Frequently Asked Questions

This guide was written with Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11.x) and Windows 10 in mind, but at least one of these methods will work no matter which version of Mac OS X or Windows is running on the machine.

Table of Contents

1. Switching During Restart
2. Switching from Mac to Windows via Desktop Shortcut
3. Switching from Mac to Windows via System Preferences
4. Switching from Windows to Mac via Desktop Shortcut
5. Switching from Windows to Mac via Bootcamp Tray Icon

Switching During Restart

1. Restart the computer from one side or the other.
2. When you hear the Mac Mini's startup chime (it's a Wall-E noise), hold down the alt/option key on the Mac Mini's keyboard.
3. Two drives will appear on the screen: Macintosh HD and Windows. Use the mouse or arrow keys to select one of the drives. Click or press enter to restart to the selected drive.

Switching from Mac to Windows via Desktop Shortcut

1. Locate the Restart to Windows icon on the Desktop and double-click it.
   • If there's no Restart to Windows icon on the Desktop, proceed to the next section: Switching from Mac to Windows via System Preferences
2. A Startup Disk window appears. Click the lock in the lower-left corner of the window. You will be asked to provide a password; if your user has no password, press OK when prompted for a password.
3. Click on the BOOTCAMP Windows folder.
4. Click the Restart... button.
5. A dialog box will appear, asking if you're sure that you want to restart the computer into Windows on "BOOTCAMP". Click the Restart button.

The computer will restart into the Windows side of the computer. If the computer is set to automatically log into a certain user, it will do so.

Switching from Mac to Windows via System Preferences

1. Open System Preferences (Applications > System Preferences, or Apple menu > System Preferences...).
2. Click on Startup Disk (4th row, 6th icon).
3. Click on the BOOTCAMP Windows folder.
4. Click the Restart... button.
5. A dialog box will appear, asking if you're sure that you want to restart the computer into Windows on "BOOTCAMP". Click the Restart button.

The computer will restart into the Windows side of the computer. If the computer is set to automatically log into a certain user, it will do so.

Switching from Windows to Mac via Desktop Shortcut

1. Locate the Restart to Mac OS X icon on the Desktop and double-click it.
   • If there's no Restart to Mac OS X icon on the Desktop, proceed to the next section: Switching from Windows to Mac via Bootcamp Tray Icon
2. If a User Account Control (UAC) window pops up, click Yes.
3. Under the Startup Disk tab, click on the Mac OS X folder, and then click the Restart... button.
4. A window will pop up asking if you want to restart the computer, and warning you that you will start up using OS X on "Mac." Click OK.

The computer will restart into the Mac side of the computer. If the computer is set to automatically log into a certain user, it will do so.

Switching from Windows to Mac via Bootcamp Tray Icon

1. Locate the Boot Camp tray icon in the Windows system tray. Unless the Windows taskbar has been moved, the system tray is located in the lower right corner of the screen. The Boot Camp tray icon is a dark gray diamond icon.
2. Right-click the Boot Camp tray icon, and click on the Restart in OS X... menu item.
3. A window will pop up asking if you want to restart the computer, and warning you that you will start up using OS X on "Mac." Click OK.

The computer will restart into the Mac side of the computer. If the computer is set to automatically log into a certain user, it will do so.

If you run into issues, send an email to help@carthage.edu or call 262-551-5950.