Mac Command C Not Working
Your iMac might not support that C key for booting to a USB drive. Should work, but might also be a firmware feature that a 2009 iMac doesn't support. Could be related to the same reason that a 2009 Mac can't boot to Internet Recovery. (I tried that from an even older Mac, and realized that it probably won't work if there is a built-in optical. I have the new macbook i got in late 2009, snow leopard 2.26 GHZ and 2 GB ram. Well everything was going fine until some shortcuts are not working in my mac, like left command+c, v,z and right shift+0.
There are times when your Mac may misbehave and refuse to boot into OS X. You may get a sad Mac face, an audible beep, or another ailment keeping your Mac from properly booting. When this happens, you can troubleshoot your Mac by using boot options to run an Apple Hardware Test, or booting with extensions disabled. Sometimes, launching your Mac this way can help save you a trip to the Apple Store.
Don’t panic when this happens to your Mac. Instead, turn to this guide in which we explain all of the various boot options in OS X that may help return your Mac to normal.
1. Press C During Startup
Booting from a CD? You can hold down the C key on your keyboard to instantly boot to a Mac OS X or other bootable disc in your Mac.
2. Press D During Startup
Apple’s Hardware Test utility is usually run by booting from a disc that came with your computer. With the introduction of Intel-based Macs, however, Apple has built the AHT utility right into your Mac. Simply hold down the D key while starting up your Mac to boot into the Apple Hardware Test.
3. Press Option + Command + P + R
Sometimes on a Mac, the PRAM (parameter RAM) and NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) can become corrupt and cause various problems. These two memory areas store settings and information that is not cleared whenever you turn off your Mac’s power.
To do this, you’ll want to turn off your Mac, and then turn it back on while holding down the Command + Option + P + R keys. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time. Release the keys after you hear the second startup chime. The PRAM will be reset.
4. Press Option During Startup
Holding down the Option key during startup will show you a boot screen with all bootable devices listed. You can use the mouse or the keyboard to select a device to boot into.
This is great for those times when your main installation of OS X isn’t working correctly and you need to boot into a bootable mirror of your OS X install.
5. Press Eject, F12, or Hold Down Mouse/Trackpad Button
Sometimes discs can get stuck in your optical drive. When you cannot seem to get them out, you may panic, but just try restarting while holding down either the Eject key, F12 key, or your mouse or trackpad button. Your disc will be ejected in a flash after doing this.
6. Press N During Startup
If your setup includes a compatible network server (NetBoot), you can hold down the N key during startup to attempt a network boot. You can optionally use the Option + N keys during startup to start from a NetBoot server using the default boot image provided.
7. Press T During Startup
Target Disk Mode is a great way to retrieve your files from your Mac if your machine refuses to boot properly. Sometimes it’s best to just retrieve those files and start fresh with a clean copy of OS X. Follow our guide on Target Disk Mode for more information on how it works.
8. Press Shift During Startup
OS X includes a boot option called Safe Mode. Start up your machine while holding down the Shift key to have OS X only load required kernel extensions and login items. It will disable all non system fonts, all startup items, and login items.
This Safe Mode feature is a great way to troubleshoot OS X applications and extensions that aren’t working properly. If you are having OS X boot problems, always try this first to check and see if you have a rogue piece of software preventing your Mac from booting properly. Check out this article for more information about booting into Safe Mode.
9. Press Command + V During Startup
Command + V boots your Mac into what is called Verbose Mode. Using this key combination will cause your Mac to become very verbose on startup and will show a terminal-like interface while booting. It will contain information important to startup, allowing you to diagnose startup problems by seeing any errors that may be occurring during startup. Verbose mode exits automatically when the computer's startup process progresses sufficiently and the blue screen appears.
10. Press Command + S During Startup
Holding down Command + S during startup will boot your Mac into Single User Mode. This is a terminal interface that allows you to login and interact with your computer via text input only. No graphical interface will be loaded. This mode is good for when you need to troubleshoot a startup issue, or modify a file or application that is preventing proper startup.
11. Press Command + R During Startup
If your system contains Mac OS X Lion, then you’re in luck because it has all of the necessary restore features built right in. Just hold down Command + R during startup to boot into Lion Recovery Mode - a complete copy of the Lion installer disc. In this mode, you can use Safari to browse the web for any possible boot problem solutions, perform a system restore, or format the drive using Disk Utility.
For more information about using Lion's Recovery Mode features, check out this previous article.
Cory Bohon is a freelance technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer, and amateur photographer. Follow this article's author, Cory Bohon on Twitter.
- Stay safe online by getting the best Mac VPN
'I have OSX 10.8.4. I'm trying to boot in recovery mode while pressing cmd+R and it doesn't work. If I boot while pressing Option to get the startup disk, I only get the system on my hard drive. Should the recovery mode be there as well? My Mac recovery mode is not working. Does anyone know why Mac Mini won't boot into recovery mode?'
Mac users are proud of using iMac or MacBook, but things go wrong at times. Once it goes wrong, you can use Recovery Mode to fix it. However, what if recovery mode not working by accident on MacBook Air/Pro/Mini? In this guideline you are going to see how to fix Mac recovery mode not booting with several options.
What is Recovery Mode on Mac?
Mac Recovery Mode is a kind of specific pattern that loads Mac system's built-in recovery tools from a particular disk partition that holds a recovery image together with a duplication of the OS X installer. Suppose your Mac couldn't be recovered in any other way, you might as well try Recovery Mode to diagnose disk problems, get help online or install the version of OS X that ran sometime on your Mac. To enter recovery mode, you can reboot Mac and press 'Command+R' when you hear the startup voice.
What to Do When Recovery Mode on Mac Won't Work
MacBook or iMac Recovery Mode is a wonderful boot choice that enables you to recover Mac. When you can't get into recovery mode using Command+R, you can refer to these approaches to fix Mac recovery mode not working.
Option 1. Time Machine
If you do have connected an external drive with Time Machine backup, then you are able to use Recovery Mode from it. This may be the sole way to get to fix at times.
Here is how to use Time Machine backup.
1.Reboot your Mac and tap Option when you hear the startup music.
2.Attach your Time Machine drive and wait for a while.
3.Then the connected Time Machine drive should turn come out.
4.Choose the Recovery Drive to launch Mac.
Option 2. Internet Recovery
If there is an opportunity to connect your Mac online, you really can attempt Internet Recovery. Just as its name shows, you need to get your Mac online.
Here is how to use Internet Recovery.
1.Reboot Mac and tap 'Option' >> 'Command+R' when you hear the startup music.
2.Kepp the keys until you see a globe photo and progress bar.
3.Select the correct wireless connection if you use the Wi-Fi online.
4.Wait for a while and then follow the steps to finish the process.
Option 3. A bootable disk drive utility
It is necessary for every Mac user to prepare a USB flash drive. With such removal drive, you can create and install a bootable OS X installer drive and then to fix Mac not working in recovery mode issue.
Here is how to use bootable drive.
1.Reboot Mac and keep taping 'Option' until you hear the sound.
2.Attach your bootable installer drive to Mac and choose it from the pop up list.
3.Then your Mac will restart and you are able to fix Mac.
Command C Not Working In Outlook Mac
Option 4. Third party solutions
There are plenty of backup software such as Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper. Both of them are nice tools to create Mac backups and create a complete copy for Mac. Also data recovery software such as Tenorshare Data Recovery for Mac, DiskWarrior, Data Rescue and Disk Drill are available. You can search them online and try to rescue your Mac.
Mac Keyboard Commands
Option 5. Reinstall OS X
This is the last method I suggest to you. So if the others are still now working, just to reinstall OS X if you have ever backed up your important data before. Last but not least, you really need to be accustomed to backup data on Mac.
Command R Not Working Mac
Additional tips you should know:
As a matter of fact, once you can't get into the recovery mode on Mac and you lose the data on Mac, Tenorshare Data Recovery for Mac is your better options to recover them. It is skilled in recovering all kinds of file types from hard drive , USB flash drive, SD card, external hard drive on macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X EI Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, etc.
- Recover deleted files (photos, videos, music, documents, emails and more)on Mac.
- Effortles recover data lost due to deletion, formatted, corrupted hard drive or virus infection.
- Recover files from MacBook, iMac, hard drive, SSD, USB drive, memory card, SD card, CF card, digital camera, iPod, MP3/MP4 player, etc.
- Fully support APFS, HFS+, FAT32 and other file system.
- 3 easy steps to get all lost files back.
- High successful recovery rate and fast scanning speed.
- Support macOS 10.14 Mojave, 10.13 High Sierra, 10.12 Sierra or below and Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista & XP.