Boot Camp Control Software...on OSX?

Ok, I'm confused. I've searched a lot, both here and on the web...and I'm still confused.

I have a late 2015 iMac running El Capitan. I updated Boot Camp Assistant and followed the directions to install a partition with Win 8.1. This went fairly well, but the installer threw some errors that went by in a hurry. Upshot was that the Win installation went OK, but none of the drivers or support software were installed on the Windows side. I got that sorted out with some difficulty and now I have the Boot Camp Control Software on the Win side - the gray diamond in the notification bar. And that all works fine.

What I don't have is corresponding software on the OSX side. I've looked in System Preferences (there is the Startup Disk thing but that's not what I want). I've looked in Utilities. I've searched the disk. Yes, I realize I can restart and hold down Option but that's not as clean. I'd like to have the same controls on the OSX side as I have on the Win side.

One difficulty I've found is that on the Web, people, including Apple, will say "Boot Camp" (or "bootcamp") and maybe they mean the Boot Camp Assistant, or the Boot Camp Support Software (drivers, etc for Windows), or maybe they mean the Boot Camp Control Software, etc. So it's hard, at least for a Mac newbie like me, to parse what exactly they're talking about.

So, finally, the question: is there such a thing as the Boot Camp Control Software for the OSX side? Am I missing a piece? If so, how do I install it?

Thanks much for any assistance.

If I'm understanding what you are looking for I don't think there is such a thing on the Mac side. I certainly don't see it in my installation. As you've discovered controlling which partition you start into is accomplished by either the Startup preference pane or the Option key during boot up.

Thanks for the clarification.

So, finally, the question: is there such a thing as the Boot Camp Control Software for the OSX side? Am I missing a piece? If so, how do I install it?

Click to expand...

There is none unless you wish to install and use third party software. Since you're a new Mac owner I do not recommend messing with third party boot managers until you've gotten your feet wet with OS X and have had time to think it over. For now, do as our moderator Slydude stated... hold down the Option key during the boot cycle (as soon as you hear the boot sound) and select Windows. Your machine should boot to OS X by default unless you change that from System Preferences, Startup.