[SOLVED] rEFInd and grub

It's actually more a doubt(A newbie one) then an issue.
Last weekend I had a problem loading my kernel with rEFInd(probably after an update, but I sure made some mistake). Then I found out that I could boot the machine and load the kernel with grub, even using EFI so I removed the rEFInd and put the grub. And it solved my issue.
The question is, there are any advantages in use one or another? What is the benefits of using grub and rEFInd? Should I be using rEFInd?
Last edited by AlexVanAxe (2014-01-19 15:36:21)

I do the opposite of WorMzy and keep gummiboot as my primary and rEFInd as a secondary. I like gummiboot because it has the option to have no timeout and still show the menu if you hold the spacebar when it loads. I like rEFInd because it allows me to boot from kernels that are on my btrfs partition, so in the event that my kernels don't get properly copied over to the ESP, I can still boot from the ones directly in /boot.
The efistub functionality has not been without its issues though, so it is probably a good idea to not rely on those entirely. I also keep a couple more traditional style bootloaders configured as well. In particular, I keep grub-efi set up because it can act as a fallback to the fallback, but also because it allows me to boot the archiso through a loop mount, which is quite nice.

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[Solved] installation and setup question - gummiboot and EFI

Hi,
This is the first time i'm installing arch. i hit the below issues. hope someone can help me out. my understanding of uefi is just about an hour worth of reading or less..
(the wiki didn't mention the kernel requirement when I started installing it... now it does and i updated the beginner's guide wiki post.)
Problem
Gummiboot#Installing says that "If you are still running kernel 3.7 or have not booted in EFI mode, creating the boot entry will fail. You should however still be able to boot gummiboot as it copies the binary to the default EFI binary location on your ESP (/boot/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI on x64 systems). "
the gummiboot part fails. gummiboot gives this error at install saying file system is not FAT EFI, so first I got gummiboot and gummiboot-efi both using pacman. then, I provided the --path to install and now it coughs up because the latest iso isn't 3.8 yet.
Failed to access EFI variables. Is the "efivarfs" filesystem mounted?
I can see efivars but this is asking for efivarfs.
so instead I did,
# cp /usr/lib/gummiboot/gummibootx64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/gummiboot/gummiboot.efi
# efibootmgr -c -d /dev/sda -p 1 -w -L "Gummiboot" -l '\EFI\gummiboot\gummiboot.efi'
how do I set this up? I'm afraid if I overwrite /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI windows might not boot.
after the installation (of course without gummiboot stuff) now when I reboot, I don't see any gummiboot menu at all because i didn't copy it to EFI/BOOT. it goes straight to windows 8 boot. during boot if I press F12 and see the menu option on thinkpad, I see gummiboot as the first entry(must be because of efibootmgr) followed by windows boot manager. When I select the gummiboot and enter, it just circles back to the same menu. I have setup the loader.conf and arch.conf as described in the wiki.
how do I set gummiboot to work? i dont mind pressing F12 and then going to gumiboot-> arch until 3.8 is out.
If this isn't possible, can I install rEFInd without messing gummiboot? looking at the dir structure of FAT EFI I think it should be possible but not 100% sure until i try it out. Also, to get rid of gummiboot, i should delete the directories, uninstall using pacman and get rid of the efibootmgr change I made, right?
Last edited by lobo2 (2013-03-15 04:07:47)

srs5694 wrote:
sidneyk wrote:Maybe not, I use rEFInd and mount ESP on /boot/efi and copy over updated kernels and initramfs. Maybe if you are mounting ESP at /boot the kernel and initramfs get written to both places at once, I don't know. I also don't know if /boot is where gummiboot expects them to be.
I realize this has been at least partially addressed by others, but I want to make two points very explicit:
In Linux, partitions (or more precisely, the filesystems that most of them contain) are accessed by mounting them at a mount point (a directory). Thus, when you mount the ESP at /boot, the contents of /boot are the ESP. Put another way, mounting the ESP at /boot means that to read or write the ESP, you read or write files and directories under /boot. You can test this yourself by mounting and unmounting a partition that's not basic to the minute-to-minute functioning of the computer. The ESP will actually work fine for this. Unmount it from /boot or /boot/efi and then issue a mount command to mount it elsewhere (say, "mount /dev/sda1 /mnt"). Then check the files under your temporary mount point, and even copy a file there. You can then unmount it and mount it back where you normally do and look for the file you copied -- it should be there. Play with this until you fully grok it.
Gummiboot runs before Linux, and it has no conception of Linux mount points. Thus, whether you mount the ESP at /boot, at /boot/efi, at /home/fred/abadmountpointforanesp is irrelevant, so long as the files on the ESP are laid out in the way that gummiboot expects. The trickiest aspect of this for those unfamiliar with the Linux mount system is that you do not include the Linux mount point in filename references for pre-boot programs like gummiboot. That is, if you mount the ESP at /boot and place the kernel at /boot/vmlinuz, then in gummiboot, the kernel would be \vmlinuz.
Yeah, I figured this out based on the OP's response to that and thinking it through, I just never really thought about it much before now. But I will argue that the mount point /boot and the EFI partition are indeed 2 different locations. I know that once the ESP is mounted at /boot that this distinction disappears until it is umounted and something written to /boot, but while mounted as such, /boot and ESP are virtually the same, at least to the Linux system. I realize the EFI programs are ran before any OS and therefore don't really care about any OS specifics.
I wonder if the OP has confused the info between gummiboot and rEFInd (possibly from the Beginners Guide) because to me, after reading the gummiboot wiki, it just seems that it would be much simpler to just give gummiboot what it wants, i.e. ESP mounted at /boot, whether it's a separate partion or not. I'll have to take a look again at the Beginners Guide to see again the order of things there, but if it isn't, maybe it should be having the user ensure that pacman has completely updated the new system and then go on to the boot loader specifics. I was just thinking though, that the way the install medium is now, that it was automatically pulling the latest stuff down as part of the install process. I know it's not pulling testing or multilib without user intervention, but the core, stable stuff it is. That seems to be part of the confusion here maybe, 2 different versions of gummiboot with gummiboot changing some things between the 2 and maybe the kernels, too.
[EDIT] I took another look at the Beginner's Guide and it says that most users will probably want to use the [core], [extra], and [community] repos, which are enabled by default. It goes on to recommend that [multilib] be enabled for users wanting to run 32 bit programs and then reminds you to run #pacman -Sy to update the package lists, but not #pacman -Syu which would apply any changes from the repos since starting the install. Shouldn't matter much, even if the [multilib] repo was enabled because at that point no 32 bit libs have been installed, but it would matter if a user decided to enable the testing repos.
I wouldn't ordinarily recommend it, but in this case, if the OP is comfortable with the risk, then it might be useful to, at least temporarily, enable the [testing] repo and do #pacman -Syu to pull in the 3.8 kernel. Note that this is likely to also pull in other packages from [testing], but if you haven't installed X yet or any desktop environment, then what is pulled in shouldn't be too overwhelming. He can then immediately go back and disable [testing] if desired. I'm currently using testing without any issues, but there are risks to doing so.
Last edited by sidneyk (2013-03-14 18:13:43)

After i download ios 5.1.1 i cant install it there is msg tell me an error occurred installing ios 5.1.1 what can i do to solve this and install the update ( i have ipad 2 ) ?????

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Found a FIX for MBR and GRUB GRUB2 ISSUES!

I like many other have had issues with Linux (Ubuntu), and the MBR modification and GRUB.
My tragedy went something like this. I wanted to install Ubuntu on a netbook without a CD Drive.
I put a Live Ubuntu CD in my computer and booted up.
I connected a Sata drive through my esata port.
I proceeded to install Ubuntu on the external drive.
Drive would not work on netbook,
Compute would not boot to windows 7.
What really happened:
When I installed Ubuntu on the external drive, GRUB was installed on my primary hard drive on my laptop.
If the external drive was attached to the laptop, GRUB came up and I could choose what I wanted to boot to (windows worked fine). But, if that drive was not connected, it gave the error "Device not present", that was it.
DONT DO THIS:
I tried to use a windows 7 dvd from another computer to "repair", didn't work, I think it recognized it was an OEM install.
I tried to use an XP install disk, got blue screen of death, and the computer would not boot, not even with external sata drive connected (now I was starting to sweat)
What worked:
I used the live Ubuntu CD to access my windows drive and did an immediate backup of all important files, all 112GB worth...
I saw I could purchase a windows 7 CD to repair my computer for about $10 (tempting but didn't)
Solution:
I want to my wifes computer: Start->Control Panel->System Security (click: Backup Your Computer)
On the left hand column click: Create System Repair Disk
Create Disk.
Took the disk to my laptop and booted it. I was concerned that It said Toshiba, not Lenovo. I clicked on the language and it noticed the MBR was not correct and asked if it could repair it? I said Yes, then it gave me the option to reboot. I rebooted and removed the CD. Everything is working fine!
I hope this helps someone sort through the sea of informaton concerning GRUB and the MBR file. This solution is for so many people, like myself have no windows 7 disk to boot from.
Lewis.

I should also point out that all the files of my website are in the root folder of my FTP, not in root/Website_Folder_Here folder.

Uninstall Linux and Grub dual boot from Win7 HP dm4..

uninstall Linux and Grub dual boot from Win7 HP dm4. I only have recovery disks. I just want to do a Startup Repair not a full system recovery.
When I reboot with the recovery disk there is no choice for Startup Repair.
thank you for any help.
Blue Jacket

Hello bluecape. I understand you'd like to uninstall Grub/Linux. Is your recovery disc a Windows Recovery disc or the HP System Recovery disc?
You will need to begin by fixing the "Master Boot Record." This is where Grub is installed and what allows you to select your operating system. If you have a HP System Recovery disc the steps may be different--these steps are specifically for a Windows Recovery Disc. Try the following.
Boot the notebook with your Recovery Disc.
Select "Repair your Computer."
Select your Windows version once the dialog box populates.
Choose "Command Prompt" as your Recovery Tool.
From the command prompt type "bootrec /FixMbr" and press Enter.
Once this is finished type "exit" and press Enter.
Take the disc out and reboot the PC. It should boot straight into Windows without a boot loader prompting you.
The Linux files and partitions are still there but you can now remove those partitions from Windows. Simply format the partitions to "uninstall" Linux.
I hope this is helpful. If you have further questions just let me know. Have a great day!
Please click the white star under my name to give me Kudos as a way to say "Thanks!"
Click the "Accept as Solution" button if I resolve your issue.

My iMail keeps crashing -- how do I solve this and do I need to re-install

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My iphone screen has gone white with a few grey lines down the right hand side.. Has anyone any ideas how I can solve this and get my screen back to normal..? Thanks

my iphone screen has gone white with a few grey lines down the right hand side.. Has anyone any idea how I can solve this and get my screen back to normal..? Thanks

Hi tag71,
If you are having issues with the display on your iPhone, you may find the Display portion of the following article helpful:
iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2802
Regards,
- Brenden

I would like to get data analysis for solving statistic and making graphs, but this function is not in add-in. How should I do? I also set up microsoft office for mac 2011.

I would like to get data analysis for solving statistic and making graphs, but this function is not in add-in. How should I do? I also set up microsoft office for mac 2011.

Microsoft didn't include that with the 2011 version.
There is a third-party application that substitutes for the add-in: http://www.analystsoft.com/en/products/statplusmac/
They also have a limited, free version.

[SOLVED] Issues with GRUB and rc.conf

I've just performed a full system upgrade and I've found these errors:
-> When I restart my system, GRUB doesn't load at all. It takes severak seconds until it displays "GRUB Stage 1.5" and right after that it then enters in a loop displaying the message until forever
GRUB Stage 1.5
GRUB Stage 1.5
GRUB Stage 1.5
GRUB Stage 1.5
GRUB Stage 1.5
and so on.
It only happens when I restart the system from my DE. If I turn off and on the system everythings works fine again. I've also tried to reinstall grub but the problem persists, Any idea on this issue??
-> I use Xfce4 as my desktop enviroment and after the upgrade it ignores the KEYMAP entry in my rc.conf file. It is set to "es" but somehow it uses a us layout. I can change the layout in the Xfce menu but why is this happening? Why is it ignoring the rc.conf file?
UPDATE: I solved this issue by doing this: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xor … _US_layout
Any clues on the issues are appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by flight243 (2010-09-17 22:31:50)

UPDATE2: Surprisingly the GRUB problem does not happen to me anymore and I have not changed anything. How weird....
Anyway, this thread is SOLVED.
Thanks for reading!

[SOLVED] Display manager, GRUB and NTFS

Hello people
Yesterday I spent whole day on installling and configuring my arch but i still have 3 problems.
1st and most important is GRUB, i wanted to dual boot with windows vista, i have windows vista installed on another partition but now, after i installed arch, it doesnt show on GRUB. How can i solve that problem, i really need it because my family is not using linux.
2. I cant make the Display manager work, i could install xdm but when i type username and password it redirects to the same xdm. BTW, i followed the documentation from arch's website.
3. I can not open NTFS partitions, i have installed something called ntfs-3g but didn't help.
Thanks for help.:)
Btw, i need a network manager so it will connect to wifi network automatically like in ubuntu or windows, i dont want to do "iwconfig ..." evey time ...
Last edited by khajvah (2012-04-23 10:43:18)

DSpider wrote:
There's a wiki on XDM, with a very relevant entry to your problem: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/XD … fter_login
But why use a display manager at all if you're the only one in your family using Linux? To keep away the plebeians?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Start_X_at_Boot
Thank you very much, now i have windows and i dont care about display manager
I think you're confusing it with a bootloader.
- A display manager lets you choose a user, and depending on the manager perhaps even a desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, Xfce, etc) or a window manager (Openbox, xmonad, awesome, etc).
- A bootloader lets you choose which operating system you want to start.
Yeah, i meant, now, nobody from my family will call me and say "WTF have you done with the computer ", bc i am the only one who uses computer not only for inet. Now, they will use windows:)

[Solved] Installing and using GRUB on LVM

New installation, no more windows, using LVM.
pvdisplay :
--- Physical volume ---
PV Name /dev/sda1
VG Name DesktopLVM
PV Size 243.14 MiB / not usable 3.14 MiB
Allocatable yes (but full)
PE Size 4.00 MiB
Total PE 60
Free PE 0
Allocated PE 60
PV UUID 9LXTZW-zZNI-dQ3W-RMTD-C3Fl-5blw-TbPwOo
--- Physical volume ---
PV Name /dev/sda2
VG Name DesktopLVM
PV Size 19.07 GiB / not usable 4.15 MiB
Allocatable yes (but full)
PE Size 4.00 MiB
Total PE 4882
Free PE 0
Allocated PE 4882
PV UUID bgu0dD-seVt-nz7i-3Vdi-PZ4U-MKKa-pk3i6V
--- Physical volume ---
PV Name /dev/sda3
VG Name DesktopLVM
PV Size 7.63 GiB / not usable 4.86 MiB
Allocatable yes (but full)
PE Size 4.00 MiB
Total PE 1952
Free PE 0
Allocated PE 1952
PV UUID lybKyF-aqIM-3tTA-FEH3-LRPn-cjI5-qqhG75
--- Physical volume ---
PV Name /dev/sda4
VG Name DesktopLVM
PV Size 438.82 GiB / not usable 3.84 MiB
Allocatable yes (but full)
PE Size 4.00 MiB
Total PE 112337
Free PE 0
Allocated PE 112337
PV UUID l1h3Hh-BkzT-Fj0q-9mDH-1IGx-DtI0-v8AGgS
lvdisplay :
--- Logical volume ---
LV Path /dev/DesktopLVM/boot
LV Name boot
VG Name DesktopLVM
LV UUID Je7Lat-TOzj-vWei-5fLe-4cc8-ZAUF-J2IGAu
LV Write Access read/write
LV Creation host, time archiso, 2013-08-01 16:54:03 +0000
LV Status available
# open 1
LV Size 256.00 MiB
Current LE 64
Segments 1
Allocation inherit
Read ahead sectors auto
- currently set to 256
Block device 254:1
--- Logical volume ---
LV Path /dev/DesktopLVM/root
LV Name root
VG Name DesktopLVM
LV UUID xRK2SN-4IG1-RjNV-RHAl-qeXL-R8F3-k4SDQt
LV Write Access read/write
LV Creation host, time archiso, 2013-08-01 16:54:12 +0000
LV Status available
# open 1
LV Size 20.00 GiB
Current LE 5120
Segments 1
Allocation inherit
Read ahead sectors auto
- currently set to 256
Block device 254:2
--- Logical volume ---
LV Path /dev/DesktopLVM/var
LV Name var
VG Name DesktopLVM
LV UUID Ej5zmm-7Q2x-HubD-JCBp-rg3F-g1oo-4rGBEn
LV Write Access read/write
LV Creation host, time archiso, 2013-08-01 16:54:21 +0000
LV Status available
# open 1
LV Size 8.00 GiB
Current LE 2048
Segments 1
Allocation inherit
Read ahead sectors auto
- currently set to 256
Block device 254:3
--- Logical volume ---
LV Path /dev/DesktopLVM/home
LV Name home
VG Name DesktopLVM
LV UUID jU5Fdz-Tgdl-wPeE-ePOB-NaZk-CsGN-Xc8rkn
LV Write Access read/write
LV Creation host, time archiso, 2013-08-01 16:54:37 +0000
LV Status available
# open 1
LV Size 437.50 GiB
Current LE 111999
Segments 4
Allocation inherit
Read ahead sectors auto
- currently set to 256
Block device 254:4
The problem is when using grub-install :
sh-4.2# grub-install --recheck /dev/sda
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
WARNING: Failed to connect to lvmetad: No such file or directory. Falling back to internal scanning.
/usr/bin/grub-bios-setup: warning: your core.img is unusually large. It won't fit in the embedding area.
/usr/bin/grub-bios-setup: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for RAID and LVM install.
cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg :
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
set default="${next_entry}"
set next_entry=
save_env next_entry
set boot_once=true
else
set default="0"
fi
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod lvm
insmod ext2
set root='lvm/DesktopLVM-root'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint='lvm/DesktopLVM-root' b881e4e6-ad72-495c-8ae1-610ec15d27c8
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root b881e4e6-ad72-495c-8ae1-610ec15d27c8
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=en_US
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_input console
terminal_output gfxterm
set timeout=5
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux core repo kernel' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-core repo kernel-true-b881e4e6-ad72-495c-8ae1-610ec15d27c8' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod lvm
insmod ext2
set root='lvm/DesktopLVM-boot'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint='lvm/DesktopLVM-boot' edf3011c-e581-448e-baad-d1e03d5fb8f6
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root edf3011c-e581-448e-baad-d1e03d5fb8f6
fi
echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-root ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux core repo kernel (Fallback initramfs)' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-core repo kernel-fallback-b881e4e6-ad72-495c-8ae1-610ec15d27c8' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod part_msdos
insmod lvm
insmod ext2
set root='lvm/DesktopLVM-boot'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint='lvm/DesktopLVM-boot' edf3011c-e581-448e-baad-d1e03d5fb8f6
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root edf3011c-e581-448e-baad-d1e03d5fb8f6
fi
echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-root ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
Partially related, fdisk -l :
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x1bbed4e9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 498014 248976 8e Linux LVM
/dev/sda2 498015 40499864 20000925 8e Linux LVM
/dev/sda3 40499865 56500604 8000370 8e Linux LVM
/dev/sda4 56500605 976773167 460136281+ 8e Linux LVM
Disk /dev/mapper/arch_root-image: 1494 MB, 1494220800 bytes, 2918400 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk /dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-boot: 268 MB, 268435456 bytes, 524288 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk /dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-root: 21.5 GB, 21474836480 bytes, 41943040 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk /dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-var: 8589 MB, 8589934592 bytes, 16777216 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk /dev/mapper/DesktopLVM-home: 469.8 GB, 469757853696 bytes, 917495808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
How do i install grub now ?
L.E. : do not include the boot partition into LVM.
Last edited by psycho (2013-08-01 18:58:18)

Your first partition starts at block 63. Grub has gotten so bloated that it now writes to not only the MBR, but also to the space from the MBR (after sector 0) to the start of the first partition, which these days is sector 2048. This new start point is for alignment purposes.
You either need to recreate your first partition and let fdsik align it to sector 2048, or you need to create a grub bios boot partition (as though you were using GPT).
Honestly, although grub2 can handle this, I think putting /boot inside the LVM is a bad idea. It just makes you totally reliant on grub2 with no other bootloader choice. For example, if something in some poorly designed program decided to write some crap to the area between the MBR and the first partition (which applications have been known to do), and you had a USB flash drive with syslinux on it (which the Arch live media has), then you could not set it up to boot your disc.
I think you should use the pvremove command to take that first partition out temporarily, then create two new partitions. One for /boot and one to add back. But this is not going to be very straight forward since you already have four primary partitions. It might be better to convert your partitions to GPT (which is super easy using gdisk) because then you are limited to only 128 primary partitions instead of a measly four. If you do that though, then you will have to make three new partitions if you want to continue to use grub2. You will additionally need the grub bios partition mentioned above. The grub2 wiki page had more info on this. But then you should make the /boot partition and then the partition to add back.
At the very least, you are going to have to remove the first partition so that it can be resized, and then add it back. Hopefully, you have not already filled the LVM space, so that you can easily shift things around.

SATA and GRUB? Is it possible? [solved]

Hi all
I suppose that is it possible to install GRUB on SATA disk.
I have the following problem:
I have these partitions:
sda1 - NTFS - win
sda2 - actually without filesystem
sda3 - boot linux ext2
sda5 - linux swap
sda6 - linux XFS
I would like to use GRUB as bootloader so I write the following to the menu.lst:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 ro vga=773
initrd /boot/initrd26.img
But I always get error 22 from GRUB. I suppose the I make mistake at the root line, because I currently dont know if there should be the boot or the root particion, but if the root then it should be right.
Next I install GRUB do boot partition, so to: sda3
I can install LILO correctly, but I wouldn't like to use LILO, I would rather to learn GRUB so can me anyone help where I make the mistake?
(and the primary or logical partitions are not playing the game there, or yes?)

Infinite wrote:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 ro vga=773
initrd /boot/initrd26.img
I think you're trying to boot into your swap partition if your partition table corresponds with what you've posted above.
I believe thre root-line should be "root (hd0,4)" if your Arch installation resides on sda3. (GRUB starts with 0 and counts onward )
No! Then it should be (hd0,2)!
You have a separate boot partition, but your GRUB menu entry acts as if you don't. try this:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,2)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 ro vga=773
initrd /initrd26.img
Note that I dropped the /boot/ from the kernel and initrd lines. This is because root (hd0,2) accesses your boot partition directly so it becomes / (instead of /boot).
when you try to access /boot like that, you actually access the /boot folder on sda6, but this is empty, because your boot partition isn't mounted there, at that point in the boot process.
GRUB has no notion of /etc/fstab

[SOLVED] UEFI system booting from MBR partition table and GRUB legacy

I'm trying to understand once and for all the process by which Arch can be booted from a system with UEFI firmware and an MBR partition table. Some of the information on the wiki seems conflictual / non-nonsensical at times. Apologies in advance if this has been answered time and time again, but I did search around and all I found was fixes to get Arch to boot rather than comprehensive explanations of the boot process.
Now, the way I would imagine it works is that it's just completely identical to the way it would work with a BIOS firmware. The UEFI firmware detects an MBR partitioning scheme (or is configured to know it's an MBR partitioning scheme), activates some "legacy" mode and executes the MBR boot code, just like a BIOS firmware would.
The wiki however, says different. From the Macbook article: "Do not install GRUB onto /dev/sda !!! Doing so is likely to lead to an unstable post-environment."?
So what is there in the MBR boot sector? Nothing?
How does the firmware know what to boot if there's no 0xEF BIOS boot partition and no Grub stage 1 in the MBR boot sector?
Also, how does installing Grub stage 1 to a partition work? Does it have to be at the beginning of the partition? Wouldn't that overwrite some existing data?
I'm especially puzzled since many guides to installing Vista on a macbook recommend simply formatting as MBR, and installing as normal, which I suppose entails having the Windows installation process write its boot code to the MBR, ie the equivalent of installing grub stage 1 to /dev/sda rather than to the /boot partition, as the Macbook article suggests.
Any input is appreciated.
P.S. I realize it's probably simpler, if I just want to dual boot Windows and Arch, to install Windows 7 in UEFI-GPT mode, let it create the EFI System Partition, and then install GRUB 2 to that partition, but I'm still curious about the UEFI-MBR boot process.
Last edited by padavoine (2012-06-06 09:35:10)

padavoine wrote:
CSM in UEFI firmwares do the exact same job as normal BIOS firmware.
So it's something specific to the Mac that it's able to boot from a partition's VBR while ignoring the MBR?
The reason that warning is given is because grub-legacy modifies more than just the MBR boot code region. It can overwrite some parts of GPT header.
Not true, the instruction is given in the context of an MBR format, not in the context of a GPT format, so there's nothing to overwrite and Stage 1.5 should be safely embeddable in the post-MBR gap.
In BIOS boot (normal case in non-UEFI firmwares or CSM in UEFI firmwares) does not read the partitition table (atleast it is supposed to be dumb in this regard), it simply launches whatever boot code exists in the 1st 440-byte of the MBR region.
So again, you're saying it's specific to the Mac UEFI that it lets you choose a partition whose VBR to load, regardless of what's in the MBR?
I haven't used Macs so I can't comment on Mac firmware behaviour. But normal BIOS firmwares (legacy and CSM) launch only the MBR boot code and not the partition boot code. We need some chainload capable boot manager in the MBR to launch the partition VBR.
grub-legacy does not know anything about GPT. So when you install grub-legacy to /dev/sda, it install the MBR boot code (stage1) and stage 1.5 code to the (supposed) post MBR gap. Since there is no actual post MBR gap in GPT (which has been taken over by the header and partition table), grub-legacy does not check for GPT and it assumes the post MBR gap actually exists which is invalid in case of GPT. grub-legacy embeds the stage 1.5 code in GPT header and table region (which grub assumes to be unused post MBR gap) and thus corrupts it.
0xEF is the MBR type code for UEFISYS partition. grub stage 1 (used in grub-legacy, not in grub2) is the 440-byte boot code stored in MBR for use in BIOS boot.
That's precisely my point: with neither proper executable code in the MBR (since grub was installed to a partition, not to the MBR) nor a UEFI system partition, what does the firmware default to, and how does it know what partition to boot from?
In that case it might fallback to UEFI Shell (if it exists) or give an error similar to the case where BIOS does not find any bootable code in 440-byte MBR region.
So even with bootcamp/CSM, the disk also needs to be MBR partitioned. So Macs use something called "Hybrid GPT/MBR" ( http://rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html ) where the MBR table is synced to match the first 3 partitions in the GPT table.
I know what Bootcamp does, and that's not what I was referring to. I was referring to standalone Vista installs. I wasn't puzzled at the fact that they were using MBR, I was puzzled at the fact that contrary to the recommendations for the standalone Arch install on the wiki (with MBR partitioning, not GPT), they didn't do anything to try and prevent Windows from writing to the MBR.
You can't prevent Windows from overwriting the MBR region. You have to re-install the bootloader (grub2/syslinux etc.) after installing Windows. That is the reason why it is recommended to install Windows first and linux later.
Thats not true. I actually find it is much easier to install Windows UEFI-GPT using USB rather than a DVD.
I haven't done it since the only UEFI system I own has no DVD drive, but I was under the impression that it was simply a matter of choosing DVD UEFI boot in the firmware's boot menu.
format the USB as FAT32 and extract the iso to it. That it.
No, thats not it, precisely, it doesn't work out of the box with a standard Windows install USB, you need to fiddle around:
2.3 Extract bootmgfw.efi from [WINDOWS_x86_64_ISO]/sources/install.wim => [INSTALL.WIM]/1/Windows/Boot/EFI/bootmgfw.efi (using 7-zip aka p7zip for both the files), or copy it from C:\Windows\Boot\EFI\bootmgfw.efi from a working Windows x86_64 installation.
2.4 Copy the extracted bootmgfw.efi file to [MOUNTPOINT]/efi/microsoft/boot/bootmgfw.efi .
Most of the Windows isos already have /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI file, so no need to extract the bootmgfw.efi file.
There is no difference between in BIOS booting in UEFI firmwares and BIOS booting with legacy firmware.
There has to be a difference, at least in the Mac firmware (sorry, I keep switching), since legacy firmware, AFAIK, cannot chainload a bootloader in a partition's VBR without there being some sort of "stage1" code in the MBR.
No idea about Mac EFI. Apple made a spagetti out of UEFI Spec. To actually understand how Mac firmwares work, read the blog posts by Matthew Garrett of Redhat, about his efforts in getting Fedora to boot in Macs.

Lilo and grub woes [solved]

i seem to be having bootloader problems no matter which one i choose
My partions are
/dev/sda1 /boot
/dev/sda2 Swap
/dev/sda3 /home
boot=/dev/sda1
default=arch
timeout=50
lba32
prompt
image=/boot/vmlinuz26
label=arch
root=/dev/sda3
initrd=/boot/kernel26.img
read-only
all i get are a bunch of 99999 with lilo and a screen full of grub can some tell me what wrong so i can try and fix it thanx
i know to run lilo after doing changes
i also try writeing to the mbr no dice
Last edited by littleb2005 (2007-08-29 01:50:58)

On googling this for lilo here http://www.webservertalk.com/archive200 … 35228.html " 99 99 99 symptom and it indicates a bad lilo configuration."
Grub error here http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/grub-error-guide.xml both point to a bad configuration something isn't right with the configuration

[SOLVED] rEFInd and grub

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