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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.

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:

Filed under: OS, Software

AppleScripts to set startup disk between Windows and Mac OS X

If you're living in a Boot Camp world and have a need for changing your startup disk from time to time, enterprising TUAW reader David B. has written a couple of AppleScript apps with your name on them. Boot (Camp) Sargent beta 0.1 is actually two scripts: the first to set your startup disk to Windows (*shudder*), while the other resets to Mac OS X. In this fast-paced, multiple OS world we live in, little apps that save a few clicks can make all the difference.

Boot (Camp) Sargent is available at the first Google Pages site that I've ever seen used to promote or offer anything like this. Extra points for the tag line, "because holding down the Option key during startup is too hard", since I've actually heard people say that on the job in the past.

Filed under: TUAW Tips

TUAW Tip: keyboard shortcuts during Mac OS X startup

For today's TUAW Tip, I thought I'd cover some of the basic essentials for starting up your Mac, especially for recent switchers who feel naked and lost without their BIOS. I compiled the list I have here from Magical Macintosh Key Sequences (which Dave mentioned last September), Apple's own keyboard shortcut documentation and personal experience:
  • X during startup - Force Mac OS X startup
  • option - (eventually) brings up a screen with startup volume choices
  • Option-Command-Shift-Delete - Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
  • C - Start up from a CD that has a system folder
  • N  - Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)
  • T - Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode (very handy for plugging your Mac into another as an external hard drive)
  • Shift - start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
  • Command-V - Start up in Verbose mode.
  • Command-S - Start up in Single-User mode
  • cmd-opt-p-r - Zap PRAM. Hold down until second chime.
  • cmd-opt-n-v - Clear NV RAM. Similar to reset-all in Open Firmware.
  • cmd-opt-o-f - Boot into open firmware
  • hold mouse click - force eject a CD/DVD
While this by no means is a definitive list (and I'm not sure if every one transfers over to the new Intel Macs), it should get you started with what your Mac is capable of on startup. Feel free to add your own in the comments. One word of caution, however: some of these shortcuts aren't meant to be used on a daily basis. For example, Apple doesn't recommend (and neither do I) that you use the Zap PRAM or Clear NV RAM shortcuts any old time your Mac starts acting funny; those are mainly for situation-specific troubleshooting circumstances.

Tip of the Day

Use Spotlight as a reference tool. Type any word in the Spotlight box and one of the top entries will be a definition. Click on it, and it will bring up the dictionary application to check the word in either the dictionary, thesaurus, Apple database, or Wikipedia.


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