How to Choose a Boot Disk on Mac During Startup: Easy Guide
- Step 1: Shut Down Your Mac
- Step 2: Start Your Mac in Startup Manager
- Step 3: Select Your Boot Disk
- Step 4: Confirm Your Selection
Step 1: Shut Down Your Mac
Before selecting a boot disk on your Mac, ensure that your computer is completely powered off. To shut it down, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and choose “Shut Down.” Wait for your Mac to power off completely before proceeding.
Step 2: Start Your Mac in Startup Manager
Once your Mac is turned off, press the power button to turn it on again. Immediately after pressing the power button, hold down the Option (Alt) key. This will bring up the Startup Manager, which allows you to choose which disk to boot from.
If you hold the Option key too late, your Mac will start up normally without showing the boot disk options, so it’s essential to press it immediately after turning your Mac on.
Step 3: Select Your Boot Disk
The Startup Manager will display all available boot disks connected to your Mac, such as your Mac's internal drive, any external hard drives, or USB devices. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the disk you want to boot from. The selected disk will be highlighted on the screen.
If you’re looking to boot from an external disk, ensure that the device is properly connected before starting up. If your desired disk doesn’t appear, check that it’s connected and try restarting your Mac while holding down the Option key again.
Step 4: Confirm Your Selection
After selecting your desired boot disk, press the Return key to confirm. Your Mac will now boot from the selected disk. This process ensures that your Mac loads the right operating system or software, such as when you're booting into macOS recovery or an external drive with a different OS.
If you want to change the startup disk permanently, you can go into the System Preferences after your Mac starts up and select the startup disk under “Startup Disk.” This will set your chosen disk as the default for future startups.
By following these simple steps, you can easily choose the boot disk during startup on your Mac, whether you're troubleshooting, reinstalling macOS, or booting from an external device.
If you encounter any issues with your Mac’s boot process or need additional assistance with disk management, visit Ninja Stik for tools and solutions designed to enhance your Mac experience.
