Hello - This is a long post as I’m trying to provide all the info I can to help sort this. I thank you all in advance for taking the time to read and reply!
I’d like to cleanup my bootloader. Currently I’m using Limine and I had switched to it from systemd-boot using this helpful post. Recently I got poking around and I noticed a few things I’d like to clean up. Below are the things I’ve found, then I’ll put some questions and ideas I have, and hopefully with that and some guidance I can clean things up without breaking it beyond my meager ability to repair ![]()
Bloated /boot partition
running sudo du -h /boot/ gives me:
132K /boot/EFI/systemd
136K /boot/EFI/BOOT
4.0K /boot/EFI/Linux
508K /boot/EFI/Limine
784K /boot/EFI
4.0K /boot/loader/keys
8.0K /boot/loader/entries
28K /boot/loader
248M /boot/22674b8d21374ea2ac4090d52f013626/6.16.0-5-cachyos
244M /boot/22674b8d21374ea2ac4090d52f013626/linux-cachyos
950M /boot/22674b8d21374ea2ac4090d52f013626/limine_history
248M /boot/22674b8d21374ea2ac4090d52f013626/linux-cachyos-rc
1.7G /boot/22674b8d21374ea2ac4090d52f013626
4.0K /boot/System Volume Information
1.7G /boot/
With a 2gb /boot partition this is a bit full. Using the CachyOS kernel manager I only have linux-cachyos and linux-cachyos-rc installed. I assumed the 6.16.0-5-cachyos is a leftover from systemd-boot? systemd-boot does still show up in my limine bootloader as an option on boot so I suspect that is it and that since limine-mkinitcpio-hook is now handling the kernel stuff that the systemd-boot kernel isn’t being updated any more.
Question: Will uninstalling systemd-boot-manager remove this cruft cleanly? I assume I’ll need to go into /boot/limine.conf to remove the systemd entry when completed? Does anyone have any “best practices” or a guide to help me clean this up without borking my system?
Strange bootctl entries
running sudo bootctl provides (abbreviated some sections for clarity):
System:
Firmware:n/a (n/a)
System:
Firmware:n/a (n/a)
Firmware Arch: x64
Secure Boot:enabled(user)
TPM2 Support:yes
Measured UKI: no
Boot into FW: supported
Current Boot Loader:
Product:Limine 10.0.0
Features:✗### (deleted for brevity)
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
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Default Entry: opensuse-tumbleweed-6.15.8-1-default-1.conf
Random Seed:
System Token: set
Exists: yes
Available Boot Loaders on ESP:
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ESP: /boot (/dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12)
File: ├─/boot//EFI/systemd/systemd-bootx64.efi (systemd-boot 258-1-arch)
└─/boot//EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI (systemd-boot 258-1-arch)
Boot Loaders Listed in EFI Variables:
Title:Limine
ID: 0x0007
Status: active, boot-order
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
File: └─/boot//EFI/Limine/limine_x64.efi
System:
Firmware:n/a (n/a)
Firmware Arch: x64
Secure Boot:enabled(user)
TPM2 Support:yes
Measured UKI: no
Boot into FW: supported
Current Boot Loader:
Product:Limine 10.0.0
Features:✗### (deleted for brevity)
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
Default Entry: opensuse-tumbleweed-6.15.8-1-default-1.conf
Random Seed:
System Token: set
Exists: yes
Available Boot Loaders on ESP:
![]()
ESP: /boot (/dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12)
File: ├─/boot//EFI/systemd/systemd-bootx64.efi (systemd-boot 258-1-arch)
└─/boot//EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI (systemd-boot 258-1-arch)
Boot Loaders Listed in EFI Variables:
Title:Limine
ID: 0x0007
Status: active, boot-order
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
File: └─/boot//EFI/Limine/limine_x64.efi
Title:Linux Boot Manager
ID: 0x0009
Status: active, boot-order
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
File: └─/boot//EFI/systemd/systemd-bootx64.efi
Title:Windows Boot Manager
ID: 0x0000
Status: active, boot-order
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/b94bcb6d-42ef-4aef-ab45-453b60c9959f
File: └─/boot//EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
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Title:UEFI OS
ID: 0x000A
Status: active, boot-order
Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12
File: └─/boot//EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI
Boot Loader Entry Locations:
ESP: /boot (/dev/disk/by-partuuid/d5dcd95b-1849-408b-81c1-f48344fd1a12, $BOOT)
config: /boot//loader/loader.conf
token: cachyos
Default Boot Loader Entry:
type: Boot Loader Specification Type #1 (.conf)
title:Linux Cachyos
id: linux-cachyos.conf
source: /boot//loader/entries/linux-cachyos.conf (on the EFI System Partition)
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linux: /boot//vmlinuz-linux-cachyos(No such file or directory)
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initrd: /boot//initramfs-linux-cachyos.img(No such file or directory)
options: root=UUID=2512c448-45f3-4b0e-b9aa-a9e16765f177 rw rootflags=subvol=/@ cryptdevice=UUID=333fb41f-f74a-4799-8e30-ab4>
WARNING: default boot entry is broken
I’ve tried to add some emoji’s to draw your attention to what seems off.
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My current bootloader is Limine 10.0.0 but the default entry is a Tumbleweed.conf file? I did have Tumbleweed on prior to Cachy but I made every effort to WIPE the drive and reinstall not upgrading /home or anything like that. Does anyone have any idea why this is here? My machine does boot just fine.
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The Bootloaders on ESP - iI don’t know what this is and it appears that systemd-boot is the only option on ESP? How is this different from the UEFI boot loaders? Is there some situation where I need ESP to boot and removing systemd will hose it?
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The EFI Variables I know how to manage, so I’m guessing if this UEFI OS option is still there post-systemd I can remove it safely.
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I notice that linux: and initrd: options say “(No such file or directory)”. This may be normal behavior as everything does work, I just want to make sure there’s not something I need to clean up.
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Lastlly the “WARNING: default boot entry is broken” has me wondering. I guess this is the previous reference to that Tumbleweed.conf file. How do I change this? I’ve done a limine-update but I have not messed much with bootctl since I (mostly) don’t know what I’m doing.
Any tips, pointers, etc. are appreciated. I’d love to have this “cleaned up” and no errors that may bite me on some future update.