Review: BootPicker lets anyone dual boot
TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Review: BootPicker lets anyone dual boot

If you are a user with a one Mac that likes to go back and forth between Windows and Mac OS X, then BootPicker will not do you much good. However, if you are an Administrator with an office full of 30 dual-boot Macs... you will absolutely love this application. BootPicker has to be setup and configured by an Administrator, but after that ... anyone can use it.

It runs on Mac OS X, at boot-up, before the login window, and presents a screen At this point, the user can select which OS they want to use. If they select Mac OS X, the BootPicker window closes and presents the user with the Mac OS X login window. If the user selects an alternate OS (ie: Windows), the Mac will reboot and choose the appropriate partition, presenting the user with a login screen for that OS. In other words, boot picker replaces the login window on Mac OS X and gives the user a friendly GUI to choose an operating system.

If they choose Mac OS X, BootPicker quits and runs the login window, if they choose Windows, it reboots the Mac and boots off the Windows partition. Every time the Mac is rebooted from Windows (or any alternate OS) the machine will reboot to Mac OS X and run BootPicker again.

So why is this useful? Imagine you are a systems administrator at a prominent university. You have a lab full of 50 iMacs which have the hard drives partitioned into 3 partitions. One for Mac OS X, one for Windows XP, and one for Fedora Core Linux 7. Every student is given a login which is universal for all 3 platforms and they are allowed to choose which OS they want to use. This is a simple enough concept ... but think about the reality of this situation. You need to explain to each and every student that there are three OS's loaded on each computer and each machine is capable of booting off any of the 3.

image

You also need to explain that they have to reboot the machine, hold down the option key and then select the correct OS to boot from. Alternately, you could boot all the machines each morning, holding down the option key and leaving them in this state. Then let the students pick their OS when they come in. However, this can be a tedious task, and it leaves the machines in an unmanageable state. Using BootPicker and Apple Remote Desktop, an administrator could reboot all the machines simultaneously every morning and let them boot up to the BootPicker screen. From there the machines are manageable and the students have a friendly GUI to choose their preferred OS.

BootPicker also has some advanced options, like the ability to not only run at boot up, but also log out. This would allow the machines to return to BootPicker after every Mac OS X session. An administrator could then write a Windows (or Linux) script to reboot the computer at log out (from Windows/Linux) and that would always bring the Mac back to the BootPicker screen from Linux and Windows sessions. The only drawback to BootPicker is that is requires a lot of reboots, but that goes with the territory. However, it does provide a high level of manageability for multi-boot systems. Another great piece of freeware from Mike Bombich.

This review is brought to you courtesy of [url=http://www.applemacpunk.com/C213178526/E20070614155722/index.html]"Applemacpunk."[/url])

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Six fantastic ways to spend National Vid...
As if anyone needed an excuse to play games today, I am about to give you one: it is National Video Games Day. A day for us to play games, like we no doubt do every day. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, feast your eyes on this... | Read more »
Old School RuneScape players turn out in...
The sheer leap in technological advancements in our lifetime has been mind-blowing. We went from Commodore 64s to VR glasses in what feels like a heartbeat, but more importantly, the internet. It can be a dark mess, but it also brought hundreds of... | Read more »
Today's Best Mobile Game Discounts...
Every day, we pick out a curated list of the best mobile discounts on the App Store and post them here. This list won't be comprehensive, but it every game on it is recommended. Feel free to check out the coverage we did on them in the links below... | Read more »
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's...
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Nintendo has been locked in an epic battle with Pocketpair, creator of the obvious Pokémon rip-off Palworld. Nintendo often resorts to legal retaliation at the drop of a hat, but it seems this... | Read more »
Apple exclusive mobile games don’t make...
If you are a gamer on phones, no doubt you have been as distressed as I am on one huge sticking point: exclusivity. For years, Xbox and PlayStation have done battle, and before this was the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo NES. On console, it makes... | Read more »
Regionally exclusive events make no sens...
Last week, over on our sister site AppSpy, I babbled excitedly about the Pokémon GO Safari Days event. You can get nine Eevees with an explorer hat per day. Or, can you? Specifically, you, reader. Do you have the time or funds to possibly fly for... | Read more »
As Jon Bellamy defends his choice to can...
Back in March, Jagex announced the appointment of a new CEO, Jon Bellamy. Mr Bellamy then decided to almost immediately paint a huge target on his back by cancelling the Runescapes Pride event. This led to widespread condemnation about his perceived... | Read more »
Marvel Contest of Champions adds two mor...
When I saw the latest two Marvel Contest of Champions characters, I scoffed. Mr Knight and Silver Samurai, thought I, they are running out of good choices. Then I realised no, I was being far too cynical. This is one of the things that games do best... | Read more »
Grass is green, and water is wet: Pokémo...
It must be a day that ends in Y, because Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has kicked off its Zoroark Drop Event. Here you can get a promo version of another card, and look forward to the next Wonder Pick Event and the next Mass Outbreak that will be... | Read more »
Enter the Gungeon review
It took me a minute to get around to reviewing this game for a couple of very good reasons. The first is that Enter the Gungeon's style of roguelike bullet-hell action is teetering on the edge of being straight-up malicious, which made getting... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Take $150 off every Apple 11-inch M3 iPad Air
Amazon is offering a $150 discount on 11-inch M3 WiFi iPad Airs right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 128GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $449, $150 off – 11″ 256GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $549, $150 off – 11″ 512GB M3... Read more
Apple iPad minis back on sale for $100 off MS...
Amazon is offering $100 discounts (up to 20% off) on Apple’s newest 2024 WiFi iPad minis, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis among the Apple retailers we... Read more
Apple’s 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros are on sa...
Amazon has 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $410 off Apple’s MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party... Read more
Red Pocket Mobile is offering a $150 rebate o...
Red Pocket Mobile has new Apple iPhone 17’s on sale for $150 off MSRP when you switch and open up a new line of service. Red Pocket Mobile is a nationwide MVNO using all the major wireless carrier... Read more
Switch to Verizon, and get any iPhone 16 for...
With yesterday’s introduction of the new iPhone 17 models, Verizon responded by running “on us” promos across much of the iPhone 16 lineup: iPhone 16 and 16 Plus show as $0/mo for 36 months with bill... Read more
Here is a summary of the new features in Appl...
Apple’s September 2025 event introduced major updates across its most popular product lines, focusing on health, performance, and design breakthroughs. The AirPods Pro 3 now feature best-in-class... Read more
Apple’s Smartphone Lineup Could Use A Touch o...
COMMENTARY – Whatever happened to the old adage, “less is more”? Apple’s smartphone lineup. — which is due for its annual refresh either this month or next (possibly at an Apple Event on September 9... Read more
Take $50 off every 11th-generation A16 WiFi i...
Amazon has Apple’s 11th-generation A16 WiFi iPads in stock on sale for $50 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 11th-generation 128GB WiFi iPads: $299 $50 off MSRP – 11″ 11th-generation 256GB... Read more
Sunday Sale: 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros for up t...
Don’t pay full price! Amazon has Apple’s 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $220 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather... Read more
Mac mini with M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $12...
B&H Photo has Apple’s Mac mini with the M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $1259, $140 off MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – Mac mini M4 Pro CPU (24GB/512GB): $1259, $... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.