X-Git-Url: https://code.delx.au/refind/blobdiff_plain/ee27d9d42706044bc9aa443bd8fc8ceb012ec86c..860fb6e13e399f326ff20e25f9f36070ee67b1a9:/docs/refind/installing.html diff --git a/docs/refind/installing.html b/docs/refind/installing.html index 84e70ac..fef11b8 100644 --- a/docs/refind/installing.html +++ b/docs/refind/installing.html @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@

by Roderick W. Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

-

Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update: 3/26/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.2.3

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Originally written: 3/14/2012; last Web page update: 4/5/2012, referencing rEFInd 0.2.4

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!

@@ -89,13 +89,9 @@ href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

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+

Important: A rEFInd zip file, when uncompressed, creates a directory called refind-version, where version is the version number. This directory includes a subdirectory called refind that holds the boot loader, along with another that holds documentation, as well as miscellaneous files in refind-version itself. When I refer to "the refind directory" on this page, I mean the directory with that precise name, not the refind-version directory that is its parent.

-

Important: A rEFInd zip file, when uncompressed, creates a directory called refind-version, where version is the version number. This directory includes a subdirectory called refind that holds the boot loader, along with another that holds documentation, as well as miscellaneous files in refind-version itself. When I refer to "the refind directory" on this page, I mean the directory with that precise name, not the refind-version directory that is its parent.

- -
- -

Once you've uncompressed a rEFInd binary zip file, you can copy the entire refind directory into your EFI System Partition's (ESP's) EFI directory on UEFI-based PCs, so that rEFInd resides in EFI/refind. If you've tried rEFInd using a CD-R image file, you can copy the files from the EFI/refind directory on the CD to create an equivalent directory on the ESP. To avoid confusion, though, you should delete the rEFInd binary file for the CPU type your computer does not use. To the best of my knowledge, all UEFI-based PCs use 64-bit CPUs, so you should keep the refind_x64.efi binary and delete the refind_ia32.efi binary. Most Intel-based Macs also have 64-bit EFI implementations, so you should do the same thing; but very early Intel-based Macs have 32-bit EFIs (and sometimes 32-bit CPUs), which require the refind_ia32.efi file. You can determine whether your Mac needs the x86-64 or IA32 build by typing the following command in a Mac Terminal window:

+

Once you've uncompressed a rEFInd binary zip file, you can copy the entire refind directory into your EFI System Partition's (ESP's) EFI directory on UEFI-based PCs, so that rEFInd resides in EFI/refind. If you've tried rEFInd using a CD-R image file, you can copy the files from the EFI/refind directory on the CD to create an equivalent directory on the ESP. To avoid confusion, though, you should delete the rEFInd binary file for the CPU type your computer does not use. To the best of my knowledge, all UEFI-based PCs use 64-bit CPUs, so you should keep the refind_x64.efi binary and delete the refind_ia32.efi binary. Most Intel-based Macs also have 64-bit EFI implementations, so you should do the same thing; but very early Intel-based Macs have 32-bit EFIs (and sometimes 32-bit CPUs), which require the refind_ia32.efi file. You can determine whether your Mac needs the x86-64 or IA32 build by typing the following command in a Mac Terminal window:

 $ ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi
@@ -127,15 +123,11 @@ Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 
 
  • Type cd /boot/efi/EFI/refind to change into rEFInd's new directory on the ESP.
    • 
 
-
  • Type rm refind_ia32.efi to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an x86-64 (64-bit) system; or type rm refind_x64.efi to remove the x86-64 binary if you're using an x86 (32-bit) system. You can optionally rename the binary you keep as refind.efi, but this isn't required.
    • 
+
  • Type rm refind_ia32.efi to remove the IA32 binary if you're using an x86-64 (64-bit) system; or type rm refind_x64.efi to remove the x86-64 binary if you're using an x86 (32-bit) system. You can optionally rename the binary you keep as refind.efi, but this isn't required.
    • 
 
 
  • Rename the configuration file by typing mv refind.conf-sample refind.conf. Consult the Editing the rEFInd Configuration File page for information on how to adjust your options.
    • 
 
-
    
-
-
    Warning: I've seen reports that Linux's efibootmgr utility can damage some Macs' firmware, necessitating re-flashing it. Therefore, I recommend using bless from OS X to do this job on Apple hardware.
    
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    Warning: I've seen reports that Linux's efibootmgr utility can damage some Macs' firmware, necessitating re-flashing it. I've also seen some vague suggestions that this problem has been fixed with the 3.0 kernels, but I haven't been able to substantiate this suggestion. Therefore, I recommend using bless from OS X to do this job on Apple hardware.
    
 
 
 
  • On a UEFI-based system, type efibootmgr -c -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi -L rEFInd to add rEFInd to your EFI's list of available boot loaders, which it stores in NVRAM. (Adjust the path to the binary as required if you install somewhere else.) You may need to install this program on some systems; it's a standard part of most distributions' repositories.
    • 
@@ -153,11 +145,7 @@ Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 
    Installing rEFInd Using Mac OS X
    
     
 
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    One of the reasons I've abandoned rEFIt's GUI installation tools for Mac OS X is that there are several bug reports (such as this one and this one) that the rEFIt installer may be causing filesystem corruption on disks over about 500 MiB. I don't have such a disk on my Mac, so I can't test solutions. Rather than risk other peoples' hard disks, I thought it best to revert to a manual installation proceudure that will, I hope, be less likely to cause problems.
    
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-
    
+
    One of the reasons I've abandoned rEFIt's GUI installation tools for Mac OS X is that there are several bug reports (such as this one and this one) that the rEFIt installer may be causing filesystem corruption on disks over about 500 MiB. I don't have such a disk on my Mac, so I can't test solutions. Rather than risk other peoples' hard disks, I thought it best to revert to a manual installation proceudure that will, I hope, be less likely to cause problems.
    
 
 
    The procedure for installing rEFInd on a Mac is similar to that for installing it under Linux, except that you can install it to the OS X's system directory rather than to the ESP, and you must use the bless utility rather than efibootmgr. To be precise, you should follow these steps:
    
 
@@ -235,9 +223,9 @@ Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
 
 
  • Look for an existing directory called EFI/BOOT or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT. If neither of these directories exist, skip the next step. (Note that FAT is case-insensitive, so the name may vary in case.)
    • 
 
-
  • Rename the existing directory to something else. For EFI/BOOT, try renaming it to EFI/Oldboot. For EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, rename the Microsoft directory—say, to MS. Thus, you'll have EFI/MS and its contents, including EFI/MS/BOOT.
    • 
+
  • Rename the existing directory or boot loader file to something else. For EFI/BOOT, try renaming it to EFI/Oldboot. For EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, move or rename the bootmgfw.efi file it contains. For instance, you can move it to EFI/Microsoft. This will keep the boot loader accessible to rEFInd's menu, while preventing the firmware from launching it automatically.
    • 
 
-
  • Rename/move your EFI/refind directory to EFI/BOOT (or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, if that directory existed and you've renamed it—but you'll first need to create a new EFI/Microsoft directory).
    • 
+
  • Rename/move your EFI/refind directory to EFI/BOOT. If you're working from EFI/Microsoft/BOOT, you should move the contents of your rEFInd directory to EFI/Microsoft/BOOT.
    • 
 
 
  • Rename EFI/BOOT/refind_x64.efi to the name of the boot loader it's replacing—it should become EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi or EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi.
    • 
 
@@ -280,11 +268,6 @@ Filesystem     1K-blocks  Used Available Use% Mounted on
     efi/tools subdirectory of the ESP and rEFInd will detect it
     and give you the option to use it.
 
-
  • Rescue Linux—If the file efi/rescue/elilo.efi
-    exists, it will be given a special entry in the boot list. The intent
-    seems to be to launch Linux in a rescue mode, but I've not gotten it to
-    work.
    • 
-
 
 
 
    I've seen links to other versions of these tools from time to time on the Web, so if you try one of these programs and it crashes or behaves strangely, try performing a Web search; you may turn up something that works better for you than the one to which I've linked.