OS X Mountain Lion: Start up using OS X or Windows

Start up using OS X or Windows

After you install Windows and the Boot Camp drivers, you can use Windows on your Mac. Boot Camp makes it easy to restart your computer in either OS X or Windows.

You can set the default operating system for your computer using either Startup Disk preferences (OS X) or the Boot Camp control panel (Windows).

Set the default operating system

  1. Do one of the following:
    • In OS X, choose Apple > System Preferences, then click Startup Disk.

    • In Windows, choose Boot Camp Control Panel from the Boot Camp system tray item.

  2. Select the startup disk with the operating system you want to use by default.
  3. If you want to use that operating system now, click Restart.

Restart directly in OS X from Windows

Click the Boot Camp icon in the system tray, then choose “Restart in Mac OS X.”

Select an operating system while starting up your computer

When you select a system at startup, you temporarily override the default operating system set in Startup Disk preferences (OS X) and the Boot Camp control panel (Windows), but you don’t change that setting permanently.

  1. Restart your computer, holding down the Option key until disk icons appear onscreen.
  2. Select the startup disk with the operating system you want to use, then click the arrow below the icon.
Last Modified: Aug 8, 2013
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