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EFISTUB can also be done on Debian [1]. I used this for a while, but it felt too fragile and inconvenient: - the same disk is now impossible/harder to boot in

by m4lvin 4y ago

EFISTUB can also be done on Debian [1]. I used this for a while, but it felt too fragile and inconvenient: - the same disk is now impossible/harder to boot in another system/mainboard. - no more choice between different kernels in case the newest one broke something - to change the cmdline with kenel parameters you now need to run efibootmgr Still, the quick boot can be worth it :-) [1] https://wiki.debian.org/EFIStub https://wiki.debian.org/EFIStub

nubinetwork 4y ago
You could always bake the cmdline into the kernel itself, but that would mean recompiling the kernel each time. (Although if that's the only change, that shouldn't take too long)
abnry 4y ago
> no more choice between different kernels in case the newest one broke something Ah, I see. That's a deal breaker for me. Switching to an older kernel has saved me many times, usually when I completely mess up my nvidia drivers.
- MobiusHorizons 4y ago
  As long as you don’t delete the old kernel, you can recover by creating a known good entry every few updates. The arch article also has an ego shell you can install that got me out of a few unbootable cases with a failed Nvidia dkms.
still_grokking 4y ago
I'm using an "Unified Kernel Image" directly through the EFI boot-manager. It's the most simple boot setup I've ever used, and it doesn't have the mentioned issues: > the same disk is now impossible/harder to boot in another system/mainboard. Just go and select your UKI in the EFI boot-manger. Works on every modern system OOTB. > no more choice between different kernels in case the newest one broke something You can have more than one UKI around. You can, for example, have even one with a whole recovery system included in the initrd part! > to change the cmdline with kenel parameters you now need to run efibootmgr You only need to recreate the UKI with an updated command line. No change to the boot-manager needed. Also a UKI has a better security story compared to all other options. You have only one signed EFI binary. No need for complex setups that validate the initrd after the fact, as everything is included in the UKI and signed as a whole. Have this setup on my Debian box but used actually the superior documentation form the Arch wiki to get there.
- thedanbob 4y ago
  > I'm using an "Unified Kernel Image" directly through the EFI boot-manager. I just recently switched all of my Arch boxes to this setup. The first was so I could enable Secure Boot on that machine, the rest just because it felt so much simpler and cleaner than Grub. Actually, the last one just stopped booting entirely with Grub but worked just fine with UKI. > You can have more than one UKI around. You can, for example, have even one with a whole recovery system included in the initrd part! Same! I was considering writing up how to do this for the Arch wiki since it’s handy and I couldn’t find any complete guides.

by m4lvin 4y ago

nubinetwork 4y ago

You could always bake the cmdline into the kernel itself, but that would mean recompiling the kernel each time. (Although if that's the only change, that shouldn't take too long)

abnry 4y ago

> no more choice between different kernels in case the newest one broke something Ah, I see. That's a deal breaker for me. Switching to an older kernel has saved me many times, usually when I completely mess up my nvidia drivers.

MobiusHorizons 4y ago
As long as you don’t delete the old kernel, you can recover by creating a known good entry every few updates. The arch article also has an ego shell you can install that got me out of a few unbootable cases with a failed Nvidia dkms.

still_grokking 4y ago

I'm using an "Unified Kernel Image" directly through the EFI boot-manager. It's the most simple boot setup I've ever used, and it doesn't have the mentioned issues: > the same disk is now impossible/harder to boot in another system/mainboard. Just go and select your UKI in the EFI boot-manger. Works on every modern system OOTB. > no more choice between different kernels in case the newest one broke something You can have more than one UKI around. You can, for example, have even one with a whole recovery system included in the initrd part! > to change the cmdline with kenel parameters you now need to run efibootmgr You only need to recreate the UKI with an updated command line. No change to the boot-manager needed. Also a UKI has a better security story compared to all other options. You have only one signed EFI binary. No need for complex setups that validate the initrd after the fact, as everything is included in the UKI and signed as a whole. Have this setup on my Debian box but used actually the superior documentation form the Arch wiki to get there.

thedanbob 4y ago
> I'm using an "Unified Kernel Image" directly through the EFI boot-manager. I just recently switched all of my Arch boxes to this setup. The first was so I could enable Secure Boot on that machine, the rest just because it felt so much simpler and cleaner than Grub. Actually, the last one just stopped booting entirely with Grub but worked just fine with UKI. > You can have more than one UKI around. You can, for example, have even one with a whole recovery system included in the initrd part! Same! I was considering writing up how to do this for the Arch wiki since it’s handy and I couldn’t find any complete guides.