29.1. General note on [U]EFI x86_64 support

The nomenclature EFI and UEFI are used interchangeably in this document.

Although the tools below are _not_ needed for building the kernel, the needed bootloader support and associated tools for x86_64 platforms with EFI firmware and specifications are listed below.

  1. UEFI specification: http://www.uefi.org

  2. Booting Linux kernel on UEFI x86_64 platform can either be done using the <The EFI Boot Stub> or using a separate bootloader.

  3. x86_64 platform with EFI/UEFI firmware.

29.1.1. Mechanics

Refer to <The EFI Boot Stub> to learn how to use the EFI stub.

Below are general EFI setup guidelines on the x86_64 platform, regardless of whether you use the EFI stub or a separate bootloader.

  • Build the kernel with the following configuration:

    CONFIG_FB_EFI=y
CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y

    If EFI runtime services are expected, the following configuration should be selected:

    CONFIG_EFI=y
CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS=y or m         # optional
  • Create a VFAT partition on the disk with the EFI System flag

    You can do this with fdisk with the following commands:

    1. g - initialize a GPT partition table

    2. n - create a new partition

    3. t - change the partition type to “EFI System” (number 1)

    4. w - write and save the changes

    Afterwards, initialize the VFAT filesystem by running mkfs:

    mkfs.fat /dev/<your-partition>
  • Copy the boot files to the VFAT partition:

    If you use the EFI stub method, the kernel acts also as an EFI executable.

    You can just copy the bzImage to the EFI/boot/bootx64.efi path on the partition so that it will automatically get booted, see the <The EFI Boot Stub> page for additional instructions regarding passage of kernel parameters and initramfs.

    If you use a custom bootloader, refer to the relevant documentation for help on this part.

  • If some or all EFI runtime services don’t work, you can try following kernel command line parameters to turn off some or all EFI runtime services.

    noefi

    turn off all EFI runtime services

    reboot_type=k

    turn off EFI reboot runtime service

  • If the EFI memory map has additional entries not in the E820 map, you can include those entries in the kernels memory map of available physical RAM by using the following kernel command line parameter.

    add_efi_memmap

    include EFI memory map of available physical RAM