Mac Startup Keys

Mac Startup Keys

C

Start up from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB thumb drive (such as macOS install media).

D

Start up in Apple Hardware Test (AHT).

CMD+OPTION+P+R

Reset NVRAM

Press until you hear startup sound a second time.

OPTION

Start up in Startup Manager, where you can select an macOS volume or network volume to start from.

Eject

F12

Ejects any removable media, such as an optical disc.

Alternatively, you can hold the mouse or trackpad button.

N

Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot).

T

Start up in Target Disk Mode.

SHIFT

Start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items.

CMD+V

Start up in Verbose mode.

CMD+S

Start up in Single-User mode.

OPTION+N

Start from a NetBoot server using the default boot image.

CMD+R

Start from the macOS Recovery System

Available on Macs that ship with macOS Lion or newer. Some CPUs require an EFI BootROM update to support this feature.

CMD+OPTION+R

Download and start macOS Recovery System

A network connection is required for this to work.

Notes