Prevent Bootcamp Manager overwriting refind

[Manu]

My problem is:
Refind is configured to hold at the OS-choice, but some of my users keep using the bootcamp manager under windows to set the windows-partition boot every time.
So you have to hold the ALT-key to enter refind again.

Is there any way to prevent the bootcamp manager to overwrite refind and reactivate the mac default bootmanager?

[Roderick W. Smith]

Two possibilities occur to me:

1. Remove the Windows software that's causing the problem. I don't dual-boot OS X and Windows myself, so I can't say precisely what file(s) you'd need to delete, but it's almost certainly possible to do this if you dig a bit.
2. Install rEFInd with the --ownhfs option to install.sh. This will require creating a special partition for rEFInd, and so it's more effort. The intent is that rEFInd will then appear as an option in the Windows software, and users might set it; but even at best, this approach would just make it easier to recover rEFInd, not prevent the problem from occurring.

[Manu]

The Bootcamp Manager in Windows has a function similar to the one in OS X under System Settings > Startup Disk which callls simething like bless --setBoot, I think.

So I think the second possibility you offered can be overwritten by this tool, too.

And unfornatelly, the first option doesn't work for me, because I need the other functions of the bootcamp manager in Windows (like behaviour of the F-Keys, and settings for the touchpad)

So as I get it, prevention isn't possible.
Is there a way to set the refind bootloader the default one after the user set Windows or OS X the startup disk?

On this System I even have a tripple boot installed. The 3rd OS is a clonezilla-live-system (=debian-live). It contains a image and some bash-skripts for resetting the computer to a default state.

My Idea is to run something like "bless --setBoot" from Linux for refind which is installed on the Macintosh HD.

EDIT:
So far I tested:
- using hfs-bless developed by Matthew Garrett
- running "install.sh --root /mnt" on Linux with mounted Macintosh HD mounted force,rw on /mnt

Both didn't work...

[Roderick W. Smith]

Something like rEFIt's rEFItBlesser might provide a workaround for this problem. I omitted that program from rEFInd because I heard it caused problems on some systems, but maybe it's time to tackle those problems rather than avoid them. I'll look into it....

[joevt]

On the Mac side, rEFItBlesser should be a launch daemon instead of a startup item.
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/macosx/conceptual/bpsystemstartup/chapters/StartupItems.html

On the Windows side, you'll need to find an API or command line that can run after Boot Camp control panel and before reboot to do the same thing as bless (or whatever the Boot Camp control panel at C:\Windows\System32\AppleControlPanel.exe uses).

[Manu]

I looking forward to hear from refindBlesser :-)

Till then my current workaround is: I changed the install.sh skript a bit and linked it to the mac os desktop as "Repair Bootloader". So the warehousemen who are checking and reseting these macs just have to run this skript to reinstall refind automatically.