
Let us know in the comments if you know if any other startup methods. You can reset the SMC by pressing Shift + Control + Option. Reset SMCĪpple Macs feature a SMC chip – System Management Controller chip that controls various hardware tasks such as fan speeds, power management etc. To boot into Netboot, simply press the N key on startup. This will allow you to deploy the images network-wide without having to modify every machine individually. If you have client computers on a network image, you can use the NetBoot service to customize macOS and create custom images for specific users. To launch Verbose mode, press Cmd + V on startup.
#MAC RESTART IN TARGET DISK MODE MAC#
If your Mac hangs while starting up, you can use Verbose mode to see what’s going wrong during the startup process and what’s causing it to hang. Verbose Mode replaces your Mac’s startup screen with a status report of the processes going on during the startup. To enter the Single User mode, press Cmd + S on startup. The process for an Apple silicon Mac is a little different. Alternatively, you can boot to target disk mode by holding the T key during startup. There’s no GUI or drives mounted on startup in the Single User mode. To enter Target Disk Mode on an Intel Mac, follow these steps: Boot to macOS Recovery. It’s for more advanced users that can attempt to troubleshoot issues with their Mac not starting. Single User mode boots your Mac into a basic text-based environment with a Unix prompt, in which you can type in commands. To enter Target Disk mode, press the T key on startup. Target mode only works when using one of the following cables to connect your Macs: Once in Target Disk Mode, simply connect your Mac to another Mac using the proper cable, and transfer your files to the other hard drive. Target Disk Mode allows you to easily copy files from one Mac hard drive to another. To launch your Mac in safe mode, simply press Shift on startup. This mode will prevent all startup/login items from loading, and will also clear up your system caches.

In safe mode, you can check your startup disks for errors and make repairs accordingly. Safe Mode allows you to launch your Mac with the bare essentials required to start the operating system. To access it, press the D key on startup. Apple Hardware Test / Apple Diagnosticsĭepending on your Mac’s version, you can access an Apple Hardware test or Diagnostics test to detect any possible issues with your hardware.

Similarly, to eject an optical media that might be stuck in your Mac, press the Eject button, F12 or your mouse/trackpad button on startup until the disc is ejected. If you have an older Mac that features an optical drive, you can choose to boot up from a CD/DVD containing an installation media.
#MAC RESTART IN TARGET DISK MODE PORTABLE#
If you’d like to select your startup disk or boot from a portable USB, simply press Option while turning on your Mac. To enter Recovery mode, press Cmd + R on startup.

Recovery mode lets you access Terminal, repair disks using Disk Utility and reinstall macOS using Recovery mode, which is located on a separate partition on your hard drive. As we mentioned earlier, to enter into any specific mode using any of the key combinations below, you need to first turn on your Mac using the Power button and then immediately press the desired key combination.
