href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
<p>Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update:
-12/11/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.5.1</p>
+1/6/2013, referencing rEFInd 0.6.3</p>
<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>
<hr />
-<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>
+<div style="float:right; width:55%">
-<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 do 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> Note that this page describes installing the main rEFInd program; if you want to use the EFI filesystem drivers included with rEFInd, you should consult the <a href="drivers.html">page on using drivers with rEFInd.</a></p>
+<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>
+
+<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>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="navbar">
+
+<h4 class="tight">Contents</h4>
+
+<ul class="tight">
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#packagefile">Installing rEFInd using an RPM or Debian package file</a></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#installsh">Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</a>
+
+ <ul class="tight">
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#quickstart">Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#extra_installsh">Extra <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</a></li>
+
+ </ul></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#manual">Installing rEFInd Manually</a>
+
+ <ul>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#windows">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#efishell">Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</a></ul></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#naming">Alternative Naming Options</a>
+
+ <ul>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#mvrefind">Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#manual_renaming">Renaming Files Manually</li>
+
+ </ul></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#upgrading">Upgrading rEFInd</a></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#addons">Installing Additional Components</a></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#sluggish">Fixing a Sluggish Macintosh Boot</a></li>
+
+<li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
+
+</ul>
+
+</div>
+
+<a name="packagefile">
+<h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
+</a>
+
+<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>
+
+<pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.6.2-2.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
+
+<p>On a Debian-based system, the equivalent command is:</p>
+
+<pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.6.2-2_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
+
+<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>
+
+<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 use <tt><a href="#mvrefind">mvrefind.sh</a></tt> to move your rEFInd installation to another name after you boot Linux for the first time from rEFInd.</p>
+
+<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>
<a name="installsh">
<h2>Installing rEFInd Using <tt>install.sh</tt> under Linux or Mac OS X</h2>
<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>
+<a name="quickstart">
<h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
+</quickstart>
-<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.</p>
+<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>
-<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>
+<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="#mvrefind"><tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script.</a></p>
<p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
# <tt class="userinput">./install.sh</tt>
Installing rEFInd on Linux....
ESP was found at /boot/efi using vfat
+Installing driver for ext4 (ext4_x64.efi)
Copied rEFInd binary files
Copying sample configuration file as refind.conf; edit this file to configure
though; because of the popularity of dual boots with Windows on Macs,
the BIOS/legacy scans are enabled by default on Macs.</li>
+<li>On Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> checks the filesystem type of the
+ <tt>/boot</tt> directory and, if a matching filesystem driver is
+ available, installs it. Note that the "<tt>/boot</tt> directory" may be
+ on a separate partition or it may be part of your root (<tt>/</tt>)
+ filesystem, in which case the driver for your root filesystem is
+ installed. If <tt>install.sh</tt> detects that the filesystem in
+ question is ext2fs or ext3fs, it installs the ext4fs driver, which can
+ handle all three of these filesystem types. This feature is unlikely to
+ work properly from an emergency system, although it might if you have a
+ separate <tt>/boot</tt> partition and if you mount that partition at
+ <tt>/boot</tt> in your emergency system, and the ESP at
+ <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.</li>
+
<li>If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> on Linux and if
<tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt> doesn't already exist,
- <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a couple of
+ <tt>install.sh</tt> creates this file and populates it with a few
sample entries. If <tt>/boot</tt> is on a FAT partition (or HFS+ on a
- Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+ partition and
- you install an appropriate driver (for instance by passing
- <tt>--drivers</tt> to the script), the result is that rEFInd will
- detect your kernel and will probably boot it correctly. Some systems
- will require manual tweaking to <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>,
- though—for instance, to add <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on
- Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
+ Mac), or if it's on an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, ReiserFS, or HFS+
+ partition and you install an appropriate driver, the
+ result is that rEFInd will detect your kernel and will probably boot it
+ correctly. Some systems will require manual tweaking to
+ <tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though—for instance, to add
+ <tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
</ul>
<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>
<pre class="listing">
-install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt>] [--drivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] \
- [--localkeys]
+install.sh [--esp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> ] \
+ [--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
</pre>
-<p>The details of the options are summarized in <a href="#table1">Table 1.</a> 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>
+<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>
<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>
<tr>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><tt>--esp</tt></td>
- <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 the default, 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>
+ <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>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><tt>--usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt></tt></td>
- <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>.</td>
+ <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>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td><tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mount-point</tt></tt></td>
+ <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—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>
</tr>
<tr>
- <td><tt>--drivers</tt></td>
- <td>Ordinarily <tt>install.sh</tt> does not install drivers; but when you specify this option, it does; it copies all 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>
+ <td><tt>--nodrivers</tt></td>
+ <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>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td><tt>--alldrivers</tt></td>
+ <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>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt></td>
- <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 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—for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/redhat/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
+ <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—for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shim.efi</tt>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><tt>--localkeys</tt></td>
<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>
</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td><tt>--yes</tt></td>
+ <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>
+</tr>
</table>
<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>
+<a name="manual">
+<h2>Installing rEFInd Manually</h2>
+</a>
+
+<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>
+
<a name="linux">
-<h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h2>
+<h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</h3>
</a>
<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>
<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>
-<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. See the <a href="drivers.html">page on drivers</a> for more on this topic.</li>
+<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>
<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>
<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>
<a name="osx">
-<h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h2>
+<h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
</a>
<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>
<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>
<a name="windows">
-<h2>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h2>
+<h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Windows</h3>
</a>
<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>
</ul>
+<a name="efishell">
+<h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell</h3>
+</a>
+
+<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>
+
+<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>
+
+<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>
+
+<ul>
+
+<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>
+
+<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>
+
+</ul>
+
+<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>
+
+<ol>
+
+<li>If you haven't installed rEFInd previously, unpack its zip file to a
+ FAT partition. This can be the ESP itself or another partition, such as
+ a USB flash drive. If you're simply repairing a lost NVRAM entry, you
+ needn't move your existing rEFInd files.</li>
+
+<li>Identify your filesystems, which are labelled with the form <tt>fs<tt
+ style="variable">n</tt>:</tt>, as in <tt>fs0:</tt> for the first
+ filesystem, <tt>fs1:</tt> for the second, and so on. Type the
+ filesystem number followed by the Enter key to begin using it. You can
+ then type <tt class="userinput">ls</tt> or <tt
+ class="userinput">dir</tt> to see the contents of the filesystem.
+ Chances are your ESP will be <tt>fs0:</tt>, but it could be something
+ else. (The following steps assume your ESP is <tt>fs0:</tt>; you'll
+ need to adjust them if it's not.) If rEFInd's source files are on
+ another device, you must identify it, too.</li>
+
+<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>
+
+<li>If necessary, create a directory for rEFInd by typing <tt
+ class="userinput">mkdir fs0:\EFI\refind</tt>. (If the <tt>fs0:\EFI</tt>
+ directory doesn't already exist, you must create it first,
+ though.)</li>
+
+<li>Change to the directory in which rEFInd's files exist.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind_x64.efi fs0:\EFI\refind</tt> to
+ copy the rEFInd binary file. (Adjust the name if you're using a 32-bit
+ computer.)</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp refind.conf-sample
+ fs0:\EFI\refind\refind.conf</tt> to copy and rename the sample rEFInd
+ configuration file.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">cp -r icons fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy
+ rEFInd's icons.</li>
+
+<li>Optionally, type <tt class="userinput">cp -r drivers_x64
+ fs0:\EFI\refind\</tt> to copy rEFInd's 64-bit drivers. (You could
+ instead copy the 32-bit drivers or limit yourself to just the drivers
+ you need, of course.)</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">fs0:</tt>, if necessary, to change to the
+ ESP.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">cd \EFI\refind</tt> to change to rEFInd's
+ installation directory.</li>
+
+<li>If you want to edit rEFInd's options, type <tt class="userinput">edit
+ refind.conf</tt> and use the shell's built-in text editor to do so.
+ Press F2 followed by the Enter key to save your changes and F3 to
+ exit.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot dump -b</tt> to see a list of
+ existing NVRAM entries. Pay attention to their numbers (labelled
+ <tt>Option:</tt> and <tt>Variable:</tt>, with the latter number
+ preceded by the string <tt>Boot</tt>, as in <tt>Boot0007</tt>). You'll
+ want to create a boot entry for rEFInd using a number that's not in
+ use.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot add 3
+ fs0:\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi "rEFInd"</tt>, adjusting the number
+ (<tt>3</tt> in this example), filesystem (<tt>fs0:</tt>), and filename
+ (<tt>\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt>) as necessary for your system. If
+ you're used to Linux, be sure to use backslashes (<tt>\</tt>), not
+ Linux-style forward slashes (<tt>/</tt>) as directory separators. Note
+ that some shells may ignore the number you entered and use another one,
+ so watch for this possibility.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">bcfg boot mv <i>3</i> 0</tt>, substituting
+ the option number for the entry you created for <tt
+ class="variable">3</tt>. This moves rEFInd to the top of the boot
+ order.</li>
+
+<li>Type <tt class="userinput">reset</tt> to reboot the computer.</li>
+
+</ol>
+
+<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>
+
<a name="naming">
<h2>Alternative Naming Options</h2>
</a>
+<p>Some EFI implementations do a poor job of honoring the boot options set via Linux's <tt>efibootmgr</tt> or other tools. You may also lack access to such utilities, such as if you must install rEFInd in Windows. In such cases, you may need to change the boot loader's name so that the EFI will see it as the default boot loader. rEFInd should then boot when your NVRAM lacks information on specific boot loaders to use. Broadly speaking, there are two alternative names that are most useful:</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li><tt class="userinput">EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>—This name
+ is the official EFI fallback filename. It's most commonly used on
+ bootable removable disks, but it can be used on hard disks. It's
+ typically used only if no NVRAM entry points to a valid boot
+ loader.</li>
+
+<li><tt class="userinput">EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>—This
+ filename has no official special standing in the EFI specification, but
+ as a practical matter, many EFI implementations use it as a fallback
+ boot loader in addition to or instead of
+ <tt>EFI/BOOT/boot<i>arch</i>.efi</tt>. In fact, some give it such a
+ high precedence that you can't boot anything that's not given this
+ name!
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>If you need to use one of these names, or something more exotic, you can do so in either of two ways: You can <a href="#mvrefind">use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script</a> to move your installation in one step, or you can <a href="#manual_renaming">move and rename your files manually.</a></p>
+
+<a name="mvrefind">
+<h3>Using <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt></h3>
+</a>
+
+<p>The easiest way to move a rEFInd installation, at least in Linux, is to use the <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script. If you installed from one of my RPM or Debian packages, this script should be installed in <tt>/usr/sbin</tt>, so you can use it like a regular Linux command; otherwise you'll need to install it to your path yourself or type its complete path. Either way, it works much like the Linux <tt>mv</tt> command, but you pass it the directory in which a rEFInd installation appears and a target location:</p>
+
+<pre class="listing">
+# <tt class="userinput">mvrefind.sh /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
+</pre>
+
+<p>This example moves rEFInd from <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt> to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>. It differs from <tt>mv</tt> in several ways:
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>The script renames rEFInd in a way that's sensitive to its source and
+ destination directories—for instance, <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> knows
+ that rEFInd (or shim, for Secure Boot installations) must be called
+ <tt>bootx64.efi</tt> on a 64-bit installation in
+ <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, so it looks for rEFInd under that name
+ when copying from this directory, or it renames rEFInd to that name
+ when copying to it.</li>
+
+<li>The script creates a new NVRAM entry for rEFInd when it copies to any
+ location but <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>. It
+ refuses to copy to such locations if it's not run from an EFI-mode
+ boot.</li>
+
+<li>The script knows enough to back up existing boot loaders stored in
+ <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> when copying to these
+ locations. For the former location, the script backs up
+ <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> as <tt>EFI/BOOT-rEFIndBackup</tt>; for the latter, it
+ moves <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt> to
+ <tt>EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>The <tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script is likely to be useful in resolving boot problems—if your system won't boot, you can try copying the installation to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt>, <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt>, and <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> in turn, testing the boot process after each attempt. (These filenames all assume your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt>.) You could also copy a BIOS-mode install from <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> to <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt> to make it more robust against Windows repairs (assuming your firmware isn't broken).</p>
+
+<a name="manual_renaming">
+<h3>Renaming Files Manually</h3>
+</a>
+
<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>
<ol>
<li>Access your ESP and install rEFInd to it, as described in earlier sections.</li>
-<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>
+<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>
-<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>
+<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>
-<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>
+<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>
-<li>Rename <tt>EFI/BOOT/refind_x64.efi</tt> to the name of the boot loader it's replacing—it should become <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
+<li>Rename <tt>EFI/BOOT/refind_x64.efi</tt> to the name of the boot loader it's replacing—it should become <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi</tt>.</li>
</ol>
icons directory (<tt>icons-backup</tt>, which holds the original icons,
whereas <tt>icons</tt> holds the icons from the new package). Normally
this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
- you'll need to copy your altered icons back.</li>
+ you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Since version 0.6.2,
+ <tt>install.sh</tt> has searched for rEFInd in several locations on the
+ ESP, and will upgrade whatever it finds.</li>
+
+<li>Under an RPM- or Debian-based Linux distribution, you can use your
+ package system to install a newer version of the RPM or Debian package
+ that I provide. This will upgrade the files in your Linux filesystem
+ and re-run the <tt>install.sh</tt> script, so as with the previous
+ options, you'll waste a little disk space on duplicated icons, but the
+ process should otherwise work quite well.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Drivers</b>—You can install drivers to extend the capabilities
of the EFI. rEFInd ships with filesystem drivers for ext2fs and
ReiserFS, which can enable you to boot a Linux kernel with EFI stub
- support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
+ support from an ext2fs, ext3fs, ext4fs, or ReiserFS partition. (rEFInd also
provides ISO-9660 and HFS+ drivers.) You can find additional drivers
from other sources, although they're still on the scarce side. See the
<a href="drivers.html">Using EFI Drivers</a> page for more on this
</ol>
+<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>
+
<a name="uninstalling">
<h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
</a>
<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>
+<p>If you installed via an RPM or Debian package in Linux, using your package manager will remove the package files, but not the files that the installer places on your ESP. Thus, you must uninstall those files manually, as just described. To complete the job, you'll also have to remove <tt>/boot/refind_linux.conf</tt>, and perhaps the <tt>/etc/refind.d</tt> directory.</p>
+
<p>From Windows, you must reverse the directions for <a href="#windows">installing in Windows</a>—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>
<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>
<hr />
-<p>copyright © 2012 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
+<p>copyright © 2012–2013 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
<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>