Naperville, Illinois – Twocanoes Software today is proud to announce the release of Boot Runner 2, the premier OS startup control manager for Macs. Boot Runner 2 adds support for virtual machines as startup disks, making it easy to offer a selection of any combination of OS X, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, and other systems installed natively or in a virtual machine. Boot Runner 2 includes new customization options to make the startup selection screen easier for end users to find and start the OS environment that they need.
Boot Runner is an essential OS X boot management solution that delivers unmatched user and administrator control of the startup of a single Mac, a lab or a fleet of managed Macs. Now administrators can manage a wider range of environments using virtual machines as startup disks with a choice of hosts, including Parallels, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox, to deliver the most versatility possible to Mac users and administrators.
A deep set of control options are available to administrators for remote startup of groups of machines for specific uses or to perform maintenance. Boot Runner scheduling enables administrators to ensure the availability of Windows or other operating systems during scheduled maintenance windows. Mass deployment of Boot Runner managed preferences or configuration profiles takes effect immediately, giving full remote and automated control of Mac boot behavior and state for all of the Macs under management.
The Boot Runner selection screen guides users to choose their system among the available startup disks. This selection screen is created by the administrator who uses Boot Runner to customize startup selections for their school or business with text and graphics.
“Maintaining Macs with multiple operating systems can be a challenge for IT”, said Twocanoes CEO and Founder Timothy Perfitt. “Boot Runner 2 makes startup control easy with existing client management tools since it supports both Managed Preferences for OS X (MCX) and Configuration Profiles. This new version takes multi-boot control to a new level by adding the option to use virtual machines as startup disks. And, of course, Boot Runner’s selection screen makes it easy for any user of a multi-boot system to select the environment they need for their school or job.”
Boot Runner 2 includes the following features:
Disks:
* Support for Boot Camp partitions
* Support for virtual machines as startup disks (Parallels, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox)
Administration:
* Schedule startup into specific OS for scheduled maintenance or group usage
* Remote management of boot selection
* Remote management of selection screen
* Display or hide restart button
* Display or hide shutdown button
Selection and Login:
* Menu bar boot selector
* Custom login options
* Auto-login to OS X account
* Auto-launch of virtual machine host
* Auto-logout and return to Boot Runner selection screen
* Control virtual machine shutdown and logout
Interface:
* Custom boot volume icons
* New screen customization options
* Customize selection screen popover text
* Customize marquee text formatting
Boot Runner 2 System requirements:
* Mac OS X 10.8 or higher including Yosemite 10.10
* Optional: Boot Camp partition, virtual machine operating system with a supported OS installed, such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Chrome OS, and Linux
Boot Runner 2 is available now at Twocanoes online. The upgrade is free to customers who purchased Boot Runner after January 1, 2015 or with active Support and Maintenance agreements. Volume & Educational pricing is available for any number of Macs. Boot Runner 2 Lab and Site Licenses now include free the first year of premium support and maintenance.
