Running
without a restart.

Shorten the startup delay in BootX

If by some chance you haven't heard, BootX is a great utility by Benjamin Herrenschmidt that bypasses the cryptic Open Firmware settings in the Mac's ROM, and allows you to boot into Linux directly from the MacOS.

The images on ResExcellence are served from a LinuxPPC machine the uses BootX. When I need to restart the computer, the site is down, so it's imperative that's it restarts ASAP.

On my server, instead of waiting for ten seconds while BootX counts down, this simple edit sets the delay to zero seconds to get you on your way.

On my Powerbook, the majority of the time I switch to Linux using the BootX app after I have been in the MacOS for awhile, so I have even set the startup delay to 2 on my Powerbook. This gives me just enough time to click Linux if that is my choice.

Open a copy of the BootX extension in ResEdit and scroll down to the STR# resources.

Open them with a double-click.

Open ID 132, "Boot Delay" with a double-click.

This edit is made particularly easy by the fact that Benjamin had the foresight to create an easy to change string resource!

Change the number in Item 1 to your new delay. I chose zero seconds, two seconds gives you enoughh time to switch at startup.

Save your work and quit ResEdit. Replace the original BootX extension with the modified one are restart your computer. The new delay will be in effect!