rEFInd "Invalid loader file!" | Arch Linux Community | Page 1

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 6:24 AM

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I’m trying to set up rEFInd to act as a boot manager for an Arch/Windows 11 dual-boot (haven’t gotten to the dual-booting part yet, still stuck on making rEFInd work with only arch).
I’ve gotten to the point where Arch shows up as an option In rEFInd, but attempting to boot it results in

Invalid loader file!
Error: Not Found while loading vmlinuz-linux
``` (see attached)

I have also attached pictures of the Arch rEFInd stanza, my partitions layout, and my `/boot` directory. Note that the UUID is that of the `lv_root` partition.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 4:54 PM

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Not sure how important this is but here’s /boot/refind_linux.conf as well

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auto-generated by refind-install

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Though I can’t figure out which partition the resume uuid belongs to

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 5:14 PM

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removed the resume arguments, still getting the same error

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 5:49 PM

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removing the microcode initrd didn’t help either

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 7:15 PM

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Removed the submenuentries and added a volume label, same error

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 7:36 PM

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My current stanza is

menuentry "Arch Linux" {
    icon     /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png
    volume   "Arch Linux Root"
    loader   /boot/vmlinuz-linux
    initrd   /boot/initramfs-linux.img
    options  "root=UUID=2c1f972f-b6ba-4384-8232-ed6f802eb01e rw add_efi_memmap"
}

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 7:51 PM

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Trying a full system upgrade from within arch-chroot, hopefully it helps

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:24 PM

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Doesn’t look like it fixed anything

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 8:33 PM

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ah

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is /boot in root or your boot partition

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@compact goblet

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:34 PM

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In my root partition

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lv_root

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 8:35 PM

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rEFInd (and all other boot loaders) are confined to your boot partition, and therefore, the / directory is the root of your boot partition, not your root partition.

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this means that you need to remove the /boot prefix from all of your file inputs

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:38 PM

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Are the loader and initrd arguments not relative to the specified volume?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 8:44 PM

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compact goblet Are the loader and initrd arguments not relative to the specified volume?

Sorry, I just understood what you meant

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No, they are not.

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the "specified volume" is just a kernel perameter

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it's not even taken into consideration until the kernel is started

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:45 PM

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Oh

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Here’s my /boot directory and the output of lsblk -f btw

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 8:47 PM

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compact goblet Here’s my `/boot` directory and the output of `lsblk -f` btw

yeah that's pretty much what I expected

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I just misunderstood what you meant

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:47 PM

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Ah

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 8:48 PM

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spice helm it's not even taken into consideration until the kernel is started

How can I point rEFInd to /boot/vmlinuz-linux then?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 8:51 PM

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I'll let you figure that out. I will simply reiterate that the boot loader, rEFInd, is confined to your boot partition. This means that / is the root of your boot partition, not your lv_root partition.

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(just realized that your boot partition doesn't have a label lol)

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:03 PM

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The wiki seems to say that / is the root of the partition specified by volume, which should be my lv_root partition, though

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And since /boot is just a directory on the lv_root partition, shouldn’t /boot/vmlinuz-linux work fine?

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Not really sure how else I could access vmlinuz-linux

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I have the correct ext4 driver in esp/RFI/refind/drivers_x64

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:22 PM

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spice helm (just realized that your boot partition doesn't have a label lol)

Just added the label ESP to my boot partition

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Should that change anything?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:22 PM

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uhm

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no

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:22 PM

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compact goblet The wiki seems to say that `/` is the root of the partition specified by `volume...

no

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volume is your boot partition

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do you know what ESP stands for?

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:23 PM

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EFI something partition I assume

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system partition

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:24 PM

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yeah

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it's a descriptive term

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the label of your partition doesn't really affect much

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:24 PM

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Yeah that’s what I assumed

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:24 PM

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your boot partition contains your efi

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:24 PM

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When you say boot partition is that just the ESP?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:24 PM

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and therefore is your ESP

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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ok

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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compact goblet When you say boot partition is that just the ESP?

I say that because it's mounted at /boot

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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It isn’t

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it’s mounted at /efi

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/boot is just a directory on my root partition

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:26 PM

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compact goblet `/boot` is just a directory on my root partition

oh

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uh

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that's weird

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that's not going to work properly

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can you show me the contents of /efi with tree -d

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:27 PM

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spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:27 PM

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okay

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so

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:28 PM

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Should I copy over the contents of /boot to it

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:28 PM

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you should really start mounting your ESP on /boot and move your EFI directory to be a subdirectory of /boot

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:28 PM

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And then change its mount point to /boot?

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I see

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:29 PM

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that way you have a place to put files that aren't necessarily a part of the EFI while still being on the same partition.

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note that this is going to require editing your fstab - here be dragons!

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:31 PM

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Is just adding it to fstab enough?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:31 PM

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compact goblet Is just adding it to fstab enough?

changing an existing one, not adding.

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:32 PM

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It’s not mounted by default as of right now

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:32 PM

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compact goblet It’s not mounted by default as of right now

your ESP isn't?

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:32 PM

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correct

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:32 PM

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you really didn't follow the install guide

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lmao

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:39 PM

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Does this seem correct?

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changed my boot stanza to this

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Gonna reboot and see if it works now

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I seem to have 3 options in refind now?

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The Arch symbol works!

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:48 PM

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sorry I had to go for a second

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is booting working for you?

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:49 PM

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Yes! Thank you so much for your help

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:49 PM

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np

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:49 PM

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compact goblet The Arch symbol works!

The Tux also works

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Oh is one of them auto-detected and then the other comes from the stanza?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 9:49 PM

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compact goblet Oh is one of them auto-detected and then the other comes from the stanza?

yep

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if you want to get rid of the auto detected one add dont_scan_dirs / anywhere in your config

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 9:51 PM

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Ok thanks

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gonna try to install windows 11 now, hopefully it doesn’t break my efi again

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Making an ESP backup just in case

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:08 PM

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@compact goblet

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read this https://discord.com/channels/399812551963049995/1280245427484102817

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if you ever decide to theme rEFInd you're probably going to run into some issues

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I recommend using that fork for now

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I can help you with compilation if you end up needing it

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:09 PM

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compact goblet gonna try to install windows 11 now, hopefully it doesn’t break my efi again

it probably will

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all you have to do is grab the Microsoft directory from the ESP it fucks up and move it to your backup

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 10:10 PM

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and then move the modified backup back onto the partition?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:10 PM

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compact goblet and then move the modified backup back onto the partition?

yeah, exactly

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the Microsoft directory should be located in /boot/EFI

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 10:11 PM

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I see

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:11 PM

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rEFInd does all the hard work for you if you can set it up properly

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 10:11 PM

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Will windows then be auto-detected by refind?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:11 PM

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yes

compact goblet Sep 2, 2024, 10:12 PM

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spice helm if you want to get rid of the auto detected one add `dont_scan_dirs /` anywhere ...

Will this affect it?

spice helm Sep 2, 2024, 10:12 PM

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compact goblet Will this affect it?

nope

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I'm 99% sure that isn't recursive, and even if it is, rEFInd checks regardless.

compact goblet Sep 3, 2024, 12:55 AM

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the dual-boot seems to be working without issues

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didn't even have to change anything about the efi after installing windows

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thanks again for your help

#rEFInd "Invalid loader file!"