refind-mkdefault(8)
NAME
refind-mkdefault - Set rEFInd as the default EFI boot option
SYNOPSIS
refind-mkdefault [ -L|--label <name> ]
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 efibootmgr 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 efibootmgr. Such adjustments are annoying to make and
can be intimidating to non-experts.
The refind-mkdefault 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:
* If a rEFInd entry already exists in the boot order and is
already first in the list, no changes are made.
* 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.
* If more than one rEFInd entry exists in the boot order, refind-
mkdefault moves the one that comes earliest to the front of the
boot order list.
* If no rEFInd entry exists in the boot order but a rEFInd boot
entry can be found in the list of Boot#### entries, it is added
to the boot order and placed at the front of the list.
* 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.
A rEFInd entry is defined as one that contains the string refind (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 --label (-L) option.
The intent is that refind-mkdefault 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.
OPTIONS
-L | --label <name>
Instead of searching for the string refind in efibootmgr output
as a way to identify rEFInd, search for the string name.
RETURN VALUES
refind-mkdefault returns the following values:
0 The script completed successfully, which can mean either that no
change was necessary or that the call to efibootmgr returned a
success code.
1 EFI boot order variables are available, and a rEFInd entry was
found, but the call to efibootmgr returned a failure code.
2 EFI boot entries are not available. This condition is often an
indication of a buggy EFI or badly damaged NVRAM contents.
3 No rEFInd entry could be found in the list of boot options, and
so no changes were made to the boot order list.
4 The script could not run because of OS issues -- the OS was not
Linux, the efibootmgr utility was not available, or the script
was not run as root.
LIMITATIONS
* refind-mkdefault 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 efibootmgr
is not installed or fails to work for any reason.
* 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
efibootmgr may be necessary in such cases.
AUTHORS
Primary author: Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com)
SEE ALSO
mvrefind (8), mkrlconf (8), refind-install (8), efibootmgr (8) http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/
AVAILABILITY
The refind-mkdefault command is part of the rEFInd package and is available from Roderick W. Smith.
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