Cannot set Win 7 as default boot, Dual Boot OSX Win 7 machine

[cnsjones]

The machine is functioning fine in OSX AND in Windows 7, BUT I cannot set the default boot system to Windows.

Neither Windows (loaded using "Option" F8 key) nor OSX will let me reset the default system to Windows.

When I try using System Preferences in OSX, I get the screen with two systems shown, "Mac OSX 10.7.2" and "Untitled Windows."
When I highlight the Windows, and click restart, I get a popup window that says "You can't change the startup disk... The Bless tool was unable to set the current boot disk."

I need the machine to boot into windows by default.

I am a novice, so details will be needed.

Help appreciated!

 

[whs]

Type msconfig into start/search and hit Enter. Go to the Boot tab. There you can change it. If that does not work, let us know. There are other ways too.

 

[cnsjones]

Should have mentioned- Totally unfamiliar with Mac systems and operations.

 

[cnsjones]

Did as you suggested; Will not let me do it.

Boot Tab: "Set as default" is greyed out.

Next?

 

[Golden]

I wonder if EasyBCD would do it......Wolfgang?

The free version is at the very bottom of the page....

 

[whs]

Yes, try EasyBCD as Golden suggests. The procedure is in Step 3 of this tutorial.

 

[cnsjones]

That reads like DELETING the OS, I don't want to delete either OS, just make Win 7 the default Boot System.

Will that BCD do that without deleting the OS?

Thanks

 

[whs]

Sorry, my bad. I'll get back with the right link in a minute.

 

[whs]

This is the right link: Changing the Default Entry - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

 

[cnsjones]

Easy BCD

OK I downloaded the Easy BCD in the Windows mode, and it does not even show the Mac OSX! Only Win 7 is shown. Two systems are not on the screen.

What now?

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Well...you have to set it up first, it won't do it for you automatically. Click on the Mac tab, then click 'Add Entry'.



Now go to 'Edit Book Menu' and select which option should be default (my example shown here).



Click 'Save Settings', then exit and reboot. Upon reboot the Windows bootloader will show the two options. If you select the Mac option, it should chainload to the Mac bootloader.

Regards,
Golden

 

[cnsjones]

No Joy

Did that; Let it reboot, it went as before to a Mac only screen and was in the process of booting to OSX. I "caught" it by hitting F8 before the 30 seconds was up, and the dual screen came up.

I could continue to do this, but surely there is a way?

Thanks

 

[cnsjones]

Do I need to do this in the Mac mode?

 

[Golden]

No - run this application from within Windows. You do not need to do it from inside Mac. Windows will chainload (pass off) to the OSX loader when you select the option.

Regards,
Golden

 

[cnsjones]

No Joy

Started again, loaded Easy BCD again. Both systems now showing, Windows 7 set as default. Saved. Exited, Restarted, let it go; no joy. It went directly to Lion OSX and loaded it.

'bout to give up, but obviously there is a setting somewhere locking this OSX into the boot sequence that Easy BCD does not affect???

Thanks

 

[cnsjones]

In the OSX mode the System Preferences says I cannot change the option, "Can't change the startup disk... Bless tool unable to set the current boot disk"

 

[cnsjones]

Ran across this on a search
-------------------------------
Wrong system booted by default Problem: On a system with multiple OSes, boot wants to boot the wrong (non-PureDarwin) one by default. This happens when a non-HFS+ partition (e.g., FAT32 or NTFS) has the bootable ("active") flag and comes before the HFS+ partition that contains PureDarwin.


Solution: Modify boot so that it uses the first HFS+ partition instead of the first partition with the bootable ("active") flag:


In boot-132/i386/lib/libsaio/sys.c, comment the following line:


for ( bvr = chain; bvr; bvr = bvr->next )
{
if ( bvr->flags & kBVFlagNativeBoot ) bvr1 = bvr;
// if ( bvr->flags & kBVFlagPrimary ) bvr2 = bvr;
}
----------------------------------------------------
This is all that was there, and naturally I am not expert enough to even attempt such without guidance. Is it even relevant?

Thanks

 

[whs]

This seems to be managed by the OSX bootmgr. But there I cannot help you because I know nothing about OSX. It is not legal to run an OSX on a PC, so I have never done that.

 

[cnsjones]

Is this the mac forum? I showed that this was a dual boot system (OSX and W7).

Is there a forum that is knowledgeable about the issue you mentioned?
Thanks

 

[seavixen32]

The Mac OS X EULA forbids Mac installations on a non Apple-branded computer.

OSx86 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our forum rules say we shouldn't be discussing hacking or piracy - end of.

So, in a nutshell, no, this isn't a Mac forum.