Commands and other terminal text commands or command parameters that you might type, along with other text that normally appears in a terminal window, are shown in this font. But instead of taking place at the beginning of startup, you enter it after booting your mac in safe mode. Send to background bind set or display readline key and function bindings bless set volume bootability and startup disk options break exit from a for. I seem to be unable to perform any startup key sequences resetting pram, boot into recovery mode, boot from cd etcetera. Theres an easy way to remove programs from startup and get your mac to load faster on launch. Alternatively, if your mac is already booted into os x, you may be able. How to repair disk and file system problems on your mac. Start up to startup manager, which allows you to choose other available startup disks or volumes. How to create a bootable installer for macos apple support. 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.
There are significant differences between how older 68k, old world powermacs and newer everything currently, but essentially new world machines with open. 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. Press eject, f12, or hold the mouse trackpad button. Disclaimer a factory data reset both hard or soft will erase all of your personal information on your device and return it to its out of the box. Terminal gives you access to the unix part of macos so you can manage. Knowing some basic terminal commands can really enhance your experience of os x. Special boot up applekey combina tio ns in mac os x. Log in to your mac normally, and you should see the macos utilities app open. To get started, boot your mac in safe mode by holding down the shift key at startup.
Make sure, that the following command lists a boot efi partition. Shift key, for instance, starts your mac in safe mode, and c or c starts up. One thing to keep in mind about startup commands is that they are quick fixes. Ive compiled a list of some basic commands that will get you started on your journey to mastering mac os x, whether its mavericks, yosemite, or even an older system like lion.
The keyboard is designed for use with apple and has apples command key symbols on the key nearest the spacebar. Single user mode is a way to enter unix commands related to your mac s startup from the safe mode desktop rather than the prestartup screen. Restart your mac, then immediately hold down the option key. Learn about the mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup. Start up from a bootable cd, dvd, or usb thumb drive such as macos install media. How to switch between windows and os x with macs boot. 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 use recovery mode, reboot or start your mac and hold the command and r keys simultaneously on your keyboard as you see. Adding startup programs in mac os x is pretty easy and straightforward. 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. Many users are aware of some boot commands for mac os x that provide different functionality for your system.
Your mac will display the startup manager, click on your external drive to select that as the startup disk. Tom nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for other world computing,and others. Apples startup manager prevents your mac from booting the default startup. Instead, you have to boot one operating system or the other thus, the name boot camp. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Boot key commands with nonapple keyboard apple community. This is why its recommended that you make a mac os x bootable usb when your mac is in working conditions. Select your macos or windows startup disk, then click the arrow or press return. All the keyboard shortcuts you can use when starting up.
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. Mac startup keys cheat sheet kapeli dash for macos. Shift key, for instance, starts your mac in safe mode, and c or c starts up from a. So, for all the beginners out there, here is my pick of the top 10 terminal commands that every mac user should know. Troubleshoot your mac with these hidden startup options. Startup from mac os x regardless of startup disk preference hold option command shiftdelete during startup. Shut down your mac, and then press and hold the leftside shift.
Open command prompt as an administrator and enter the following commands to convert your usb drive from mbr to gpt fomat. In mac os ten, these are easily executed by holding various keyboard combinations when you turn on the machine. If pressed during startup, allows user to select between multiple startup volumes. When a command is shown on a line by itself as you might type it. How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. Could not locate the os x boot volume fro apple community. This should only be used in extreme troubleshooting situations and only if youre comfortable with shelllevel command line system administration. Press n to make the the first bootable network volume appear as well. I was given the advice to use networksetup from the command line but that will not configure the ethernet interface in such a way that the configurations will be there on reboot.
How to choose a startup disk on your mac to boot from usb. For more technical details on the mac startup sequence process, see this apple article. When os xs startup manager appears, select the installer drive and then click the arrow below it to proceed with startup. Your mac and os x have a variety of startup keys and key. Your mac and os x have a variety of startup keys and key combinations you can use to.
You can go back and forth between os x and windows on your mac, but you cant run both operating systems simultaneously under boot camp. Do you want to stop programs from running at startup. Or, you can navigate to your applications folder, doubleclick the utilities folder, and doubleclick the disk utility shortcut. All the special key combinations that change your macs. Press x during startup these boot commands come directly from apple, and theyre sure to work on any older mac model. 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. 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. Press d during startupstart up in apple hardware test aht, if the install dvd 1 is in the computer. To use recovery mode, reboot or start your mac and hold the command and r keys simultaneously on your keyboard as you see the. Restart your mac, and hold down the option key until icons for each operating system appear onscreen. If you have a mac that plays a startup chime, you can release the keys after you heard it a second time.
If pressed during startup, boots into open firmware. To use these mac startup commands and launch a specific boot mode, you must. Again, keep in mind there is some difference between a power pc macintosh and an intel based macintosh, and of course, the mac hardware will matter for. This works like linuxs singleuser moderather than getting multiuser operating system, you boot directly to a root shell. Start up the mac, holding down the optionalt key while it is booting up. To use these boot shortcuts or commands, hold down the bolded keypress while your system is booting up. How to use os x boot options to troubleshoot your mac techradar. As youll see startup commands are usually associated with highlevel macro. Release the option key when you see the startup manager window. Use startup manager or startup disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. If your mac is using a firmware password, it ignores this key combination or starts up from macos recovery. Booting mac os x this page contains a brief description of the mac s firmware analogous to the pc bios in many respects, the bootloader, and the typical mac os x boot up sequence.
Quick overview of mac startup key combinations manually restart. How to create a mac os x usb boot drive on windows. How to use os x boot options to troubleshoot your mac. Pr, then release the keys after you hear the startup sound for a second time reset smc. If pressed during startup, system will startup in verbose mode. If pressed during startup, will force mac os x to run. Press option during startup starts into startup manager, where you can select a mac os x volume to start from. There are some universal commands, like the option boot loader menu, which will change out the startup disk on system boot. Start up your machine while holding down the shift key to have os x. 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. Now what i mean by this is that they serve a simple and specific purpose. For instance, a common option is to hold the shift key to boot to safe mode, but you can also hold commandv for verbose mode a text output of. How to restore reset a macbook a1278 to factory settings. A quick guide to macos boot modes and startup key combinations.
This terminal command, called createinstallmedia, creates a bootable copy of the installer using any drive connected to your mac. How to add or remove startup programs in mac os x stugon. The following key combinations can be held as your mac is powering on. In this article well look at what to do if command r isnt working, if internet recovery. Im using a logitech usb model ybf37 keyboard directly connected to the computer but no startup key commands works. A variety of keyboard shortcuts and commands can be used during a mac system startup to access various features, systems administration. First a very quick introduction to the special apple keys. This is a terminal interface that allows you to login and. Mac os x is a rocksolid system thats beautifully designed.
Startup manager os x s 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. The fastest way to turn off startup items on mac is an app like cleanmymac x. Start or restart your mac and immediately press and hold commandoptionpr on your keyboard. If youre still using a mac os x the time will come when your computer wont boot, or a problem may arise where you cant take control of the device, and booting from an os x installation media will be required. Heres how to restore a mac without a recovery partition. Os x was the first operating system to ship as a single install that could boot into either a 32bit or 64bit kernel, either of which could run 32bit and 64bit applications. If your mac is using a firmware password, youre prompted to enter the password. Add the selected item to the sidebar os x mavericks or later. If your system contains mac os x lion, then youre in luck because it has all of the necessary restore features built right in.
Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume such as a cd or external disk. Press the keys immediately after hearing the startup sound, unless. This wikihow teaches you how to open the terminal command prompt application in macos using launchpad, spotlight, or finder. Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your mac doesnt start up from it. The following is a more comprehensive list of the keyboard commands you know and many you may not.
All the keyboard shortcuts you can use when starting up your mac. On desktop macs, you reset the smc by unplugging the power cable for 15 seconds, plugging it. Os x only, at boot puts system into singleuser mode, launching right into a terminal shell. So, if you are someone who is looking to clean up the startup programs or want to add an application to startup programs, then here how you can add or remove startup programs in mac os x. This is particularly useful when machine has been partitioned in boot camp into windows and os x partitions. Posted march 11, 2008 by david kirk in mac os x leopard. Mac os x includes a number of special keys that you can use during the boot process.
This text is mostly written for mac newbies with a linux background. Your mac and os x have a variety of startup keys and key combinations you can use to affect how the device starts up. Start up from a bootable cd or dvd, such as the mac os x install disc that came with the computer. From os x mavericks forward, within the installer packages is a hidden command that you can enter into terminal to easily create a bootable copy of the installer. For example, you can use the doit command to get things done.