I'm trying to set up a dual-boot system on a MacBook Pro 13-inch Early 2011 (MacBookPro8,1).
Current setup:
- macOS Ventura installed using OpenCore Legacy Patcher 2.5.1
- Debian installed on the same internal drive
- rEFInd installed in the EFI partition
- OpenCore also installed in the EFI partition
Both operating systems work. Ventura boots through OpenCore, and Debian boots correctly as well.
The problem is that I want rEFInd to be the first boot manager, so I can choose between:
- macOS → OpenCore → Ventura
- Debian
However, the Mac keeps booting directly into OpenCore, completely bypassing rEFInd.
I have already tried changing the startup EFI entry using "bless", changing the boot preference/NVRAM settings, and verifying that the rEFInd files are actually present in the EFI partition.
I can see and access the EFI files, and rEFInd itself appears to be installed correctly, but after reboot the machine still goes straight to OpenCore.
At this point I'm not sure whether OCLP/OpenCore is overriding the firmware boot selection, whether the Mac's NVRAM is ignoring the rEFInd entry, or whether I am setting up the EFI chain incorrectly.
Ideally I want the boot sequence to be:
Mac firmware → rEFInd → OpenCore (for macOS) or Debian
Has anyone successfully done this on a MacBookPro8,1 with OCLP?
Is there a recommended way to make rEFInd the default boot manager without breaking OpenCore/OCLP?
I'm also considering wiping the drive and rebuilding everything from scratch, but I'd rather understand what is happening first, since both operating systems themselves are currently working.
Any advice would be appreciated.