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<h1>The rEFInd Boot Manager:<br />Installing rEFInd</h1>
href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
<p>Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update:
-12/8/2014, referencing rEFInd 0.8.4</p>
+9/19/2015, referencing rEFInd 0.9.2</p>
<p>This Web page is provided free of charge and with no annoying outside ads; however, I did take time to prepare it, and Web hosting does cost money. If you find this Web page useful, please consider making a small donation to help keep this site up and running. Thanks!</p>
<p><b>Don't be scared by the length of this page!</b> Only portions of this page apply to any given user, and most people can install rEFInd from an RPM or Debian package in a matter of seconds or by using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script in minute or two.</p>
-<p>Once you've obtained a rEFInd binary file, you must install it to your computer's EFI System Partition (ESP) (or conceivably to some other location). The details of how you do this depend on your OS and your computer (UEFI-based PC vs. Macintosh). The upcoming sections provide details. See the Contents sidebar to the left for links to specific installation procedures. For most Linux users, an RPM or Debian package is the best way to go. If your Linux system doesn't support these formats, though, or if you're running OS X, using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script can be a good way to go. If you're using Windows, you'll have to install manually.</p>
+<p>Once you've obtained a rEFInd binary file, as described on <a href="getting.html">the preceding page,</a> you must install it to your computer's EFI System Partition (ESP) (or conceivably to some other location). The details of how you do this depend on your OS and your computer (UEFI-based PC vs. Macintosh). The upcoming sections provide details. See the Contents sidebar to the left for links to specific installation procedures. For most Linux users, an RPM or Debian package is the best way to go. If your Linux system doesn't support these formats, though, or if you're running OS X, using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script can be a good way to go. If you're using Windows, you'll have to install manually.</p>
<p class="sidebar" style="width:95%"><b>Important:</b> A rEFInd zip file, when uncompressed, creates a directory called <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt>, where <tt><i>version</i></tt> is the version number. This directory includes a subdirectory called <tt>refind</tt> that holds the rEFInd binary along with another that holds documentation, as well as miscellaneous files in <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> itself. When I refer to "the <tt>refind</tt> directory" on this page, I mean the directory with that precise name, not the <tt>refind-<i>version</i></tt> directory that is its parent.</p>
<ul>
- <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#shortform">Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</a></li>
<li class="tight"><a href="#fallback">Using the Fallback Filename</a></li>
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#moving">Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</a></li>
+
<li class="tight"><a href="#clearing">Clearing the NVRAM Entries</a></li>
<li class="tight"><a href="#wakeprobs">Fixing Wake Problems</a></li>
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#nolinux">Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</a></li>
+
</ul></li>
<li class="tight"><a href="#winprob">Fixing Windows Boot Problems</a></li>
-<li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a></li>
+<li class="tight"><a href="#uninstalling">Uninstalling rEFInd</a>
-</ul>
+ <ul>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_linux">Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_osx">Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#uinst_windows">Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</a></li>
+
+ <li class="tight"><a href="#post_uninst">Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</a></li>
+
+</ul></ul></li>
</div>
<h2>Installing rEFInd Using an RPM or Debian Package File</h2>
</a>
-<p>I provide RPM and Debian package files for rEFInd; and starting with version 0.8.4, I'm maintaining an Ubuntu PPA for rEFInd. If you have a working RPM-based or Debian-based Linux installation that boots in EFI mode, using one of these files is likely to be the easiest way to install rEFInd: You need only download the file and issue an appropriate installation command. In some cases, double-clicking the package in your file manager will install it. If that doesn't work, a command like the following will install the RPM on an RPM-based system:</p>
+<p>I provide RPM and Debian package files for rEFInd; and starting with version 0.8.1, I'm maintaining an Ubuntu PPA for rEFInd. If you have a working RPM-based or Debian-based Linux installation that boots in EFI mode, using one of these files is likely to be the easiest way to install rEFInd: You need only download the file and issue an appropriate installation command. In some cases, double-clicking the package in your file manager will install it. If that doesn't work, a command like the following will install the RPM on an RPM-based system:</p>
-<pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.8.4-1.x86_64.rpm</tt></pre>
+<pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">rpm -Uvh refind-0.9.2-1.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_0.8.4-1_amd64.deb</tt></pre>
+<pre class="listing"># <tt class="userinput">dpkg -i refind_0.9.2-1_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. The shim program provided with more recent versions of Ubuntu should work correctly.</p>
<h3>Quick <tt>install.sh</tt> Instructions</h3>
</quickstart>
+<p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> I've received reports that the OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") beta has made changes to the OS that break the rEFInd installation procedure. This problem has been publicly reported as a bug in <tt>bless</tt>—see, for instance, <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22397509">here</a> and <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22170141">here.</a> It seems to be related to a new feature called System Integrity Protection. If possible, I recommend using OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") or earlier to install rEFInd until this issue is resolved. It's reportedly possible to disable this feature by booting to recovery mode (by holding down Alt while booting) and typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil disable</tt> in a Terminal. After installing rEFInd, you can re-enable this feature by repeating the process, but typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil enable</tt>.</p>
+
<p>By default, the <tt>install.sh</tt> script installs rEFInd to your disk's ESP. Under Mac OS X, you can instead install rEFInd to your current OS X boot partition by passing the script the <tt>--notesp</tt> option, or to a non-boot HFS+ partition by using the <tt>--ownhfs <tt class="variable">devicefile</tt></tt> option. Under either OS, you can install to something other than the currently-running OS by using the <tt>--root <tt class="variable">/mountpoint</tt></tt> option. (See <a href="#table1">Table 1</a> for details.)</p>
<p>Under Linux, <tt>install.sh</tt> will be most reliable if your ESP is already mounted at <tt>/boot</tt> or <tt>/boot/efi</tt>, as described in more detail in the <a href="#linux">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Linux</a> section. (If you installed Linux in EFI mode, chances are your ESP is properly mounted.) If your ESP is not so mounted, <tt>install.sh</tt> will attempt to locate and mount an ESP, but this action is not guaranteed to work correctly. If you run <tt>install.sh</tt> from a BIOS/legacy-mode boot, particularly on a computer that also runs Windows, you should be aware that the tricks the script uses to install itself from BIOS mode are rather delicate. You can convert to a more conventional configuration using the <a href="#mvrefind"><tt>mvrefind.sh</tt> script</a> after you've booted in EFI mode.</p>
-<p>Prior to version 0.8.4, <tt>install.sh</tt> installed rEFInd to the OS X root partition by default. I changed this because the default configuration for OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") makes this placement unusable. Instead, <tt>install.sh</tt> now installs to the ESP under OS X, just as it does under Linux; however, the default installation location under OS X is <tt>EFI/BOOT/</tt> rather than <tt>EFI/refind/</tt>. This difference accommodates a quirk of Apple's EFI, which sometimes imposes a 30-second delay when using anything but the <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> location. <i>If you're upgrading a working install of rEFInd to the OS X root partition, it's best to pass the <tt>--notesp</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>.</i> This option is described in more detail shortly.</p>
+<p>Prior to version 0.8.4, <tt>install.sh</tt> installed rEFInd to the OS X root partition by default. I changed this because the default configuration for OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") makes this placement unusable. Instead, <tt>install.sh</tt> now installs to the ESP under OS X, just as it does under Linux. <i>If you're upgrading a working install of rEFInd to the OS X root partition, it's best to pass the <tt>--notesp</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>.</i> This option is described in more detail shortly.</p>
<p>A sample run under Linux looks something like this:</p>
<tt>refind_linux.conf</tt>, though—for instance, to add
<tt>dolvm</tt> to the boot options on Gentoo systems that use LVM.</li>
+<li>If you pass the <tt>--shim</tt> option to the script (along with a
+ filename for a shim binary), the script sets up for a Secure Boot
+ configuration via shim. By default, this causes the rEFInd binary to be
+ renamed as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. Recent versions of shim support
+ passing the name of the follow-on program to shim via a parameter,
+ though. If you want to use this feature, you can pass the
+ <tt>--keepname</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>.</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 [--notesp | --usedefault <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> | --root <tt class="variable">mount-point</tt> | \
- --ownhfs <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> ] \
+ --ownhfs <tt class="variable">device-file</tt> ] [--keepname ] \
[--nodrivers | --alldrivers] [--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt>] [--localkeys] [--yes]
</pre>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><tt>--shim <tt class="variable">shim-filename</tt></tt> or <tt>--preloader <tt class="variable">preloader-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.) When the target file is identified as PreLoader, much the same thing happens, but <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <tt>HashTool.efi</tt> instead of <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> and copies rEFInd as <tt>loader.efi</tt> rather than as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. The intent is to simplify rEFInd installation on a computer that uses Secure Boot; when so set up, rEFInd will boot in Secure Boot mode, with one caveat: The first time you boot, MokManager/HashTool will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key or register rEFInd as a trusted application. The rEFInd public key file will be located in the rEFInd directory's <tt>keys</tt> subdirectory under the name <tt>refind.cer</tt>. Note that I'm not providing a shim binary myself, but you can download one from <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/shim-signed/">here.</a> Some distributions also provide their own shim programs, so can point to them—for instance, in <tt>/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/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.
If you also use <tt>--keepname</tt>, the renaming to <tt>grubx64.efi</tt> is skipped.) When the target file is identified as PreLoader, much the same thing happens, but <tt>install.sh</tt> copies <tt>HashTool.efi</tt> instead of <tt>MokManager.efi</tt> and copies rEFInd as <tt>loader.efi</tt> rather than as <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. The intent is to simplify rEFInd installation on a computer that uses Secure Boot; when so set up, rEFInd will boot in Secure Boot mode, with one caveat: The first time you boot, MokManager/HashTool will launch, and you must use it to locate and install a public key or register rEFInd as a trusted application. The rEFInd public key file will be located in the rEFInd directory's <tt>keys</tt> subdirectory under the name <tt>refind.cer</tt>. Note that I'm not providing a shim binary myself, but you can download one from <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/shim-signed/">here.</a> Some distributions also provide their own shim programs, so can point to them—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>--keepname</tt></td>
+ <td>This option is useful only in conjunction with <tt>--shim</tt>. It tells <tt>install.sh</tt> to keep rEFInd's regular filename (typically <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>) when used with shim, rather than rename the binary to <tt>grubx64.efi</tt>. This change cuts down on the chance of confusion because of filename issues; however, this feature requires that shim be launched with a command-line parameter that points to the rEFInd binary under its real name. versions of shim prior to 0.7 do not properly support this feature. (Version 0.4 supports it but with a buggy interpretation of the follow-on loader specification.) If your NVRAM variables become corrupted or are forgotten, this feature may make rEFInd harder to launch. This option is incompatible with <tt>--usedefault</tt> and is unavailable when run under OS X or without the <tt>--shim</tt> option. If the script discovers an existing rEFInd installation under <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> or <tt>EFI/Microsoft/Boot</tt> and no other rEFInd installation when this option is used, it will abort.</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.</td>
/dev/sda1 191284 16604 174681 9% /boot/efi
</pre>
-<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>
+<p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> If you're running Linux on a Mac, I recommend you install rEFInd under OS X. The Mac's boot process deviates a bit from EFI standards, so you'll probably have to use a tool called <tt>bless</tt> under Mac OS to do the job. Alternatively, there's a new Linux program, <tt>hfs-bless</tt>, part of the <a href="http://www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/mactel-boot/"><tt>mactel-boot</tt></a> RPM package or as part of the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~detly/+archive/ubuntu/mactel-utils">mactel-utils PPA for Ubuntu</a>, that's supposed to work with <tt>efibootmgr</tt> to make a Mac HFS partition bootable. I've not yet tried it, though. There are also reports that the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> tool used under Linux can corrupt some Macs' firmware. Although I've seen some vague suggestions that this problem has been fixed under 3.<i>x</i> kernels, I haven't tested this claim.</p>
<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>
<p class="sidebar"><b>Weird:</b> A <a href="http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/20187.html">bug exists</a> in some Lenovo computers (and perhaps in some others, too) that causes the firmware's boot manager to refuse to boot any boot loader that doesn't have the name <tt>Windows Boot Manager</tt> or <tt>Red Hat Enterprise Linux</tt>. If you have such a system, you must pass one of those names (in quotes) rather than <tt>rEFInd</tt> to <tt>efibootmgr</tt> via its <tt>-L</tt> option. This bug was reported to Lenovo in mid-November 2012, and by late 2013, at least some Lenovos were mercifully free of this bug.</p>
<a name="efibootmgr">
-<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>
+<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>. Shim 0.7 and later enables you to keep rEFInd's usual name by adding a <tt>-u "shim.efi refind_x64.efi"</tt> option to your <tt>efibootmgr</tt> command line, though. Change the filenames to the ones used by your actual Shim and rEFInd binaries, respectively.</li>
</a>
<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>
<h3>Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X</h3>
</a>
+<p class="sidebar"><b>Warning:</b> I've received reports that the OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan") beta has made changes to the OS that break the rEFInd installation procedure. This problem has been publicly reported as a bug in <tt>bless</tt>—see, for instance, <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22397509">here</a> and <a href="http://www.openradar.me/22170141">here.</a> It seems to be related to a new feature called System Integrity Protection. If possible, I recommend using OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") or earlier to install rEFInd until this issue is resolved. It's reportedly possible to disable this feature by booting to recovery mode (by holding down Alt while booting) and typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil disable</tt> in a Terminal. After installing rEFInd, you can re-enable this feature by repeating the process, but typing <tt class="userinput">csrutil enable</tt>.</p>
+
<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>
<pre class="listing">
<ul>
<li>If you're installing rEFInd on the ESP, type <tt
class="userinput">sudo bless --mount /Volumes/esp --setBoot --file
- /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt>, adjusting the mount
- point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
+ /Volumes/esp/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi --shortform</tt>, adjusting
+ the mount point and exact path to the file as appropriate for your
installation.</li>
<li>If you're installing rEFInd to an ordinary HFS+ volume, type <tt
class="userinput">sudo bless --setBoot --folder /efi/refind --file
<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>
+<p>I know relatively little about Windows EFI management tools; however, I do know that at least two relevant tools exist: the standard <tt>bcdedit</tt> and the third-party <i>EasyUEFI.</i></p>
+
+<p>The <a href="http://www.easyuefi.com/index-us.html">EasyUEFI tool</a> is a free (as in beer) GUI tool for managing EFI boot programs. I've only tried it once, and it seemed fairly intuitive and easy to use, but I don't have detailed instructions on how to use it. If you want to use EasyUEFI, you'll have to use it in place of <tt>bcdedit</tt> at the end of the following procedure.</p>
+
+<p class="sidebar"><b>Caution:</b> I've received reports that Windows 10 has made changes that make the following instructions not work. If you're using this OS, until I have a chance to investigate and update these instructions, your best bet may be to install rEFInd using a Linux live disk, such as an Ubuntu installation disk in its "try before installing" mode.</p>
+
<p>Attempt this method of installation only on a UEFI-based PC; this method will not work on Windows that's installed on a Mac in BIOS/CSM/legacy mode. To install rEFInd under Windows, you must first find a way to access the ESP, which Windows normally hides from view. One way to accomplish this goal, and to proceed forward once the ESP is accessible, is as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Type <b><tt>rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf</tt></b> to rename rEFInd's configuration file.</li>
+<p class="sidebar"><b>Note:</b> I've heard from a couple of Windows 10 users that the <tt>bcdedit</tt> commands described here don't work. I don't yet know if this is a coincidence or if Microsoft has changed <tt>bcdedit</tt> in such a way that these instructions no longer apply. If you run into this problem, either try using EasyUEFI or use another installation method, such as the <a href="#linux">Linux method</a> from a Linux emergency boot disc.</p>
+
<li>Type <b><tt>bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi</tt></b> to set rEFInd as the default EFI boot program. Note that <tt>{bootmgr}</tt> is entered as such; that's not a notation for a variable. Also, change <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt> to <tt>refind_ia32.efi</tt> on systems with 32-bit EFIs. Such computers are rare, and most of them are tablets. Check your Windows bit depth to determine which binary you should use.</li>
<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>
this just wastes some disk space; but if you've customized your icons,
you'll need to copy your altered icons back. Under Linux, versions
0.6.2 and later of <tt>install.sh</tt> search for rEFInd in several
- locations on the ESP, and will upgrade whatever is found.</li>
+ locations on the ESP, and will upgrade whatever is found. The same is
+ true with versions 0.8.5 and later under OS X when installing to the
+ ESP. If you install to a location other than the ESP under OS X, be
+ sure to include the same option to <tt>install.sh</tt>
+ (<tt>--notesp</tt> or <tt>--ownhfs</tt>) to replace the original rather
+ than create a new installation to the ESP.</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
<h2>Fixing Macintosh Boot Problems</h2>
</a>
-<p>I've received a few reports of a sluggish boot process (a delay of about 30 seconds before starting rEFInd) on some Macs after installing rEFInd, as well as some other Mac-specific peculiarities. I've been unable to replicate thess problems myself, and their true causes remains mysterious to me. I have found several possible solutions, though: <a href="#fallback">using the fallback filename,</a> <a href="#moving">moving rEFInd to an HFS+ volume,</a> <a href="#clearing">clearing NVRAM entries,</a> and <a href="#wakeprobs">fixing wake problems.</a></p>
+<p>I've received a few reports of a sluggish boot process (a delay of about 30 seconds before starting rEFInd) on some Macs after installing rEFInd, as well as some other Mac-specific peculiarities. I've been unable to replicate thess problems myself, and their true causes remains mysterious to me. I have found several possible solutions, though: <a href="#shortform">Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> option,</a> <a href="#fallback">using the fallback filename,</a> <a href="#moving">moving rEFInd to an HFS+ volume,</a> <a href="#clearing">clearing NVRAM entries,</a> <a href="#wakeprobs">fixing wake problems,</a> and <a href="#nolinux">fixing a failure to find Linux.</a></p>
+
+<a name="shortform">
+<h3>Using the <tt>--shortform</tt> Option</h3>
+</a>
+
+<p>Prior to version 0.8.5, these instructions and the <tt>install.sh</tt> script omitted the <tt>--shortform</tt> option from the <tt>bless</tt> command when installing rEFInd to the ESP. An rEFInd user, however, discovered that using the option eliminated the 30-second delay, so it is now the default with 0.8.5's <tt>install.sh</tt>, and is specified in the instructions. If you installed rEFInd 0.8.4 or earlier, you may want to re-install or re-<tt>bless</tt> rEFInd using this option.</p>
+
+<p>There is one caveat, though: The <tt>man</tt> page for <tt>bless</tt> notes that <tt>--shortform</tt> notes that its use can come "at the expense of boot time performance." Thus, it's not clear to me that this option might not actually <i>create</i> problems on some computers. (It's eliminated the boot delay on my 2014 MacBook Air and has no detrimental effect on an old 32-bit Mac Mini that's never had a boot delay problem, though.) Thus, if you have problems with rEFInd 0.8.5 or later, you might try running <tt>bless</tt>, as described in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using OS X's</a> step 8, but <i>omit</i> the <tt>--shortform</tt> option.</p>
<a name="fallback">
<h3>Using the Fallback Filename</h3>
</a>
-<p>I've received a few reports that installing rEFInd to the ESP using the fallback filename (<tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> on most systems, or <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt> on very old Macs) can work around a sluggish boot problem. In fact, since version 0.8.4, the <tt>install.sh</tt> script copies the rEFInd binary to this name when run under OS X. If you installed manually to another name, though, renaming (and re-<tt>bless</tt>ing) the installation is worth trying.</p>
+<p>I've received a few reports that installing rEFInd to the ESP using the fallback filename (<tt>EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi</tt> on most systems, or <tt>EFI/BOOT/bootia32.efi</tt> on very old Macs) can work around a sluggish boot problem. In fact, version 0.8.4's <tt>install.sh</tt> script copied the rEFInd binary to this name when run under OS X. (Version 0.8.5 switches to using <tt>--shortform</tt> with the more conventional <tt>EFI/refind/refind_x64.efi</tt> or <tt>EFI/refind/refind_ia32.efi</tt> name, as just noted.) If you installed to a name other than <tt>EFI/BOOT/BOOT<tt class="variable">{ARCH}</tt></tt>, either manually or by using the 0.8.5 or later <tt>install.sh</tt>, renaming (and re-<tt>bless</tt>ing) the installation is worth trying.</p>
<a name="moving">
<h3>Moving rEFInd to an HFS+ Volume</h3>
</ul>
-<p>Unfortunately, I lack a recent Mac and so can't investigate these issues myself, so I'm dependent upon others (mostly non-programmers) to offer workarounds. This is the type of problem that really requires hands-on interactive debugging sessions with the code to stand any chance of finding a better solution.</p>
+<p>I've recently acquired a 2014 MacBook Air, but I haven't yet had the chance to try to reproduce this problem and find a workaround. It's on my to-do list, though.</p>
+
+<a name="nolinux">
+<h3>Fixing a Failure to Find Linux</h3>
+</a>
+
+<p>Some users report that rEFInd doesn't detect Linux, or won't boot it when it is found. Broadly speaking, there are two common causes of this problem:</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li><b>A malfunctioning BIOS/legacy boot</b>—If you installed Linux in BIOS/legacy mode, as most online documentation suggests, it could be that your <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR</a> is missing or damaged. The usual symptom of this problem is that rEFInd shows a generic Linux penguin icon and that selecting it produces a message to the effect that a bootable OS could not be found. As hybrid MBRs are ugly and dangerous, I recommend avoiding them if possible, so my preferred solution to this problem is to set up EFI filesystem drivers and boot that way; however, fixing the hybrid MBR may be an easier solution. This is especially true if you installed a 32-bit version of Linux on a 64-bit Mac (or a 64-bit version on a rare Mac with a 64-bit CPU but a 32-bit EFI).</li>
+
+<li><b>EFI filesystem driver problems</b>—Ideally, rEFInd should be able to load and run your Linux kernel directly, but this approach normally requires you to have a working EFI driver for the filesystem that holds your Linux kernel. This won't always be the case; and even if it is installed, there can be interference from other drivers, so you may need to <i>remove</i> the drivers that you don't use. If drivers are the root of your problem, you won't see any Linux options, or you'll see the one penguin icon (as above) with no others that point to your Linux kernel(s).</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>If you suspect that your hybrid MBR is damaged, you can try re-creating it with my <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/">GPT fdisk (<tt>gdisk</tt>)</a> program. The GPT fdisk <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html">hybrid MBR documentation</a> covers this procedure in detail. You can run <tt>gdisk</tt> from either OS X or Linux, although you may need to install it, particularly in OS X.</p>
+
+<p>If you suspect driver problems, you'll need to mount your ESP (as described in the <a href="#osx">manual OS X installation instructions</a>), locate the rEFInd <tt>drivers_x64</tt> directory, and adjust its contents. Make sure you have a driver for the filesystem that holds your Linux kernel. If you don't know what filesystem this is, it's probably ext4fs. rEFInd ships with several filesystem drivers, including one for ext4fs. You should also remove unnecessary filesystem drivers. I've seen several reports of one driver interfering with others' operation. The biggest culprit seems to be the HFS+ driver when used on Macs.</p>
+
+<p></p>
<a name="winprob">
<h2>Fixing Windows Boot Problems</h2>
<h2>Uninstalling rEFInd</h2>
</a>
-<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>
+<p>If you decide you don't want to keep rEFInd, you can uninstall it. Doing so is a matter of removing the rEFInd files from your ESP (or from your OS X boot partition, if you installed the program there). The exact details of how to do this vary from one OS to another, though; and in some cases there are alternatives to completely uninstalling rEFInd that are easier to implement.</p>
+
+<a name="uinst_linux">
+<h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Linux</h3>
+</a>
+
+<p>In Linux, a command like the following, typed as <tt>root</tt>, should remove rEFInd:</p>
<pre class="listing">
# <tt class="userinput">rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/refind</tt>
</pre>
-<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>
+<p>You must type this command as <tt>root</tt> (or use <tt>sudo</tt> in some environments, such as under Ubuntu). This example assumes that your ESP is mounted at <tt>/boot/efi</tt> and that rEFInd is installed in <tt>EFI/refind</tt> on that partition. If you've mounted your ESP elsewhere, or installed rEFInd elsewhere, you should adjust the command appropriately.</p>
-<p>The same procedure works in OS X, with the caveat that the ESP isn't normally mounted in OS X. Thus, you must first mount the ESP, as described earlier, in the section on <a href="#osx">manually installing rEFInd in OS X.</a> (You can forego this step if you installed to the OS X root partition.) 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>
+<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>
-<pre class="listing">
-$ <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r /Volumes/esp/EFI/refind</tt>
-</pre>
+<a name="uinst_osx">
+<h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from OS X</h3>
+</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.</p>
+<p>The easiest way to restore the standard OS X boot loader on a Mac is not to uninstall rEFInd; it's to bypass it. This can be accomplished with the Startup Disk item in the System Preferences panel:</p>
-<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>
+ <br /><center><img src="startup-disk.png" align="center" width="668"
+ height="355" alt="The OS X Startup Disk tool enables you to reset a Mac
+ to use the standard OS X boot loader." border=2> </center><br />
+
+<p>Select your startup disk (<i>Macintosh HD OS X, 10.10.1</i> in this example) and then click Restart. The computer should reboot into OS X, bypassing rEFInd.</p>
+
+<p>I recommend stopping here, because the procedure for completely removing rEFInd from a Mac depends on your installation method and tends to be challenging for many Mac users, who are unfamiliar with the necessary command-line tools. Basically, you must reverse the steps described earlier, in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS X:</a></p>
+
+<ol>
+
+<li>You must first determine where rEFInd is installed. This can be any of
+ several locations:
+
+ <ul>
+
+ <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier with the default options,
+ or if you used the <tt>--notesp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.4 or
+ later, it will be <tt>/EFI/refind</tt> on your main partition</li>
+
+ <li>If you installed rEFInd 0.8.4 or later with the default options, or
+ if you used the <tt>--esp</tt> option with rEFInd 0.8.3 or earlier,
+ it will be in <tt>EFI/refind</tt> or <tt>EFI/BOOT</tt> on the
+ ESP.</li>
+
+ <li>If you used the <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option to <tt>install.sh</tt>,
+ rEFInd will be in the <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt>
+ directory on the volume you specified.</li>
+
+ <li>If you installed rEFInd manually, it will be wherever you put
+ it.</li>
+
+ <li>In all cases, there could be duplicate (inactive) rEFInd files in
+ unexpected places. This is particularly true if you tried
+ installing rEFInd multiple times, each with different options to
+ <tt>install.sh</tt>. Thus, if you delete rEFInd and it still comes
+ up, you may have deleted the wrong files. (Note that dragging files
+ to the Trash may have no effect, though—at least, not until
+ you empty the Trash.)</li>
+
+ </ul>
+
+<li>If necessary, mount the ESP or rEFInd-specific HFS+ volume, as
+ described in <a href="#osx">Installing rEFInd Manually Using Mac OS
+ X.</a></li>
+
+<li>Verify that rEFInd is installed in the directory noted in step #1. If a
+ <tt>refind.conf</tt> file is present, rEFInd is almost certainly
+ installed in that directory. If not, it's not rEFInd there and you
+ should <i>not</i> proceed. <b><i>Be extra cautious about deleting the
+ <tt>System/Library/CoreServices</tt> directory,</i></b> since that's
+ the default location of the OS X boot loader! <i>Never</i> delete this
+ directory from your OS X root (<tt>/</tt>) partition, only from the
+ partition you specified to <tt>install.sh</tt> using the
+ <tt>--ownhfs</tt> option.</li>
+
+<li>Once you've identified the rEFInd directory, delete it, or at least the
+ rEFInd boot file. This file may be called <tt>refind_x64.efi</tt>,
+ <tt>bootx64.efi</tt>, <tt>boot.efi</tt>, or conceivably something else.
+ You may need to use <tt>sudo rm</tt> at the command line to accomplish
+ this task, as in <tt class="userinput">sudo rm -r
+ /Volumes/esp/EFI/refind</tt>.</li>
+
+</ol>
+
+<a name="uinst_windows">
+<h3>Uninstalling rEFInd from Windows</h3>
+</a>
<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>
+<a name="post_uninst">
+<h3>Post-Uninstallation Activity (UEFI-Based PCs)</h3>
+</a>
+
+<p>On a UEFI-based PC, when the computer boots and cannot find the rEFInd files, it should move on to the next boot loader in its list. In my experience, some EFI firmware implementations remove boot loaders they can't find from their NVRAM lists, so nothing else will be required, provided you have another working boot loader in your firmware's list. If your firmware doesn't automatically clean up its NVRAM entries, rEFInd's entry will do little harm; however, you can delete it with the <tt>efibootmgr</tt> utility in Linux:</p>
<pre class="listing">
# <tt class="userinput">efibootmgr --verbose</tt>
<p>This example shows use of <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>--verbose</tt> (<tt>-v</tt>) option to display boot programs so as to identify which one is rEFInd, followed by <tt>--delete-bootnum</tt> (<tt>-B</tt>) to delete a boot program and <tt>--bootnum</tt> (<tt>-b</tt>) to identify which one to delete. Of course, in this example there's not much else left, so you'd presumably want to install another boot program at this point! If you already have another one installed, you may want to check the <tt>BootOrder</tt> line to determine which one will take precedence when you reboot. If you don't like what it shows, you can adjust it with the <tt>--bootorder</tt> (<tt>-o</tt>) option; consult <tt>efibootmgr</tt>'s <tt>man</tt> page for details.</p>
-<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>
+<p>If you're not using Linux, you may be able to find a utility that serves
+a similar function. 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>
<hr />
-<p>copyright © 2012–2014 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
+<p>copyright © 2012–2015 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>