Dual booting Arch with Windows using refind [Solved]

srs5694 · 2014-03-29 14:14:36

Just because one OS (or installer disc) boots in EFI mode does not mean that the next one will. You must ensure that every OS/installer boots in the same mode. This can be tricky sometimes, because the rules that a given firmware follows to decide how to boot are not standardized. Thus, one computer may behave very differently from another one, and it's impossible to document everything. (Well, I suppose an omniscient being could write up a flow chart describing everything, but it would be a nightmare to follow.)

As a general rule, though, when booting an external medium, try to get into the computer's boot manager, which is usually accessible by hitting a function key, or sometimes the Esc key, early in the boot process (when the firmware is displaying its own splash screen). Often, but not always, you'll see two options for external media (CDs, USB flash drives, etc.), one with the string "EFI" or "UEFI" in it and the other without. The option with "EFI" or "UEFI" boots in EFI mode, and the other boots in BIOS/CSM/legacy mode.

If you don't see both options, consider how you burned your boot medium. Some tools, such as unetbootin, tend to corrupt things, which can result in the loss of one or the other option. Using "dd" to copy a .iso file to a USB flash drive is usually more reliable, in my experience, although I don't know if this is true of the Arch boot media specifically.

Once you've booted, verify your boot mode by looking for /sys/firmware/efi. If that directory is present, you've booted in EFI mode. If it's absent, you've probably booted in BIOS/CSM/legacy mode (although there are ways to boot in EFI mode and have /sys/firmware/efi be absent).

Mr Green · 2014-03-29 15:02:37

I used 'dd' for arch media and generally it works. On this occasion it did not boot (efi) so I am assuming that with /sys/firmware/efi being missing and nothing in bios laptop is not efi enabled. When I get home I will post model maybe it will hep others. I may be able to test on my mothers windows 8 laptop....at least it will tell me that arch media works via dd (which I have a feeling it will)

Mr Green · 2014-03-30 09:58:37

Testing on my mothers laptop arch-install-media (used 'dd' to a usb stick) efi boot menu came up and managed to grab the following during session

efivarfs on /sys/firmware/efi/efivars type efivarfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)

/sys/firmware

acpi/  efi/  memmap/

Arch Linux

#26 2014-03-29 14:14:36

Re: Dual booting Arch with Windows using refind [Solved]

#27 2014-03-29 15:02:37

Re: Dual booting Arch with Windows using refind [Solved]

#28 2014-03-30 09:58:37

Re: Dual booting Arch with Windows using refind [Solved]

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