BootXChanger

BootXChanger will allow you to change the boot image (the gray Apple) on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5
This screenshot will explain how to use it:

System Requirements

• A PowerPC or Intel-based Macintosh
• Mac OS X 10.4 or newer

Limitations

BootXChanger will not change the background colour of the boot screen, so the background of your images must be the same (#BFBFBF). This is done so it won't spoil the spinner animation.
For the same reason, there is a limited number of colours your image can use. If your image has too many, it will be reduced and probably look ugly. If this happens, you can try saving the image in GIF or PNG-8 with Photoshop, and making sure it uses 100 colours or less.
On Intel Macs, it's even worse: images have to be compressed to fit in the boot file. If your image is too complex and doesn't fit, BootXChanger will show a message and you won't be able to apply it. Simply put:

• You can't change the background colour, it's #BFBFBF
• Use an image with less than 100 colours
• On Intel Macs, use simpler shapes or smaller images

Installation Instructions

To set an image as a boot image, open BootXChanger and drag it to the image well, and click Apply.
You will be asked for an administrator password, as the boot image is stored in a system file.
After updating Mac OS X, the current image may not appear in BootXChanger.
It'll work correctly if the default image shows when you click the Default Image button.

Downloads

• Application with sample images: BootXChanger_1.0.2.dmg (932KiB dmg)
  SHA1(BootXChanger_1.0.2.dmg)= 75f0e8387d726290337323c910940f7cb3ce1f2d
• Source Code: BootXChanger_1.0.2_src.zip (768KiB zip)
  SHA1(BootXChanger_1.0.2_src.zip)= 922a6a71d1d184a81fd3b0df67910e59c7745c64
• French localization: French.lproj_1.0.2.zip (184KiB zip)
  SHA1(French.lproj_1.0.2.zip)= 9197d30d9b996c55ed7139c683bd475d318356e3
• Italian localization: Italian.lproj_1.0.2.zip (168KiB zip)
  SHA1(Italian.lproj_1.0.2.zip)= affeeb17386afd58f115af02b205074047a882a9

Version History

• 1.0.2 - April 20, 2008
  
  • Fixed problem on new penryn-based macs
  • German localization, courtesy of Michael Fuchs
  • Russian localization, courtesy of Arkady Vyrlan
• 1.0.1 - February 12, 2008
  
  • Compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5.2
  • Sparkle framework for auto updating
  • Hungarian localization, courtesy of András Bognár
• 1.0 - December 14, 2007
  
  • Initial release

Frequently Asked Questions

• Will this work on PowerPC and Intel macs?
  Yes, it is a Universal Binary.
• Why does BootXChanger keep saying 'This image cannot be used as a boot image.'?
  This is due to the way boot images are stored on Intel macs, and the only solution is to use a simpler (smaller for example) image.
  PowerPC users won't have this problem.
• Why has my image changed back to the gray Apple logo?
  This will happen on some System updates, or sometimes when you change the startup disk.
• My Mac won't boot anymore after I used BootXChanger! Help!
  If BootXChanger is somehow interrupted while writing the boot image (by a power failure, for example), you won't be able to boot from your startup disk anymore. This is easily fixed by booting from your Installation DVD and selecting the startup disk again.
• Does size matter?
  Boot images are 128x128 pixels. Smaller images will be centered with a gray background, and bigger images will be truncated.

Send your questions to .

Localization

BootXChanger is localized in the following languages:

• English
• Spanish
• Hungarian
• German
• Russian
• French*
• Italian*

If you localize it in your language, you can send me the localization and I will put it available for download, and include it in the next version.
* This language will be included in the next version. You can download the language pack for the current version and install it manually.

License

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

Special Thanks

• Simone Dall'Angelo, Italian localization
• Yann Ricquebourg, French localization
• Arkady Vyrlan, Russian localization
• Michael Fuchs, German localization
• András Bognár, Hungarian localization
• Dave Dribin, Hacking the OS X Boot Image on an Intel Mac