Windows set as Default Startup Disk; How to Escape?

My kids have been using our IMac with Windows for several years now. No problems at all.
But today, they went into system prefs in OSX, and (!!!) selected the Windows partition as the startup disk!
So Windows XP is booted, regardless of our attempts to escape ... (option key, PRAMzap).
How can we get that Imac back on OSX ??
This is an early public beta version of Bootcamp (don't see any 'bootcamp control panel' or icon on bottom right screen).

Thanks for your suggestions - I've now tried those startup methods but (to my endless dismay) the IMac starts up Windows regardless.
It seems like the IMac disregards these startup shortcuts when a Windows partition is selected as startup disk?
To recap, WindowsXP boots even when holding down command-X, or CTL, or T, or Option, or PRAMzap, or Shift.
I'm holding the Option key (yes, wired keyboard) from before powerup and all during the boot.
Also I tried to boot from OSX disk (holding down C-key) but that likewise failed. It then took Windows a much longer to boot (as was also the case when I tried command-X).
Can I, while running Windows, install the bootcamp stuff needed so that I have access to the Mac-disk in the Windows control panels? If so, what should I install?

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Windows 8.1 resets startup disk to itself after every update

Hello,
I'm on a late 2014 Macbook Pro 15" retina, running bootcamp with Yosemite on one partition and Windows 8.1 on the other. I prefer OSX as my default startup disk, but every time Windows updates it resets the default startup disk to Windows. Of course I can change it manually, but this gets tedious. Does anyone know a fix for this? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John

You have screwed up your system and you're blaming the crashes on someone else. You need to stop thinking it's someone else's problem. Keeping your system healthy is your responsibility.
There is NO upgrade path from preview/evaluation copies to the released versions, anyway, so it really doesn't matter. You have to reinstall
something.
You could reinstall 8.0 and upgrade, or you could get an 8.1 disc and put that in as a fresh install (more expensive, but my recommendation), or you could see if maybe this can help you:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only
-Noel
Detailed how-to in my eBooks:
Configure The Windows 7 "To Work" Options
Configure The Windows 8 "To Work" Options

I am getting the popup window that says my startup disk full even after deleting many files.

I am getting the popup window that says my startup disk is almost full. I have transfered most of my photos to an external HD, deleted most of my iTunes library, and emptied the trash. The problem is that with these steps, the diskspace did not increase at all-not even a megabyte. Any ideas why or how to fix it?

Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the page that opens.
Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
df -Hl
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I've installed Snow Leopard On my black Macbook, actually upgraded on 10.5, and then installed Bootcamp 3.0 on my Boot Camp partition which is on Vista Ultimate, everything is fine but this little annoying detail! I can't select default Startup Disk when I'm in Snow Leopard. I can select default Operating system from Vista but no chance to select it from SL! Just wonder did this happen to anyone else?! and any suggestion to solve it?

Rather than use a 3rd party product to enable writing to ntfs drive you can enable native ntfs read/write support. The method is described in Mac World OS X Hints.
Use this link to the article
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Deleted Startup disk remains default startup disk?

This one is new to me....
I have one disk with two startup partitions and a third as a "backup". I was working on the two startups partition disk and both worked fine. But recently one of the System Preference panels for Spotlight was corrupted so I did an "archive and install" on that partition. But when I did the restart after the archive and install I was unable to boot into the newly installed Leopard disk. Furthermore the machine default booted into the OTHER partition. So I tried to log into that one and the password input says I was putting in the wrong password (I was not). So I tried holding down the Option Key at startup and selected the startup disk I wanted - again, it booted to the other and the password was somehow fubarred. So I went ahead and "dismantled" that pesky defaulting startup disk, trashing both the system and the library folders - but on reboot it STILL boots to that disk even though now it doesn't exist AT ALL. Even the name remains? ***?
I went ahead and revealled all the invisible files - trashed those. I did Option+S at start up and fsck. I used TechTool Pro to repair, I used Disk Utility and permissions... UGH.
Why is this deleted startup STILL showing up and booting off the other present startup system on the other partition (Note: If I hold down Option key at start up I can still boot into the third OS I keep). What is interesting is that everytime I reboot and check the "pesky" startup disk from the other one I see a new System folder added to that (remember, I deleted it). After the invisible files were deleted it no longer did this. But, again, still boots into a non-existent login screen.
I know the "simple" answer is to reinstall and reformat this disk - but on the other "pesky" partition I have 750GB of data I'd rather not migrate (it's in the default user's folder that I didn't delete). And I'd like to learn what the heck is going on.
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Hi, I vaguely rember you from before, but nothing here is the same as before, as it is with OSX in general!
Have you done a PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Does it boot into Open Firmware with CMD+Option+o+f ?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42642
reset-nvram (press Enter)
set-defaults (press Enter)
reset-all (press Enter)
What shows as boot choices if you hold the Option/alt key down at bootup?

Can I set up a startup disk for another computer?

My mom has an iMac and apparently the internal disk has failed. Starts up with the disk and question mark, and running the Disk Utility can't access or format it.
I was going to get an external disk for her to use as a startup disk and was wondering if I can set it up from my computer then send it to her to use with hers. I have an iBook G4 and it would be much easier for me to connect the new drive to my computer, install Mac OS X on it, set up accounts, then install updates. I have DSL and she has dialup, so downloading updates on her system literally takes all night.
I guess I'm wondering if the installer gears the system to work with the hardware it's being run on, or if it doesn't really matter.
Thanks for any input.
Dan

Dan:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
If your Mom's computer supports Firewire, and meets the minimum system requirements for Tiger or the minimum system requirements for Panther depending on which system you plan to install, it should be fine. In terms of the legality, I am not sure if having the system installed on an external HDD runs afoul of the Software License Agreement which statesThis License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single computer at a time. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time...On the other hand if you Mom has the install disk and just can't get it on the internal HDD, there should be no problem.
Please don't hesitate to post back with further questions.
Good luck.
corneliius

Set NetBoot as Startup disk

Hello,
was wondering if anyone knew if it is possible to use a command line to set NetBoot disk as the startup disk.
thanks,
Nils

Try the instructions on this page for your specific issue.
(16066)

How do I set the default startup sequence for iWork documents under mountain lion?

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Open General preferences and uncheck these boxes:

PSE 7 Windows 7, 1.5 TB disk, how to save the image

I got a new PC with a 1.5 TB hard disk, running Windows 7 and PSE 7. With the help of this Forum I managed (changing the scratch disk with ALT and CONTROL) to start and work with PSE 7.
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How to change startup disk for a 2012 Mac mini with dual HDD and clean installed with Windows 8.1?

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I have a Mac-mini (late 2012 model), originally with Mac OS X Maverick Server installed (with two HDD). Recently, I had clean installed Windows 8.1 on one of the HDD (worked perfectly, just slow) and swapped the other HDD (with Mac OSX) with a SSD. I then cloned the Windows OS HDD in to the new SSD. Now I am trying to boot this Mac mini from this SSD, however, since this Mac mini do not have BIOS for me to change the boot sequence at the startup, is there any one can help?
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If you boot with the Option key depressed what boot options are shown?
Also:
Restart your computer
After Windows is installed, you can switch between OS X and Windows. Use the Startup Disk preference pane in OS X, or the Boot Camp system tray item in Windows to select your startup disk, then restart your computer
How to install Windows using Boot Camp - Apple Support

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Two thoughts.
Always when using SSDs have a backup bootable clone (and maybe an image of your 60GB system)
When you zap pram, then drive bay 1 (or SATA port 0) is the 'default' or first in line - that is all.
It doesn't and shouldn't matter which drive bay. In fact the system doesn't use the drive bay ID but rather the GUID identifier, and that it be blessed.
When I erased SSD, Disk Utility first grayed out 8-10% as though 'used' and I then restored small system.
I have no idea why when the Sand Force 2.0 firmware was so important, that OWC took over 3 months, testing? before including it on theirs. But not everyone with Mac has been happy updating firmware on their OWC Mercury (they said they hope to make it easier).
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Windows option not showing in startup disk

I have recently installed windows 8 on my MacBook Pro 10.8.3 but I am unable to see windows section in the startup disk... I want windows when I start my laptop. Pls help.

Maybe this will help. If you monitor the "More Like This" box (top right), other threads appear. Opening them usually displays other threads.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17849073#17849073

The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows.

The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows.

nikasv wrote:
The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows.
That's essentially what Solving Boot Camp partition creation problems says. What is your question?

Making Bootcamp Volume Default Boot Disk

I have just created a Bootcamp Partition on one of my Volumes. When I use it, I want to make this partition my default boot volume so that if I am doing Windows Installs that require Windows to do an automatic reboot, it will boot back into Windows not my normal MacOS X system. This means that an Option Boot will not be adequate since that just overrides the Boot Volume for THIS boot but not for the next boot (or reboot). To make it permanent, I must use the Startup Disk preference to select the volume. This is where I am running in problems. I have 4 separate boot partitions and used a barebones 10.6.1 partition to do the creation of the Bootcamp Partition. When I boot into that partition (or do an Option Boot) I see the Bootcamp volume for selection. If I boot into any other MacOS X partition (including a 2nd MacOS 10.6.1 one) or my normal 10.5.8 Partition (which I plan to clone copy into the barebones partition after erasing it and upgrade to 10.6.1) I do not see the Windows volume in the Startup Disk menu (although the disk is on my Desktops so it is being seen as a normal disk).
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Yes I did the Bootcamp install under Windows (by using the MacOS X DVD).
As I stated, the ability to set Windows as the default Boot Volume works with the MacOS X Partition that I used to do the Boot Camp Assistant execution and the Windows Partition itself (ie: When running Windows). I can also do an Option Boot to boot into Windows (but that does not make it the default volume).
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Drive Not Showing In Startup Disk

I have re setup my MacBook Pro, all seems well apart from this little problem. My Mac OS X Partition or Windows Partition shows in startup Disk.
Both Operating Systems do startup fine though.
I have my disk partitioned like this
Free Space
Windows 7
Mac OS X
Its setup in this way so i can use TrueCypt for the Windows side.
Does anyone know how to correct this please?
You can use this link to view a screenshot
http://www.edugeek.net/attachments/forums/mac/9912d1302462528-drive-not-showing- startup-disk-screen-shot-2011-04-10-20.07.19.png
Thanks

if you try to verify the disk, dose it report any errors? (open disk utility, click on the Macintosh HD, click on the repair tab, click verify disk.)
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Have you tried blessing the mac hard drive?
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Windows set as Default Startup Disk; How to Escape?

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