3. Boot Manager

The UEFI boot manager is a firmware policy engine that can be configured by modifying architecturally defined global NVRAM variables. The boot manager will attempt to load UEFI drivers and UEFI applications (including UEFI OS boot loaders) in an order defined by the global NVRAM variables. The platform firmware must use the boot order specified in the global NVRAM variables for normal boot. The platform firmware may add extra boot options or remove invalid boot options from the boot order list.

The platform firmware may also implement value added features in the boot manager if an exceptional condition is discovered in the firmware boot process. One example of a value added feature would be not loading a UEFI driver if booting failed the first time the driver was loaded. Another example would be booting to an OEM-defined diagnostic environment if a critical error was discovered in the boot process.

The boot sequence for UEFI consists of the following:

The boot order list is read from a globally defined NVRAM variable. Modifications to this variable are only guaranteed to take effect after the next platform reset. The boot order list defines a list of NVRAM variables that contain information about what is to be booted. Each NVRAM variable defines a name for the boot option that can be displayed to a user.
The variable also contains a pointer to the hardware device and to a file on that hardware device that contains the UEFI image to be loaded.
The variable might also contain paths to the OS partition and directory along with other configuration specific directories.

The NVRAM can also contain load options that are passed directly to the UEFI image. The platform firmware has no knowledge of what is contained in the load options. The load options are set by higher level software when it writes to a global NVRAM variable to set the platform firmware boot policy. This information could be used to define the location of the OS kernel if it was different than the location of the UEFI OS loader.

3.1. Firmware Boot Manager

The boot manager is a component in firmware conforming to this specification that determines which drivers and applications should be explicitly loaded and when. Once compliant firmware is initialized, it passes control to the boot manager. The boot manager is then responsible for determining what to load and any interactions with the user that may be required to make such a decision.

The actions taken by the boot manager depend upon the system type and the policies set by the system designer. For systems that allow the installation of new Boot Variables ( See Boot Option Recovery ), the Boot Manager must automatically or upon the request of the loaded item, initialize at least one system console, as well as perform all required initialization of the device indicated within the primary boot target. For such systems, the Boot Manager is also required to honor the priorities set in BootOrder variable.

In particular, likely implementation options might include any console interface concerning boot, integrated platform management of boot selections, and possible knowledge of other internal applications or recovery drivers that may be integrated into the system through the boot manager.

3.1.1. Boot Manager Programming

Programmatic interaction with the boot manager is accomplished through globally defined variables. On initialization the boot manager reads the values which comprise all of the published load options among the UEFI environment variables. By using the SetVariable() function the data that contain these environment variables can be modified. Such modifications are guaranteed to take effect after the next system boot commences. However, boot manager implementations may choose to improve on this guarantee and have changes take immediate effect for all subsequent accesses to the variables that affect boot manager behavior without requiring any form of system reset.

Each load option entry resides in a Boot####, Driver####, SysPrep####, OsRecovery#### or PlatformRecovery#### variable where #### is replaced by a unique option number in printable hexadecimal representation using the digits 0-9, and the upper case versions of the characters A-F (0000-FFFF).

The #### must always be four digits, so small numbers must use leading zeros. The load options are then logically ordered by an array of option numbers listed in the desired order. There are two such option ordering lists when booting normally. The first is DriverOrder that orders the Driver#### load option variables into their load order. The second is BootOrder that orders the Boot#### load options variables into their load order.

For example, to add a new boot option, a new Boot#### variable would be added. Then the option number of the new Boot#### variable would be added to the BootOrder ordered list and the BootOrder variable would be rewritten. To change boot option on an existing Boot#### , only the Boot#### variable would need to be rewritten. A similar operation would be done to add, remove, or modify the driver load list.

If the boot via Boot#### returns with a status of EFI_SUCCESS , platform firmware supports boot manager menu, and if firmware is configured to boot in an interactive mode, the boot manager will stop processing the BootOrder variable and present a boot manager menu to the user. If any of the above-mentioned conditions is not satisfied, the next Boot#### in the BootOrder variable will be tried until all possibilities are exhausted. In this case, boot option recovery must be performed ( See Boot Option Recovery ).

The boot manager may perform automatic maintenance of the database variables. For example, it may remove unreferenced load option variables or any load option variables that cannot be parsed, and it may rewrite any ordered list to remove any load options that do not have corresponding load option variables. The boot manager can also, at its own discretion, provide an administrator with the ability to invoke manual maintenance operations as well. Examples include choosing the order of any or all load options, activating or deactivating load options, initiating OS-defined or platform-defined recovery, etc. In addition, if a platform intends to create PlatformRecovery#### , before attempting to load and execute any DriverOrder or BootOrder entries, the firmware must create any and all PlatformRecovery#### variables ( See Platform-Defined Boot Option Recovery ). The firmware should not, under normal operation, automatically remove any correctly formed Boot#### variable currently referenced by the BootOrder or BootNext variables. Such removal should be limited to scenarios where the firmware is guided by direct user interaction.

The contents of PlatformRecovery#### represent the final recovery options the firmware would have attempted had recovery been initiated during the current boot, and need not include entries to reflect contingencies such as significant hardware reconfiguration, or entries corresponding to specific hardware that the firmware is not yet aware of.

The behavior of the UEFI Boot Manager is impacted when Secure Boot is enabled, Firmware/OS Key Exchange: Passing Public Keys.

3.1.2. Load Option Processing

The boot manager is required to process the Driver load option entries before the Boot load option entries. If the EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_OS_RECOVERY bit has been set in OsIndications , the firmware shall attempt OS-defined recovery (See OS-Defined Boot Option Recovery ) rather than normal boot processing. If the EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_PLATFORM_RECOVERY bit has been set in OsIndications , the firmware shall attempt platform-defined recovery ( See Platform-Defined Boot Option Recovery ) rather than normal boot processing or handling of the EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_OS_RECOVERY bit. In either case, both bits should be cleared.

Otherwise, the boot manager is also required to initiate a boot of the boot option specified by the BootNext variable as the first boot option on the next boot, and only on the next boot. The boot manager removes the BootNext variable before transferring control to the BootNext boot option. After the BootNext boot option is tried, the normal BootOrder list is used. To prevent loops, the boot manager deletes BootNext before transferring control to the preselected boot option.

If all entries of BootNext and BootOrder have been exhausted without success, or if the firmware has been instructed to attempt boot order recovery, the firmware must attempt boot option recovery ( See Boot Option Recovery ).

The boot manager must call EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.LoadImage() which supports at least EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL and EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL for resolving load options. If LoadImage() succeeds, the boot manager must enable the watchdog timer for 5 minutes by using the EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.SetWatchdogTimer() boot service prior to calling EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.StartImage(). If a boot option returns control to the boot manager, the boot manager must disable the watchdog timer with an additional call to the SetWatchdogTimer() boot service.

If the boot image is not loaded via EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.LoadImage() the boot manager is required to check for a default application to boot. Searching for a default application to boot happens on both removable and fixed media types. This search occurs when the device path of the boot image listed in any boot option points directly to an EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL device and does not specify the exact file to load. The file discovery method is explained in Boot Option Recovery. The default media boot case of a protocol other than EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL is handled by the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL for the target device path and does not need to be handled by the boot manager.

The UEFI boot manager must support booting from a short-form device path that starts with the first element being a USB WWID ( USB WWID Device Path ) or a USB Class ( USB Class Device Path ) device path. For USB WWID, the boot manager must use the device vendor ID, device product id, and serial number, and must match any USB device in the system that contains this information. If more than one device matches the USB WWID device path, the boot manager will pick one arbitrarily. For USB Class, the boot manager must use the vendor ID, Product ID, Device Class, Device Subclass, and Device Protocol, and must match any USB device in the system that contains this information. If any of the ID, Product ID, Device Class, Device Subclass, or Device Protocol contain all F’s (0xFFFF or 0xFF), this element is skipped for the purpose of matching. If more than one device matches the USB Class device path, the boot manager will pick one arbitrarily.

The boot manager must also support booting from a short-form device path that starts with the first element being a hard drive media device path (Hard Drive Media Device Path ). The boot manager must use the GUID or signature and partition number in the hard drive device path to match it to a device in the system. If the drive supports the GPT partitioning scheme the GUID in the hard drive media device path is compared with the UniquePartitionGuid field of the GUID Partition Entry ( GPT Partition Entry ). If the drive supports the PC-AT MBR scheme the signature in the hard drive media device path is compared with the UniqueMBRSignature in the Legacy Master Boot Record ( Legacy MBR ). If a signature match is made, then the partition number must also be matched. The hard drive device path can be appended to the matching hardware device path and normal boot behavior can then be used. If more than one device matches the hard drive device path, the boot manager will pick one arbitrarily. Thus the operating system must ensure the uniqueness of the signatures on hard drives to guarantee deterministic boot behavior.

The boot manager must also support booting from a short-form device path that starts with the first element being a File Path Media Device Path (File Path Media Device Path ). When the boot manager attempts to boot a short-form File Path Media Device Path, it will enumerate all removable media devices, followed by all fixed media devices, creating boot options for each device. The boot option FilePathList[0] is constructed by appending short-form File Path Media Device Path to the device path of a media. The order within each group is undefined. These new boot options must not be saved to non volatile storage, and may not be added to BootOrder. The boot manager will then attempt to boot from each boot option. If a device does not support the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL , but supports the EFI_BLOCK_IO_PROTOCOL protocol, then the EFI Boot Service ConnectController must be called for this device with DriverImageHandle and RemainingDevicePath set to NULL and the Recursive flag is set to TRUE. The firmware will then attempt to boot from any child handles produced using the algorithms outlined above.

The boot manager must also support booting from a short-form device path that starts with the first element being a URI Device Path ( URI Device Path ). When the boot manager attempts to boot a short-form URI Device Path, it could attempt to connect any device which will produce a device path protocol including a URI device path node until it matches a device, or fail to match any device. The boot manager will enumerate all LoadFile protocol instances, and invoke LoadFile protocol with FilePath set to the short-form device path during the matching process.

3.1.3. Load Options

Each load option variable contains an EFI_LOAD_OPTION descriptor that is a byte packed buffer of variable length fields.

typedef struct _EFI_LOAD_OPTION {
  UINT32                            Attributes;
  UINT16                            FilePathListLength;
  // CHAR16                         Description[];
  // EFI_DEVICE_PATH_PROTOCOL       FilePathList[];
  // UINT8                          OptionalData[];
}   EFI_LOAD_OPTION;

Parameters

Attributes: The attributes for this load option entry. All unused bits must be zero and are reserved by the UEFI specification for future growth. See “Related Definitions.”
FilePathListLength: Length in bytes of the FilePathList. OptionalData starts at offset sizeof(UINT32) + sizeof(UINT16) + StrSize(Description) + FilePathListLength of the EFI_LOAD_OPTION descriptor.
Description: The user readable description for the load option. This field ends with a Null character.
FilePathList: A packed array of UEFI device paths. The first element of the array is a device path that describes the device and location of the Image for this load option. The FilePathList[0] is specific to the device type. Other device paths may optionally exist in the FilePathList, but their usage is OSV specific. Each element in the array is variable length, and ends at the device path end structure. Because the size of Description is arbitrary, this data structure is not guaranteed to be aligned on a natural boundary. This data structure may have to be copied to an aligned natural boundary before it is used.
OptionalData: The remaining bytes in the load option descriptor are a binary data buffer that is passed to the loaded image. If the field is zero bytes long, a NULL pointer is passed to the loaded image. The number of bytes in OptionalData can be computed by subtracting the starting offset of OptionalData from total size in bytes of the EFI_LOAD_OPTION.

Note

Each device path in the FilePathList can be a single instance or a multi-instance device path.

Related Definitions

//********************************************************
// Attributes
//********************************************************
#define LOAD_OPTION_ACTIVE                0x00000001
#define LOAD_OPTION_FORCE_RECONNECT       0x00000002
#define LOAD_OPTION_HIDDEN                0x00000008
#define LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY              0x00001F00

#define LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_BOOT         0x00000000
#define LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_APP          0x00000100
// All values 0x00000200-0x00001F00 are reserved

Description

Calling SetVariable() creates a load option. The size of the load option is the same as the size of the DataSize argument to the SetVariable() call that created the variable. When creating a new load option, all undefined attribute bits must be written as zero. When updating a load option, all undefined attribute bits must be preserved.

If a load option is marked as LOAD_OPTION_ACTIVE, the boot manager will attempt to boot automatically using the device path information in the load option. This provides an easy way to disable or enable load options without needing to delete and re-add them.

If any Driver#### load option is marked as LOAD_OPTION_FORCE_RECONNECT , then all of the UEFI drivers in the system will be disconnected and reconnected after the last Driver#### load option is processed. This allows a UEFI driver loaded with a Driver#### load option to override a UEFI driver that was loaded prior to the execution of the UEFI Boot Manager.

The executable indicated by FilePathList[0] in Driver#### load option must be of type EFI_IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_EFI_BOOT_SERVICE_DRIVER or EFI_IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_EFI_RUNTIME_DRIVER otherwise the indicated executable will not be entered for initialization.

The executable indicated by FilePathList[0] in SysPrep### , Boot#### , or OsRecovery#### load option must be of type EFI_IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_EFI_APPLICATION, otherwise the indicated executable will not be entered.

The LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY is a sub-field of Attributes that provides details to the boot manager to describe how it should group the Boot#### load options. This field is ignored for variables of the form Driver#### , SysPrep####, or OsRecovery####.

Boot#### load options with LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY set to LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_BOOT are meant to be part of the normal boot processing.

Boot#### load options with LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY set to LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_APP are executables which are not part of the normal boot processing but can be optionally chosen for execution if boot menu is provided, or via Hot Keys. See See Launching Boot#### Load Options Using Hot Keys for details.

Boot options with reserved category values, will be ignored by the boot manager.

If any Boot#### load option is marked as LOAD_OPTION_HIDDEN , then the load option will not appear in the menu (if any) provided by the boot manager for load option selection.

3.1.4. Boot Manager Capabilities

The boot manager can report its capabilities through the global variable BootOptionSupport. If the global variable is not present, then an installer or application must act as if a value of 0 was returned.

#define EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_KEY         0x00000001
#define EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_APP         0x00000002
#define EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_SYSPREP     0x00000010
#define EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_COUNT       0x00000300

If EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_KEY is set then the boot manager supports launching of Boot#### load options using key presses. If EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_APP is set then the boot manager supports boot options with LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_APP. If EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_SYSPREP is set then the boot manager supports boot options of form SysPrep####.

The value specified in EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_COUNT describes the maximum number of key presses which the boot manager supports in the EFI_KEY_OPTION .KeyData.InputKeyCount. This value is only valid if EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_KEY is set. Key sequences with more keys specified are ignored.

3.1.5. Launching Boot#### Applications

The boot manager may support a separate category of Boot#### load option for applications. The boot manager indicates that it supports this separate category by setting the EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_APP in the BootOptionSupport global variable.

When an application’s Boot#### option is being added to the BootOrder , the installer should clear LOAD_OPTION_ACTIVE so that the boot manager does not attempt to automatically “boot” the application. If the boot manager indicates that it supports a separate application category, as described above, the installer should set LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_APP. If not, it should set LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_BOOT.

3.1.6. Launching Boot#### Load Options Using Hot Keys

The boot manager may support launching a Boot#### load option using a special key press. If so, the boot manager reports this capability by setting EFI_BOOT_OPTION_SUPPORT_KEY in the BootOptionSupport global variable.

A boot manager which supports key press launch reads the current key information from the console. Then, if there was a key press, it compares the key returned against zero or more Key#### global variables. If it finds a match, it verifies that the Boot#### load option specified is valid and, if so, attempts to launch it immediately. The #### in the Key#### is a printable hexadecimal number (‘0’-‘9’, ‘A’-‘F’) with leading zeroes. The order which the Key#### variables are checked is implementation-specific.

The boot manager may ignore Key#### variables where the hot keys specified overlap with those used for internal boot manager functions. It is recommended that the boot manager delete these keys.

The Key#### variables have the following format:

Prototype

typedef struct _EFI_KEY_OPTION {
  EFI_BOOT_KEY_DATA         KeyData;
  UINT32                    BootOptionCrc;
  UINT16                    BootOption;
// EFI_INPUT_KEY            Keys[];
}   EFI_KEY_OPTION;

Parameters

KeyData: Specifies options about how the key will be processed. Type EFI_BOOT_KEY_DATA is defined in “Related Definitions” below.
BootOptionCrc: The CRC-32 which should match the CRC-32 of the entire EFI_LOAD_OPTION to which BootOption refers. If the CRC-32s do not match this value, then this key option is ignored.
BootOption: The Boot#### option which will be invoked if this key is pressed and the boot option is active (LOAD_OPTION_ACTIVE is set).
Keys: The key codes to compare against those returned by the EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_INPUT and EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_INPUT_EX protocols. The number of key codes (0-3) is specified by the EFI_KEY_CODE_COUNT field in KeyOptions.

Related Definitions

typedef union {
  struct {
    UINT32   Revision : 8;
    UINT32   ShiftPressed : 1;
    UINT32   ControlPressed : 1;
    UINT32   AltPressed : 1;
    UINT32   LogoPressed : 1;
    UINT32   MenuPressed : 1;
    UINT32   SysReqPressed : 1;
    UINT32   Reserved : 16;
    UINT32   InputKeyCount : 2;
    } Options;
  UINT32 PackedValue;
} EFI_BOOT_KEY_DATA;

Revision: Indicates the revision of the EFI_KEY_OPTION structure. This revision level should be 0.
ShiftPressed: Either the left or right Shift keys must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
ControlPressed: Either the left or right Control keys must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
AltPressed: Either the left or right Alt keys must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
LogoPressed: Either the left or right Logo keys must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
MenuPressed: The Menu key must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
SysReqPressed: The SysReq key must be pressed (1) or must not be pressed (0).
InputKeyCount: Specifies the actual number of entries in EFI_KEY_OPTION. Keys, from 0-3. If zero, then only the shift state is considered. If more than one, then the boot option will only be launched if all of the specified keys are pressed with the same shift state.

Example #1: ALT is the hot key. KeyData.PackedValue = 0x00000400.

Example #2: CTRL-ALT-P-R. KeyData.PackedValue = 0x80000600.

Example #3: CTRL-F1. KeyData.PackedValue = 0x40000200.

3.1.7. Required System Preparation Applications

A load option of the form SysPrep#### is intended to designate a UEFI application that is required to execute in order to complete system preparation prior to processing of any Boot#### variables. The execution order of SysPrep#### applications is determined by the contents of the variable SysPrepOrder in a way directly analogous to the ordering of Boot#### options by BootOrder.

The platform is required to examine all SysPrep#### variables referenced in SysPrepOrder. If Attributes bit LOAD_OPTION_ACTIVE is set, and the application referenced by FilePathList[0] is present, the UEFI Applications thus identified must be loaded and launched in the order they appear in SysPrepOrder and prior to the launch of any load options of type Boot####.

When launched, the platform is required to provide the application loaded by S ysPrep#### , with the same services such as console and network as are normally provided at launch to applications referenced by a Boot#### variable. SysPrep#### application must exit and may not call ExitBootServices(). Processing of any Error Code returned at exit is according to system policy and does not necessarily change processing of following boot options. Any driver portion of the feature supported by SysPrep#### boot option that is required to remain resident should be loaded by use of Driver#### variable.

The Attributes option LOAD_OPTION_FORCE_RECONNECT is ignored for SysPrep#### variables, and in the event that an application so launched performs some action that adds to the available hardware or drivers, the system preparation application shall itself utilize appropriate calls to ConnectController() or DisconnectController() to revise connections between drivers and hardware

After all SysPrep#### variables have been launched and exited, the platform shall notify EFI_EVENT_GROUP_READY_TO_BOOT and EFI_EVENT_GROUP_AFTER_READY_TO_BOOT event groups. This should happen when the Boot Manager is about to load and execute Boot#### variables with Attributes set to LOAD_OPTION_CATEGORY_BOOT according to the order defined by BootOrder.

3.2. Boot Manager Policy Protocol

3.2.1. EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL

Summary

This protocol is used by EFI Applications to request the UEFI Boot Manager to connect devices using platform policy.

GUID

#define EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL_GUID \
  { 0xFEDF8E0C, 0xE147, 0x11E3,\
  { 0x99, 0x03, 0xB8, 0xE8, 0x56, 0x2C, 0xBA, 0xFA } }

Protocol Interface Structure

typedef struct _EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL
  EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL;
struct \_EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL {
  UINT64                                        Revision;
EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_DEVICE_PATH     ConnectDevicePath;
  EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_DEVICE_CLASS  ConnectDeviceClass;
};

ConnectDevicePath: Connect a Device Path following the platforms EFI Boot Manager policy.
ConnectDeviceClass: Connect a class of devices, named by EFI_GUID, following the platforms UEFI Boot Manager policy.

Description

The EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL is produced by the platform firmware to expose Boot Manager policy and platform specific EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ConnectController() EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ConnectController() behavior.

Related Definitions

#define EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL_REVISION 0x00010000

3.2.2. EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL.ConnectDevicePath()

Summary

Connect a device path following the platform’s EFI Boot Manager policy.

Prototype
typedef
EFI_STATUS
(EFIAPI *EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_DEVICE_PATH)(
   IN EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL             *This,
   IN EFI_DEVICE_PATH                              *DevicePath,
   IN BOOLEAN                                      Recursive
   );

Parameters

This: A pointer to the EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL instance. Type EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL defined above.
DevicePath: Points to the start of the EFI device path to connect. If DevicePath is NULL then all the controllers in the system will be connected using the platform’s EFI Boot Manager policy.
Recursive: If TRUE, then ConnectController() is called recursively until the entire tree of controllers below the controller specified by DevicePath have been created. If FALSE, then the tree of controllers is only expanded one level. If DevicePath is NULL then Recursive is ignored.

Description

The ConnectDevicePath() function allows the caller to connect a DevicePath using the same policy as the EFI Boot Manager.

If Recursive is TRUE , then ConnectController() is called recursively until the entire tree of controllers below the controller specified by DevicePath have been created. If Recursive is FALSE, then the tree of controllers is only expanded one level. If DevicePath is NULL then Recursive is ignored.

Status Codes Returned

EFI_SUCCESS	The DevicePath was connected
EFI_NOT_FOUND	The DevicePath was not found
EFI_NOT_FOUND	No driver was connected to DevicePath.
EFI_SECURITY_VIOLATION	The user has no permission to start UEFI device drivers
EFI_UNSUPPORTED	The current TPL is not TPL_APPLICATION.

3.2.3. EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL.ConnectDeviceClass()

Summary

Connect a class of devices using the platform Boot Manager policy.

Prototype

typedef
EFI_STATUS
(EFIAPI *EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_DEVICE_CLASS)(
   IN EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL          *This,
   IN EFI_GUID                                  *Class
   );

Parameters

This: A pointer to the EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL instance. Type EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_PROTOCOL is defined above.
Class: A pointer to an EFI_GUID that represents a class of devices that will be connected using the Boot Manager’s platform policy.

Description

The ConnectDeviceClass() function allows the caller to request that the Boot Manager connect a class of devices.

If Class is EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONSOLE_GUID then the Boot Manager will use platform policy to connect consoles. Some platforms may restrict the number of consoles connected as they attempt to fast boot, and calling ConnectDeviceClass() with a Class value of EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONSOLE_GUID must connect the set of consoles that follow the Boot Manager platform policy, and the EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_INPUT_PROTOCOL , EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_INPUT_EX_PROTOCOL , and the EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_OUTPUT_PROTOCOL are produced on the connected handles. The Boot Manager may restrict which consoles get connect due to platform policy, for example a security policy may require that a given console is not connected.

If Class is EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_NETWORK_GUID then the Boot Manager will connect the protocols the platform supports for UEFI general purpose network applications on one or more handles. The protocols associated with UEFI general purpose network applications are defined in Platform-Specific Elements , list item number 7. If more than one network controller is available a platform will connect, one, many, or all of the networks based on platform policy. Connecting UEFI networking protocols, like EFI_DHCP4_PROTOCOL , does not establish connections on the network. The UEFI general purpose network application that called ConnectDeviceClass() may need to use the published protocols to establish the network connection. The Boot Manager can optionally have a policy to establish a network connection.

If Class is EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_ALL_GUID then the Boot Manager will connect all UEFI drivers using the UEFI Boot Service EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ConnectController(). If the Boot Manager has policy associated with connect all UEFI drivers this policy will be used.

A platform can also define platform specific Class values as a properly generated EFI_GUID would never conflict with this specification.

Related Definitions

#define EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONSOLE_GUID \
   { 0xCAB0E94C, 0xE15F, 0x11E3,\
   { 0x91, 0x8D, 0xB8, 0xE8, 0x56, 0x2C, 0xBA, 0xFA } }
#define EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_NETWORK_GUID \
   { 0xD04159DC, 0xE15F, 0x11E3,\
   { 0xB2, 0x61, 0xB8, 0xE8, 0x56, 0x2C, 0xBA, 0xFA } }
#define EFI_BOOT_MANAGER_POLICY_CONNECT_ALL_GUID \
   { 0x113B2126, 0xFC8A, 0x11E3,\
     { 0xBD, 0x6C, 0xB8, 0xE8, 0x56, 0x2C, 0xBA, 0xFA } }

Status Codes Returned

EFI_SUCCESS	At least one devices of the Class was connected.
EFI_DE ERROR	Devices were not connected due to an error.
EFI_NOT_FOUND	The Class is not supported by the platform.
EFI_UNSUPPORTED	The current TPL is not TPL_APPLICATION.

3.3. Globally Defined Variables

This section defines a set of variables that have architecturally defined meanings. In addition to the defined data content, each such variable has an architecturally defined attribute that indicates when the data variable may be accessed. The variables with an attribute of NV are nonvolatile. This means that their values are persistent across resets and power cycles. The value of any environment variable that does not have this attribute will be lost when power is removed from the system and the state of firmware reserved memory is not otherwise preserved. The variables with an attribute of BS are only available before EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ExitBootServices() is called. This means that these environment variables can only be retrieved or modified in the preboot environment. They are not visible to an operating system. Environment variables with an attribute of RT are available before and after ExitBootServices() is called. Environment variables of this type can be retrieved and modified in the preboot environment, and from an operating system. The variables with an attribute of AT are variables with a time-based authenticated write access defined in Using the EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION_3 descriptor. All architecturally defined variables use the EFI_GLOBAL_VARIABLE VendorGuid.

#define EFI_GLOBAL_VARIABLE \
 {0x8BE4DF61,0x93CA,0x11d2,\
   {0xAA,0x0D,0x00,0xE0,0x98,0x03,0x2B,0x8C}}

To prevent name collisions with possible future globally defined variables, other internal firmware data variables that are not defined here must be saved with a unique VendorGuid other than EFI_GLOBAL_VARIABLE or any other GUID defined by the UEFI Specification. Implementations must only permit the creation of variables with a UEFI Specification-defined VendorGuid when these variables are documented in the UEFI Specification.

Table 3.1 Global Variables
Variable Name	Attribute	Description
AuditMode	BS, RT	Whether the system is operating in Audit Mode (1) or not (0). All other values are reserved. Should be treated as read-only except when DeployedMode is 0. Always becomes read-only after ExitBootServices() is called.
Boot####	NV, BS, RT	A boot load option. #### is a printed hex value. No 0x or h is included in the hex value.
BootCurrent	BS, RT	The boot option that was selected for the current boot.
BootNext	NV, BS, RT	The boot option for the next boot only.
BootOrder	NV, BS, RT	The ordered boot option load list.
BootOptionSupport	BS,RT,	The types of boot options supported by the boot manager. Should be treated as read-only.
ConIn	NV, BS, RT	The device path of the default input console.
ConInDev	BS, RT	The device path of all possible console input devices.
ConOut	NV, BS, RT	The device path of the default output console.
ConOutDev	BS, RT	The device path of all possible console output devices.
CryptoIndications	NV, BS, RT	Allows the OS to request the crypto algorithm to BIOS.
CryptoIndicationsSupported	BS, RT	Allows the firmware to indicate supported crypto algorithm to OS.
CryptoIndicationsActivated	BS, RT	Allows the firmware to indicate activated crypto algorithm to OS.
dbDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default secure boot signature store. Should be treated as read-only.
dbrDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default OS Recovery signature store. Should be treated as read-only.
dbtDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default secure boot timestamp signature store. Should be treated as read-only.
dbxDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default secure boot blacklist signature store. Should be treated as read-only.
DeployedMode	BS, RT	Whether the system is operating in Deployed Mode (1) or not (0). All other values are reserved. Should be treated as read-only when its value is 1. Always becomes read-only after ExitBootServices() is called.
devAuthBoot	BS, RT	Whether the platform firmware is operating in device authentication boot mode (1) or not (0). All other values are reserved. Should be treated as read-only.
devdbDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default device authentication signature store. Should be treated as read-only.
Driver####	NV, BS, RT	A driver load option. #### is a printed hex value.
DriverOrder	NV, BS, RT	The ordered driver load option list.
ErrOut	NV, BS, RT	The device path of the default error output device.
ErrOutDev	BS, RT	The device path of all possible error output devices.
HwErrRecSupport	NV, BS, RT	Identifies the level of hardware error record persistence support implemented by the platform. This variable is only modified by firmware and is read-only to the OS.
KEK	NV, BS, RT,AT	The Key Exchange Key Signature Database.
KEKDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default Key Exchange Key Signature Database. Should be treated as read-only.
Key####	NV, BS, RT	Describes hot key relationship with a Boot#### load option.
OsIndications	NV, BS, RT	Allows the OS to request the firmware to enable certain features and to take certain actions.
OsIndicationsSupported	BS, RT	Allows the firmware to indicate supported features and actions to the OS.
OsRecoveryOrder	BS,RT,NV,AT	OS-specified recovery options.
PK	NV, BS, RT,AT	The public Platform Key.
PKDefault	BS, RT	The OEM’s default public Platform Key. Should be treated as read-only.
PlatformLangCodes	BS, RT	The language codes that the firmware supports.
PlatformLang	NV, BS, RT	The language code that the system is configured for.
PlatformRecovery####	BS, RT	Platform-specified recovery options. These variables are only modified by firmware and are read-only to the OS.
SignatureSupport	BS, RT	Array of GUIDs representing the type of signatures supported by the platform firmware. Should be treated as read-only.
SecureBoot	BS, RT	Whether the platform firmware is operating in Secure boot mode (1) or not (0). All other values are reserved. Should be treated as read-only.
SetupMode	BS, RT	Whether the system should require authentication on SetVariable() requests to Secure Boot policy variables (0) or not (1). Should be treated as read-only. The system is in “Setup Mode” when SetupMode==1, AuditMode==0, and DeployedMode==0.
SysPrep####	NV, BS, RT	A System Prep application load option containing an EFI_LOAD_OPTION descriptor. #### is a printed hex value.
SysPrepOrder	NV, BS, RT	The ordered System Prep Application load option list.
Timeout	NV, BS, RT	The firmware’s boot managers timeout, in seconds, before initiating the default boot selection.
VendorKeys	BS, RT	Whether the system is configured to use only vendor-provided keys or not. Should be treated as read-only.

The PlatformLangCodes variable contains a null- terminated ASCII string representing the language codes that the firmware can support. At initialization time the firmware computes the supported languages and creates this data variable. Since the firmware creates this value on each initialization, its contents are not stored in nonvolatile memory. This value is considered read-only. PlatformLangCodes is specified in Native RFC 4646 format. See Formats — Language Codes and Language Code Arrays.

The PlatformLang variable contains a null- terminated ASCII string language code that the machine has been configured for. This value may be changed to any value supported by PlatformLangCodes. If this change is made in the preboot environment, then the change will take effect immediately. If this change is made at OS runtime, then the change does not take effect until the next boot. If the language code is set to an unsupported value, the firmware will choose a supported default at initialization and set PlatformLang to a supported value. PlatformLang is specified in Native RFC 4646 array format. See Formats — Language Codes and Language Code Arrays.

The Timeout variable contains a binary UINT16 that supplies the number of seconds that the firmware will wait before initiating the original default boot selection. A value of 0 indicates that the default boot selection is to be initiated immediately on boot. If the value is not present, or contains the value of 0xFFFF then firmware will wait for user input before booting. This means the default boot selection is not automatically started by the firmware.

The ConIn , ConOut , and ErrOut variables each contain an EFI Device Path Protocol descriptor that defines the default device to use on boot. Changes to these values made in the preboot environment take effect immediately. Changes to these values at OS runtime do not take effect until the next boot. If the firmware cannot resolve the device path, it is allowed to automatically replace the values, as needed, to provide a console for the system. If the device path starts with a USB Class device path ( USB Class Device Path ), then any input or output device that matches the device path must be used as a console if it is supported by the firmware.

The ConInDev , ConOutDev , and ErrOutDev variables each contain an EFI_DEVICE_PATH_PROTOCOL descriptor that defines all the possible default devices to use on boot. These variables are volatile, and are set dynamically on every boot. ConIn , ConOut , and ErrOut are always proper subsets of ConInDev , ConOutDev , and ErrOutDev .

Each Boot#### variable contains an EFI_LOAD_OPTION. Each Boot#### variable is the name “Boot” appended with a unique four digit hexadecimal number. For example, Boot0001, Boot0002, Boot0A02, etc.

The OsRecoveryOrder variable contains an array of EFI_GUID structures. Each EFI_GUID structure specifies a namespace for variables containing OS-defined recovery entries ( See OS-Defined Boot Option Recovery ). Write access to this variable is controlled by the security key database dbr ( Using the EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION_3 descriptor ).

PlatformRecovery#### variables share the same structure as Boot#### variables. These variables are processed when the system is performing recovery of boot options.

The BootOrder variable contains an array of UINT16 ’s that make up an ordered list of the Boot#### options. The first element in the array is the value for the first logical boot option, the second element is the value for the second logical boot option, etc. The BootOrder order list is used by the firmware’s boot manager as the default boot order.

The BootNext variable is a single UINT16 that defines the Boot#### option that is to be tried first on the next boot. After the BootNext boot option is tried the normal BootOrder list is used. To prevent loops, the boot manager deletes this variable before transferring control to the preselected boot option.

The BootCurrent variable is a single UINT16 that defines the Boot#### option that was selected on the current boot. The platform sets this variable before signaling EFI_EVENT_GROUP_READY_TO_BOOT. This variable is not set when attempting to launch OsRecovery### or PlatformRecovery### options.

The BootOptionSupport variable is a UINT32 that defines the types of boot options supported by the boot manager.

The CryptoIndicationsSupported variable indicates which crypto algorithms the firmware supports. This variable is recreated by firmware every boot, and cannot be modified by the OS (see SetVariable()Attributes usage rules once ExitBootServices() is performed).

The CryptoIndicationsActivated variable indicates which crypto algorithms the firmware activates. This variable is recreated by firmware every boot, and cannot be modified by the OS (see SetVariable()Attributes usage rules once ExitBootServices() is performed). It must be a subset of CryptoIndicationsSupported.

The CryptoIndications variable is used to indicate which crypto algorithms the OS wants firmware to activate in the next boot. It must be a subset of CryptoIndicationsSupported. The OS will supply this data with a SetVariable() call. See Section 8.5.4 for the variable definition. Once the data is consulted by the firmware and synced to CryptoIndicationsActivated, the firmware must delete this variable.

Each Driver#### variable contains an EFI_LOAD_OPTION. Each load option variable is appended with a unique number, for example Driver0001, Driver0002, etc.

The DriverOrder variable contains an array of UINT16 ’s that make up an ordered list of the Driver#### variable. The first element in the array is the value for the first logical driver load option, the second element is the value for the second logical driver load option, etc. The DriverOrder list is used by the firmware’s boot manager as the default load order for UEFI drivers that it should explicitly load.

The Key#### variable associates a key press with a single boot option. Each Key#### variable is the name “Key” appended with a unique four digit hexadecimal number. For example, Key0001, Key0002, Key00A0, etc.

The HwErrRecSupport variable contains a binary UINT16 that supplies the level of support for Hardware Error Record Persistence (Hardware Error Record Persistence ) that is implemented by the platform. If the value is not present, then the platform implements no support for Hardware Error Record Persistence. A value of zero indicates that the platform implements no support for Hardware Error Record Persistence. A value of 1 indicates that the platform implements Hardware Error Record Persistence as defined in Hardware Error Record Persistence. Firmware initializes this variable. All other values are reserved for future use.

The SetupMode variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the system is should require authentication (0) or not (1) on SetVariable() requests to Secure Boot Policy Variables. Secure Boot Policy Variables include:

The global variables PK , KEK , and OsRecoveryOrder
All variables named OsRecovery#### under all VendorGuids
All variables with the VendorGuid EFI_IMAGE_SECURITY_DATABASE_GUID.

Secure Boot Policy Variables must be created using the EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION_2 structure.

The AuditMode variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the system is currently operating in Audit Mode.

The DeployedMode variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the system is currently operating in Deployed Mode.

The KEK variable contains the current Key Exchange Key database.

The PK variable contains the current Platform Key.

The VendorKeys variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the Security Boot Policy Variables have been modified by anyone other than the platform vendor or a holder of the vendor-provided keys. A value of 0 indicates that someone other than the platform vendor or a holder of the vendor-provided keys has modified the Secure Boot Policy Variables Otherwise, the value will be 1.

The KEKDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined Key Exchange Key database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION or EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The PKDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined Platform Key. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The dbDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined secure boot signature database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The dbrDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined secure boot authorized recovery signature database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The dbtDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined secure boot timestamp signature database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The dbxDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined secure boot blacklist signature database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

The SignatureSupport variable returns an array of GUIDs, with each GUID representing a type of signature which the platform firmware supports for images and other data. The different signature types are described in “Signature Database”.

The SecureBoot variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the platform firmware is operating with Secure Boot enabled. A value of 1 indicates that platform firmware performs driver and boot application signature verification as specified in UEFI Image Validation during the current boot. A value of 0 indicates that driver and boot application signature verification is not active during the current boot. The SecureBoot variable is initialized prior to Secure Boot image authentication and thereafter should be treated as read-only and immutable. Its initialization value is determined by platform policy but must be 0 if the platform is in Setup Mode or Audit Mode during its initialization.

The OsIndicationsSupported variable indicates which of the OS indication features and actions that the firmware supports. This variable is recreated by firmware every boot, and cannot be modified by the OS (see SetVariable() Attributes usage rules once ExitBootServices() is performed).

The OsIndications variable is used to indicate which features the OS wants firmware to enable or which actions the OS wants the firmware to take. The OS will supply this data with a SetVariable() call. Exchanging information between the OS and Firmware for the variable definition.

The devAuthBoot variable is an 8-bit unsigned integer that defines whether the platform firmware is operating with device authentication boot enabled. A value of 1 indicates that platform firmware performs device authentication as specified in Device Authentication during the current boot. A value of 0 indicates that device authentication is not active during the current boot. The devAuthBoot variable is initialized prior to device authentication and thereafter should be treated as read-only and immutable. Its initialization value is determined by platform policy.

The devdbDefault variable, if present, contains the platform-defined device authentication signature database. This is not used at runtime but is provided in order to allow the OS to recover the OEM’s default key setup. The contents of this variable do not include an EFI_VARIABLE_AUTHENTICATION2 structure.

3.4. Boot Option Recovery

Boot option recovery consists of two independent parts, operating system-defined recovery and platform-defined recovery. OS-defined recovery is an attempt to allow installed operating systems to recover any needed boot options, or to launch full operating system recovery. Platform-defined recovery includes any remedial actions performed by the platform as a last resort when no operating system is found, such as the Default Boot Behavior ( Boot Option Variables Default Boot Behavior ). This could include behaviors such as warranty service reconfiguration or diagnostic options.

In the event that boot option recovery must be performed, the boot manager must first attempt OS-defined recovery, re-attempt normal booting via Boot#### and BootOrder variables, and finally attempt platform-defined recovery if no options have succeeded.

3.4.1. OS-Defined Boot Option Recovery

If the EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_OS_RECOVERY bit is set in OsIndications , or if processing of BootOrder does not result in success, the platform must process OS-defined recovery options. In the case where OS-defined recovery is entered due to OsIndications , SysPrepOrder and SysPrep#### variables should not be processed. Note that in order to avoid ambiguity in intent, this bit is ignored in OsIndications if EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_PLATFORM_RECOVERY is set.

OS-defined recovery uses the OsRecoveryOrder variable, as well as variables created with vendor specific VendorGuid values and a name following the pattern OsRecovery####. Each of these variables must be an authenticated variable with the EFI_VARIABLE_TIME_BASED_AUTHENTICATED_WRITE_ACCESS attribute set.

To process these variables, the boot manager iterates over the array of EFI_GUID structures in the OsRecoveryOrder variable, and each GUID specified is treated as a VendorGuid associated with a series of variable names. For each GUID, the firmware attempts to load and execute, in hexadecimal sort order, every variable with that GUID and a name following the pattern OsRecovery####. These variables have the same format as Boot#### variables, and the boot manager must verify that each variable it attempts to load was created with a public key that is associated with a certificate chaining to one listed in the authorized recovery signature database dbr and not in the forbidden signature database, or is created by a key in the Key Exchange Key database KEK or the current Platform Key PK .

If the boot manager finishes processing OsRecovery#### options without EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ExitBootServices() or ResetSystem() having been called, it must attempt to process BootOrder a second time. If booting does not succeed during that process, OS-defined recovery has failed, and the boot manager must attempt platform-based recovery.

If, while processing OsRecovery#### variables, the boot manager encounters an entry which cannot be loaded or executed due to a security policy violation, it must ignore that variable.

3.4.2. Platform-Defined Boot Option Recovery

If the EFI_OS_INDICATIONS_START_PLATFORM_RECOVERY bit is set in OsIndications , or if OS-defined recovery has failed, the system firmware must commence with platform-specific recovery by iterating its PlatformRecovery#### variables in the same manner as OsRecovery#### , but must stop processing if any entry is successful. In the case where platform-specific recovery is entered due to OsIndications , SysPrepOrder and SysPrep#### variables should not be processed.

3.4.3. Boot Option Variables Default Boot Behavior

The default state of globally-defined variables is firmware vendor specific. However the boot options require a standard default behavior in the exceptional case that valid boot options are not present on a platform. The default behavior must be invoked any time the BootOrder variable does not exist or only points to nonexistent boot options, or if no entry in BootOrder can successfully be executed.

If system firmware supports boot option recovery as described in Boot Option Recovery , system firmware must include a PlatformRecovery#### variable specifying a short-form File Path Media Device Path ( Load Option Processing ) containing the platform default file path for removable media ( UEFI Image Types ). It is recommended for maximal compatibility with prior versions of this specification that this entry be the first such variable, though it may be at any position within the list.

It is expected that this default boot will load an operating system or a maintenance utility. If this is an operating system setup program it is then responsible for setting the requisite environment variables for subsequent boots. The platform firmware may also decide to recover or set to a known set of boot options.

3.5. Boot Mechanisms

EFI can boot from a device using the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL or the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL. A device that supports the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL must materialize a file system protocol for that device to be bootable. If a device does not wish to support a complete file system it may produce an EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL which allows it to materialize an image directly. The Boot Manager will attempt to boot using the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL first. If that fails, then the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL will be used.

3.5.1. Boot via the Simple File Protocol

When booting via the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL , the FilePath will start with a device path that points to the device that implements the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL or the EFI_BLOCK_IO_PROTOCOL. The next part of the FilePath may point to the file name, including subdirectories, which contain the bootable image. If the file name is a null device path, the file name must be generated from the rules defined below.

If the FilePathList[0] device does not support the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL , but supports the EFI_BLOCK_IO_PROTOCOL protocol, then the EFI Boot Service EFI_BOOT_SERVICES.ConnectController() must be called for FilePathList[0] with DriverImageHandle and RemainingDevicePath set to NULL and the Recursive flag is set to TRUE.The firmware will then attempt to boot from any child handles produced using the algorithms outlined below.

The format of the file system specified is contained in File System Format. While the firmware must produce an EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL that understands the UEFI file system, any file system can be abstracted with the EFI_SIMPLE_FILE_SYSTEM_PROTOCOL interface.

3.5.1.1. Removable Media Boot Behavior

To generate a file name when none is present in the FilePath, the firmware must append a default file name in the form \EFI\BOOT\BOOT{machine type short-name}.EFI where machine type short-name defines a PE32+ image format architecture. Each file only contains one UEFI image type, and a system may support booting from one or more images types. See Table 3.2 for a list of the UEFI image types.

Table 3.2 UEFI Image Types
	File Name Convention	PE Executable Machine Type *
32-bit	BOOTIA32.EFI	0x14c
x64	BOOTx64.EFI	0x8664
Itanium architecture	BOOTIA64.EFI	0x200
AArch32 architecture	BOOTARM.EFI	0x01c2
AArch64 architecture	BOOTAA64.EFI	0xAA64
RISC-V 32-bit architecture	BOOTRISCV32.EFI	0x5032
RISC-V 64-bit architecture	BOOTRISCV64.EFI	0x5064
RISC-V 128-bit architecture	BOOTRISCV128.EFI	0x5128
LoongArch32 architecture	BOOTLOONGARCH32.EFI	0x6232
LoongArch64 architecture	BOOTLOONGARCH64.EFI	0x6264

Note

The PE Executable machine type is contained in the machine field of the COFF file header as defined in the Microsoft Portable Executable and Common Object File Format Specification, Revision 6.0*

Media may support multiple architectures by simply having a file \EFI\BOOT\BOOT{machine type short-name}.EFI for each possible machine type.

3.5.2. Boot via the Load File Protocol

When booting via the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL protocol, the FilePath is a device path that points to a device that “speaks” the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL. The image is loaded directly from the device that supports the EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL. The remainder of the FilePath will contain information that is specific to the device. Firmware passes this device-specific data to the loaded image, but does not use it to load the image. If the remainder of the FilePath is a null device path it is the loaded image’s responsibility to implement a policy to find the correct boot device.

The EFI_LOAD_FILE_PROTOCOL is used for devices that do not directly support file systems. Network devices commonly boot in this model where the image is materialized without the need of a file system.

3.5.2.1. Network Booting

Network booting is described by the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) BIOS Support Specification. PXE specifies UDP, DHCP, and TFTP network protocols that a booting platform can use to interact with an intelligent system load server. UEFI defines special interfaces that are used to implement PXE. These interfaces are contained in the EFI_PXE_BASE_CODE_PROTOCOL .

3.5.2.2. Future Boot Media

Since UEFI defines an abstraction between the platform and the OS and its loader it should be possible to add new types of boot media as technology evolves. The OS loader will not necessarily have to change to support new types of boot. The implementation of the UEFI platform services may change, but the interface will remain constant. The OS will require a driver to support the new type of boot media so that it can make the transition from UEFI boot services to OS control of the boot media.