rEFInd problems

DaBungalow · 2013-02-17 23:05:36

Hey everyone,

So I am a noob to Arch. I am trying to install Arch on my Lenovo z580 laptop and nothing I try works. I did several test installs on VirtualBox before trying to install Arch on my actual hard drive and I managed to get every one of my Arch installs to work. Different story with my actual laptop. I have looked in the forums and nothing matches the problem I am having. I need to get my laptop back up and running for my school but I REALLY want to have Arch on my computer. Here is my problem:

I get through the entire install process and everything goes great. I am using UEFI and rEFInd works just fine. I have been having a ton of trouble when I turn off the UEFI boot in the BIOS so I have stuck with UEFI. I reboot my computer and the rEFInd GUI pops up, great. I boot Arch and I get a black screen with a blue bar at the top that says:

rEFInd - Booting OS

Starting vmlinux-linux.efi
Using load options 'root=PARTUUID=53919....(rest of PARTUUID)..... ro rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap systemd.unit=graphical.target initrd=EFI\arch\initramfs-linux.img'

and then the boot hangs. That is the only screen I end up seeing for the next 5 minutes.

I am not sure what else you guys need to see to help me so please let me know. I have tried to follow the Beginner's Guide but I have had a hard time figuring it out. Especially since most of it seems outdated since the switch to systemd.

srs5694 · 2013-02-17 23:53:01

There have been a number of complaints recently about problems booting some recent Arch kernels on some EFI machines. See this thread for details. It could be you're running into the same thing, but the problem seems to be inconsistent -- some people have problems and others don't. If this is your issue, you could try another kernel version to see if that helps.

DaBungalow · 2013-02-18 00:19:41

Thanks for the response. Looking at the thread, the problem seems to be related to Lenovo hardware (that is the only commonality I see). I'll try the different kernel when I get back.

cfr · 2013-02-18 02:53:21

Maybe try regenerating the initramfs and/or booting the fallback?

You could also try the LTS kernel.

swordfish · 2013-02-18 09:49:50

You could try starting your system from an UEFI-Shell.

By the way:

Starting vmlinux-linux.efi

looks a little strange to me. The default kernel is called "vmlinuz-linux" - "vmlinuz" with a "z"! Maybe that's the reason why you can't boot

DaBungalow · 2013-02-18 17:05:51

Actually, that was probably a typo on my part. I was sure that I managed to get that file copied without changing the name. I will double check it though. Thanks!

Last edited by DaBungalow (2013-02-18 17:06:05)

DaBungalow · 2013-02-19 06:34:09

I just installed grub and it works fine, so I am pretty sure it has to do with my Lenovo hating rEFInd, according to the thread that srs5694 pointed out. Thanks for sending me to that thread! They were the ones that told me to install GRUB!

srs5694 · 2013-02-19 16:03:49

DaBungalow wrote:

I just installed grub and it works fine, so I am pretty sure it has to do with my Lenovo hating rEFInd, according to the thread that srs5694 pointed out. Thanks for sending me to that thread! They were the ones that told me to install GRUB!

No, not rEFInd; it's the EFI stub loader, or possibly a flaw in the way the Arch developers are building it into some recent kernels. As the other thread details, other boot managers, including gummiboot and the firmware's own boot manager, present problems when launching these kernels.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-02-17 23:05:36

rEFInd problems

#2 2013-02-17 23:53:01

Re: rEFInd problems

#3 2013-02-18 00:19:41

Re: rEFInd problems

#4 2013-02-18 02:53:21

Re: rEFInd problems

#5 2013-02-18 09:49:50

Re: rEFInd problems

#6 2013-02-18 17:05:51

Re: rEFInd problems

#7 2013-02-19 06:34:09

Re: rEFInd problems

#8 2013-02-19 16:03:49

Re: rEFInd problems

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