Ways to start up your Mac

Normally you can restart your Mac by choosing Apple menu > Restart. However, in some cases—for example, if the pointer freezes on the screen or your Mac becomes unresponsive—you may have to use a different startup method.

Method	Details
Manually restart	Press and hold the power button on your Mac until it shuts off. After a moment, press the power button again to start your Mac. You may lose unsaved changes in open documents.
Prevent automatic login	When you see the progress indicator, press and hold the left Shift key.
Prevent login items and Finder windows from opening when you log in	After clicking the Log In button in the login window, press and hold the Shift key.
Start up in target disk mode	See Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode.
Use Apple Diagnostics	See Use Apple Diagnostics on your Mac.
Select a startup disk	See Change your Mac startup disk.
Start up in safe mode	See Start up your Mac in safe mode.
Start up in macOS Recovery	See Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac or Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon.

For information about keyboard shortcuts you can use to start up your Mac, see the Apple Support article Mac startup key combinations.

Helpful?

macOS User Guide

Ways to start up your Mac