Encountered a bug exiting the Shell option

[computerhelp69]

I have an HP 290-p0056 Slimline desktop (2018 model).

I get an apparent bug when exiting from the Shell option in rEFInd using the "exit" command.

I assume it should return me to the rEFInd main menu. Instead, I still see the Shell screen, with some of the main menu graphics on the screen at the same time.

Only 3 rEFInd icons are viewable (Windows, Ubuntu & fallback), and they are relocated to the far bottom right of the screen. The text describing each of them isn't viewable, although you can move to each of them like normal. In fact, you can even move to the rest that aren't visible on the screen and execute them. You just don't know what you're choosing.

A little bit above these, in the center right part of the screen, I see the rEFInd logo from the main menu.

To be clear, I can no longer type in the shell. It exits the shell, but the shell is still viewable (with the main menu graphics described above).

This is my system - https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-slim-290-p0000-desktop-pc-series/19390524/model/21447483/document/c06001408

I hope this helps. A photo would be better, but at the moment I don't have access to one. I will see what I can do to get you one.

[computerhelp69]

I just tried exiting the Shell option using my Lenovo Thinkpad t430 and it works as expected.

So maybe it is specific to HP?

I didn't think of trying with the Thinkpad when I posted earlier.

[Roderick W. Smith]

I've never before encountered or heard of this bug, so I agree that it's system-specific. That's not to say that it's not a rEFInd bug; but if it is, other EFIs are implemented in such a way that the rEFInd coding error doesn't affect them. I just checked the code, and rEFInd does not attempt to re-initialize its video system when a program it launches returns, so it seems that on your system, either the EFI shell is changing the video mode or the EFI is changing the video mode when a new program launches or returns, leaving rEFInd thinking the video mode is unchanged. I've made a quick change to rEFInd so that it explicitly resets the video mode whenever a program returns. The result is here:

https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind-bin-0.11.4.4.zip

Could you please test that binary and tell me if it works. If it does, and if subsequent testing on more of my systems reveals no new problems that this creates, then I'll incorporate this into the next rEFInd release.

[computerhelp69]

Hi Rod.

Thank you for your help in both posts.

I haven't tried your test binary yet. I'd like to read parts of your website again before installing rEFInd to the external hard drive. So far I've only tested rEFInd using the USB flash drive image file. That's where the bug occured.

In the meantime, I've attached two photos of the bug for you. In the second one, you can see where I had typed "exit" to get out of the shell.

I will get back to you once I've read your site again and tried your test file.

[computerhelp69]

Hi Rod. I apologize for the delay.

I installed rEFInd to the external hard drive today and tried your test binary with an EFI shell. It works properly now when I exit the shell.

I would like to point out that the Sourceforge link to an efi shell under the "Installing Additional Components" section of your Install page did not work for me. The link goes to a blank page. I might be wrong, but it appears they have moved to Github. I noticed the shell link you give under the "Installing rEFInd Manually Using an EFI Shell" section was hosted at Github, so I tried that. That link worked for me and I was able to proceed.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to giving rEFInd a workout in the coming days.