How to Boot a Mac in Safe Mode and When to Use it

If you’re having problems with your Mac, you can easily fix it by restarting it. I know it sounds weird, but it helps sometimes. However, if that doesn’t fix the problem, there are the usual ways to fix it. One of the ways to solve them is to start the mac in safe mode.

Not only does it help you test where the problem lies, but it’s one of the most common maintenance methods you can use with your computer.

We’ll explain what safe mode is, how you can start your Mac in this state, and when you should use it.

What is Safe Mode?

Safe Mode or safe boot is a macOS diagnostic mode designed to fix various problems on your Mac.

Enabling safe mode allows you to fix any problem that is preventing the operating system from working normally. Depending on how the computer reacts to the Safe Mode environment, it will help you fix the problem.

While in this mode, your Mac starts up without installing any additional third-party programs. So you can test whether it is the whole system or a specific program that is causing the problems.

This means that only a minimal number of preferences, system extensions, and fonts that should work will start with your computer so you can isolate problems and troubleshoot accordingly.

Safe Mode can restart and run your computer when problems occur due to corrupted data or applications, damaged fonts and preference files, or software installation problems.

You can use it to fix problems that prevent your Mac from starting or problems with the startup disk, including apps that won’t start, or those that cause your computer to crash, freeze, or shut down.

What Happens When Your Mac Is In Safe Mode?

A few things happen when you start your Mac in Safe Mode. Specifically, it does the following:

• Your Mac installs the kernel extensions needed to run macOS.
• It will verify your startup drive by performing a directory check and attempt repairs for any issues.
• It prevents startup and login items from opening automatically at startup.
• Disables user-installed (third-party) fonts as well as those found in Apple-supplied System/Library/Fonts.
• It deletes all font caches and moves them to trash, including kernel cache and other system cache files.
• It also deletes the dynamic loader cache, which is known to cause blue screen freezing on startup.
• Disables or limits features such as DVD Player, iMovie (does not capture video), internal and/or external modems, AirPort cards (depending on version and macOS version used), Quartz Extreme, and Network file sharing.

How to Start Your Mac in Safe Mode

To boot in Safe Mode, follow these steps:

Stage 1: Start or restart your Mac.

step 2: Immediately hold down the Shift key when you hear the ringtone. You will see the Apple logo appear on your screen.

Stage 3: Release the Shift key when the login window opens. If your Mac’s startup disk is encrypted with FileVault, you log in twice – the first login unlocks the startup disk, and the second logs you into the Finder.

note: After identifying the problem, you can exit Safe Mode by restarting your Mac without pressing any keys at startup.

How To Tell If Your Mac Is In Safe Mode

You can tell if your Mac is in Safe Mode using the System Information app. The System Information application (also known as System Profiler in some versions of OS X) shows a summary of information about your Mac’s software, hardware, network, and other information.

To go to the System Information app, click Apple menu > About This Mac to open an overview of your Mac, including its model, memory, processor, serial number, and macOS version.

You can see more information by clicking the System Report button.

Under the Software section in System Information, next to Boot Mode, you will see the text “Safe” instead of “Normal”.

The login window will also show the Safe Boot label at the top right of the screen while in Safe Mode.

What To Do When Your Mac Won’t Boot On Or Start In Safe Mode

Here are some things to check if your Mac won’t turn on or has turned on but hasn’t completed the startup process:

• Check for power related issues such as fan or hard disk noises among other startup noises. Also, check for lights such as the sleep indicator light, the Caps Lock key, or the backlit keyboard, if any.
• You can also check for power by making sure the power cord is undamaged and securely plugged into a working electrical outlet.
• Check that you are using the correct power cord and adapter, and if you are using an external display, turn it on and make sure there are no other display issues. Increase the brightness of your screen from the built-in keyboard.
• If it doesn’t finish booting, such as a recently installed hard drive/SSD or memory, check for other startup issues and make sure it’s compatible and properly installed. You can also remove the original disk or memory and test it.

If you still need further assistance, contact Apple Support or visit an authorized Apple Store or Service Provider.

If you don’t have a keyboard or can’t use your keyboard’s Shift key to start in safe mode, you can configure your Mac to start in safe mode if you have remote access to your Mac. To do this:

Stage 1: Open Terminal remotely or log in to your Mac using SSH to access the command line. Use this Terminal command: sudo nvram boot-args=”-x”

Alternatively, start in verbose mode using the command:

sudo nvram boot-args=”-x –v”

step 2: Once you’re done using safe mode, return to normal startup using this Terminal command:

sudo nvram boot-args=””

Restart Your Mac

If you have any problems with your Mac, now you know how to start it in Safe Mode and get things back to normal.

Next: If you have an Android device and want to boot into Safe Mode to fix any underlying issues, learn how you can achieve this in our next article.