Excluding the startup disk, Mac also allows users to boot it from other boot options on condition that the operating system involved in the options is supported by the workstation, or a patcher is a must.
Today, we're gonna guide you to know all the Mac boot options you may encounter during your cooperation with the machine, and how to access them with different key combinations is also covered. Let's get started then!
Mac boot options: basics
Two options allow a user to boot a machine: the startup disk, another working machine, and a bootable USB drive. Let's explore them one by one:
Startup disk
Your Mac goes to the login screen normally since that you or the OS has selected the startup disk as the first boot option previously.
The startup disk reads as "Untitled" followed by the current OS and serial number by default. You can change the startup option by Apple menu > System Preferences > Startup Disk in macOS Monterey and earlier operating systems, and by Apple Menu > System Settings > General > Startup Disk in macOS Ventura and later versions. Then type in your user account password or Touch ID when asked for confirmation.
No matter if you change the startup option to a different partition on the same hard drive, to a different physical drive, or to a network volume, your machine will start up from the newly selected drive with all data being kept intact. If you pursue absolute data safety, then a backup is not overthinking.
A Bootable USB
A bootable USB or media is a boot option made by you, containing the desired operating system that you want to run on your machine. With this bootable drive at hand, you can start your machine to run your preferred macOS without erasing the Mac hard drive, especially when you intend to diagnose and troubleshoot slight errors on your Mac.
You can make a bootable USB drive via the Install Disk Creator for Mac for the desired operating system, then start your machine from this external drive by pressing the Option key when the Mac restarts.
Note: Target Disk Mode allows users to mount, access, format, and partition a Mac hard drive, yet it cannot boot the machine. So strictly, Target Disk Mode cannot be regarded as an approach for booting a Mac.
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How to access the Mac boot options?
In this section, we show you how to enter the screen of the Mac OS X boot options via key combinations. Each approach has its own highlights used in different situations.
① Option(Startup Manager): Hitting the Option key along with the Mac restarts is the most common and simplest way to enter the Mac boot option screen, where you can view the default boot disk, the boot volume placed on the same hard drive with the default boot disk, and the physical one created by you.
Simply click one and tap on Continue, then the Mac boots to the desired OS as expected.
② Command - R keys: Press the Command - R keys, then the Mac will enter the macOS Recovery Mode, where you can reinstall macOS and then boot the Mac from the macOS you've installed. On opt of that, you can utilize this mode to restore from the Time Machine backups, erase the hard drive, troubleshoot the internal disk, and access the internet.
③ Command - Option - R keys: This key combinations recall the macOS Internet Recovery Mode, where you can reinstall macOS and then boot the machine from the installed OS.
Moreover, you can restore Mac from Time Machine, use Disk Utility to run First Aid for verifying and repairing disks, formatting Mac startup disk, modifying startup security policy using Startup Security Utility, and so on.
Final words
This post includes the boot options for Mac and explores how to enter the boot screen so that you can start up the machine from the source as you like. Feel interested in it? Then begin reading!