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[GUIDE] Remove extra Clover BIOS boot entries & prevent further problems

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I too am getting a new boot entry on every single restart, on a Gigabyte H110M-A. I'm a little perplexed, though, because I only have a single hard drive, with only one EFI partition and only one bootloader (Clover). It seems like I'm in the minority here.

Is it possible that the Apple Recovery partition is messing things up? If so, is it safe to wipe that partition? Here's my diskutil dump:

Code:
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Mac                     999.3 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3

Hmm. Perhaps you would be brave enough to try that out? It being your idea and all.

Mostly just the linux dd command can backup, wipe, and restore your recovery partition. It should be pretty simple:

Code:
# backup partition
dd if=/dev/disk0s3 of=disk0s3_backup.dump bs=1m

# wipe partition (delete it)
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk0s3 bs=1m

# be sure to use fdisk / sfdisk / gparted to backup & restore partition table entry too

# or use dd to backup the first N megabytes including the partition table
dd if=/dev/disk0 of=disk0_first_N_megabytes.dump bs=1m count=N

# reboot a bunch of times
# see if it worked


# restore partition back to where it was
dd if=disk0s3_backup.dump of=/dev/disk0s3 bs=1m

You should still have the USB key handy too in case anything else goes wrong (can't boot).
 
Well, I've wiped the Apple Recovery partition and reset the CMOS, but I'm still getting new boot options on each restart. So I guess we can rule out one potential cause. Has anyone else had any luck?
 
Well, I've wiped the Apple Recovery partition and reset the CMOS, but I'm still getting new boot options on each restart. So I guess we can rule out one potential cause. Has anyone else had any luck?

I'm having this issue on all my Hackintoshes so far ... just deleting the BOOT folder in the EFI Partition did it all the time. Clover booted as normal, but I would't get excessive boot entries.
But since upgrading to 10.11.3 I cannot manage it anymore – Clover just isn't recognized anymore if the BOOT folder is missing ... but I don't think it is related to the OS version ... I might have done something else I cannot remember ... though, it could be some code bit within the OS writing it directly into the CMOS.
Or the mainboard detects every PCI device connected, and adds it to the CMOS.
Anyway – we should search for the reason, as this behaviour is not tolerable.
But even reading lots of stuff about UEFI didn't lighten me up so far ...
 
Does anyone have any idea why this utility wouldn't be working for me on my Windows 8.1 install? When I fire it up it says "Easy UEFI can only install on (U)EFI-based Windows Operating System." I'm on a GA-Skylake Z170X-UD5-TH Motherboard. 256GB Windows 8.1 SSD and 512GB OSX SSD. I'm up to about 47 extra boot entries for my OSX drive :eek: I was hoping this utility would be an easy fix, but it's a no go for me for some reason?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

use the easyuefi within the windows and delete all unnecessary boot options. Use the third button from the top on the middle.

http://www.easyuefi.com/index-us.html
 
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Does anyone have any idea why this utility wouldn't be working for me on my Windows 8.1 install? When I fire it up it says "Easy UEFI can only install on (U)EFI-based Windows Operating System." I'm on a GA-Skylake Z170X-UD5-TH Motherboard. 256GB Windows 8.1 SSD and 512GB OSX SSD. I'm up to about 47 extra boot entries for my OSX drive :eek: I was hoping this utility would be an easy fix, but it's a no go for me for some reason?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

It's because you installed windows in PC-BIOS mode. You can check this by typing "System Information" into the start menu. It will be listed there under "BIOS Mode".

To install UEFI mode for windows requires pertitioning the USB install media as GPT / UEFI. You would need to re-install windows to get that utility to work.
 
Okay ... after lots of researching, thinking and trial-and-error (at least 50 reboots) I figured it out:

1. delete all PCI boot entries with bcfg (as described in the first post by Anachronaut)
2. write custom boot entry in Clover config.plist for all partitions you wanna boot
3. disable scan for "Kernels", "Entries", and "Legacy" in Clover config.plist
4. delete "BOOT" folder in /EFI (I also deleted the Apple folder, but that's not necessary).

Now there won't be written any more excessive entries.

:p


EDIT: ONLY DELETE PCI ENTRIES – LEAVE HD ENTRIES ALONE!
Because one of them is your entry for EFI, which you need to boot into Clover.
 
Okay ... after lots of researching, thinking and trial-and-error (at least 50 reboots) I figured it out:

1. delete all PCI boot entries with bcfg (as described in the first post by Anachronaut)
2. write custom boot entry in Clover config.plist for all partitions you wanna boot
3. disable scan for "Kernels", "Entries", and "Legacy" in Clover config.plist
4. delete "BOOT" folder in /EFI (I also deleted the Apple folder, but that's not necessary).

Now there won't be written any more excessive entries.

:p

How to go about writing the custom boot entry for the partitions I want to boot?

I thought i had done this but get a boot not found error when trying to boot clover from the drive after I've deleted the BOOT folder can you shed any light on the config.plist for a mac and windows SSD setup

Thanks!
 
How to go about writing the custom boot entry for the partitions I want to boot?

I thought i had done this but get a boot not found error when trying to boot clover from the drive after I've deleted the BOOT folder can you shed any light on the config.plist for a mac and windows SSD setup

Thanks!


Start with a USB stick with complete EFI folder (including BOOT folder).
Copy that one to EFI Partition.
Reboot with that in EFI Partition (without USB Stick).
Reboot once again into Clover, go to shell.
Write "bcfg boot dump".
Remove everything except the entry with your EFI Partition, normally "HD(1,GPT ......)".
Boot into OS X.
Write your boot entries into GUI section of Clover config.plist (see mine down here).
Remove BOOT folder from EFI.
Reboot.

Sorry, don't know anything about Windows, since I boycott Microsoft.
But if you google "Clover plist" in Pictures you'll find reference files ...

Greetings
Ralph
 

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If i remove my EFI(partition)/EFI/BOOT folder it loops into the BIOS every time no matter what i select in boot priority?
If i uncheck scan entries in clover config i boot into clover manager and theres no drives to select?

I'm also using an MSATA drive (samsung 950 Pro).
 
If i remove my EFI(partition)/EFI/BOOT folder it loops into the BIOS every time no matter what i select in boot priority?
If i uncheck scan entries in clover config i boot into clover manager and theres no drives to select?

I'm also using an MSATA drive (samsung 950 Pro).

Are you following the instruction exactly?
You NEED the HD entry of EFI partition in NVRAM (see bcfg).
You NEED the HD entry of OS X partiton (and any other partition you want to boot) in Clover plist (see my file post #38).
You NEED, of course, to enable UEFI boot in in the firmware (many, even manufacturers, call it still "BIOS", what is nonsens).

Then you can delete BOOT folder from EFI folder.
 
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