HOW TO | use recovery’s various options
1 Start Recovery Mode
To start Recovery from your Mac’s internal storage, hold ç+R at the startup chime. To start it from an external drive, hold
å instead and, when a list of available startup volumes appears, choose the one with an external drive icon and ‘Recovery’ in its label.
2 Internet Recovery
If a Recovery partition isn’t available, holding ç+R starts Internet Recovery (on models released since OS X Lion, and some earlier models – see support.apple.com/kb/ HT4904). This shows a globe and a progress bar while your version of OS X is downloaded.
3 OS X Utilities
When Recovery finishes loading, it displays a list of four commonly needed tasks. ‘Get Help Online’ opens the Safari web browser. If your Mac uses Wi-Fi to get online, use the Wi-Fi icon at the top right to ensure it’s connected to your usual network.
4 Get Help Online
You can use this version of Safari to browse and research your problem by visiting support.apple.com, to look more broadly with a search engine, and to browse to apple.com/ uk/retail to book a Genius Bar appointment for professional help at an Apple retail store.
5 Disk problems
If OS X won’t start, choose Disk Utility before resorting to more drastic options and check your Mac’s drive is shown in the app’s left pane. Select the row that shows disk capacity for options to verify data and attempt to repair structural problems.
6 Restore backups
If you haven’t excluded system folders from your backups, your Mac can be restored to an earlier state. Choose this option, identify your backup disk, pick an earlier state from the list, and follow the prompts to restore it your startup disk. This can take a while.
7 Reinstall OS X
This option downloads your current version of OS X and installs it over any existing copy, retaining your files and settings. This can fix damage to the system. The download is several gigabytes, so it can take quite a while over slower internet connections.
8 Reset a password
If someone forgets their account password, choose Utilities > Terminal. Type reset password into that app and press ® . In the next window, select your startup disk, select the account from the list, type a new password into the boxes and press Save.