OS Prober no longer ran by default as of today's update of grub

I really need to check out this rEFIind thing - I’ve never really used anything but grub or systemd boot.

Edit - although I don’t actually dual boot anything. I onlye have one Distro at a time on any computer (except one with KDE/Windows - but I use bios boot since they are on separate nvme’s)

Is there any reason to use rEFInd on a single OS computer?

If you have UEFI rEFInd is the way to go. You only install rEFInd on one distro preferably eos and then you boot from rEFInd entry as the first boot option in UEFI. The way i have it set up os-prober is a non issue because it’s not needed. Like i said in my post it gives you the option to boot from the linuz-linux image or the grubx64.efi. You just have to set it up that way. It’s pretty easy and pretty slick once you understand it.

Why would you use Bios boot if they are on separate nvme drives. I don’t! I have triple boot and it’s UEFI. I use rEFInd to manage the boot for each. They are all installed on separate drives. 2 are nvme drives and one is ssd.

Edit: Just asking?

With only a single OS installed there is very little practical difference between bootloaders. They more or less all work in that scenario.

It is when you multi-boot that the difference/challenges become more apparent.

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I think for single OS systemd makes sense to me.

Edit: I have only done it once as per your instructions but I’m familiar with rEFInd so i have no issues. It took me a while to understand it though. I need to do some more systemd too so i get it.

Because in all of my years of dual booting Windows and Linux - I’ve NEVER had Windows break Linux while using BIOS boot - AND since I use LInux a good 95%+ of the time I don’t want to waste time choosing at a boot screen if I want to use Linux or Windows - I just want to run LInux always as fast as possible and I want to tell it to stop only on the rare occasion I need to do something work related at home.

I kind of figured as much - I have my grub set to 0 timeout and quiet and to be as fast as possible to just get the ocmputer up and running.

I remember a talk one time, and whomever it was had worked for Windows designing the bootloader - and his job was to shave every absolute possible microsecond out of the boot time. Bill Gates had said - if a 100 million people use WIndows everyday, and you can shave 1 second off of the boot time - that’s like saving 15 LIVES every year.

I think about that regularly. So, I just want it as fast as possible always.

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Are you guys using the term “BIOS boot” the same way?

What do you mean by BIOS boot in this scenario?

That’s why i was asking also?

Hit F12 - enter firmware options → boot to Windows.

Neither Windows nor Linux have any clue the other one exists at all - I even installed them with respective NVME drives out of the computer to be absolutely positive neither has any clue the other even exists.

In my Firmware - I have Arch set as boot order #1, Windows #2

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So using your BIOS to choose between operating systems using separate UEFI partitions on the same disk or separate disks altogether.

It can be confusing because BIOS boot can also refer to legacy booting as in the opposite of UEFI.

That’s what i originally thought he meant booting Bios legacy.

Edit: Technically that is just changing the boot order by using the appropriate F key.

Exactly - Linux boots immediately always unless I very specifically go into my Firmware settings and tell it to boot Windows now.

I’ve never had Windows break Linux with this method - and since I almost never use Windows - the 1-2x a month I do want to use it - I do this.

I called it bios boot - cause I literally go into bios/firmware to boot - I don’t know what it’s specifically called or if anyone else even does this. I’m probably the only guy who does it, and there’s probably an easier way - BUT, It’s extremely simple and hasn’t failed me yet.

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When multi-booting, systemd-boot, grub and refind are philosophically different.

This is oversimplified but I think of it this way:

  • With systemd-boot, each OS manages itself by adding config to the EFI partition
  • With grub, each OS tries to detect the other and add entries for the others. It is like a fight for dominance
  • With refind, you are basically installing a micro OS that lives outside of everything else and boots all your OSes and/or their bootloaders.
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This is oversimplified but I think of it this way:

“in a way that shows a calm attitude toward disappointments or difficulties” :laughing:

Edit: It’s kind of like which one is the best of all evils!

The least worst choice is still the best. - I must say this like 10x everyday.

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see this topic

Just asking - is os-prober required on UEFI systems too?

I would say that os-prober is required to be on ONE system of those present - IF you wish grub to have control of the choice of which system to boot. It serves no other purpose of which I am aware.

If there are multiple systems, each of which is using os-prober to set up its own grub, then there can be difficulties created in the process - as not every system uses the os-prober information in the same way. For instance, many ‘other’ distros do not correctly set up grub to correctly start an Arch-based system - and other such quirks.

Having just one instance of os-prober is one way of avoiding these problems, especially if it is a ‘smarter’ version such as is supplied with EndeavourOS. It can also stop the game of ‘musical chairs’ as to which distro has boot control - as only one will even know that the other distros are present.

All of this is so regardless of whether the system is UEFI based or not. Personally, I always disable os-prober (won’t need to now!), and call grub separately IF required for its handling of special cases such as decryption, or perhaps providing access to snaphots as might be found on a btrfs-based setup. Otherwise I direct boot (in the same manner as systemd boot works, but with rEFInd) without making use of the grub at all.

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Thanks. Makes lot more sense to me now. :trophy:

If I were to dual boot1, I would separate the OSs to different physical drives, each with its own EFI partition, and just choose the drive from which to boot.


1 a very unlikely premise, since that would probably mean using an OS other than GNU/Linux (a misfortune I would not willingly bring upon my poor, dear computers), but let’s entertain the possibility thereof, for the purposes of this post…

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