Triple Boot Mac OS X, Windows, Linux with rEFIt

A recently-emerged report by OSX Daily reminds Intel-based Mac users that they can employ a simple tool called rEFIt to install not one, but two additional OSes next to Mac OS X, and boot from either one with ease, via a pretty interface, with lots of options “to boot”.

So, we thought we’d remind you, as well, that such utilities exist and are just waiting to be used with your Intel-based Mac.

Plus, Boot Camp is for the old fashioned.

The Apple-focused web site notes that those looking for a solution to triple boot Mac OS X with Linux and Windows without using Boot Camp can do so with ease using EFIt, a third party boot menu.

The screenshot above is exactly what users are presented with on each system boot, after employing the tool and installing the operating systems in question.

Of course, you will need to provide your original Windows CD / DVD and license, while Linux distributions can be found everywhere on the web (start your search on our Linux section, here).

So, what’s up with this rEFIt tool?

Well, according to the page it’s hosted at, “rEFIt is a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for EFI-based machines like the Intel Macs.”

The folks developing the tool add: “You can use it to boot multiple operating systems easily, including triple-boot setups with Boot Camp. It also provides an easy way to enter and explore the EFI pre-boot environment.”

The online documentation for rEFIt is a valuable resource, if you’re going to pick up on the software and use it as explained above.

You get instructions for installing rEFIt on your Intel Mac for the first time, installing a new version or rEFIt when you already have it installed, removing rEFIt from your Mac, handling Mac OS X Updates, detailed instructions for burnig a bootable rEFIt CD and more.

There are also some customization tips, including how to change the icons shown in the menu, restricting access (options to lock down rEFIt, e.g. for a lab scenario.
The refit.conf Configuration File), configuration options available through the refit.conf configuration file etc.