Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Odds and ends, Freeware
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.
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:
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Anders Borum said 9:21AM on 7-27-2009
Very nice, but foes anybody know a way to change the startup sound as well?
Reply
Jesse said 9:39AM on 7-27-2009
Yes, and lets get rid of that pesky Apple logo on the back of screen as well. Put in the windows startup sound, and change the apple menu to START.
Nathan said 2:10AM on 7-28-2009
Not sure if you can change it, but you can disable it with MacPilot for sure, but you might be able to do it with Onyx.
Colonel Panic said 6:42PM on 7-28-2009
No, the startup sound is coded onto the EFI chip so it cannot be changed.
malik said 9:32AM on 7-27-2009
does it also change your startup logo when the startuplogo is not the usual apple? like, when you have a hard drive problem? or an other problem that prevents your mac from booting?
it's just a detail, but an important one, not?
Reply
Josh said 9:49AM on 7-27-2009
I do not believe so. It's changing the one image and that's it.
Shunnabunich said 1:46PM on 7-27-2009
If I'm not mistaken, those other logos are all part of your machine's firmware. The Apple logo you normally see is stored in one of Mac OS X's system files, so it only gets accessed if your Mac is able to load the operating system successfully. If there's some problem that happens before OS X can even be started, the firmware is on its own until you can fix it, so the other "error" images have to be stored there. I'm unaware if there's any way to hack new images into a firmware updater, and even if there is, it's probably a really bad idea. The firmware is the one thing standing between your Mac and oblivion, so making relatively blind changes to it isn't the best thing to do. With OS X, even if BootXChanger somehow messes up and your kernel or somesuch is borked, at least the firmware is still there to help you reinstall it.
oliver hart said 2:23PM on 7-27-2009
is it hackintosh safe?
gittenlucky said 9:36AM on 7-27-2009
I remember when I changed the login screen on my XP machine. After I did an update, the computer would not boot. Had to reformat. I wonder who the genius at MS was that decided that should happen.
Reply
Lee McCartney said 10:21AM on 7-27-2009
Awsome quick mod that most mac users are unaware of, it will make my mac stand out from the crowd and a talking point :o)
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jpkrautw said 11:09AM on 7-27-2009
So you're going to sit in public constantly rebooting your computer until someone talks to you?
Lee McCartney said 1:04PM on 7-27-2009
No but its a talking point with other mac geeks i know and hang out with.
Michael said 10:22AM on 7-27-2009
This 100% does not work with the next version of Leopard. Too bad! Hopefully, it's just a 64-bit problem.
Reply
Michael said 10:27AM on 7-27-2009
Okay, I 100% spoke too soon. It works fine, I just forgot to copy it to my app folder. It would crash trying to run it from mount.
gian-pa said 11:11AM on 7-27-2009
i can make a black and white image work on this!!
even using 4 colors...
i'm using photoshop cs4 png 8bit
128x128...
any clue?
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Think Adrian said 11:46AM on 7-27-2009
3 x 4 = sixteen?
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Steven Sande said 3:06PM on 7-27-2009
Thanks for pointing that out, Adrian! For some reason my brain saw four columns of icons, not three... Fixed it.
TUAWSteve
Dklar said 12:31PM on 7-27-2009
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.
Reply
TigerPro said 1:35PM on 7-27-2009
I can't get it to work... Can someone help me out? Here's my PSD
http://files.me.com/ntippie/128i4e
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MSM said 2:05PM on 7-27-2009
is the startup logo restricted to 16 colors?
Reply