For folks who have two operating systems installed on their computer.
My “test mule” these days is a MacBook Pro. (I use the term “test mule” to identify the computer I use to run software on when I’m writing books and articles.) In preparation for writing a book about Leopard while I still had to work with Tiger for articles and blog posts, I partitioned the hard disk and installed both operating systems, one on each partition.
There are two ways (at least) of choosing a startup disk. The most obvious is with the Startup Disk preferences pane, which is shown here. It should display all system folders the computer can boot from, including any inserted CDs or DVDs. You choose a folder and click Restart. Easy.
The trouble with this method is that your computer needs to be running to open the Startup Disk preferences pane. What happens if your computer is shut off and you decide you want to start with the other operating system — the one that wasn’t selected when you shut down?
The answer is the Option key.
Start the computer and hold down the Option key. Before the operating system loads, your computer will display icons for each disk the computer can start from. Release the Option key and click the disk you want to start from to select it. Then click the arrow beneath it. The startup process continues from that disk.
One important thing to keep in mind here is that the change in startup disks is for that session only. If you always want to start from that operating system from that point forward — or at least for the next start — you should use the Startup Disk preferences pane to make that selection.
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1 response so far ↓
1 Neil Anderson // Aug 14, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Works well for Boot Camp too.
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