Start with the Option key down - Which port to connect the keyboard?

When I need to start my Mac with the Option key down in order to select a boot volume, I have noticed that the system ignores the Option key press and boots into a previous boot volume if a USB keyboard is plugged into an external USB hub. That's understandable because the boot sequence may not detect the keyboard on the external USB bus fast enough for the system to recognize the Option key press.
My Mac will always recognize the Option key press at a boot time if the USB keyboard is plugged into a USB port on the Mac.
I want to know what if the boot sequence will detect the keyboard +soon enough+ to recognize the Option key press if the keyboard is connected to a USB port on a PCIe USB expansion card.
If you know the answer, please let me know because, if the answer is no, I would not want to invest money into an expansion card.

Even if it doesn't work with the card, you can plug the keyboard into a built-in port and use the card's ports for other USB devices. The total number of USB ports would be the same.

Similar Messages

I just created a new iPhoto library with holding the option key down and then opening iPhoto with version 7.1.5. I changed the name of the first library to iPhoto library 1 and now I all my photos are gone. My operating system is Mavericks.

I just created a new iPhoto library with holding the option key down and then opening iPhoto with version 7.1.5. I changed the name of the first library to iPhoto library 1 and now I all my photos are gone. My operating system is Mavericks.

launch iPhoto wile holding down the option key and select the original library - when you create a new library of course it is empty
And you seriously need to backup your iPhoto library and purchase and install iPhoto '11 version 9.5.x from the App store and download and run the iPhoto library upgraded \then run the new iPhoto - 7.1.5 is not fully compatible with Mavericks
LN
PS you also need to update your profile - it states that you have OS X 10.6.8

I have late 2006 iMac 24" and I cannot boot it up. I have tried everything but it will only come up in safe boot. I can, at last, boot up on the option key and it now gives me the option of the Recover HD but when I select this, it still won't boot up?

When I select the Recovery drive it tries and then I can't get further than a white screen. My curser so has 2 columns of marks like a horizontal barcode. I think it's a software problem. When I boot up in safe boot, I have run the disc utility and it says the disc is fine and I have run the repair permissions but it makes no difference.

Thanks AAndy but I had read all of that and tried everything but I have no disks as I upgraded from Snow Leopard over the internet. I have my Snow Leapard box but the disk is missing so I can't use that and anyway, I can only boot up in safe boot so it wouldn't recognise the superdrive. I had a copy of the recovery on a flash but it doesn't recognise that. I have redownloaded it but cannot get it onto an external because of safe boot. I have done the following
Reset the PRam, reset the desktop.
Tried the D key - no responce
Tried opt D and Command D - no responce
Comant R, jusr R and opt R - no responce
By no responce, I mean that the wheel goes round under the apple and then it goes white - and stays like that.
The only thing that I can do, is to boot up on the option key when it give me a choice of drive. If I select Recover, wheel turns under apple - white wcreen
If I boot up on the shift key, it boots into safe mode and there it stays, quite happy surfing the internet and playing stupid Facebook games, so long as I don't want to use any search engines (none of which work (not finder, not mail, not anything) and then after a few hours of forgotton pleasure, it crashes!
The only thing I can think of to do is to redownload Lion - it appears in my purchased account in the App Store but, Sod's law, our satellite internet is not working and I don't think my phone account has enough MBs - anyone know how many Lion is?
I can't backup because I can't use an external drive and old one stopped working a few months ago, so I haven't been backing up and as this is the first problem I have ever had with my iMac in 7 years, I had got a bit comlascent! However, I am pretty certain that I can re-install Lion without wiping my hard drive - I have done it years ago with an older system and an older Mac.
Do you think that downloading Lion again and re-installing it will help? Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Thanks for responding so far.

The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library.

I recently tried to look up my pictures on my time machine back up on an external hard drive. As soon as I try to open it I get the following message.
"The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library."
I have tried holding down the option key but still couldn't few the photos.
I want to know if there is anyway I can actually view these photos. I have over 85gbs of photos on the hard drive. I have tried googling and looking at pervious forums with the same problem but nothing is working.
Please help!

Select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu. Search for "Restore items backed up with Time Machine."

Starting iTunes 11 with the option key does not allow me to link my ipad with Remote

I am using my Macbook Pro as a pure music server with a 2TB external USB 3 HD where all my music resides in a single folder. Yet when I start iTunes by holding the option key (to allow iTunes to see the 2TB folder and not import all my music), the Devices tab is grayed out and hence my iPad3 is not recognised. As a result, I cannot use Apple's Remote App.
The same hardware, does allow my to import a small named Library when the iPad is recognised.
What gives? Any suggestions would help me to keep my hair!

Try a Skype reset:
http://community.skype.com/t5/Security-Privacy-Trust-and/Skype-name-and-Skype-MS-accounts/m-p/293557...
You may also want to test it out in Safe Mode with Networking to see if anything changes. Since Skype uses IE in the background make sure you Internet Explorer is able to browse web pages without restriction or that it isn't in some type of forced offline mode.

Problems with using Option key when starting up

I have 3 internal drives using a PCI card (2 slots) that allows me to use large drives with more capacity than stock allowance on my G4 Quicksilver 867 mhz 1.5 GB RAM tower.
All drives are Seagate Baracudas ATA: 2-400GBs and 1-200GB. I bought the 400s at the same time.
My main drive has OSX 10.4.11 (#1), and it is backed up to Baracuda #2 (400GB) which is a slave to my Main drive (using SuperDuper All files for a mirror bootable copy). The 3rd drive has Leopard 10.5.1 for learning and trying Leopard.
On the second PCI slot is the smaller 200GB Baracuda.
After backing up using SuperDuper (Main to #2) as a mirror, I see #2 in the Apple > Prefs > Start Up Disk.
After the first backup I can see all 3 drives when using Option key at startup, but instead of seeing the names of each drive under the normal hard disk icons, #2 has a SCSI icon underneath the hard drive icon, it's name (Mac BU) is missing and I can't start up to it. The other #1 and #3 looked as expected. I chose #1, it launched, fine.
On second backup, #2 is still in Prefs > Start up Disk panel, but this time doesn't show up on when using the Option key at start up. I have replicated this, but erasing #2, rebacking up twice.
With only the #1 and #3 drives showing at start up with Option key and #1 selected in the Start up Disk panel, I chose #3 (Leopard) in the Option window view, and my G4 froze at the gray apple screen. I hard shut downed, powered up and the G4 defaulted to Main (10.4.11)
I selected #3 Leopard in Prefs > Start Up Disk, restarted OK.
I restarted with the Option key (only #1 and #3 show) and now my main drive didn't have it's name only the SCSI icon under the normal hard disk icon like #3 was doing. UGH!
Nervously, I chose #3 with Leopard and the G4 started up to it OK.
I then reselected my Main #1 drive in the Start Up Disk panel, restarted to #1 OK.
OK, problems summary:
1) I can't use SuperDuper to create a blessed bootable #2 drive at Option start up, but I mention this for more info about a possible problem at Option startup, more than I want comment on SuperDuper potential bug / conflict.
2) I didn't try choosing #3 in the Start Up Disk panel, as I was affraid the G4 would freeze and then I might not be able to select either of the other #1 or #3 at Option start up as something is wrong with using Option key start up, and #3 would have been selected in Start Up Panel, which I was afraid I might not be able to get to again.
2) When I start up either of #1 or #3, I get momentary black screens after the gray apple screen at Option key start up and then again after the apple progress bar. This doesn't happen when I start up directly either drive when the drives are selected using the Start Up Disk panel
When using the Option startup, I am experiencing the above problems.
Whew, I know, but does anyone have any input and fixes?
Thanks, in advance,
Steven

Hi Dave.
Well... good news / bad news
Turns out, I have an Acard 6280M and have 3 drives connected to it as mentioned (#1 & 2 are mirrored using SuperDuper with 10.5.1, #3 is a clean install off a new Apple OSX disk 10.5, then updated to 10.5.1)
I also have a Firewire external drive, that I used SuperDuper to make it a mirror of #1, using the same procedure backing up #1 to #2, to test SuperDuper.
The firmware update directions tells you to start up off a drive not on the PCI card, I used #4.
While running off #1, I selected #4 in the Start Up disk pref and it booted OK! This seems to rule out SuperDuper being the problem - of creating a mirror from #1 to #2 (both on the Acard) and then not seeing #2 in the Option key boot screen.
I applied the firmware, which directs you to first update the Acard driver to 2.06, which is included in the folder with the firmware updater.
I did this and then applied the firmware updater.
I then applied the driver upgrade to drives #1 and #2 (10.4.11) while running off #4. I did not apply the driver update to #3 (10.5.1) and restarted, using Option key.
All 4 drives appeared successfully on screen as expected with their names!
Then I selected each drive one by one:
#1 = kernal panic. Hard shut down, used Option key again
#2 = kernal panic, same as #1
#3 = froze at gray Apple screen - no spinning gear. Hard shut down.
Tthankfully, left Start Up disk pref to be #4 external and on restart, let the system boot off without going to the Option screen. #4 booted OK. Whew...
So all 3 drives on the Acard, won't boot. I was concerned it was the 2.06 driver, but since it wasn't applied to #3 Leopard drive, I'm assuming the firmware is the issue and perhaps not compatible with 10.4.11 or 10.5.1?
Two things I've not tried:
1) With #4 selected in Sys Prefs, then using Option key and selecting #4 there too to see if using the Option key selector is a problem too.
2) Selecting any of #1, #2, or #3 drives in Sys Prefs and restarting without Option key selector.
My fear is that if my last working drive #4 isn't the default drive set in Sys Prefs, if Acard isn't the problem alone and there is also a problem selecting any drive using the Option key - even #4, then if #4 isn't the default and all 3 Acard drives panic on regular boot (non-Option key) and I have to hard restart, will keep defaulting to whatever drive I set in the Sys Prefs and not be able to get back to #4.
Should I just go to my local computer store and see if they have a newer model PCI card and trash my existing one as I may have ruined it with the firmware updater?
Thoughts?

How to remove boot options while booting in mac with the options key

I've just installed windows trough bootcamp, but somethings went little bit wrong,
Everythings works fine, mac works and windows 7 works properly. But when i hold down the option key while booting i dont have the normal 3 options (Mac, Windows, Mac Restore). I now see these options (MAC, Windows, Windows, Windows efi, mac restore).
MAC -> works fine
1e windows -> (error no operating system installed)
2e windows -> works fine
3e Efi windows (boots into mac)
MAc restore -> works fine
So is there an way to clean up these options?
Thanks

You think someone will use Boot Camp Assistant?
EFI is / was always there. Sometimes it shows up (from using Disk Warrior).
Windows has its own 100MB system reserved as well that is the boot area.
I'd start with Lion Recovery, show hidden features and partitions, and check the health of all, and repair HFS volume.
Also try your Windows DVD and see if it sees a problem.

Can not start with an installation on a USB drive Lion on the latest Macbook Pro

Hello,
I have a Macbook Pro mid-2011 and mid-2011 Macbook Air, with Lion.
I created an external hard drive with an installation of Mac OS X Lion, which works fine on both machines.
On the new Macbook pro 13 "I5, it is now impossible to start the installation of external Lion which is on the external usb hard drive.
Have you any idea why?

i know this may be silly but i hope you removed the usb device while restarting.
If you did then hold up the option key as soon as you press the power button. It will bring you to a bootfolder selection choose your main partition and boot up. Alternatively if this does not help then do a PRAM and SMC reset. If these things fail then select recovery partition and go to disk utility and repair permisions for the main partition within the first aid section. If all else fails you would need to re install the osx, hope you have a back up.
Since you have not told us what model and year the mbp is if you have the recovery discs with you use disc 2 and read the insturctions on the disc as to what key you should hold.

I can't order more than one picture at a time in iphoto. I am holding the command key down and highlighting two but only the last one is showing up

Hi,
I need help placing an iphoto order online for prints. I have a few pictures I want in a few sizes and it seems to only allow me to select one at a time. I have held the command key down but it defaults to the last picture i selected. I appreciate your help.

What system and iPhoto versions are you using? As a quick test try this: launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and check to see if the same problem persists. See if you can get all of the selected photos in the order window as it should be.
If you can't then try this: make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and try the following:
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your
User/Home()/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home()/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
Click to view full size
3 - launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
OT

I am having trouble trying to boot from my lion osx install disk on a 2007 macbook. The disk ejects when I start up with the option key depressed. Anyone have any ideas?

I am having trouble trying to boot from my lion osx install disk on a 2007 macbook. The disk ejects when I start up with the option key depressed. Anyone have any ideas?
Thank you.

How did you get a Lion OSX install disc? They don't exist. Do you mean the gray disks that came with your 2007 MacBook?
If you mean the gray disks, try starting up with the "c" key held down.
What version of OSX is on your MacBook now? Have you tried booting from the Recovery partition?

How do I resolve this error message? The iPhoto library is on a locked volume. Reopen iPhoto when you have read/write access, or reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library.

How do I resolve this error message? The iPhoto library is on a locked volume. Reopen iPhoto when you have read/write access, or reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library.

Hi j,
I don't know if this will work, but I'd try logging in to an admin account, going to your main library (not user library), opening it, opening Application Support, selecting iPhoto, hold down the command key and press i, click on the lock in the lower left, entering the password and making sure you have Read & Write privileges for System and Admin.

This message shows up when I try to access my auxiliary iPhone library: "The iPhoto library is on a locked volume. Reopen iPhoto when you have read/write access, or reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library."

This message shows up when I try to access my auxiliary iPhone library: "The iPhoto library is on a locked volume. Reopen iPhoto when you have read/write access, or reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library."
What did I do wrong? I have been downloading all my photos into this same library since Janurary with no problems.

What version of Mac OS X?
Click the black Apple icon on the top left of the screen and select About This Mac. The next screen will show the information.

Anybody can help me? I'm trying to start my computer and it shows this question mark. Then i restart it holding the option key and it shows this padlock with a password field. What should password should i put?

Anybody can help me? I'm trying to start my computer and it shows this question mark. Then i restart it holding the option key and it shows a padlock with a password field. What password should i put? I would appreciate any help

Contact Apple, or if you bought the computer secondhand, the previous owner.
(118258)

I can't access iPhoto any more??? This is the message I'm receiving......The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library." Help!!!! Please!!!!!

What does this mean? I had my computer restored and now i cant use iphoto..... i had it restored from a back up from feb 2013... my mac is missing a few things since but iphoto is a necessity these days..... Help me.... Help me please.....!!!

SOrry - that is not a result of launching iphoto while depressing the option key - to help you we need to know what you have and the results of this question are important to that
LN

When I restart my computer and hold the option key after creating a bootable usb with windows 7 and partitioning only the original partition shows up. Not the windows one or the bootable usb.

     Okay so first things first this isn't the newest macbook pro. When I open about my mac and go to system report it says it is a Macbook Pro 3,1 and the Boot Rom Version say MBP31.0070.B07. Originally when starting up Boot Camp Assistant there where only two options, the "create windows 7 bootable usb" was not there at all. So after some editing and helpful tutorials I was able to get the option show up and created a bootable usb with windows 7 and downloaded the support software onto a separate flash drive. Finally I did the last step and created a second partition for windows. Once the process is complete my computer automatically restarts.
     This is where the problem is. Once my computer makes the booting up sound it doesn't load up windows it gets stuck on a apple logo as if it's trying to reastart normally and can't. So I shut down and this time I hold down the option key during start up. It brings up the main partition and some recovery thing but no windows partiton and no bootable usb.
     I forgot to mention that I am running OS X 10.9.3. Okay any body want to help me out? Iv'e been at this for hours and can't get an inch closer to having windows. Please and thank you!
P.S. If I missed a discussion that answer my question just point me to it. Iv'e been looking for a while, but who knows i might have missed one.

The only known way to make it work on an external drive is by first installing Windows onto an internal drive, then cloning the install to an external Thunderbolt drive. Thunderbolt is seen as an extension of the internal bus, so Windows doesn't see it as an external device.

Start with the Option key down - Which port to connect the keyboard?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for