Mac OS X 10.4.9 Special Report: Persistent booting into Windows

A Wired Blog posting details a situation where some Intel-based Macs continuously boot into Windows (via Boot Camp) after the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update.

In the blog posting, Steve Gilbertson writes:

"Yesterday evening, while getting ready to post a few things to Monkey Bites, Apple?s Software Update program popped up to remind me that OS X 10.4.9 was available. [...] When I came back I noticed my Macbook had booted into Windows Vista rather than OS X. Frustrated, but not alarmed, I rebooted, held down the option key and noticed that the OS X drive was already selected. I hit return and the Macbook promptly booted into Vista again. Not Good."

Steve's solution was as follows:

1. Startup his Mac from the original Mac OS X installation media (DVD) by inserting it into the optical drive and holding down the "C" key
2. Select your language
3. Select the Startup Disk preferences from "Installer" menu
4. Select the Mac OS X partition
5. Restart

Similar issue? Please let us know.

Index:

• Release notes
• Update procedure recommendation
• Common workarounds for when things go wrong post-update
• Downgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.8 (uninstalling Mac OS X 10.4.9)
• Files modified by this update

• AirPort: Loss of connectivity, card not recognized, more
• Application launch problems
• Bluetooth device issues
• Classic: Will not run, other issues
• Desktop icons missing
• Disk images not mounting
• Eject key issues: Longer duration before action takes place
• External optical drives: hardware errors
• Final Cut Pro/Express: Capture issues, performance concerns
• Finder persistently crashes and re-launches
• Frozen windows
• iSync issues/general synchronization problems
• Mail.app: junk filters not working
• Microsoft Office: Various issues
• Networking problems with Mac OS 9 systems
• Persistent booting into Windows
• Printer problems, fixes
• Problems starting up
• Quicken: .Mac backup failure: Fixes
• Resolved issues
• Secure site access broken: fixes
• Segmentation faults
• Server connection drops
• Third-party device issues (Nikon Capture NX, Griffin AirClick, more)
• Update to Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 for best performance
• Volume significantly louder: boon for some, drawback for others
• VPN connectivity issues
• WWAN update included, how to remove

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