X-Git-Url: https://code.delx.au/refind/blobdiff_plain/70c59b783f94768bd5875f44be2808454d000f3e..33cc55e661add10c9fd3f3300936e3eb48570c8d:/docs/man/refind-mkdefault.8 diff --git a/docs/man/refind-mkdefault.8 b/docs/man/refind-mkdefault.8 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae7818e --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/man/refind-mkdefault.8 @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@ +.\" Copyright 2016 Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com) +.\" May be distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 or +any later version +.TH "REFIND-MKDEFAULT" "8" "0.10.3" "Roderick W. Smith" "rEFInd Manual" +.SH "NAME" +refind-mkdefault \- Set rEFInd as the default EFI boot option +.SH "SYNOPSIS" +.BI "refind-mkdefault " +[ \-L|\-\-label ] + +.SH "DESCRIPTION" + +EFI booting normally relies on boot manager entries stored in NVRAM, which +describe the locations of EFI boot programs and the order in which the +firmware will attempt to launch them. In Linux, these entries can be +created, deleted, and manipulated with the \fIefibootmgr\fR utility. + +Many OSes and Linux packages assume that they should control the boot +process, and so both create NVRAM boot entries for themselves and set these +entries first in the boot order. If you intend rEFInd to control the boot +process, though, such changes are undesirable and require adjustment via +\fIefibootmgr\fR. Such adjustments are annoying to make and can be +intimidating to non-experts. + +The \fIrefind-mkdefault\fR script simplifies matters: Running this script +with no options sets rEFInd as the default boot program. The details of what +the script does depends on the current state of the boot order list and +existing boot entries: + +.TP +.B * +If a rEFInd entry already exists in the boot order and is already first +in the list, no changes are made. + +.TP +.B * +If a rEFInd entry already exists in the boot order but is not first in +the list, that entry is moved to the first position in the boot order. + +.TP +.B * +If more than one rEFInd entry exists in the boot order, +\fIrefind-mkdefault\fR moves the one that comes earliest to the front of the +boot order list. + +.TP +.B * +If no rEFInd entry exists in the boot order but a rEFInd boot entry +can be found in the list of \fBBoot####\fR entries, it is added to the boot +order and placed at the front of the list. + +.TP +.B * +If multiple rEFInd boot entries exist but none is in the boot order, all the +entries are added to the boot order, but which one is first is uncontrolled. + +.PP + +A rEFInd entry is defined as one that contains the string \fBrefind\fR +(case-insensitive). This string could exist in the description or in the +filename. The string used to define the rEFInd entry can be changed via the +\fI\-\-label\fR (\fI\-L\fR) option. + +The intent is that \fIrefind-mkdefault\fR can be called after booting via +GRUB or some other means to restore rEFInd as the default boot program. It +can also be placed in a startup and/or shutdown script to restore rEFInd to +its default position automatically. Because it does not re-write the boot +order if rEFInd is listed as the first boot entry, this practice should be +low in risk. + +.SH "OPTIONS" + +.TP +.B \-L | \-\-label \fI\fR +Instead of searching for the string \fBrefind\fR in \fIefibootmgr\fR output +as a way to identify rEFInd, search for the string \fBname\fR. + +.SH "LIMITATIONS" + +.TP +.B * +\fIrefind-mkdefault\fR does not work when booted in BIOS mode (including +via a Compatibility Support Module, or CSM, on an EFI-based computer). +Similarly, it does not work if \fIefibootmgr\fR is not installed or fails +to work for any reason. + +.TP +.B * +The script uses a very simple algorithm to determine what to move to +the start of the boot order list. This algorithm may fail if the system +has redundant or non-functional rEFInd boot entries or if those entries +are not named in an expected fashion. Cleaning up the boot entries by +manual use of \fIefibootmgr\fR may be necessary in such cases. + +.SH "AUTHORS" +Primary author: Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com) + +.SH "SEE ALSO" +\fBmvrefind (8)\fR, +\fBmkrlconf (8)\fR, +\fBrefind-install (8)\fR, +\fBefibootmgr (8)\fR + +\fIhttp://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/\fR + +.SH "AVAILABILITY" +The \fBrefind-mkdefault\fR command is part of the \fIrEFInd\fR package and is +available from Roderick W. Smith.