Cool tool: Change your Mac's boot image with BootXChanger

Every once in a while, I get reminded about a cool tool that I've used and then totally forgotten about. In today's example, the reminder came in the form of a post on UNEASYsilence about how to change your Mac's boot image.

The boot image, in case you're new to the Mac world, is that gray Apple logo that you see after the startup chime when booting up your machine. It's surprisingly boring, so back in December of 2007 Jésus Álvarez wrote a small tool to replace that drab gray Apple with something more exciting.

BootXChanger is free, and it changes the Mac's boot image. There are limitations to what you can replace the gray Apple with -- the background must remain the boring #BFBFBF gray, the image can't be too complex, and the image should be sized at 128 x 128 pixels -- but you can do a lot within those borders. BootXChanger comes with a dozen sample images (below), and instructions are provided on how to create your own.

I was torn between "Colour Apple Logo" and "Radioactive", so I ended up trying both. You simply drag and drop an icon file to the application window, or you can click "Default Image" if you decide to go back to the current Apple icon. Here are a couple of photos of my MacBook Air starting up with the new boot images for your entertainment:

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Source: http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2009/07/14339/

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Every once in a while, I get reminded about a cool tool that I've used and then totally forgotten about. In today's example, the reminder...

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terrovision

actually i prefer Visage (or Visage Login), as you can also customize the login background and message, etc. unfortunately its ~$5 after a 3-day trial, but i still like its, saves me a lotta lotta hassle.

July 28 2009 at 6:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Nathan

I finally got it to accept a picture on Leopard. It's the original Link from Zelda, if anybody wants it.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/5151/linkh.gif

July 28 2009 at 2:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Big.
Fat.
Meh.

July 27 2009 at 5:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Joseph

searches for his eWorld icon. Anyone remember this?

July 27 2009 at 2:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Joseph's comment

Steven Sande

Absolutely! I was a beta-tester for eWorld. That would make an awesome boot image!

TUAWSteve

July 27 2009 at 3:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Joseph

anyone tried it on snow leppy?

September 04 2009 at 3:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Benjamin

It's a shame that Apple broke tradition and dumped the 'happy Mac' icon. The grey apple is a little boring.

I have used BootXChanger before, it works well, except that the replacement icon gets lost after some software updates and has to be re-applied.

July 27 2009 at 2:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Benjamin's comment

artifex

Yeah, I loved it, too:
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/18/ask-tuaw-kernel-panics-automatic-filing-of-downloads-changing/

(heh. My Mini still has that happy mac, too.)

Never decided what to put on my Macbook's startup, though.
Been thinking about using a sticker or insert for the logo on the back, instead.

July 27 2009 at 10:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Mohammed Al-Muhaidib

is the startup logo restricted to 16 colors?

July 27 2009 at 2:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Wiley Bates

I can't get it to work... Can someone help me out? Here's my PSD

http://files.me.com/ntippie/128i4e

July 27 2009 at 1:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Dklar

I have tried this this morning and the images I have tried to use that I made are smaller then the samples and still no joy. bummer.

July 27 2009 at 12:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Adrian vG

3 x 4 = sixteen?