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Boot Linux, BSD, and OS X from Vista

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the by-your-bootstraps dept.

An anonymous reader writes, "NeoSmart Technologies has just released EasyBCD 1.5, complete with support for Vista, Windows NT/2k/XP, and Windows 9x/ME. EasyBCD 1.5 adds experimental support for dual-booting any of these along with Linux, Mac OS X, or BSD — straight from the Windows Vista bootloader without any additional configuration needed!" From the article: "Windows Vista's new bootmanager is a double-edged sword. It's one of the most powerful booting scripts in existence, and a far cry from the very limiting boot.ini of legacy Windows operating systems. But it overwrites the MBR without a second thought, and doesn't provide any means for users of alternate operating systems and boot managers to use their old system. That's where EasyBCD 1.5 comes in!" EasyBCD 1.5 is free.

4 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. Surprise, surprise. by Eideewt · · Score: 5, Funny

    "But it overwrites the MBR without a second thought...."

    Well, who would have expected Microsoft to do that?

    1. Re:Surprise, surprise. by HoboMaster · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've had Red Hat (years ago) completely corrupt my HD while shutting down. Obviously I should never use any Linux distro ever again!

      --
      Remember kids, tin foil doesn't work, so use LeadHat.
  2. Except for the fact that... by daveschroeder · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...you can't "boot OS X" on non-Apple hardware without:

    1. Breaking Apple's Mac OS X license agreement, which says that Mac OS X is to be run only on Apple-branded computers
    2. Pirating Mac OS X (Intel), since Mac OS X (Intel) is not available as a standalone OS at present
    3. Running a horribly hacked version of Mac OS X, with critical pieces of the system modified, including the kernel
    4. Running Mac OS X in an unupdateable state, since any official Apple software updates that overwrite modified pieces of the hacked version of Mac OS X will break it
    5. Running Mac OS X in a state completely unsupported by its vendor
    6. Possibly violating civil or criminal law in your jurisdiction

    I hope that most people can find at least *one* of the above items that would make them reconsider running Mac OS X (Intel) on a generic PC without paying for it (some will no doubt argue that they should be able to "reuse" PowerPC licenses for Mac OS X in spirit, but the fact is that it's not the same product - that's like saying that you at one time owned one software product from a company that's similar, so you should be able to use this other one/newer version/older version/different version for free). I'm sure others will come up with all sorts of justifications why it's okay.

    But isn't all of the billions of dollars or R&D and hundreds of thousands of manhours invested in Mac OS X worth something? What if their pricing is predicated on what is essentially a good faith agreement that you'll not hack it and run it on non-Apple hardware? Does Apple have ANY say in how they'd prefer it to be used?

    I could go on, of course, but just thought this was worth mentioning.

  3. Tinfoil too tight? by Kadin2048 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apple and the U.S. government established the anti-boot laws to keep people from booting OS X.

    I'm sorry ... what?

    Are you posting from the future, where the world has been decimated by killer iPods or something?

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."