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EFI boot manager
On 29 Aug, 2022, I upgraded by my EndeavourOS software. I rebooted the system, except … it didn't reboot. I got stuck on the BIOS screen with no way forward.
Turns out, EndeavourOS did a great job documenting the issue, and providing guidance. After I created a new image on a flash stick, booted from that flash stick and fixed the issue, I was realized that grub (the boot loader I was using) is slowly being phased out. Instead of grub, there's a bootloader built into `systemd` called `systemd-boot`. Given I recently started exploring `systemd`, I decided to go forward with this approach.
From grub to systemd-boot
The transition was relatively straight forward, and definitely not as painful as it was moving from a BIOS system to UEFI. Here are the steps
Installing EFI Boot manager
The archlinux wiki page is very informative. I already had the `bootctl` command installed, so the setup was straight forward.
On my system, the `esp` variable pointed to `/boot/efi` while grub used `/boot`. I ended up moving everything from the `/boot/efi` directory into the `boot`directory, so that the `esp` variable would point to `/boot`. This is important, since my boot partition is mounted on `/boot`.
An easy way to check that everything is configured correctly is by running `bootctl list`. Notably, the `linux` and `initrd` fields should resolve correctly.
Here's a snapshot of the result of my `bootctl list` command
Boot Loader Entries:
type: Boot Loader Specification Type #1 (.conf)
title: EndeavourOS (default) (selected)
id: arch.conf
source: /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
linux: /vmlinuz-linux
initrd: /amd-ucode.img
/initramfs-linux.img
options: root=UUID=f516038a-a8e0-40b4-a7de-420fd9ecebbe rw
If you see any errors, first look to ensure the 'esp' path you want is configured correctly.
Testing
Once the entries look correct, make sure you have a recovery flash stick available, then reboot your system. I didn't have any issues when rebooting, as I could still select my old grub options.
Cleanup
You can use the `efibootmgr` command to see what boot options there are. I ended up cleaning this list up so I only had one option left. For example, to remove the option called 'Boot0001', run the following command
# efibootmgr -B -b 0001
Also, be sure to uninstall grub
sudo pacman -R grub-tools grub2-theme-endeavouros grub
Dark Mode in all web pages
Recently, I've been frustrated that I have a bright reflection on my glasses while on video calls. Mostly this is due to bright web pages that I have open while on calls. The solution I've been using is to avoid having my browser open during calls - but this isn't always useful.
Enter NightEye. This is a browser extension to enable dark mode on any website. Its easy to install, and works seamlessly. You get a few months of free use, before you need to start paying for usage. Price (at the time of writing) starts at less than $10 per year.