# FreeBSD chain loading from linux



## STREBLO (Apr 8, 2016)

I want to chainload my FreeBSD system from Archlinux using systemd-boot (previously known as gummiboot) and I'm wondering if this is possible. My FreeBSD system is 10.3 running UEFI root on ZFS. Is there anyway I can either load the kernel, chainload the bootloader or do something so that I am able to run my linux boot loader and somehow load FreeBSD from that? I want to be able to run a single bootloader and don't want to have to use grub as I like gummiboot for its simplicity. Am I out of luck due to the fact that gummiboot won't be able to load a ZFS system?


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## SirDice (Apr 8, 2016)

STREBLO said:


> Am I out of luck due to the fact that gummiboot won't be able to load a ZFS system?


That shouldn't matter if you're able to load the bootloader. The bootloader knows how to handle ZFS. I have no experience with gummiboot or otherwise so I can't provide more info.


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## tetragir (Apr 8, 2016)

I will be in a similar situation soon, but in the relation of FreeBSD and Windows, I'll have 2 drives in my system. I use UEFI and hope, because of that, it will be easy.
STREBLO Do you have 2 drives in you PC? Or you want to use only 1 drive for both systems? Are you able to boot both systems from the boot drive selector menu (I mean in BIOS. I mean in UEFI... So when you choose the boot device :-D)?


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## Maxnix (Apr 8, 2016)

Found this on ArchWiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Systemd-boot#Adding_boot_entries;
if there is a keyword like GRUB's `chainload` should not be too much complicated.

Here more infos about Arch dualboot: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dual_boot_with_Windows.


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## STREBLO (Apr 9, 2016)

tetragir said:


> I will be in a similar situation soon, but in the relation of FreeBSD and Windows, I'll have 2 drives in my system. I use UEFI and hope, because of that, it will be easy.
> STREBLO Do you have 2 drives in you PC? Or you want to use only 1 drive for both systems? Are you able to boot both systems from the boot drive selector menu (I mean in BIOS. I mean in UEFI... So when you choose the boot device :-D)?


I have FreeBSD on 2 mirrored SSD's, one SSD with Arch, another with Arch, and one Windows. I can boot them from UEFI and currently boot them all from Gummiboot. I'm not sure what I point it at to get at FreeBSD's bootloader though...


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## wblock@ (Apr 9, 2016)

Depends on what type of loader it is expecting to find.  Maybe /boot/boot1, although that will probably have to be somewhere that Linux can read it.  FreeBSD installs a separate partition for BIOS booting and puts it there with no filesystem.

For UEFI, /boot/boot1.efi is used.

Grub doesn't need either, it can load the FreeBSD kernel directly.  No idea about others.


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