UEFI Bootloaders

zh-CN:UEFI Bootloaders This page contains info about various UEFI Bootloaders capable of booting Linux kernel. It is recommended to read the UEFI and GPT pages before reading this page. The following bootloaders are explained here:

Linux Kernel EFISTUB

Linux (Kernel >= 3.3) supports EFISTUB (EFI BOOT STUB) booting. It is enabled by by default on Arch Linux kernels or can be activated by setting CONFIG_EFI_STUB=y in the Kernel configuration (see The EFI Boot Stub for more information).

A single EFISTUB kernel is not capable of launching other kernels, hence each EFISTUB Kernel + Initramfs pair requires a separate boot menu entry. It is recommended to use a UEFI Boot Manager to manage multiple kernels.

Setting up EFISTUB

1. Create a FAT32 UEFI System Partition
2. Mount the UEFI System Partition at /boot/efi with # mount <UEFI Partition> /boot/efi if you're going to be using GRUB2, or at /boot with # mount <UEFI Partition> /boot if you're going to be using Gummiboot or rEFInd. Gummiboot cannot boot across partitions, and will never have such capability due to its nature, so it's paramount that you mount the UEFI System Partition at /boot for use with Gummiboot so that the kernel and initramfs lie on the same partition as the bootmanager.

Note: As of refind-efi 0.6.5, refind now automatically detects kernels in /boot. They do not have to be renamed to have a .efi extension either, as long as you are using refind.

Booting EFISTUB

Warning: Linux Kernel EFISTUB booting uses \ instead of / and should be relative to the UEFI System Partition's root. For example, if the initramfs is located in /boot/efi/EFI/arch/initramfs-linux.img, the corresponding UEFI formatted line would be \EFI\arch\initramfs-linux.img. Failure to convert the options will lead to a system hang without any error message from the firmware or kernel.

One can boot the EFISTUB kernel using one of the following ways :

Using rEFInd

rEFInd is a fork of rEFIt Boot Manager (used in Intel Macs) by Rod Smith (author of GPT-fdisk). rEFInd fixes many issues in rEFIt with respect to non-Mac UEFI booting and also has support for booting EFISTUB kernels and contains some features specific to them. More info about rEFInd support for EFISTUB is at The rEFInd Boot Manager: Methods of Booting Linux.

1. Install refind-efi package with # pacman -S refind-efi
2. Copy the following files from their source directory to their destination

Note: <arch> is the bit architecture of the system. Run $ uname -m to get the architecture. Replace <arch> with "ia32" for 32 bit systems, and <arch> with "x64" for 64 bit systems.

rEFInd File Source	UEFI Destination
/usr/lib/refind/refind_<arch>.efi	/boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind_<arch>.efi
/usr/lib/refind/config/refind.conf	/boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf
/usr/share/refind/icons	/boot/efi/EFI/refind/icons
/usr/lib/refind/drivers_<arch>	/boot/efi/EFI/tools/drivers

Tip: Refind's configuration file is located in /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf. The file is well commented.

Note: As of refind-efi 0.6.5-1, refind can auto-detect kernels in /boot, if there are UEFI drivers for the filesystem used by /boot partition (or / partition if no separate /boot is used) in the ESP, and are loaded by rEFInd. To enable rEFInd to detect and load the drivers and /boot kernels you must enable the appropriate options in refind.conf (mainly mention the PATH for the drivers location in the ESP) and also copy your refind_linux.conf to /boot/refind_linux.conf .

Tip: Pass kernel specific commands by copying /usr/lib/refind/config/refind_linux.conf to /boot/efi/EFI/arch/refind_linux.conf. This file should be located in the same directory as the EFISTUB kernel. Edit the configuration file to be similar to the template below. Replace the string after PARTUUID with your root's PARTUUID

Note: Please notice the difference between the standard UUID and the PARTUUID shown by $ ls -l /dev/disk/by-partuuid/

$esp/EFI/arch/refind_linux.conf

"Boot with defaults" "root=PARTUUID=3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap systemd.unit=graphical.target"
"Boot to Terminal"   "root=PARTUUID=3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap systemd.unit=multi-user.target"

Tip: Each line of refind_linux.conf is displayed as a submenu by rEFInd. Access the submenu with "+" or "insert" keys.

Tip: In non-Mac systems, create an entry for rEFInd using efibootmgr where sdX is the UEFI disk, and Y is the UEFI partition number. Run :

 # modprobe efivars
 # efibootmgr -c -g -d /dev/sdX -p Y -w -L "rEFInd" -l '\EFI\refind\refind_<arch>.efi'

Systemd Automation

Tip: To automate the process of copying refind files and updating the nvram (if needed) use the following script

Note: Save this script as /usr/lib/systemd/scripts/refind_name_patchv2

Tip: If you want to change the directory that refind is installed in the UEFISYS partition, just change the value of $refind_dir in the script

#!/bin/bash
## COPYRIGHT 2013 : MARK E. LEE (BLUERIDER) : mlee24@binghamton.edu; mark@markelee.com

## LOG
## 1/17/2013 : Version 2 of refind_name_patch is released
##           : Supports long subdirectory location for refind
##           : Updates nvram when needed
##           : 10% speed boost

function main () {  ## main insertion function
  declare -r refind_dir="/boot/efi/EFI/refind"; ## set the refind directory
  declare -r arch=$(uname -m | awk -F'_' '{if ($1 == "x86"){print $2}}') &&  ## get bit architecture
  update-efi-dir;  ## updates or creates the refind directory
  update-efi-nvram;  ## updates nvram if needed
}

function update-efi-dir () {  ## setup the refind directory
  if [ ! -d $refind_dir ]; then  ## check if refind directory exists
    echo "Couldn't find $refind_dir";
    mkdir $refind_dir &&  ## make the refind directory if needed
    echo "Made $refind_dir";
  fi;
  if [ "$arch" ]; then  ## check if anything was stored in $arch
    cp -r /usr/{share/refind/*,lib/refind/refind_x*$arch*.efi} $refind_dir/ && ## update bin and dirs
    echo "Updated binaries and directory files for refind at $refind_dir";
   else
    echo "Failed to detect an x86 architecture";
    exit;
  fi;
}

function update-efi-nvram () { ## update the nvram with efibootmgr
  declare -r ref_bin=${refind_dir/\/boot\/efi}/$(ls /usr/lib | grep $arch*.efi);  ## get path of refind binary (without /boot/efi)
  declare -r ref_bin_escape=${ref_bin//\//\\\\};  ## insert escape characters into $ref_bin
  modprobe efivars && ## grab the efi variables for efibootmgr
  efibootmgr -v | grep $ref_bin_escape && ( ## check if boot entry is in nvram
    echo "Found boot entry, no need to update nvram";
    ) || ( ## if boot entry is not in nvram; add it
    declare -r esp=$(mount -l | awk '/ESP/ {print $1}') &&  ## get ESP partition
    efibootmgr -c -g -d ${esp:0:8} -p ${esp:8} -w -L "rEFInd" -l $ref_bin_escape && ## update nvram
    echo "
    Updated nvram with entry rEFInd to boot $ref_bin
    Did not copy configuration files, please move refind.conf to $refind_dir/";
    )
}

main;  ## run the main insertion function

Note: Save the following service file as /usr/lib/systemd/system/refind_update.path

[Unit]
Description=Update rEFInd bootloader files

[Path]
PathChanged=/usr/lib/refind/refind_<arch>.efi
Unit=refind_update.service

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Note: Save the following service file as /usr/lib/systemd/system/refind_update.service

[Unit]
Description=Update rEFInd directories, binaries, and nvram

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/bin/bash /usr/lib/systemd/scripts/refind_name_patchv2
RemainAfterExit=no

Tip: Enable the systemd path unit by running :

# systemctl enable refind_update.path

Apple Macs

In case of Apple Macs, try mactel-boot^AUR for an experimental "bless" utility for Linux. If that does not work, use "bless" form within OSX to set rEFInd as default bootloader. Assuming UEFISYS partition is mounted at /mnt/efi within OSX, do

$ sudo bless --setBoot --folder /mnt/efi/EFI/refind --file /mnt/efi/EFI/refind/refind_x64.efi

VirtualBox

In case of VirtualBox, see VirtualBox#Using_Arch_under_Virtualbox_EFI_mode.

Using gummiboot

Gummiboot is a UEFI Boot Manager which provides a nice menu for EFISTUB Kernels. It is available in [extra] as gummiboot. See https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Gummiboot for more info.

Using UEFI Shell

It is possible to launch EFISTUB kernel form UEFI Shell as if it is a normal UEFI application. In this case the kernel parameters are passed as normal parameters to the launched EFISTUB kernel file.

> fs0:
> cd \EFI\arch
> vmlinuz-arch.efi root=PARTUUID=3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap initrd=\EFI\arch\initramfs-arch.img

You can also write a simple archlinux.nsh file with your boot parameters and put it in your UEFI System Partition, then run it with:

fs0:
archlinux

Example Script:

echo -on
\EFI\arch\vmlinuz-arch.efi root=PARTUUID=3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap initrd=\EFI\arch\initramfs-arch.img

This way you can specify UUID's without needing to remember the name or type out 20-30 characters.

Using efibootmgr entry

Note: This menthod may not work due to limitations in how the kernel handles uefi runtime variables. For example in Lenovo Thinkpads the initrd path is truncated (verified using efibootmgr -v command) and therefore the kernel fails to boot.

Note: Some UEFI firmwares may not support embedding command line parameters to uefi applications in the boot entries.

It is possible to directly embed the kernel parameters within the boot entry created by efibootmgr. This means that in your BIOS/UEFI you will be able to select Arch Linux directly in the default boot order, and on startup it will boot into Arch directly without any kind of boot selection GUI.

Do (as root):

Install efibootmgr if you haven't already.

 # pacman -S --needed efibootmgr

Determine the UUID or PARTUUID of your boot device (ie. the partition for /, not the EFI boot partition)

# blkid

Load the EFI module.

# modprobe efivars

Finally, add the efistub. WARNING: Make sure you replace the following before running this command:

• 3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 -- with the UUID of your / partition. (This is not PARTUUID!)
• ext4 -- if you use a different file system.
• /dev/sda -- the drive that contains the EFI boot partition.
• -p 1 -- the partition number of the EFI boot partition.

# echo 'root=UUID=3518bb68-d01e-45c9-b973-0b5d918aae96 ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap initrd=\EFI\arch\initramfs-arch.img' | iconv -t ucs2 | efibootmgr -c -g -d /dev/sda -p 1 -L "Arch Linux" -l '\EFI\arch\vmlinuz-arch.efi' -@ -

or you can just run the following line (remember to replace /dev/sda1):

# echo "root=UUID=$(blkid /dev/sda1 -o value -s UUID) ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap initrd=\\EFI\\arch\\initramfs-arch.img" | iconv -t ucs2 | efibootmgr -c -g -d /dev/sda -p 1 -L "Arch Linux" -l '\EFI\arch\vmlinuz-arch.efi' -@ -

It is a good idea to run

# efibootmgr -v

to verify that the resulting entry is correct. You should also consider reordering the boot options (efibootmgr -o) to place the Arch entry last, which will make the system easier to recover if it fails.

Note: On at least one system, the \\a in the initrd path was still interpreted as an escape character. If you get a "Failed to open initrd file" error or suspect that might be the case, try putting a triple backslash before the a in arch

Note: The trailing hyphen after --append-binary-args or -@ is required to instruct efibootmgr to read the parameters from STDIN (standard input). The code should be --append-binary-args - or -@ - .

More info about efibootmgr at UEFI#efibootmgr. Forum post https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1090040#p1090040 .

Note: Some firmwares may have trouble with the "initrd path" when piping in ucs-2 as shown above. In this case, one may put vmlinuz-linux.efi and the initramfs in the root of the ESP and adjust the efibootmgr entry accordingly.

GRUB 2.x

GRUB 2.x contains its own filesystem drivers and does not rely on the firmware to access the files. It can directly read files from /boot and does not require the kernel and initramfs files to be in the UEFISYS partition. Detailed information at GRUB#UEFI_systems_2. For bzr development version try AUR package - grub-efi-x86_64-bzr^AUR.

SYSLINUX

Note: Syslinux UEFI support is currently part of version 6.00-preXX or in firmware branch of upstream git repo. It is considered alpha quality by upstream. The below information is provided mainly to enable bug-testing. Please report all issues upstream.

Note: Syslinux UEFI can boot only those kernels that support EFI Handover Protocol. Thus LTS kernels are not supported.

Install syslinux-efi-git^AUR AUR package and copy /usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/* to $esp/EFI/syslinux/ ($esp is the mountpoint of UEFISYS partition) (efi64 is for x86_64 UEFI firmwares, replace with efi32 for i386 UEFI firmwares), and then create a boot entry using efibootmgr in the firmware boot manager.

ELILO

ELILO is the UEFI version of LILO Boot Loader. It was originally created for Intel Itanium systems which supported only EFI (precursor to UEFI). It is the oldest UEFI bootloader for Linux. It is still in development but happens at a very slow pace. Upstream provided compiled binaries are available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/elilo/ . Elilo config file elilo.conf is similar to LILO's config file. AUR package - elilo-efi-x86_64^AUR (only for x86_64 UEFI).

EFILINUX

EFILINUX is a reference implementation of a UEFI Linux bootloader and precursor to Kenrel EFISTUB support. It is considered to be a alpha quality software (as on 16-MAY-2012). Upstream sources are at https://github.com/mfleming/efilinux . and the usage instructions are at http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/1172645 and http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/1175060 . AUR packages - efilinux-efi and efilinux-efi-x86_64-git^AUR (only for x86_64 UEFI).

Package Naming Guidelines

UEFI bootloader package(s) should be suffixed with -efi-x86_64 or -efi-i386 to denote package built for 64-bit and 32-bit UEFI respectively. If a single package contains both 64-bit and 32-bit UEFI applications, then -efi suffix should be used in the pkgname.

See also

• Rod Smith - Managing EFI Boot Loaders for Linux
• Rod Smith - rEFInd, a fork or rEFIt
• Linux Kernel Documentation on EFISTUB
• Linux Kernel EFISTUB Git Commit
• Rod Smith's page on EFISTUB
• rEFInd Documentation for booting EFISTUB Kernels