Simple tip for Bootcamp users

[DeF46]

Does your Boot Camp program often disappear from the tray icon area in Windows 7?

Short of identifying the underlying issue, a simple workaround I have found is to pin the Boot Camp executable to the taskbar (should be in C:\Program Files\Boot Camp\Bootcamp.exe).

Then you can use the Windows 7 shortcuts: Win + number, on the Apple keyboard Cmd + number to, to reload it quickly, and then follow up immeditately with the volume controls or whatnot.

In games you may have to alt tab, or click outside the window, OR press the Win (Cmd) key once so that it activates the menu to get the focus, then press Cmd + number to reactivate Bootcamp quickly.

Any other tips welcome

 

[Occamsrazr]

Is there ANY possible way to set up boot camp so that the iMac automatically boots into OSX?

 

[DeF46]

What do you mean?

I'm on Snow Leopard and I have to hold down the Alt key explicitly or use something in OS X to restart in Windows. IF I reboot either from OS X or Bootcamp, or cold boot, it always loads OS X.

ps: If you right click the Boot Camp tray icon it has an option "Restart in Mac OS X".

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If you are willing to "suffer" Windows .. RainMeter is very nice:

http://rainmeter.net/cms/

I installed just the default, it gives you these on the desktop:
- IP address
- CPU, RAM usage
- Recycle bin usage + shortcut
- Clock
- Network usage
- Disks usage

And if you click the "System" box title it opens the Task Manager without switching the whole screen to black and then the menu thing that you get with Ctrl Alt Del.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Is there ANY possible way to set up boot camp so that the iMac automatically boots into OSX?

Go into System Preferences > Users & Groups > Startup Disk and select the OS X boot drive whatever it may be. It should then highlighted in blue.

 

[DeF46]

Just curious, how do you end up with OS X not being the startup disk? WOuld Occamsrazr have changed it previously?

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

If Bootcamp had been selected as the Startup Disk that is where it will boot.

 

[bumzo1]

I found a little app called BootChamp that makes switching between OSX and windows so easy. The app puts a little icon in the menu bar with one option "boot into windows". When you click it your computer restarts straight into windows, no having to choose the disk at startup. To get back into OSX just hit restart in windows and it will boot back into OSX, assuming OSX is set to the default disk. Works great!