Wed
17
May
Jason Tucker

I do not own a Mac (yet) but I do administrate some at work and have used this list a number of times. Macs dont have a “bios” per se but they do have keyboard shortcuts that can kick off various functions during boot. I’ve used the “T” one to boot from an ipod once (I had to install Tiger on a machine that didn’t have a DVD drive).
I’ve found two lists, one for Mac and one for Mac Intel machines.
Mac [credit]

  • X during startup - Force Mac OS X startup
  • option - (eventually) brings up a screen with startup volume choices
  • Option-Command-Shift-Delete - Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
  • C - Start up from a CD that has a system folder
  • N - Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)
  • T - Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode (very handy for plugging your Mac into another as an external hard drive)
  • Shift - start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
  • Command-V - Start up in Verbose mode.
  • Command-S - Start up in Single-User mode
  • cmd-opt-p-r - Zap PRAM. Hold down until second chime.
  • cmd-opt-n-v - Clear NV RAM. Similar to reset-all in Open Firmware.
  • cmd-opt-o-f - Boot into open firmware
  • hold mouse click - force eject a CD/DVD

Mac Intel [credit]

  • Press C during startup Start up from a bootable CD or DVD, such as the Mac OS X Install disc that came with the computer.
  • Press D during startup Start up in Apple Hardware Test (AHT), if the Install DVD 1 is in the computer.
  • Press Option-Command-P-R until you hear two beeps. Reset NVRAM
  • Press Option during startup Starts into Startup Manager, where you can select a Mac OS X volume to start from. Note: Press N to make the the first bootable Network volume appear as well.
  • Press Eject, F12, or hold the mouse button Ejects any removable media, such as an optical disc.
  • Press N during startup Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot).
  • Press T during startup Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode.
  • Press Shift during startup Start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items.
  • Press Command-V during startup Start up in Verbose mode.
  • Press Command-S during startup Start up in Single-User mode.
  • Press Option-N during startup Start from a NetBoot server using the default boot image.



Author:
Jason Tucker
Time:
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Category:
Hacks / Tips and Tricks, MacOSX
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6 Responses to “Mac OS X Startup key sequences”

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Ray Walker Says:
December 12th, 2006 at 2:09 pm

This article is awesome and very helpful…

One problem FYI: when printing, the “podcast riot” banner prints out and obscures the initial paragraph of the article.

[Reply]
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Richard J. Says:
December 12th, 2006 at 2:33 pm

There used to be a way to boot MacOS X such that it didn’t start up the GUI and instead gave you a login prompt. Does this not exist anymore?

[Reply]
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jhn Says:
December 12th, 2006 at 6:16 pm

It used to be that if at the login prompt you typed >console it would drop you into command line mode. Not sure if it’s still the case. There are some other ways to turn off the GUI on boot. see http://www.oreilly.com/pub/h/348.

PPC Macs had open firmware. Intel Macs have EFI. These are both like BIOS, but more flexible (and without a handy menu). You can sometimes even get a simple shell running just on firmware.

[Reply]
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haleOnEarth Says:
February 21st, 2007 at 7:34 pm

Thanks for the post. Hope you seriously consider bringing a Mac home one day. From podcasting to developing, from visual art to music making and listening, it makes every experience “that” much better. Technophobes have the luxury of bypassing a lot of IT hassles while geeks, tinkerers and other power users can pop open the hood and find infinite intrigue, challenge and inspiration. The Mac community can always benefit from another bright mind like yours spending time on OS X and sharing your hands-on insights, troubleshooting, tips, tricks and otherwise on your blog. Thanks again for the UB list!

[Reply]
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Eric Richers Says:
February 24th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

I tried to install Windows XP on my Macbook (DualIntel). I wanted to install it as an emulation under the MAC OS. I made a mistake by inserting a XP ISO Boot Disk into the CD-drive. I aborted the installation after it started formatting the harddisk.

Now I cannot boot my system anymore, even with the original MAC OSX install disk. I was able to use the Vorbose Mode Command V, and I connected to my Mom’s Macbook through a FireWire. I inserted the MAC OSX install disk into her system and I saw the install disk. If I go ahead to install the OS, which will be the target system: my Mom’s or mine?

The second time I tried Vorbose Mode Command V it did not work, unless I booted the MAC and held down Pption, turned it off and then used Command V.

[Reply]
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Jared Shippy Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 10:36 am

Hi Eric,
If it started to format your drive, then it’s probably fouled the whole partition. The system should be able to boot an install CD, but you’ll need to hold down either “c” for CD boot, or “Option” and select the cd from the list that populates. If the CD doesn’t appear, use the “command” (also known as apple) + “Option” + “P” + “R” on startup, and hold it for three chimes. Once you are booted to the installer, you’ll need to re-partition the Hard Drive from the “Disk Utility”. This will be available from the top menu. After that, you should be good to re-install the OS.

[Reply]

3 pings

  1. Fresqui.com Says:
    December 12th, 2006 at 3:25 am

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