331 <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>
 332
 333 <li>Type <b><tt>cd S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
 334
 335 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
 336
 337 <li>Type <b><tt>del refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> to delete the unused 32-bit version of rEFInd. (Windows only supports EFI boots on 64-bit EFI implementations and in 64-bit versions of Windows.)</li>
 338
 339 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
 340
 341 <li>Type <b><tt>bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt></b> to set rEFInd as the default EFI boot program. Note that <tt>{bootmgr}</tt> is entered as such; that's not a notation for a variable.</li>
 342
 343 <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>
 344
 345 </ol>
 346
 347 <p>At this point, when you reboot, rEFInd should appear as your new default boot program. One caveat: My only EFI Windows installation uses UEFI DUET, which "forgets" its boot options upon reboot. Thus, I'm unable to test the last two steps (which were provided by a helpful user) myself. If it doesn't work for you, you have several other options, such as:</p>
 348
 349 <ul>
 350
 351 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
 352
 353 <li>You can boot from an optical disc into an emergency OS to do the job. Ubuntu, for instance, provides an EFI-bootable installer with a "try before installation" mode. You'll need to type <b><tt>sudo apt-get install efibootmgr</tt></b> to install <tt>efibootmgr</tt>, but you can then use that program as described <a href="#efibootmgr">earlier</a>. (If you're using Ubuntu, you'll need to precede the command with <b><tt>sudo</tt></b>.</li>
 354
 355 <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>
 356
 357 </ul>
 358
 359 <a name="naming">
 360 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
 361 </a>
 362
 363 <p>Some EFI implementations do a poor job of honoring the boot options set via Linux's <tt>efibootmgr</tt> or other tools. You may also lack access to such utilities, such as if you must install rEFInd in Windows. In such cases, you may need to change the boot loader's name so that the EFI will see it as the default boot loader. rEFInd should then boot when your NVRAM lacks information on specific boot loaders to use. To do this, follow these steps:</p>
 364
 365 <ol>
 366
 367 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
 368
 369 <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>
 370
 371 <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>
 372
 373 <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>
 374
 375 <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>
 376
 377 </ol>
 378
 379 <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>
 380
 381 <a name="upgrading">
 382 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
 383 </a>
 384
 385 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
 386
 387 <ul>
 388
 389 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
 390     old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
 391     same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
 392     UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
 393     suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
 394     icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
 395
 396 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
 397     Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
 398     over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
 399     copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
 400     to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
 401     step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
 402
 403 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
 404     probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
 405
 406 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
 407     most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
 408     icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
 409     whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
 410     this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
 411     you'll need to copy your altered icons back.</li>
 412
 413 </ul>
 414
 415 <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>
 416
 417 <a name="addons">
 418 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
 419 </a>
 420
 421 <p>rEFInd includes the ability to launch any EFI program; however, rEFInd detects only certain programs. These include boot loaders in traditional locations and a handful of other programs. To launch these other programs, you must download and install them separately from rEFInd:</p>
 422
 423 <ul>
 424
 425 <li><b><a href="http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=EdkShellBinPkg/FullShell/X64/Shell_Full.efi;hb=HEAD">shell.efi</a></b>&mdash;This
 426     file, placed in the ESP's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory, adds the
 427     ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
 428     download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
 429     will recognize it.</li>
 430
 431 <li><b>gptsync.efi</b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
 432     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
 433     your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
 434     Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
 435     UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR will be useless at best, so you shouldn't
 436     create one, and it's safest to not install <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If
 437     you're using a hybrid MBR to enable dual-booting Windows and OS X on a
 438     Mac, though, placing this program file in the ESP's or Mac boot
 439     partition's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory will enable you to regenerate
 440     your hybrid MBR should some other tool convert the MBR to a standard
 441     protective MBR. You can obtain the file from the <a
 442     href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt package.</a></li>
 443
 444 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
 445     of the EFI. Most notably, filesystem drivers for ext2fs and ReiserFS
 446     are available. These can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI
 447     stub support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, or ReiserFS partition. See the <a
 448     href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
 449     topic.</li>
 450
 451 </ul>
 452
 453 <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>
 454
 455 <hr />
 456
 457 <p>copyright &copy; 2012 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
 458
 459 <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>
 460
 461 <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>
 462
 463 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
 464
 465 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
 466
 467   <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
 468 </body>
 469 </html>