Refind USB install

[Michael]

Refind USB Install for dual booting between Windows and Linux

Installing rEFInd (USB Installation)​

Required Items​

• rEFInd.img (Sourceforge.net)
• Rufus (Rufus.ie)
• USB Flash Drive

Installation steps​

Windows​

• Preparing the installation USB Flash Drive

• Unzip the downloaded file refind zip file downloaded from Sourceforge — save the .img file somewhere convenient
• Plug in USB Flash Drive
• Open up Rufus and select the options accordingly:
• 
  
• Device: USB Flash Drive
• Boot Selection: refind-flashdrive-0.12.0.img
• Partition Scheme: GPT
• Target System: BIOS or UEFI
• Volume label: rEFInd Installation
• File System: FAT32
• Cluster Size: No change
• Click Start — Once done reboot into BIOS and follow #2

• Installing rEFInd into a HDD/SSD

• From BIOS boot menu boot into the rEFInd USB Flash Drive
• Once booted into rEFInd, select the first option on the second the row — should be Install to a disk
• Match the GUID you jot down earlier. Navigate to it and press enter.
• Done. Reboot into BIOS and make rEFInd your #1 Boot Option, to always boot into rEFInd by default

 

[Michael]

Linux Install​

An EFI System Partition is simply a FAT32-formatted partition (with the ESP boot flag set on GPT partition tables). Some UEFI systems will happily load bootloaders from a FAT32 partition on a standard MBR partition (mine does). It looks to me like you've created it properly, but lacks formatting. Once formatted, you'll "install" rEFInd there by copying the rEFInd files.

• Format: mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdd1
• Mount: mkdir /tmp/usbboot && mount /dev/sdd1 /tmp/usbboot
• Prepare destination folder: mkdir /tmp/usbboot/EFI
• Copy rEFInd's files: cp -a /path/to/refind /tmp/usbboot/EFI/ (or use the refind-install script: refind-install --root /tmp/usbboot)
• Edit rEFInd's configuration to taste (/tmp/usbboot/EFI/refind/refind.conf)

The final step to fully install a bootloader on a UEFI system is to register it with your UEFI firmware, using efibootmgr or similar. This is often skipped with bootable USB drives; it will only affect the current system. To boot on other systems you'd use the firmware's boot menu. (If there are no other drives plugged in, and no other bootloaders on the USB's ESP, the firmware should auto-detect rEFInd and load it automatically.)

 

[Michael]

This is a work in progress. I currently use the Windows option and it works fine for me using Samsung thumb drives @400MB/s. I intend to place the partitions onto SSD drives that I can boot to for emergency repairing the rest of my drives.