Mac OS X 10.4 Help

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Starting up in single-user mode

If you want to troubleshoot the startup sequence of your computer using only UNIX commands, you can start up your computer in single-user mode. You should do this only if you are comfortable with UNIX and are confident that you know what you are doing.

  1. Choose Apple menu > Restart or press the power button if the computer is turned off.
  2. Press the Command and S keys together as the computer starts up.

    3. The computer screen is black with standard white text. You can now run the UNIX commands that you want.

Note: In single-user mode, not all functions of Mac OS X are available. To use the Mac OS X interface or other high-level aspects of Mac OS X, you need to start up in the standard mode.

To switch back to the Mac OS X interface, type reboot and press the Return key. The computer restarts and you see the login dialog or the Mac desktop, depending on your login preferences.

See also

Open this for me

Apple Service & Support website

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