ARCHIVED: On a Mac, how do I change my startup volume or boot from an alternative volume, disc, or device?
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Choose the option below that best fits your situation:
- Permanently changing your startup volume: While running in Mac OS X, select from the Apple menu, and then choose . Choose your startup volume and then restart. Unlike with the other options in this list, this new volume will be the default until you change it.
- Accessing the startup manager: Restart your
computer and immediately press the
Option
key. Icons for all available startup volumes will appear. Use your arrow keys to select the one you want to boot from, and then pressReturn
. - Booting from the recovery volume: In Mac OS X
10.7 and later, restart your computer and immediately press
Command-r
. The computer will boot from yourRecovery HD
volume, which will allow you to perform diagnostics or reinstall the operating system. - Booting from a startup CD or DVD: Restart your
computer and immediately press the
c
key. The computer will look for a bootable CD or DVD and, if it finds one, will use it as its startup device.
This is document ages in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 10:34:43.