In OS X, when you go to System Preferences then Startup Disk, you can see a list of options for what OS you want to start. I am basically looking to edit that, except not on OS X. Is there any way to edit the EFI to make it boot another OS without having OS X installed in the first place? (Installing with an install CD for another OS without OS X on the system)
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How to edit EFI partition/bootloader?
- Thread starter scissorband
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Hold down the Option key at boot. It will list all bootable partitions and discs on your Mac. You may also want to look into rEFIt : http://refit.sourceforge.net/
Can I get it to boot without having to hold down the Option key? When I don't hold the Option key down and just let it go, it says it doesn't have a bootable media. But when I hold the Option key down, it shows the OS and I can boot into it if I click on it.
What OS are you trying/booting into? To get it to boot without holding down the Option key you need to set the boot drive using the Startup Disk in System Preferences or the Startup Disk in Control Panel (in Windows with Boot Camp installed). Choosing the boot drive with Startup Disk will make the selected drive the default for starting.
I'm trying out various OSes (BSD, Linux, Windows) as single-boot systems (without OS X) and trying to figure out the partition scheme. If I don't have OS X installed, how can I change the partition it boots into?