Manage your boot loading with ease
rEFInd is a free system utility software that enables you to easily boot multiple operating systems on your PC. Developed by Roderick W. Smith, this tool is an EFI boot manager that functions both as a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for UEFI-based machines. It’s a more refined version of rEFIt and is in active development, unlike its predecessor. Take note that this program is not a boot loader, unlike other similar boot managers.
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What is rEFInd boot manager?
rEFIt is a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for EFI-based machines (Extensible Firmware Interface), which can be used to boot several operating systems. Additionally, it’s an easy method of entering the EFI pre-boot environment. It was one of the more popular booting tools around but in 2010, development on it had ceased entirely. It can still be downloaded and used but it’s far too outdated compared to its rivals today.
Fortunately, a fork of the rEFIt project was eventually developed and given the name “rEFInd.” The core features were retained here—in which it can auto-detect your installed EFI boot loaders. However, unlike the original project, this one can handle systems with many boot loaders much better compared to rEFIt. It can also control the boot loader search process much easier and even provides you the option to define your own boot loader entry.
With a user-friendly graphical interface that can be switched to text mode, this boot manager provides various features that advanced users will appreciate. It supports EFI 1.x and UEFI 2.x computers, as well as different operating systems. You can even launch EFI programs—like an EFI shell—and OS-specific recovery tools. However, this program isn’t fully easy to use. Installation and running it can be complicated if you’re not familiar with booting.
The better version of rEFIt
All in all, rEFInd is a great tool if you want a better version of rEFIt or other EFI-centric software. It supports various operating systems and lets you manage your boot loaders well enough. However, it’s not a boot loader itself—unlike some of its competitors. Plus, it isn’t really beginner-friendly. There’s extensive online documentation available but that still requires prior knowledge of booting operating systems. Nevertheless, it’s at least being actively developed.
