rEFIt is a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for EFI-based machines like the Intel Macs. It gives you easy access to the EFI environment and serves as a hook for pre-boot applications. Beyond that, the project aims to become a common platform for extensions to the built-in boot capabilities, like legacy BIOS booting on Apple's legacy-free Intel computers.
What's New
Version 0.14:
Configuration option to set the default boot choice.
Fixes for Snow Leopard and 64-bit kernel mode.
Fixes for detecting recent versions of GRUB2 and Haiku, added detection for NetBSD.
Support for various additional partition types in gptsync.
The correct version number is 0.14 (from developer's site: "2010-03-07: Version 0.14 was released. This release adds a configuration option for the default boot choice, fixes the Linux/GRUB detection issue, and fixes Snow Leopard 64-bit issues.")
This is an excellent boot manager. I used to miss pressing the alt key when my MBP started up, and would have to reboot again. Now I have rEFIt I don't have any problems.
It's big, clear and reasonably stable. I say reasonably, as every now and again when I boot up I don't get the choice. I haven't worked out what I've done before it happens, as it happens so infrequently.
Well worth the download!
So good, when I've had to set up dual booting for customers Mac's, I always install it.
This ist not a normal boot manager. With this tool you can also boot Linux or other OSes from external harddrives which is not supported by BootCamp. This enables the ability to not only use the internal Harddrive where you have to create partitions that limit your internal disk space. You can use dedicated external harddrives for the OSes. And that is awesome.
(just bad that Windows does not allow to be installed on an external Harddrive even it recognizes it)
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rEFIt is a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for EFI-based machines like the Intel Macs. It gives you easy access to the EFI environment and serves as a hook for pre-boot applications. Beyond that, the project aims to become a common platform for extensions to the built-in boot capabilities, like legacy BIOS booting on Apple's legacy-free Intel computers.
+6
Simbasounds reviewed on 04 Mar 2012
* if you're into advanced boot modifications, otherwise I imagine it's useful depending on the scenario
+3
+43
+2
+1
Beang reviewed on 21 Oct 2009
+1
+7
Chronicfathead reviewed on 24 Mar 2009
It's big, clear and reasonably stable. I say reasonably, as every now and again when I boot up I don't get the choice. I haven't worked out what I've done before it happens, as it happens so infrequently.
Well worth the download!
So good, when I've had to set up dual booting for customers Mac's, I always install it.
+3
+11
Michael-Kwasnicki reviewed on 21 Oct 2008
(just bad that Windows does not allow to be installed on an external Harddrive even it recognizes it)
+3
+3
iStuntman reviewed on 04 Aug 2007