Wikipedia
BootX may refer to:
- BootX (Apple), the default Apple bootloader.
- BootX (Linux), the free Linux bootloader for Macintosh computers.
BootX is the name of a graphical bootloader developed by Benjamin Herrenschmidt, which runs as an application or an extension to Mac OS 8 and 9 that allows Old World Apple computers to boot Linux. It is no longer maintained by its original author, as it does not work with any current hardware, but it is still available, and further development may be possible. It is one of three Linux bootloaders which may be used on most Old World Apple computers, the others being miBoot (included, but also independently enhanced by Jeff Carr of LinuxPPC, Inc.), and quik. New World Macs use a different bootloader, yaboot, for booting Linux.
BootX is a software-based bootloader designed and developed by Apple Inc. for use on the company's Macintosh computer range. BootX is used to prepare the computer for use by loading all required device drivers and then starting-up Mac OS X by booting the kernel on all PowerPC Macintoshes running the Mac OS X 10.2 operating system or later versions. Using BootROM, a read-only memory (ROM) computer chip containing OpenFirmware, a graphical bootsplash is shown briefly on all compatible Macintosh computers as a grey Apple logo with a spinning cursor that appears during the startup sequence. The program is freely available as part of the Darwin operating system under the open source Apple Public Source License. BootX was superseded by another nearly identical bootloader named boot.efi and an Extensible Firmware Interface ROM on the release of the Intel-based Mac.