If, like me, you have installed many Linux distributions over time on an EFI system, there will be multiple boot devices now showing in your bios.
Rather annoying, I know, but there is a way to remove unused entries – but you must be careful not to remove your currently enabled device if you attempt this process.
Every Linux distribution should come pre-installed with EFI BootMgr, but if you are missing this tool within an Ubuntu based system, you can install this via this command, if using Ubuntu, Mint or any Debian based distro:
sudo apt-get install efibootmgr
openSUSE Leap users: Download 1-click YUP install
By following these simple steps you can list all boot entries in your EFI bios and safely remove unused entries.
- Open a Terminal and run command:
sudo efibootmgr - Enter your password to run the command
- Review the list of operating systems and note which ones you wish to remove. For example, in my case, I want to remove Fedora from my device list, which is listed as Boot0005.
- Check what your BootCurrent is, as this is the distribution you are currently working within. In my case, this is Ubuntu which is listed as Boot0000. You can also check what the current boot order is in your list, if you have quite a list.
- Ubuntu is listed and marked as my primary bootloader, as the order I have is followed next by Fedora
- To remove Fedora from the boot order, next, type the following:
sudo efibootmgr -b 0005 -B - By using -b tells the manager which entry to edit.
-B, this tells bootmgr to delete 0005 from the bios. - Next, exit the terminal and reboot your system.
- Press F12, or whichever key you use to boot into your bios boot screen and check that your boot entry has now been removed from the list of bootable disks available – in my case, this was Fedora.
- Boot into your chosen disk entry – e.g. Ubuntu
For further help and to view a full list of commands for efibootmgr, visit:
https://linux.die.net/man/8/efibootmgr
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