The Limine package provides a modern bootloader, an alternative to GRUB.
Mtools-4.0.49 and NASM
dosfstools and efibootmgr
Install Limine by running the following commands:
CC_FOR_TARGET=cc \
LD_FOR_TARGET=ld \
OBJCOPY_FOR_TARGET=objcopy \
OBJDUMP_FOR_TARGET=objdump \
READELF_FOR_TARGET=readelf \
./configure --prefix=/usr \
--enable-bios \
--enable-bios-cd \
--enable-uefi-cd \
--enable-bios-pxe \
--enable-uefi-ia32 \
--enable-uefi-x86-64 &&
make
Now, as the root user:
make install &&
mv -v /usr/share/doc/limine{,-12.3.3}
Limine has been installed, but like GRUB, that doesn't mean it is completely installed quite yet. During the build process, various images have been built. Depending on the boot firmware, they may be able to be simply copied from one place to another, or you will need to use limine to help aid with the bootloader installation.
Before complete installation is carried out, it's important to
address a limitation but also a benefit of Limine. The focus of
Limine is to be small and to not have as much features as GRUB.
This means it only supports FAT typed filesystems. EXT4 is not
supported. There are a few options for an already made LFS system
in which /boot is formatted as EXT4
if it's a separate partition, or if it isn't a separate partition.
For UEFI systems, this can be circumvented a bit easier, as one
could stuff all needed assets, including the kernel, into the ESP.
For BIOS, there isn't an option besides creating the /boot partition if it isn't already made, and
formatting it as VFAT/FAT-32. This will require
dosfstools if you're booted in the LFS target. Back up all of
your assets needed for booting and be careful if you need to create
the partition.
For UEFI, if you wish to put assets into the ESP, be sure it's
big enough. A resize may be required. Ensure it gets mounted at
boot by putting an entry in /etc/fstab.
For UEFI, the built EFI files can
be copied into the standard location. Install the EFI files as the root user (replace <ESP>/boot/efi):
mkdir -pv<ESP>/EFI/BOOT && cp -v /usr/share/limine/*.EFI \<ESP>/EFI/BOOT
If you want a non-standard location for the EFI or the UEFI firmware doesn't search that
standard location, you will need
efibootmgr if you're booted in the LFS target, and to loosely
follow the
LFS GRUB Setup, “Booting With UEFI” section.
For BIOS, you will need to use the limine utility. Run the
following as the root user
(repace /dev/sda with the disk you
want to install the bootloader for):
mkdir -pv /boot/limine && cp /usr/share/limine/limine-bios.sys /boot/limine && limine bios-install /dev/sda
Now the configuration file must be made. boot() points to the root of the partition
hosting the configuration file. This could be /boot, or it could be the ESP. Thus, the
location of the configuration file will vary. You must move the
boot assets to the location boot()
points too, factoring in the sub-directories. Example locations
are as follows: /boot/limine.conf,
/boot/limine/limine.conf,
/boot/efi/limine.conf, and
/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/limine.conf. Now
create the configuration file as the root user:
mkdir -pv<CONF_LOCATION>&& cat ><CONF_LOCATION>/limine.conf << "EOF"timeout: 5 /GNU/Linux protocol: linux path: boot():/vmlinuz-EOF<linux-version>cmdline: root=/dev/sda2 ro
Replace /dev/sda2 with the root
partition. Like with GRUB, PARTUUID
can be used instead, and UUID under
certain conditions.
To get a better idea of the layout, see the below two snippets.
For UEFI:
/boot └── efi ├── EFI │ └── BOOT │ ├── BOOTIA32.EFI │ ├── BOOTX64.EFI │ └── limine.conf ├── config-7.0.8 ├── System.map-7.0.8 └── vmlinuz-7.0.8
For BIOS:
/boot ├── limine │ ├── limine.conf │ └── limine-bios.sys ├── config-7.0.8 ├── System.map-7.0.8 └── vmlinuz-7.0.8