create install media with refind only instead of grub

nhk · 2017-08-13 13:49:12

hi guys,
been struggling with this for quite some time despite following a million crappy tutorials that don't give me what I want or reading the refind man page which also doesn't give me the end result I want either I'm about to toss this out the window completely.
I need to use refind for my boot-manager/loader, whatever... I can't use grub at all on this laptop, it doesn't work on Apollo Lake. I can however only seem to boot from an Ubuntu USB media that has been respun to boot using refind and it works fine as a live environment, it even installs fine.

Then I reboot, then it hangs again because it's clearly trying to use GRUB when I can't use grub at all.

No single other Linux distro will boot from a USB other than this respun Ubuntu one.

I've tried to manually load refind via the websites instructions from a live environment but that fails, it's just not happening. What I want to do is make a USB install media with refind that installs only refind and doesn't in any way force GRUB on me.

does anyone know exactly how this can be done with an Arch iso?

Scimmia · 2017-08-13 13:59:09

If it's trying to use GRUB, it's trying to boot BIOS. The install disk uses systemd-boot for UEFI. Sounds like something you could fix in a firmware setting.

nhk · 2017-08-13 14:11:39

Scimmia wrote:

If it's trying to use GRUB, it's trying to boot BIOS. The install disk uses systemd-boot for UEFI. Sounds like something you could fix in a firmware setting.

it's not at all possible to change the laptop firmware to anything other than UEFI, secure-boot is off. As I mentioned the *only* thing that has been able to boot on it has been an Ubuntu iso that is respun with rEFInd. Arch doesn't boot, Manjaro doesn't boot, Debian, Mint, etc... basically absolutely nothing works unless I can get rEFInd in the installation media somehow and that's what I've been having a hard time with.

never used a UEFI-only pc before I got this laptop, I've always turned it off and used legacy settings in the bios. That's why I figured asking here would be my last resort, if there is a way I can integrate refind into my iso then I will succeed... but I can't seem to be able to find anything to point me in the direction of how it can be done that works

like I can use this http://linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com.au/20 … using.html (isorespin.sh) and any Debian based OS will boot fine. That is the absolute only way I have been able to get anything other than Windows to boot though. Everything else results in a black screen with a tiny white cursor frozen in the top left corner of the screen 100% of the time. But even with that, after installing from the live system it installs grub which then kills it on reboot.

so nothing works unless its only using that specific live setup.

Last edited by nhk (2017-08-13 14:13:05)

Slithery · 2017-08-13 14:49:45

Just boot up the Ubuntu that does work and install Arch from there...

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … ting_Linux

Lone_Wolf · 2017-08-13 15:03:23

That blog doesn't mention refind or grub, but talks about a kernel issue .

If that's correct, you could use an older arch install iso and install arch with linux-lts .

nhk · 2017-08-13 15:09:49

Lone_Wolf wrote:

That blog doesn't mention refind or grub, but talks about a kernel issue .
If that's correct, you could use an older arch install iso and install arch with linux-lts .

yeah the only thing I need that the script does is use refind as a boot manager instead of grub. it allows linux to boot via USB on Intel Apollo Lake CPU's when no other distro will.

Uses the rEFInd boot manager

I don't care about anything else the script does. Which is why I wanted to know how it's possible to add refind as the only boot manager / loader into an Arch iso so I can boot from that instead

teckk · 2017-08-13 16:49:03

according to this:
http://www.cnx-software.com/2017/02/07/ … ke-laptop/

The first thing you’ll have to do is to press Esc while starting the laptop to enter the BIOS / UEFI “Aptio Setup Utility”, go to the Boot menu, and change from “Windows” to “Linux” for “OS Slelect” (sic.) option.
If you don’t do that, you’ll only have a cursor on the top left of the display when you boot Linux from the USB flash drive.....

nhk · 2017-08-13 17:19:46

teckk wrote:

according to this:
http://www.cnx-software.com/2017/02/07/ … ke-laptop/
The first thing you’ll have to do is to press Esc while starting the laptop to enter the BIOS / UEFI “Aptio Setup Utility”, go to the Boot menu, and change from “Windows” to “Linux” for “OS Slelect” (sic.) option.
If you don’t do that, you’ll only have a cursor on the top left of the display when you boot Linux from the USB flash drive.....

nah there's no option for that, the only way it is going to work is via refind but no one seems to know how I can add it to an Arch iso and have Arch install it alongside the OS ....

I can install refind in windows 10 and have it dual boot. I don't want to dual boot though and I don't want to reinstall windows 10 just for the sake of having refind as it severely limits the space on my mmc.

Lone_Wolf · 2017-08-14 12:51:58

According to arch wiki, syslinux is used to boot the installation iso, not grub .

Wiki has no details about changing bootloader for the installation iso, but there is a dedicated mailinglist for it.
You should try posting on arch-releng ML about this.

----------------------
Incase you prefer a workaround :

boot with the ubuntu disk,
follow the link posted by slithery to install arch
when time comes to setup bootloader for installed system, setup refind

Arch Linux

#1 2017-08-13 13:49:12

create install media with refind only instead of grub

#2 2017-08-13 13:59:09

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#3 2017-08-13 14:11:39

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#4 2017-08-13 14:49:45

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#5 2017-08-13 15:03:23

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#6 2017-08-13 15:09:49

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#7 2017-08-13 16:49:03

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#8 2017-08-13 17:19:46

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

#9 2017-08-14 12:51:58

Re: create install media with refind only instead of grub

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