How to Boot Mac into Recovery Mode

• Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: DVD Installation
• Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Local Recovery
• Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Internet Recovery
• Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Time Machine
• Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Bootable Drive

Recovery Mode in OS X provides a set of solutions for users to utilise when they need to repair and reinstall your operating system in emergencies. You can also reset your machine's password using these tools if needed. There are several ways to boot Mac into recovery mode. This way, if you find one method overwhelming, there are several other alternatives you can use. We will walk you through the different ways on how to boot into recovery Mac so that they will become undoubtedly useful in a rare emergency.

Part 1 Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: DVD Installation

If you are using an older Mac, it probably comes with a grey recovery DVD that you can use to run recovery routines. If you had bought a copy of a newer operating system, you can also use the installation disk to perform recovery.

It is the easiest way to go into Recovery Mode and here is how you can do it:

1. Insert the grey DVD and reboot your machine.
2. Hold down C on your keyboard until you hear the boot chimes.

The recovery tool will take some time to load. Follow the wizard that will put your Mac into Recovery Mode.

Part 2 Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Local Recovery

With the introduction of OS X Lion in 2010, Apple also introduced a local recovery volume on Mac hard drive. The 650MB recovery partition contains a recovery boot image that supports FileVault disk encryption and all the necessary tools required to reinstall or recover OS X. This new Recovery Mode also allows users to access Safari while your Mac is being repaired if needed.

Here are the steps you need to do in order to boot Mac into Recovery Mode via local recovery:

1. Reboot your Mac.
2. Hold the Command and R buttons until the boot chimes are triggered.
3. You will see the OS X Utilities window that will prompt you to choose one of the four options.
   

Part 3 Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Internet Recovery

Along with the introduction of a locally stored recovery volume, Apple introduced its Internet Recovery service that allows your operating system to download contents of the recovery hard disk partition from the company's service. This option is great to use when your local drive is completely corrupted and you no longer can access locally-stored recovery tools.

To launch Internet Recovery, make sure your Mac is connected to a WiFi network and follow the steps below:

1. Reboot your Mac.
2. Hold the Options, Command, and R buttons until the boot chimes are triggered.
   
3. Wait until the system finishes downloading the recovery tools from Apple's website.

Do note that you are unable to go into Recovery Mode if you are using devices older than the ones below:

• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
• MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)
• iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)
• iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)
• MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)
• Mac mini (Mid 2010)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, Mid 2010)
• iMac (21.5-inch and 27-inch, Mid 2010)
• MacBook Air (11-inch and 13-inch, Late 2010)

Part 4 Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Time Machine

It is really important to keep backups of your machine and Apple facilitates this with its Time Machine feature. It would be best to store your backup on an external drive so that you can initiate Recovery Mode using this when your hard drive is totally wiped out.

Follow these steps to boot Mac into Recovery Mode:

1. Reboot your Mac.
2. Hold down the Option button when the startup chime sounds.
3. Connect your Time Machine drive. It will take some time for the system to detect the drive. You might need to key in your password.
4. Choose the drive to launch your Mac into Recovery Mode.

Part 5 Boot Mac into Recovery Mode: Bootable Drive

You can create a bootable drive to store an OS X Recovery Disk so that you can access recovery tools anytime, anywhere. It would be great if you could invest in a high-capacity USB 3.0 flash drive to store the required tools.

There are plenty of articles outlining how you can create a bootable OS X Recovery Disk, including ours. Once you have this established, you can follow these steps to get your Mac into Recovery Mode:

1. Reboot your Mac.
2. Hold down Option on your keyboard once you hear the chime sound.
3. Attach your bootable OS X Recovery Disk to your Mac and select it from the prompt list.
4. Your Mac will launch into Recovery Mode and you can start fixing your Mac.

As you can see, there are plenty of methods you can use to boot Mac into Recovery Mode. There is no need to panic when you find yourself in trouble - just choose and master the method that seems least intimidating to you and you will be well on your way.