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Bootloader

Kevin P. Wilson edited this page Aug 7, 2024 · 1 revision
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Install Guide: Bootloader

How Booting Works

In order for Funtoo Linux to boot, it must detect the boot filesystem, root filesystem and swap. The most reliable way to do this is to use the UUID, or unique identifier, of the partitions holding these filesystems. We will use these UUID values in the , which we will set up next. The UUID allows Linux to find the right filesystem, even if it detects the disks differently or you move them around in your computer. Funtoo Linux uses a Linux kernel and initial RAM disk to boot, and to get everything set up, we need to set up correctly, and then install the GRUB boot loader -- and there are two different commands for this, depending on whether you are using MBR or UEFI. Then, finally, we run which is a Funtoo command that configures everything for us.

Label partitions

To see the UUIDs for your existing filesystems, type the following command: The UUIDs are listed to the left-hand side of the . Use these values for setting up the file, below.

/etc/fstab

is used by the command which is run when your system boots. Lines in this file inform about filesystems to be mounted and how they should be mounted. In order for the system to boot properly, you must edit and ensure that it reflects the partition configuration you used earlier in the install process. If you can't remember the partition configuration that you used earlier:

boot.conf

controls boot loader configuration in Funtoo and is used by . The default configuration is probably fine for you, so most can skip to the appropriate "GRUB Install" section, later on this page. Here is what is in the file by default: If you are booting a custom or non-default kernel, please read for information on the various options available to you.

nomodeset

You will notice after booting that you there will be a boot option in the GRUB menu for a "nomodeset" mode. We don't recommend you use this mode by default but it is available to you for a couple of good reasons:
  • For users with HiDPI (4K+) displays, especially laptops: If you have not set up a graphical environment, when the kernel automatically changes graphics modes, the console font can be tiny and unreadable.
  • For users with incompatible graphics cards: Some graphics cards don't handle mode setting properly and this can result in a blank screen after reboot. Use this boot option as a temporary workaround.
To use the option, simply select that option from the GRUB menu when your system boots.

rootwait

If you are using a root partition on an device, add the kernel parameter to force the kernel to wait for it to asynchronously initialize or the kernel will panic on some hardware.

Intel Microcode

will ensure that you have the most recent Intel CPU microcode installed on your system if you emerge the following packages. These will be merged for you already if you are using a desktop stage3: This is not necessary for AMD systems.

GRUB Install: Old School (BIOS) MBR

When using "old school" BIOS booting, run the following command to install GRUB to your MBR, and generate the configuration file that GRUB will use for booting:

GRUB Install: New School (UEFI) Boot Entry

If you're using "new school" UEFI booting, run of the following sets of commands, depending on whether you are installing a 64-bit or 32-bit system. This will add GRUB as a UEFI boot entry. For x86-64bit systems: For x86-32bit systems:

Ego!

Now, let's run Funtoo's command to get everything configured. This will detect the current kernel(s) on your system and create the necessary GRUB boot entries to get your system booted: You only need to run when you first install Funtoo Linux, but you need to re-run every time you modify your . When you emerge updated kernels, will be run automatically as part of the install process. This will regenerate so that you will have new kernels available in your GRUB boot menu upon your next reboot.

Post reboot UEFI troubleshooting

In case UEFI NVRAM boot entry is missing in BIOS and grub does not start you can try moving an already installed GRUB EFI executable to the <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#Default/fallback_boot_path" target="_blank">default/fallback path</a>

First Boot, and in the future...

OK -- you are almost ready to boot! </translate>