What type of computer do you have? I've had problems getting gdisk to run on Macs, I suspect because of incompatibities between the way it's built and the Mac's EFI. (Apple uses a heavily-patched EFI 1.x that's incompatible with some binaries built for EFI 2.x.)
There is no gdisk 1.0.5 for EFI because the build tools no longer work with it. There's a not about this on the GPT fdisk revisions page. (GPT fdisk relies on the UEFI GPT fdisk library to build. I did not write that library.)
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Can you launch it from an EFI shell? If so, then you can use that as a workaround, and the problem is likely in rEFInd. If not, then the problem is in the gdisk binary itself, and given that the UEFI GPT fdisk library seems to have been abandoned, it might not be fixed at all.
As a practical matter, you can also try booting a Linux emergency disk, even if you don't normally use Linux, to run gdisk on the disk. There are dedicated emergency disks, but some distributions' installers, such as Ubuntu's, work well for this purpose, too.
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Can you launch it from an EFI shell? If so, then you can use that as a workaround, and the problem is likely in rEFInd. If not, then the problem is in the gdisk binary itself, and given that the UEFI GPT fdisk library seems to have been abandoned, it might not be fixed at all.
I tried running it from UEFI Shell and it also didn't work. I got this error meesage:
CommandStatusError:Unsupported
As a practical matter, you can also try booting a Linux emergency disk, even if you don't normally use Linux, to run gdisk on the disk. There are dedicated emergency disks, but some distributions' installers, such as Ubuntu's, work well for this purpose, too.
I'm aware I can run gdisk (and other partitioning tools) from Arch Linux (or any other distribution) install media. I was thinking having a partinoning tools ready to use straight from my boot manager might be useful and comfortable. But if it's impossible to make it happen on my machine, I'll have to use recovery/installation media.
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I am confirming Robert K's experience with the error message in OP when attempting to load gdisk-efi-1.0.4 (latest) via rEFInd 0.1.4.0.2-1 (latest). This is too bad since both software packages are by the same author, and he mentions gdisk several places in the rEFInd documentation.
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I started working with RefindPlus on my 2012 Mac Mini Server briefly last week but I did not pursue it enough to test its potential yet. I've been working on my primary linux machine instead, but eventually I want to repurpose my old Mac Mini as a linux box or dual-boot.
Is rEFInd Plus safe to deploy on Linux-only EFI volumes running on AMD hardware? *(ie, non-Intel, non-Mac). * Everything I see on the rEFInd Plus github page talks about Macs.
rEFInd 0.1.4.0.2-1 is working beautifully on my HP Dev One linux machine, currently triple distro boot. I am afraid to upset the apple cart, though bug fixes might push me to do so after cloning my SSD.
rEFInd is a total joy after so much GRUB related misery. I cannot thank the authors of rEFInd and Refind Plus enough. Will donate to Roderick and yourself once I tally the true value of that joy, and to keep these projects alive.
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You can raise queries about RefindPlus (NOTE: It is not rEFInd Plus etc ... Always look at how a project refers to itself), on the project's GitHub Discussion page.
Last edit: dakanji 2023-06-18
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Sorry to seem dense, but I read the ReadMe several times end-to-end and I used my browser search function to locate the word "Linux". It only appears in the last sentence:
GZipped Loaders: RefindPlus only provides a stub support for handling GZipped loaders as this is largely relevant to ARM Linux. The stub support can be activated using the same support_gzipped_loaders configuration token as upstream.
Maybe something got edited out along the way?
I am guessing other linux learners may have avoided RefindPlus for the same reason I did, which is uncertainty. What seems obvious from the Dev's standpoint is not always obvious to the newbie. Perhaps a sentence or two in the ReadMe might dispel linux uncertainty?
Following your encouragement, I will invest time learning about RefindPlus, both for my 2012 Mac Mini and my linux laptop, and will support important work beind done.
... and thank you for correcting misuse of the project spelling. I hate inadvertently causing offense. Looking at my previous post, I fixed the misspelling in my second paragraph but missed my typo in paragraph 3.
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No offense whatsoever on the naming! Just pointing out what it is. Trivial matter.
Well, Linux (an operating system) is not mentioned because the main purpose is to add certain things to rEFInd for certain Macs (a computer type).
You wouldn't find many mentions of operating systems of any type in that ReadMe in general as the focus is not on operating systems.
What it does say is that the fixes and features added are not limited in scope to the listed computer types but many are relevant to UEFI-PCs (a computer type) and other Apple Macs (another computer type).
Your Linux operating system appears to be running on a UEFI-PC but it could just as well be running on an Apple Mac; such as one of those listed as being the main focus of development.
Perhaps a sentence or two in the ReadMe might dispel linux uncertainty?
I see what you mean but do not intend to change things on this.
I don't want to have a long running discussion on one project on the discussion board of another. So if you do not understand what RefindPlus is and have questions, then please use the discussion feature for that project.
BTW, the aim is not that you stop using rEFInd but to let you know, if you really need GDisk and it is not working for you in rEFInd, that the issue with running GDisk (along with misc others) had been fixed in RefindPlus some time ago.
Last edit: dakanji 2023-06-18
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Your graciousness is appreciated. This is how I remember the Mac community was in the 1980s-90s, before it became overly corporatized, privacy infringing, and snarky.
I switched to linux (mostly) about seven months ago after 38 years as a Mac owner starting with the 512K classic smiley-face Mac, and an Apple ][ Plus owner since 1980. I deeply respect the people who are putting up a good fight against subscription models, software 'phoning home,' and a lot of other stuff Steve said would never happen. But Steve is gone.
Linux still kicks my backside but I am coming along. Fear of blown-out bootloaders and a black screen is not without justification. I've had too many struggles with software that demands an NVIDIA GPU or fails because of a privileged hidden subfolder somewhere. This can happen in Mac OS X but it is not as common for it to impact the end user.
rEFInd (and presumably RefindPlus) are a huge benefit for reliable bootloading in linux after so many newbie struggles with GRUB. Gdisk is a trivial detail compared to being able to boot reliably every time, and to have my own startup screen with my phone number. Knowing somebody is maintaining this project going forward is huge.
Thank you!
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When I run gdisk tool from rEFInd, I'm getting the following error:
What does it mean? How can I fix it and make gdisk usable from rEFInd?
I downloaded gdisk_x64.efi binary from here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/files/gptfdisk/1.0.4/gdisk-binaries/gdisk-efi-1.0.4.zip/download. By the way why there is no gdisk-efi for 1.0.5 version?
What type of computer do you have? I've had problems getting
gdiskto run on Macs, I suspect because of incompatibities between the way it's built and the Mac's EFI. (Apple uses a heavily-patched EFI 1.x that's incompatible with some binaries built for EFI 2.x.)There is no
gdisk1.0.5 for EFI because the build tools no longer work with it. There's a not about this on the GPT fdisk revisions page. (GPT fdisk relies on the UEFI GPT fdisk library to build. I did not write that library.)I have ThinkPad P52 laptop. I dual boot Arch Linux and Windows 10 and everything else in rEFInd other than gdisk tool works fine.
Can you launch it from an EFI shell? If so, then you can use that as a workaround, and the problem is likely in rEFInd. If not, then the problem is in the
gdiskbinary itself, and given that the UEFI GPT fdisk library seems to have been abandoned, it might not be fixed at all.As a practical matter, you can also try booting a Linux emergency disk, even if you don't normally use Linux, to run
gdiskon the disk. There are dedicated emergency disks, but some distributions' installers, such as Ubuntu's, work well for this purpose, too.I tried running it from UEFI Shell and it also didn't work. I got this error meesage:
I'm aware I can run
gdisk(and other partitioning tools) from Arch Linux (or any other distribution) install media. I was thinking having a partinoning tools ready to use straight from my boot manager might be useful and comfortable. But if it's impossible to make it happen on my machine, I'll have to use recovery/installation media.I am confirming Robert K's experience with the error message in OP when attempting to load gdisk-efi-1.0.4 (latest) via rEFInd 0.1.4.0.2-1 (latest). This is too bad since both software packages are by the same author, and he mentions gdisk several places in the rEFInd documentation.
Thanks to efforts by @joevt sometime in 2021, the gdisk loading problem was fixed in RefindPlus.
Last edit: dakanji 2023-06-17
Thank you so much for the information.
I started working with RefindPlus on my 2012 Mac Mini Server briefly last week but I did not pursue it enough to test its potential yet. I've been working on my primary linux machine instead, but eventually I want to repurpose my old Mac Mini as a linux box or dual-boot.
Is rEFInd Plus safe to deploy on Linux-only EFI volumes running on AMD hardware? *(ie, non-Intel, non-Mac). * Everything I see on the rEFInd Plus github page talks about Macs.
rEFInd 0.1.4.0.2-1 is working beautifully on my HP Dev One linux machine, currently triple distro boot. I am afraid to upset the apple cart, though bug fixes might push me to do so after cloning my SSD.
rEFInd is a total joy after so much GRUB related misery. I cannot thank the authors of rEFInd and Refind Plus enough. Will donate to Roderick and yourself once I tally the true value of that joy, and to keep these projects alive.
That is incorrect. You should go back and read the very first section of the ReadMe again: https://github.com/dakanji/RefindPlus#overview
You can raise queries about RefindPlus (NOTE: It is not
rEFInd Plusetc ... Always look at how a project refers to itself), on the project's GitHub Discussion page.Last edit: dakanji 2023-06-18
Sorry to seem dense, but I read the ReadMe several times end-to-end and I used my browser search function to locate the word "Linux". It only appears in the last sentence:
Maybe something got edited out along the way?
I am guessing other linux learners may have avoided RefindPlus for the same reason I did, which is uncertainty. What seems obvious from the Dev's standpoint is not always obvious to the newbie. Perhaps a sentence or two in the ReadMe might dispel linux uncertainty?
Following your encouragement, I will invest time learning about RefindPlus, both for my 2012 Mac Mini and my linux laptop, and will support important work beind done.
... and thank you for correcting misuse of the project spelling. I hate inadvertently causing offense. Looking at my previous post, I fixed the misspelling in my second paragraph but missed my typo in paragraph 3.
No offense whatsoever on the naming! Just pointing out what it is. Trivial matter.
Well, Linux (an operating system) is not mentioned because the main purpose is to add certain things to rEFInd for certain Macs (a computer type).
You wouldn't find many mentions of operating systems of any type in that ReadMe in general as the focus is not on operating systems.
What it does say is that the fixes and features added are not limited in scope to the listed computer types but many are relevant to UEFI-PCs (a computer type) and other Apple Macs (another computer type).
Your Linux operating system appears to be running on a UEFI-PC but it could just as well be running on an Apple Mac; such as one of those listed as being the main focus of development.
I see what you mean but do not intend to change things on this.
I don't want to have a long running discussion on one project on the discussion board of another. So if you do not understand what RefindPlus is and have questions, then please use the discussion feature for that project.
BTW, the aim is not that you stop using rEFInd but to let you know, if you really need GDisk and it is not working for you in rEFInd, that the issue with running GDisk (along with misc others) had been fixed in RefindPlus some time ago.
Last edit: dakanji 2023-06-18
Your graciousness is appreciated. This is how I remember the Mac community was in the 1980s-90s, before it became overly corporatized, privacy infringing, and snarky.
I switched to linux (mostly) about seven months ago after 38 years as a Mac owner starting with the 512K classic smiley-face Mac, and an Apple ][ Plus owner since 1980. I deeply respect the people who are putting up a good fight against subscription models, software 'phoning home,' and a lot of other stuff Steve said would never happen. But Steve is gone.
Linux still kicks my backside but I am coming along. Fear of blown-out bootloaders and a black screen is not without justification. I've had too many struggles with software that demands an NVIDIA GPU or fails because of a privileged hidden subfolder somewhere. This can happen in Mac OS X but it is not as common for it to impact the end user.
rEFInd (and presumably RefindPlus) are a huge benefit for reliable bootloading in linux after so many newbie struggles with GRUB. Gdisk is a trivial detail compared to being able to boot reliably every time, and to have my own startup screen with my phone number. Knowing somebody is maintaining this project going forward is huge.
Thank you!