If pressed during startup, system will startup in verbose mode. Thankfully, there are a number of startup options that are available on recent macs to aid in both troubleshooting and system management. A quick guide to macos boot modes and startup key combinations. How to use os x boot options to troubleshoot your mac. Chances are, the mac with the disk, where the data was lost, will be able to start from the boot. You can also change what your mac does by holding down the following keys or key combinations during startup. Start up your machine while holding down the shift key to have os x only. Boot option shortcut keys cheatsheet for macos apple gazette. If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click restart.
Force the system to boot from your macos startup disk. Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume such as a cd or external disk. If pressed during startup, system will go into safe boot mode and temporarily disable login items and nonessential kernel extension files mac os x 10. When you get to the screen to select either mac or windows, boot into the mac os, go to prefs startup disk and pick the mac. To use these and to gain the desired effect on the system, start. Did you know that very are various keys which you can use to change how you mac boots and access certain settings. The booting keys available to macs upon mac os x system start are listed below. Boot keys for mac os x system start every mac has a variety of optional boot functions that can be used to intervene during the mac os x system startup. After removing the windows partition using boot camp, there shows a no bootable device insert boot disk in a dos form every time i turn on the computer.
Release the keys when you see an apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen. This changes your boot partition once for that time you boot. Feb 24, 2020 it is obvious to be afraid and panic if you are in this situation for the first time. Jun 02, 2004 if pressed during startup, system will startup in firewire target disk mode. Press the keys immediately after hearing the startup sound, unless otherwise specified. This is especially useful when a competing windows installation has set itself as the default boot partition on your mac. Depending on the mac you are using and the version of os x that is installed, the recovery system volume recovery hd might not show up in startup manager. Useful startupboot keys for the mac mac tricks and tips. Doing that also might solve the problem with always booting up into startup disk selection.
Release the option key when you see the startup manager window. Jul 05, 2017 mac os x contains a variety of tools for repairing disk, partition, and file system errors. Download mac boot keys mac os x free wireshark mac os. Dec 08, 2019 recovery how to use macos recovery to restore the operating system on your mac if youre having serious problems with your mac, macos recovery can help get you back up and running.
Boot key commands with nonapple keyboard i seem to be unable to perform any startup key sequences resetting pram, boot into recovery mode, boot from cd etcetera. Shift key, for instance, starts your mac in safe mode, and c or c starts up. Lets see how to boot a mac from a bootable usb drive and what to do if your mac doesnt start up from it. Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your mac doesnt start up from it.
If you want to change it permanently, boot to os x, open system preferences startup disk and select your os x partition, or boot to windows, open the boot camp control panel and select the os x partition as the boot partition. Simply reboot your mac and hold the option key on your keyboard as soon as you see the macs startup apple logo. Mac os x system startup this page briefly describes the sequence of events that happen when mac os x boots. Make sure you press the keys immediately after hearing the startup sound unless some other way is specified. Mac os x has several bootup symbols, including a universal prohibitory sign that indicates critical files are missing from the boot volume. May 23, 2016 for those of you who have wondered about the many ways you can start up your mac, heres a quick list of the keyboard shortcuts you can invoke to access handy macos features which are only available at boot time. The boot process on a mac is a magical process, all you see is a grey screen with the magic happening in the background. We also look at the key combinations required, how to use recovery hd, how to boot from recovery over the internet, and how to find. Jan 16, 2020 four ways to fix mac wont boot into recovery mode in some instances, mac users try to resolve some common disk errors or some other issue with mac and they find out that the mac recovery mode is stuck. Start up from a bootable cd, dvd, or usb thumb drive such as macos.
Startup manager os xs builtin startup manager allows you pick a volume to start your mac up from at boot time, which temporarily overrides your startup disk defaults set in system preferences. When you turn on your mac, the first thing that it does after the hardware tests is to check for a startup disk with mac os 9 or x on it. Use the up and down keys on your keyboard to navigate the options, and press enter once youve selected an operating system. Mac os x system startup continues with a description of mostly userlevel startup. None of these shortcuts seem to be working on my mac and it boots. This works like linuxs singleuser moderather than getting multiuser operating system, you boot directly to a root shell. When a macintosh is poweredup or restarted booted, various pieces of mac rom and system software examine the keyboard, and take special actions if certain keys are held down. If you want os x or windows to boot every time, choose app system preferences, click startup disk, and choose the os you want. Some details of the boot process from poweron until the kernel is up and running are covered in booting mac os x and xnu. These are typically in the form of a single keys held down, or a press of keystrokes and hotkeys, used to issue a command and thereby adjust the booting behavior of mac os x. How to boot in single user mode on a mac os x daily. If a user account control dialog appears, click yes.
Windows keyboard equivalents for the macs special keys. Restart your mac, and hold down the option key until icons for each operating system appear onscreen. From reseting your nvram, starting up in safe mode, booting your mac from a cd or dvd, switching bootable volumes and drives on system start, to forcing media to eject from a superdrive, this list has you covered. When you use startup manager to select a startup disk, your mac starts up from that disk once, then returns to using the disk selected in startup disk preferences. Installing mac os x on blank hard drive using internet recovery. If your mac has a superdrive or disc drive, you can boot the mac from any bootable dvd or cd by using a special keyboard shortcut. Start in safe boot mode for adobe products on mac os x. Start up in diagnostic mode, launching apple diagnostics. How to repair disk and file system problems on your mac. In windows on your mac, click in the right side of the taskbar, click the boot camp icon, then choose boot camp control panel. Then press and hold the keys as your mac starts up. Apples hardware test utility is usually run by booting from a disc that came with your computer. X will start up your mac from an macos startup volume when itd otherwise boot from a nonmacos volume, like a.
To use these and to gain the desired effect on the system, start holding down the appropriate key or keystroke immediately after hearing the boot chime on a mac, or as soon as you see the apple logo that can either be booting from a cold machine, or during a system restart, just be sure to hold down the. On prejune 20 macs, this command launches the analogous apple hardware test. Knowing the mac os x troubleshooting process dummies. How to pick a startup disk for your mac at boot time. While some of these commands are the same as what worked for ppc macs. For example, your mac can boot directly into windows if youre using boot camp. Fixing a mac that keeps booting into safe mode os x daily.
Getting into single user mode on a mac can be done from system start or a system restart, you must act immediately during the boot process. Mouse button eject media when the user boots with the mouse key depressed, any media in the drive such as a dvd or cd is ejected. Be sure to press and hold all keys in the combination together, not one at a time. Every time, i pressed option to pass through it, booting mac os x. Starting with os x lion, apple did away with dvds and other media as a method of installing software and switched to a download model instead. Knowing about the mac startup keys will help you in all these situations. A netboot image to start an entire operating system over a network and a netrestore image to restore a blockforblock image of an existing mac. The startup sound is a mac s way of letting you know everything is okay, but sometimes, things go bad and you need to boot into a different mode then usual. If a key combination doesnt work at startup, one of these these solutions might help. You might be prompted to enter the login password of an administrator of this mac. Start up your mac in windows or macos with boot camp. Even so, its still easy to create a usb installation disk for os x lion if you want to install lion on a freshly formatted hard drive, if youre in an emergency booting situation, or if you need to repair your mac s hard drive.
Attempt to start up from a compatible network server netboot press t during startup. This isnt the end of your mac, and it wont start again on your own. If you want to boot your intelbased mac into any of os x s inbuilt startup modes, you must press and hold one or more keys detailed below after turning on the computer. Please consult magical macintosh key sequences by dave polaschek.
To leave safe mode, just reboot your mac without holding the shift key. The default operating system is the one you want to use when you turn on or restart your mac. This should make the computer use mac os by default, with no special keys needing to be held. At least five keys have different names or symbols on a windows keyboard than they do on a mac keyboard, which can make it difficult to follow mac related instructions. Beyond system errors, different people have different needs when it. Recovery mode is possible thanks to the installation of a hidden recovery partition on your mac s hard drive and allows the user to perform the aforementioned tasks without needing a macos dvd or usb installer. To boot your intelbased mac into any of the macos builtin startup modes, you must. Your mac and os x have a variety of startup keys and key combinations you can use to affect how the device starts up. To perform recovery tasks on older versions of macos, such as os x 10.
A startup disk is a partition of a drive or a volume that contains a usable operating system. Fix for macosos x bootable usb not showi apple community. Highlight windows or macintosh hd, and click the arrow to launch the operating system of choice for this session. How to use macos recovery turn on your mac and immediately press and hold command. Jul 24, 2019 your windows dual boot is now ready to use.
Aug 16, 2018 this is a quick guide of the keyboard shortcuts you can use to access useful mac os x features which are only available at the time of booting. There are some pretty good tricks available here when your mac wont boot start you can do it on your own without spending a single buck. Select the startup disk that has the default operating system you want to use. The bootable disc can be an os x system restore disc, an os x installation disc, or even a third party os disc like linux. How to create a bootable installer for macos apple support. Switching to a mac for dummies, mac os x lion edition. This displays icons for all available startup disks and lets you override the default setting for the startup disk that is in startup disk preferences os x or the boot camp. Startup key combinations for power mac p apple community. How to use macos recovery to restore the operating system on. You can perform a check from within mac os x, but it may sometimes be necessary to use recovery mode to fix problems. What are all the startup key combinations for power mac these combinations work with intelbased mac computers.
Could not locate the os x boot volume from windows 10. Your mac and os x have a variety of startup keys and key combinations you can use to. If your mac os 9 system folder was damaged and your mac wouldnit boot, you could use the x key to force your mac to boot mac os x. These keys really come in handy when you need to force your operating system to do something that it normally wouldnt, such as boot from a cd instead of the hard drive. Hold down the command and r keys, and power the mac back up again. There are times when your mac may misbehave and refuse to boot into os x. In windows, click the boot camp icon in the system tray. Jul 31, 2018 bootable usb thumb drive formatted with a guid partition type and containing an os x installer or a usable operating system. Apr 01, 2020 mac startup key combinations learn about the mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup. Jun 14, 2003 i have macbook pro 2010 model, with intel core 2 duo with mac os 10. Could not locate the os x boot volume fro apple community. Boot key commands with nonapple keyboard apple community. In addition to the startup volume which holds a bootable copy of the operating system along with your applications and data, your mac s disk contains a hidden recovery partition that you can boot from in order to reinstall macos, perform a quick check of connected disks and more. Mac os x can boot differently than to your default startup disk with the use of modifier keys.
Fix for macos os x bootable usb not showing up in startup manager hi i have been trying to reinstall macos on my macbook pro 2015 and for reasons i still dont know, the bootable usb i created was not showing up when i booted into the startup manager by holding the optionalt key. If your system doesnt find such a disk on your internal hard drive, it begins looking elsewhere on a firewire or universal serial. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Dec 01, 2015 showing you how to install mac os x on a blank hard drive using nothing but wifi.
This is a quick guide of the keyboard shortcuts you can use to access useful mac os x features which are only available at the time of booting. To eject a recalcitrant disc that doesnt show up on the desktop. If the mac wont boot into recovery mode, it means you have to use the internet connection and apple server to look for a possible solution. If the volume contains os x, start your computer from os x recovery and use disk utility to repair the volume, or reinstall os x on the volume using the recovery system. Startup from mac os x regardless of startup disk preference hold optioncommandshiftdelete during startup. Every mac has a variety of optional boot functions that can be used to intervene during the mac os x system startup. D with restore disk in optical slot boot to hardware test continue reading mac os x startup modifier keys. Print these boot option keys, because theyre particularly helpful to have.
Jan 29, 2010 resolve boot issues showing prohibitory sign. How to switch between windows and os x with macs boot. You can set the default operating system to either macos or windows. If you have started up your mac in windows using boot camp, you can use the boot camp system tray to switch your startup disk default back to os x. It can also boot into ubuntu or any other operating system supported by your mac s hardware. Starting up from netboot and netrestore images macworld. Press and hold the shift key immediately after you hear the startup tone. Bootable usb thumb drive formatted with a guid partition type and containing an os x installer or a usable operating system.
How to use os x boot options to troubleshoot your mac techradar. Sep 14, 2015 startup manageros xs builtin startup manager allows you pick a volume to start your mac up from at boot time, which temporarily overrides your startup disk defaults set in system preferences. Mac wont turn on boot after updating to macos catalina, high. That is not the answer we want, we are asking about power macs powerpc based macintosh. All the special key combinations that change your macs. To boot your intelbased mac into any of the macos builtin startup modes, you must press and hold one or more keys detailed below after turning on the computer. Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume such as a cd or external disk hold c during startup. Im using a logitech usb model ybf37 keyboard directly connected to the computer but no startup key commands works.
Mac os x uses a boot time optimization effectively a smart readahead called bootcache that monitors the pattern of incoming read requests to a block device the boot disk, and sorts the pattern into a playlist it also measures the cache hit. Booting with the option key depressed starts os x with the startup manager which allows the user to select which os or partition from which to boot. Apr 26, 2010 the booting keys available to macs upon mac os x system start are listed below. From the menu that appears, choose restart in os x. If you need to use the mac recovery mode heres how to do that. Mac startup keys cheat sheet kapeli dash for macos. Whenever you start or restart your computer you will now see the boot manager, which will allow you to choose an operating system. The system management controller smc is a chip on intelbased macs that.
How to select a different startup disk apple support. You can select which operating system to use during startup by holding down the option key. This is a list of eleven startup key commands that every intel mac owner should make note of. It will disable all non system fonts, all startup items, and login items. Mac startup key combinations learn about the mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup. All the keyboard shortcuts you can use when starting up your mac. For example, a software manual may tell you to hold down the command key. If you want to boot your intelbased mac into any of os xs inbuilt startup modes, you must press and hold one or more keys detailed below after turning on the computer. When you power a system on, using these keystrokes will send commands to the system to perform the following. Mac os x includes a number of special keys that you can use during the boot process.
You may get a sad mac face, an audible beep, or another ailment keeping your mac from properly booting. Press and hold the option alt key immediately after turning on or restarting your mac. Troubleshoot your mac with these hidden startup options. To use any of these key combinations, press and hold the keys immediately after pressing the power button to turn on your mac, or after your mac begins to restart. How to use startup keys to resolve mac os x boot problems to boot from a cd or dvd. These options work like chkdsk on windows, checking for disk and file system errors and repairing them. Use startup manager or startup disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Click on the apple menu and select system preferences, then select startup disk. For example, i am pressing c button while i try to boot system from mac os x 10. Booting a mac with verbose mode can be a helpful troubleshooting trick for some obscure situations where users are trying to determine what is going wrong with a mac during the system boot process. How to choose a startup disk on your mac to boot from usb. But today, i found that when i turn on the mac, and press option, it has no response and continues to the dos.