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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 12/31/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.6.2-2</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 <div style="float:right; width:55%">
  94
  95 <p>Once you've obtained a rEFInd binary file, you must install it to your computer's ESP (or conceivably to some other location). The details of how you do this depend on your OS and your computer (UEFI-based PC vs. Macintosh). The upcoming sections provide details. 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>
  96
  97 <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 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>
  98
  99 </div>
 100
 101 <div class="navbar">
 102
 103 <h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
 104
 105 <ul class="tight">
 106
 107 <li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
 108
 109 <li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
 110
 111    <ul class="tight">
 112
 113    <li class="tight"><a href="#quickstart">Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
 114
 115    <li class="tight"><a href="#extra_installsh">Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
 116
 117    <li class="tight"><a href="#unhijack">Using <tt>refind-unhijack.sh</tt></li>
 118
 119    </ul></li>
 120
 121 <li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
 122
 123    <ul>
 124
 125    <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
 126
 127    <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
 128
 129    <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
 130
 131    <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
 132
 133 <li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a></li>
 134
 135 <li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
 136
 137 <li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
 138
 139 <li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</a></li>
 140
 141 <li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
 142
 143 </ul>
 144
 145 </div>
 146
 147 <a name="packagefile">
 148 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
 149 </a>
 150
 151 <p>Beginning with version 0.6.2, I've included an RPM package file for rEFInd, and I quickly updated this (in 0.6.2-2) to be more sophisticated and to include a Debian package file, as well. 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>
 152
 153 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.6.2-2.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
 154
 155 <p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
 156
 157 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.6.2-2_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
 158
 159 <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.</p>
 160
 161 <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 last for long. You might therefore want to run the <tt><a href="#unhijack">refind-unhijack.sh</a></tt> script after you boot Linux in EFI mode for the first time.</p>
 162
 163 <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. 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>
 164
 165 <a name="installsh">
 166 <h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
 167
 168 <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>
 169
 170 <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>
 171
 172 <a name="quickstart">
 173 <h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
 174 </quickstart>
 175
 176 <p>Under Linux, the <tt>install.sh</tt> 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. 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>
 177
 178 <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. 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="#unhijack"><tt>refind-unhijack.sh</tt> script.</a></p>
 179
 180 <p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
 181
 182 <pre class="listing">
 183 # <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 184 Installing rEFInd on Linux....
 185 ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
 186 Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
 187 Copied rEFInd binary files
 188
 189 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 190 rEFInd.
 191
 192
 193 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 194
 195 <p>The output under OS X is a bit different:</p>
 196
 197 <pre class="listing">
 198 $ <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
 199 Not running as root; attempting to elevate privileges via sudo....
 200 Password:
 201 Installing rEFInd on OS X....
 202 Installing rEFInd to the partition mounted at '/'
 203 Copied rEFInd binary files
 204
 205 Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
 206 rEFInd.
 207
 208
 209 WARNING: If you have an Advanced Format disk, *DO NOT* attempt to check the
 210 bless status with 'bless --info', since this is known to cause disk corruption
 211 on some systems!!
 212
 213
 214 Installation has completed successfully.</pre>
 215
 216 <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>
 217
 218 <a name="extra_installsh">
 219 <h3>Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
 220 </a>
 221
 222 <p>Some details that can affect how the script runs include the following:</p>
 223
 224 <ul>
 225
 226 <li>If you run the script as an ordinary user, it attempts to acquire
 227     <tt>root</tt> privileges by using the <tt>sudo</tt> command. This works
 228     on Mac OS X and some Linux installations (such as under Ubuntu or if
 229     you've added yourself to the <tt>sudo</tt> users list), but on some
 230     Linux installations this will fail. On such systems, you should run
 231     <tt>install.sh</tt> as <tt>root</tt>.</li>
 232
 233 <li>Under OS X, you can run the script with a mouse by opening a Terminal
 234     session and then dragging-and-dropping the <tt>install.sh</tt> file to
 235     the Terminal window. You'll need to press the Return or Enter key to
 236     run the script.</li>
 237
 238 <li>If you're using OS X 10.7's Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) feature, you
 239     <i>must</i> install rEFInd to the ESP, so the <tt>--esp</tt> option to
 240     <tt>install.sh</tt> is required. I'm still a little bit foggy about
 241     what's required to boot the system once this is done; see <a
 242     href="https://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/5c7d0195/">this
 243     forum thread</a> for a discussion of the topic.</li>
 244
 245 <li>If you're replacing rEFIt with rEFInd on a Mac, there's a chance that
 246     <tt>install.sh</tt> will warn you about the presence of a program
 247     called <tt>/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser</tt> and ask if you want
 248     to delete it. This program is designed to keep rEFIt set as the boot
 249     manager by automatically re-blessing it if the default boot manager
 250     changes. This is obviously undesirable if you install rEFInd as your
 251     primary boot manager, so it's generally best to remove this program. If
 252     you prefer to keep your options open, you can answer <tt
 253     class="userinput">N</tt> when <tt>install.sh</tt> asks if you want to
 254     delete rEFItBlesser, and instead manually copy it elsewhere. If you
 255     subsequently decide to go back to using rEFIt as your primary boot
 256     manager, you can restore rEFItBlesser to its place.</li>
 257
 258 <li>If you're using OS X and an Advanced Format disk, heed the warning that
 259     <tt>install.sh</tt> displays and <i><b>do not</b></i> use <tt>bless
 260     --info</tt> to check your installation status; this combination has
 261     been reported to cause disk corruption on some Macs!</li>
 262
 263 <li>If you intend to boot BIOS-based OSes on a UEFI-based PC, you
 264     <i>must</i> edit the <tt>refind.conf</tt> file's <tt>scanfor</tt> line
 265     to enable the relevant searches. This is <i>not</i> necessary on Macs,
 266     though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
 267     the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
 268
 269 <li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
 270     <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
 271     available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
 272     on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
 273     filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
 274     installed. If <tt>install.sh</tt> detects that the filesystem in
 275     question is ext2fs or ext3fs, it installs the ext4fs driver, which can
 276     handle all three of these filesystem types. This feature is unlikely to
 277     work properly from an emergency system, although it might if you have a
 278     separate <tt>/boot</tt> partition and if you mount that partition at
 279     <tt>/boot</tt> in your emergency system, and the ESP at
 280     <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
 281
 282 <li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
 283     <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
 284     <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
 285     sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
 286     Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
 287     partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
 288     result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
 289     correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
 290     <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though&mdash;for instance, to add
 291     <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
 292
 293 </ul>
 294
 295 <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>
 296
 297 <pre class="listing">
 298 install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> ] \
 299            [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
 300 </pre>
 301
 302 <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>--esp</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>
 303
 304 <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>
 305 <tr>
 306    <th>Option</th>
 307    <th>Explanation</th>
 308 </tr>
 309 <tr>
 310    <td><tt>--esp</tt></td>
 311    <td>This option tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to install rEFInd to the ESP of your computer. This option is only useful on OS X; on Linux, installing to the ESP is a practical necessity, so <tt>--esp</tt> is implicit on Linux. Be aware that some users have reported sluggish boots when installing rEFInd to the ESP on Macs. Installing rEFInd anywhere but the ESP makes little sense on UEFI-based PCs, except for the partial exception of removable boot media, which you can prepare with <tt>--usedefault</tt>.</td>
 312 </tr>
 313 <tr>
 314    <td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
 315    <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>--esp</tt> and <tt>--root</tt> (except for implicit use of <tt>--esp</tt> on Linux).</td>
 316 </tr>
 317 <tr>
 318    <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
 319    <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; or on OS X, 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 either <tt>--esp</tt> or <tt>--usedefault</tt>, except for implicit use of <tt>--esp</tt> on Linux. 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>
 320 </tr>
 321 <tr>
 322    <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
 323    <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 default on OS X or when you use <tt>--usedefault</tt>.</td>
 324 </tr>
 325 <tr>
 326    <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
 327    <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.</td>
 328 </tr>
 329 <tr>
 330    <td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt></td>
 331    <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.) 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 will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key. This 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> In the not-too-distant future, most distributions will provide their own shim programs, so you'll be able to point to them&mdash;for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
 332 </tr>
 333 <tr>
 334    <td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
 335    <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>
 336 </tr>
 337 <tr>
 338    <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
 339    <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. <b>Note:</b> I introduced this option with the 0.6.2-2 incremental release, which was primarily an update of the 0.6.2 RPM package; it's not yet available in the mainline 0.6.2 version.</td>
 340 </tr>
 341 </table>
 342
 343 <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>
 344
 345 <a name="unhijack">
 346 <h3>Using <tt>refind-unhijack.sh</tt></h3>
 347 </a>
 348
 349 <p>Sometimes it's necessary to install rEFInd from a BIOS/legacy-mode boot. This can happen because you've accidentally installed Linux in this mode or because you're using a BIOS-mode emergency disc to do the installation, for instance. Ordinarily, such installations are unlikely to work, particularly if the computer already has an EFI-mode OS installed. Since version 0.6.3, though, rEFInd's <tt>install.sh</tt> script has attempted to install in one of three ways when run from BIOS mode:</p>
 350
 351 <ul>
 352
 353 <li>It attempts to locate existing rEFInd installations and upgrades
 354     them.</li>
 355
 356 <li>It installs rEFInd as <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> (and
 357     <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt>), the default filenames for EFI-mode
 358     booting if no entries exist in the computer's NVRAM.</li>
 359
 360 <li>It copies the Windows boot loader
 361     (<tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>), if present, down one level,
 362     to <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>, and installs rEFInd as
 363     <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
 364
 365 </ul>
 366
 367 <p>The first two approaches are perfectly legitimate and are unlikely to cause problems, although they also might not work in all circumstances. The third approach is essentially an act of desperation, and it violates the usual rule that each OS should manage its own boot loader directory. It has the benefit of working, though; and in fact on some computers with buggy firmware, this approach may be the only way to get rEFInd (or any other non-Microsoft boot loader) to work. When <tt>install.sh</tt> uses this method, it notifies you of the fact:</p>
 368
 369 <pre class="listing">Running in BIOS mode with a suspected Windows installation; moving boot loader
 370 files so as to install to /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot.</pre>
 371
 372 <p>The <tt>install.sh</tt> script preserves the Windows boot loader, and rEFInd should continue to be able to boot Windows when installed in this way. It's possible, though, that Windows will notice the change and will attempt to "fix" the "damage," which will remove rEFInd from the boot process. To avoid this problem, you can run the <tt>refind-unhijack.sh</tt> script. This script moves the rEFInd installation files to a more appropriate location on the ESP (<tt>EFI/refind</tt>) and registers rEFInd with the EFI in the officially-sanctioned manner.</p>
 373
 374 <p>Unfortunately, on some systems you really should leave rEFInd installed as <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>; some EFIs have bugs that prevent them from launching any boot loader but that one. Thus, there are no hard-and-fast rules; you'll have to determine what works on your system and run <tt>refind-unhijack.sh</tt> or not as you deem best.</p>
 375
 376 <p>To run the script, type its name (and perhaps its path) as <tt>root</tt>. It will report on what it does:</p>
 377
 378 <pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">./refind-unhijack.sh</tt>
 379 I'm not yet written!</pre>
 380
 381 <p>If you run this script on a system whose Windows boot loader has <i>not</i> been "hijacked" by rEFInd, no harm will come of it; the script only does its thing when it detects that rEFInd is installed where the Windows boot loader should be.</p>
 382
 383 <a name="manual">
 384 <h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
 385 </a>
 386
 387 <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>
 388
 389 <a name="linux">
 390 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
 391 </a>
 392
 393 <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>
 394
 395 <pre class="listing">
 396 $ <b>df /boot/efi</b>
 397 Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 398 /dev/sda1         191284 16604    174681   9% /boot/efi
 399 </pre>
 400
 401 <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>
 402
 403 <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>
 404
 405 <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>
 406
 407 <ol>
 408
 409 <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>
 410
 411 <li>Type <tt><b>cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind</b></tt> to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.</li>
 412
 413 <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>
 414
 415 <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, if you're using Secure Boot, rEFInd can load just one shim/MOK-signed driver. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
 416
 417 <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>
 418
 419 <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, so with any luck updated firmware without this bug will be available later this year or early in 2013. I can make no promises about this, though.</p>
 420
 421 <a name="efibootmgr">
 422 <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>
 423 </a>
 424
 425 <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>
 426
 427 </ol>
 428
 429 <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>
 430
 431 <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>
 432
 433 <a name="osx">
 434 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
 435 </a>
 436
 437 <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>
 438
 439 <pre class="listing">
 440 $ <b>ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi</b>
 441 </pre>
 442
 443 <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>
 444
 445 <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>
 446
 447 <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>
 448
 449 <ol>
 450
 451 <li>Open a Terminal window in which you'll type the following
 452     commands.</li>
 453
 454 <li>If you want to install rEFInd on your ESP, you must first mount it. You
 455     can do this by typing <b><tt>mkdir /Volumes/esp</tt></b> followed by
 456     <b><tt>sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/esp</tt></b>. Note
 457     that this step is usually optional, and it makes the procedure a bit
 458     more complex, so you might want to forego it. On the other hand,
 459     installing to the ESP is required if you're using the whole-disk
 460     encryption feature of OS X 10.7. Note that you may need to change
 461     <tt>/dev/disk0s1</tt> to something else if your ESP is at an unusual
 462     location. Use a tool such as my <a
 463     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a>
 464     to examine your partition table to find your ESP if necessary.</li>
 465
 466 <li>Type <b><tt>sudo mkdir -p /efi/refind</tt></b> to create a suitable
 467     directory for rEFInd. If you want to place rEFInd on the ESP or some
 468     other partition, you should adjust the pathname appropriately, as in
 469     <tt>/Volumes/esp/efi/refind</tt>. Alternatively, you can use the Finder
 470     to create the directory.</li>
 471
 472 <li>Copy the files in the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory of the rEFInd binary
 473     package to the like-named directory you've just created. You can do
 474     this in the Finder or by typing <b><tt>sudo cp -r refind/*
 475     /efi/refind/</tt></b> in your Terminal window after changing into the
 476     rEFInd package's main directory.</li>
 477
 478 <li>Remove the file for the version of rEFInd you're not using, as in
 479     <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt></b> on a Mac with a
 480     64-bit EFI or <b><tt>sudo rm /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt></b> on a
 481     Mac with a 32-bit EFI.</li>
 482
 483 <li>Optionally, remove the drivers directory for the architecture you're
 484     not using&mdash;<tt>/efi/refind/drivers_ia32</tt> or
 485     <tt>/efi/refind/drivers_x64</tt>, as appropriate. You may also want to
 486     remove some or all of the drivers for the architecture you are using;
 487     if you don't need them, they'll slow down the start process. See the <a
 488     href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic. Note
 489     that Apple's firmware includes its own HFS+ driver, so the HFS+ driver
 490     provided with rEFInd is useless on Macs.</li>
 491
 492 <li>If this is your first installation, type <b><tt>sudo mv
 493     /efi/refind/refind.conf-sample /efi/refind/refind.conf</tt></b>
 494     (adjusting the path as necessary) to rename the sample configuration
 495     file so that it will serve as a real configuration file. (Again, you
 496     can do this with the Finder, if you prefer.)</li>
 497
 498 <li>"Bless" rEFInd by typing one of the following two commands:
 499     <ul>
 500     <li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
 501         class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
 502         /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>. (Adjust the path and filename as
 503         necessary if you're placing rEFInd somewhere else or using the
 504         32-bit version.)</li>
 505     <li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
 506         class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
 507         /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
 508         point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
 509         installation.</li>
 510     </ul>
 511     As per the Warning earlier, <i>do not</i> use <tt>bless</tt>'s
 512     <tt>--info</tt> option to try to confirm the change to the boot status
 513     unless you're certain you do <i>not</i> have an Advanced Format hard
 514     disk.</li>
 515
 516 <li>If you don't want to reboot immediately after installing rEFInd, you
 517     may optionally unmount the ESP by typing <tt class="userinput">sudo
 518     umount /dev/disk0s1</tt> or <tt class="userinput">sudo umount
 519     /Volumes/esp</tt>. This step isn't strictly required, but if you want
 520     to keep the ESP out of your directory tree, it can be useful.</li>
 521
 522 </ol>
 523
 524 <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>
 525
 526 <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>
 527
 528 <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>
 529
 530 <a name="windows">
 531 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
 532 </a>
 533
 534 <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>
 535
 536 <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>
 537
 538 <ol>
 539
 540 <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>
 541
 542 <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>
 543
 544 <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>
 545
 546 <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>
 547
 548 <li>Type <b><tt>cd S:</tt></b> to change to the ESP.</li>
 549
 550 <li>Type <b><tt>cd EFI\refind</tt></b> to change into the <tt>refind</tt> subdirectory</li>
 551
 552 <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>
 553
 554 <li>Optionally type <tt class="userinput">rd /s drivers_ia32</tt> to delete the <tt>drivers_ia32</tt> directory and its contents. You may also want to selectively delete some of the drivers in the <tt>drivers_x64</tt> directory, depending on your needs. Unnecessary drivers may slow the rEFInd start process. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
 555
 556 <li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
 557
 558 <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>
 559
 560 <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>
 561
 562 </ol>
 563
 564 <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>
 565
 566 <ul>
 567
 568 <li>You can rename files on the ESP. as described in the next section, <a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options.</a></li>
 569
 570 <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>
 571
 572 <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>
 573
 574 </ul>
 575
 576 <a name="efishell">
 577 <h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
 578 </a>
 579
 580 <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>
 581
 582 <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>
 583
 584 <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>
 585
 586 <ul>
 587
 588 <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>
 589
 590 <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>
 591
 592 </ul>
 593
 594 <p>Note that the 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. Once you've booted the shell, you can proceed as follows:</p>
 595
 596 <ol>
 597
 598 <li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
 599     FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
 600     a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
 601     needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
 602
 603 <li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
 604     style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
 605     filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
 606     filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
 607     then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
 608     class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
 609     Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
 610     else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
 611     need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
 612     another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
 613
 614 <p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> Skip ahead to step #9 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>
 615
 616 <li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
 617     class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
 618     directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
 619     though.)</li>
 620
 621 <li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
 622
 623 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
 624     copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
 625     computer.)</li>
 626
 627 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
 628     fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
 629     configuration file.</li>
 630
 631 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
 632     rEFInd's icons.</li>
 633
 634 <li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
 635     fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
 636     instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
 637     you need, of course.)</li>
 638
 639 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
 640     ESP.</li>
 641
 642 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
 643     installation directory.</li>
 644
 645 <li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
 646     refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
 647     Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
 648     exit.</li>
 649
 650 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
 651     existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
 652     <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
 653     preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
 654     want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
 655     use.</li>
 656
 657 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
 658     fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
 659     (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
 660     (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
 661     you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
 662     Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) as directory separators. Note
 663     that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
 664     so watch for this possibility.</li>
 665
 666 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
 667     the option number for the entry you created for <tt
 668     class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
 669     order.</li>
 670
 671 <li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
 672
 673 </ol>
 674
 675 <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>
 676
 677 <a name="naming">
 678 <h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
 679 </a>
 680
 681 <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>
 682
 683 <ol>
 684
 685 <li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
 686
 687 <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>
 688
 689 <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>
 690
 691 <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>
 692
 693 <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>
 694
 695 </ol>
 696
 697 <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>
 698
 699 <a name="upgrading">
 700 <h2>Upgrading rEFInd</h2>
 701 </a>
 702
 703 <p>If you've installed an earlier version of rEFInd, you can upgrade a bit more easily than you can install directly:</p>
 704
 705 <ul>
 706
 707 <li>On a UEFI-based PC, under any OS, you should be able to replace your
 708     old rEFInd file with the new one. Make sure that the new rEFInd has the
 709     same name as the old one, and that it's for the correct CPU type. Since
 710     UEFI launches boot programs by filename, a simple file replacement will
 711     suffice to launch the new version. If the new version includes new
 712     icons, you may want to copy some or all of them.</li>
 713
 714 <li>On a Mac, you can copy over the old rEFInd binary file <i>from
 715     Linux</i> and it will usually work, provided you copy <i>directly</i>
 716     over the old file (rather than rename or delete the old file and then
 717     copy the new one in its place). The same caveats about icons as apply
 718     to UEFI-based PCs apply in this case. This method requires an extra
 719     step in Mac OS X, though....</li>
 720
 721 <li>In OS X, if you copy over the original file with the new one, you'll
 722     probably have to re-bless it to make it work.</li>
 723
 724 <li>Under Linux or OS X, you can re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script. In
 725     most cases this works fine, but you'll end up with a duplicate of the
 726     icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
 727     whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
 728     this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
 729     you'll need to copy your altered icons back.</li>
 730
 731 </ul>
 732
 733 <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>
 734
 735 <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>
 736
 737 <a name="addons">
 738 <h2>Installing Additional Components</h2>
 739 </a>
 740
 741 <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>
 742
 743 <ul>
 744
 745 <li><b><a
 746     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
 747     file, placed in the ESP's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory, adds the
 748     ability to launch a text-mode EFI shell from rEFInd. Note that the
 749     download link is to a 64-bit binary that must be renamed before rEFInd
 750     will recognize it. Additional shell download links appear on the <a
 751     href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#UEFI_Shell_download_links">Arch
 752     Linux wiki,</a> and on other sites; try a Web search if the shell you
 753     find doesn't work to your satisfaction.</li>
 754
 755 <li><b><tt>gptsync.efi</tt></b>&mdash;This program creates a <a
 756     href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> from
 757     your regular GPT disk. A hybrid MBR is a dangerous hack that enables
 758     Windows and OS X to coexist on a Macintosh disk. If you're using a
 759     UEFI-based PC, a hybrid MBR will be useless at best, so you shouldn't
 760     create one, and it's safest to not install <tt>gptsync.efi</tt>. If
 761     you're using a hybrid MBR to enable dual-booting Windows and OS X on a
 762     Mac, though, placing this program file in the ESP's or Mac boot
 763     partition's <tt>efi/tools</tt> directory will enable you to regenerate
 764     your hybrid MBR should some other tool convert the MBR to a standard
 765     protective MBR. You can obtain the file from the <a
 766     href="http://refit.sourceforge.net">original rEFIt package.</a></li>
 767
 768 <li><b>Drivers</b>&mdash;You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
 769     of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs and
 770     ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
 771     support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
 772     provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
 773     from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
 774     <a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
 775     topic.</li>
 776
 777 <li><b>Secure Boot files</b>&mdash;If you're running on a system that
 778     supports Secure Boot, chances are you'll need extra support files, such
 779     as <tt>shim.efi</tt> and <tt>MokManager.efi</tt>. I describe these in
 780     detail on the <a href="secureboot.html">Managing Secure Boot</a>
 781     page.</li>
 782
 783 </ul>
 784
 785 <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>
 786
 787 <a name="sluggish">
 788 <h2>Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</h2>
 789 </a>
 790
 791 <p>I've received a few reports of a sluggish boot process (a delay of about 30 seconds before starting rEFInd) on some Macs after installing rEFInd. I've been unable to replicate this problem myself, and its true cause remains mysterious to me. I have found <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12256273&postcount=200">a Web forum post</a> describing a possible fix. Be aware, though, that this procedure involves using the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> utility on Macs, which has been known to damage the firmware on some Macs. Other reports indicate that this problem has been fixed with 3.3.0 and later kernels. Thus, I present this information cautiously and with a strong "use at your own risk" warning. If you care to proceed, I recommend you update your Linux kernel to the latest possible version and then proceed as follows:</p>
 792
 793 <ol>
 794
 795 <li>Boot into Linux.</li>
 796
 797 <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>
 798
 799 <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>
 800
 801 <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>
 802
 803 </ol>
 804
 805 <p>Some sources suggest that delayed launches of rEFInd on Macs are more common when installing rEFInd to the ESP, so if you've done this, you could try re-installing it to your OS X boot partition.</p>
 806
 807 <a name="uninstalling">
 808 <h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
 809 </a>
 810
 811 <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). In Linux, a command like the following, typed as <tt>root</tt>, should do the trick:</p>
 812
 813 <pre class="listing">
 814 # <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
 815 </pre>
 816
 817 <p>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>
 818
 819 <p>The same procedure works in OS X, with the caveat that the ESP isn't normally mounted in OS X and rEFInd is installed to the OS X boot partition by default. You'll also need to use <tt>sudo</tt> to acquire <tt>root</tt> privileges. Thus, you'd probably use a command like the following in OS X:</p>
 820
 821 <pre class="listing">
 822 $ <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r /EFI/refind</tt>
 823 </pre>
 824
 825 <p>Many variants of both of these commands are possible on both OS X and Linux. For instance, you'd probably use <tt>sudo</tt> on Ubuntu; and if you installed rEFInd to your ESP on a Mac, you'd need to first mount the ESP and include its path in the <tt>rm</tt> command.</p>
 826
 827 <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>
 828
 829 <p>In any of these cases, 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>
 830
 831 <pre class="listing">
 832 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
 833 Timeout: 10 seconds
 834 BootOrder: 0000,0007
 835 Boot0000* rEFInd        HD(2,1b8,64000,f1b7598e-baa8-16ea-4ef6-3ff3b606ac1e)File(\EFI\refind\refind.efi)
 836 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive  BIOS(3,0,00)PATA: HP DVD Writer 1040r     .
 837 # <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --delete-bootnum --bootnum 0000</tt>
 838 Timeout: 10 seconds
 839 BootOrder: 0007
 840 Boot0007* CD/DVD Drive</pre>
 841
 842 <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-3.0 Linux kernels. Therefore, I don't recommend using <tt>efibootmgr</tt> on Macs.</p>
 843
 844 <p>This example shows use of <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>--verbose</tt> (<tt>-v</tt>) option to display boot loaders 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 loader 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>
 845
 846 <p>If you're not using Linux, you may be able to find a utility that serves a similar function. The OS X <tt>bless</tt> utility (or its GUI equivalent, the Startup Disk item in System Preferences) should do the trick; but Macs pick up standard OS X boot loaders when they boot and find that a configured non-standard boot loader is missing, so this shouldn't be necessary on Macs. Under Windows, the <tt>bcdedit</tt> command, described in the <a href="#windows">section on installing rEFInd under Windows,</a> may work, although I've not attempted this.</p>
 847
 848 <hr />
 849
 850 <p>copyright &copy; 2012 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
 851
 852 <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>
 853
 854 <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>
 855
 856 <p><a href="index.html">Go to the main rEFInd page</a></p>
 857
 858 <p><a href="using.html">Learn how to use rEFInd</a></p>
 859
 860   <p><a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/">Return</a> to my main Web page.</p>
 861 </body>
 862 </html>