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authorLudovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>2018-07-05 11:44:46 +0200
committerLudovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>2018-07-05 11:44:46 +0200
commitfc0e663f782896f542d008c871d21b9cf636a75c (patch)
tree46f77271fe4e2328a382636c95e120ab460c72cd /doc
parenta043b5b81a080c47e24298c80857919b9ea21bb2 (diff)
doc: Improve UEFI/BIOS bootloader documentation.
Partly fixes <https://bugs.gnu.org/30312>. * doc/guix.texi (Preparing for Installation): Add note on how to choose between UEFI and BIOS. (Using the Configuration System)[Bootloader]: New subsubsection. (Bootloader Configuration): Expound on the bootloader type and target. * gnu/system/examples/desktop.tmpl: Switch to UEFI. * gnu/system/examples/bare-bones.tmpl: Explicitly mention "legacy" and "BIOS" in the comments.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc')
-rw-r--r--doc/guix.texi60
1 files changed, 50 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 841bc2a34f..a913c2ea3d 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -8636,6 +8636,17 @@ must have the @code{esp} flag set. E.g., for @command{parted}:
parted /dev/sda set 1 esp on
@end example
+@quotation Note
+@vindex grub-bootloader
+@vindex grub-efi-bootloader
+Unsure whether to use EFI- or BIOS-based GRUB? If the directory
+@file{/sys/firmware/efi} exists in the installation image, the you should
+probably perform an EFI installation, using @code{grub-efi-bootloader}.
+Otherwise you should use the BIOS-based GRUB, known as
+@code{grub-bootloader}. @xref{Bootloader Configuration}, for more info on
+bootloaders.
+@end quotation
+
Once you are done partitioning the target hard disk drive, you have to
create a file system on the relevant partition(s)@footnote{Currently
GuixSD only supports ext4 and btrfs file systems. In particular, code
@@ -8964,6 +8975,27 @@ Below we discuss the effect of some of the most important fields
fields), and how to @dfn{instantiate} the operating system using
@command{guix system}.
+@unnumberedsubsubsec Bootloader
+
+@cindex legacy boot, on Intel machines
+@cindex BIOS boot, on Intel machines
+@cindex UEFI boot
+@cindex EFI boot
+The @code{bootloader} field describes the method that will be used to boot
+your system. Machines based on Intel processors can boot in ``legacy'' BIOS
+mode, as in the example above. However, more recent machines rely instead on
+the @dfn{Unified Extensible Firmware Interface} (UEFI) to boot. In that case,
+the @code{bootloader} field should contain something along these lines:
+
+@example
+(bootloader-configuration
+ (bootloader grub-efi-bootloader)
+ (target "/boot/efi"))
+@end example
+
+@xref{Bootloader Configuration}, for more information on the available
+configuration options.
+
@unnumberedsubsubsec Globally-Visible Packages
@vindex %base-packages
@@ -9074,8 +9106,7 @@ management, power management, and more, would look like this:
@include os-config-desktop.texi
@end lisp
-@cindex UEFI
-A graphical UEFI system with a choice of lightweight window managers
+A graphical system with a choice of lightweight window managers
instead of full-blown desktop environments would look like this:
@lisp
@@ -20697,21 +20728,30 @@ The type of a bootloader configuration declaration.
The bootloader to use, as a @code{bootloader} object. For now
@code{grub-bootloader}, @code{grub-efi-bootloader},
@code{extlinux-bootloader} and @code{u-boot-bootloader} are supported.
+
+@vindex grub-efi-bootloader
@code{grub-efi-bootloader} allows to boot on modern systems using the
-@dfn{Unified Extensible Firmware Interface} (UEFI).
+@dfn{Unified Extensible Firmware Interface} (UEFI). This is what you should
+use if the installation image contains a @file{/sys/firmware/efi} directory
+when you boot it on your system.
+
+@vindex grub-bootloader
+@code{grub-bootloader} allows you to boot in particular Intel-based machines
+in ``legacy'' BIOS mode.
Available bootloaders are described in @code{(gnu bootloader @dots{})}
modules.
@item @code{target}
This is a string denoting the target onto which to install the
-bootloader. The exact interpretation depends on the bootloader in
-question; for @code{grub-bootloader}, for example, it should be a device
-name understood by the bootloader @command{installer} command, such as
-@code{/dev/sda} or @code{(hd0)} (for GRUB, @pxref{Invoking
-grub-install,,, grub, GNU GRUB Manual}). For
-@code{grub-efi-bootloader}, it should be the path to a mounted EFI file
-system.
+bootloader.
+
+The interpretation depends on the bootloader in question. For
+@code{grub-bootloader}, for example, it should be a device name understood by
+the bootloader @command{installer} command, such as @code{/dev/sda} or
+@code{(hd0)} (@pxref{Invoking grub-install,,, grub, GNU GRUB Manual}). For
+@code{grub-efi-bootloader}, it should be the mount point of the EFI file
+system, usually @file{/boot/efi}.
@item @code{menu-entries} (default: @code{()})
A possibly empty list of @code{menu-entry} objects (see below), denoting