Startup key combinations with bluetooth keyboard?

In Lion, accessing the recovery partition entails holding down the command-R key combination at startup. Selecting a startup disk and starting up in Safe Boot mode also require holding key combinations at startup.
But under Lion and a bluetooth keyboard, none of these key combinations work. A wired keyboard works fine, but I no longer have one.
A friend who downloaded and installed Lion today just called and asked how he can do this with HIS bluetooth keyboard, so this seems to be a general concern.
Any tips? Thanks!

Some PC keyboards may map it to the Windows key, but on most it should be ALT.

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Startup key combinations on Intel iMac WITHOUT original keyboard

None of the startup key combinations (like C to boot from CD) work on my iMac using the new aluminum keyboard I bought (instead of the white plastic one which had come with it).
Is there a way around this?
Thanks.
Message was edited by: oldblueday

Did you install the software as instructed in the user documentation that came with the keyboard?
Is the keyboard plugged directly into a USB port on your iMac?

Cant start up on my Macbook pro. All I get is a grey spinning wheel. Tried all the Startup key combinations and nothing works. I reset the NVRAM and nothing. I booted with start up disk , ran disk repair and all is ok. Tried to re-install OS but when I ge

Can not start up on my Macbook pro. All I get is a grey spinning wheel. Tried all the Startup key combinations and nothing works. I reset the NVRAM and nothing. I booted with start up disk , ran disk repair and all is ok. Tried to re-install OS but when I get to designating drive its blank. When I go to startup disk there is a "?" mark. When I restart under startup disk search for a drive it still comes up with nothing. Before I got the grey spinning wheel I had a locked screen. Could not move curser or click on anything. Finally just shut down. Thank you in advance for any help!

Shouldn't still have a 'beachballing'... if the drive is being found and the system is trying to boot from it but is having problems, I would suggest looking over ds store's user tip - Step by step to fix your Mac.
It's likely either something corrupt in your system files or a failing hard drive. But follow ds's steps until you find the cause of the problem.
Good luck,
Clinton

Mac Mini HD errors with bluetooth keyboard

I have a Mac Mini with bluetooth keyboard. I cannot boot to OSX Recovery (command R). Yet I need Disk Utility to repair HD errors.

I found this link searching Apple Mac Mini Support: Apple Wireless Keyboards: Using startup keys. Tried this and it worked on the second try. Worked using Restart in the middle of the startup chime sound, not Shutdown.

Startup key combinations...

Hi all,
I installed Lion this week and now I can't use any startup key combinations on my mid 2010 iMac. I have a wireless keyboard. They used to work under Snow Leopard. I wanted to use Option on startup to see my bootable disks, but no key combinations are now recognised. I would reset the PRAM, but I can't because of this problem. Any ideas? Thankyou. Andy.

I answered my own problem -
It still works, you just have to be a LOT more accurate with the timing. I managed to reset the PRAM and use the OPTION key to reveal the rescue partition that Lion creates. Took me 3 or 4 tries though.
Hope this helps somebody.
Andy.

I HAVE JUST BOUGHT A MAC MINI WITH BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD AND ON SCREEN ALL IM GETTING IS A PIC SHOWING TO SWITCH ON KEYBOARD AND ANOTHER THAT SHOWS A SWITCH ON COMPUTER. I CANT SEE A SWITCH ON THE MINI.

I have just bought a mac mini and am trying to set up. The unit is asking me to swith on bluetooth keyboard via pic 1 then pic 2 shows another switch.
I can't see this switch. can anyone help before i launch this thing out the window!

Symptoms
When using Setup Assistant to configure your Mac mini or iMac for the first time, the Bluetooth keyboard may have difficulty pairing.
Resolution
Use a wired keyboard to configure the Mac mini or iMac with the Setup Assistant. If a wired keyboard is not available, follow these steps:
Press and hold the Power button until the computer turns off.
Press the Power button to start the computer.
When a language selection appears, press and hold the power key on the Bluetooth keyboard so that the green light is flashing (discoverable mode).
Use the mouse to click the language you would like.
A code should appear on the screen. Enter the code on the Bluetooth keyboard and press Return. Note: No visible feedback appears on the screen while you enter the code.
The computer and the wireless keyboard should now be paired.
Reference link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4456

I switched to the classic 'landscape' and when i reboot, it just stays at the greay screen, with the macintosh logo, and a blinking question mark. ive tried several methods of key combinations with rebooting etc.. i just bought this. please help.

i switched to the classic 'landscape' and when i reboot, it just stays at the greay screen, with the macintosh logo, and a blinking question mark. ive tried several methods of key combinations with rebooting etc.. i just bought this. please help.
I bought this off of craigslist with my christmas money, TODAY. i really need help, i have OS X experience from school, just not OS 9x. I need to reboot back to OS X asap. anything that may help is very appreciated. Thank You.
Chris.

Are you able to start up in Safe Mode?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455?viewlocale=en_US
If this works you will see the normal desktop Once completely started up in Safe Mode, try to restart normally and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Click on the top hard drive icon in the left sidebar and note the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom right of the pane. What does it say?
Select the named boot volume in the left sidebar, ("Macintosh HD" unless it has been renamed). What is the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it? Repair permissions on it.
See if you are able to do a little hard drive maintenance to help things out.

IPad Mini paired with bluetooth keyboard - periodically losing all Function keys

iPad Mini 6.0.2 (10A550)
Model MD529LL (32 gig wifi only)
Apple Bluetooth Keyboard (Model A1314)
I'm listening to the Mini, unplugged from power, with headphones, and the bluetooth keyboard connected. When playing music using either the IOS Music app, or Pandora, I am periodically losing the keyboard Function keys (brightness, track back, play/pause, track forward, mute, and volume up and down). Yet all other keyboard functions keep working -- I'm able to type email messages even though the Function keys are not working.
I have not found the exact combination of activities that causes the Function keys to stop working. I've tried using only Pandora, or only Music, letting the screen sleep, wake it back up with different methods. I can't break it at will, but eventually it does stop working. A power off and reboot of the iPad restores functionality.
Has anyone seen a bug of this type reported yet?

Try the Bluetooth forum area - http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1002

Multiple key press's with Bluetooth Keyboard

I'm ready to update my mac to a new G5 imac and fancy getting the wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse with it.
I have one question, has anyone experienced problems when holding down multiple keys on the keyboard and moving the mouse all at once (Using illustrator)?
In my office I have the misfortune of having to use a PC, I have had a number of wireless keyboard and mouse combos, all of them when using Illustrator and photoshop can not handle multiple key press's and mouse movement.
ie if I'm duplicating an object by dragging a copy of it across the screen, on the PC it will work but it always "releases" after a couple of seconds and drops the copy in the where I don't want it which gets very frustrating (this only happens with wireless).
As I do a lot of work at home, I hoping this wont be the case with the mac's bluetooth K & M.
thanks
Russell

The shift key works just fine on my Bluetooth keyboard. So I would imagine this is an issue with your keyboard.

Using shift key not working with bluetooth keyboard

Am I missing something here? Or does the shift key not work with the iphone using a bluetooth keyboard? I'm using the logitech K810 for reference on iphone 6 iOS 8.1

The shift key works just fine on my Bluetooth keyboard. So I would imagine this is an issue with your keyboard.

Recovery Disk Assistant with Bluetooth Keyboard?

The recovery drive "creates a hidden, 650MB partition called Recovery HD. You can boot your Mac from Recovery HD by holding down Command-R at startup"
How do you perform the keyboard command when you're using a bluetooth keyboard?

junitoprmodel wrote:
How do you perform the keyboard command when you're using a bluetooth keyboard?
You plug in a USB keyboard. Any keyboard will do... USB HID is a standard. If you use a Windows-logoed keyboard rather than a Mac one, the Windows log key is the Option key.

How do you start the hardware test on an imac with bluetooth keyboard

How do you start the apple hardware test on an imac with a bluetooth keyboard as the instructions is to press the D key whilst restarting? And of course the imac cant see the keyboard whilst booting up as the bluetooth connection has yet to be established

Have you tried following the directions for running it from the DVD? The instructions are on the Hardware Test link.If you are correct and it cannot due to the wireless keyboard not making a connection you will need to borrow a wired USB keyboard.

Boot options with Bluetooth keyboard

I have an Intel iMac that came with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. There are a variety of options that can be used when you boot the Mac, such as hold down the C key to boot from a CD/DVD, hold down the option key to choose the boot drive, etc. When you have a BT keyboard, it doesn't connect until it is booted. How do you get the iMac to recognize, say, the Option key?

Here's the apple article on the subject:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3273

Mac mini safe boot with bluetooth keyboard

I have a mac mini running mac os 10.6
Cannot boot my mac mini. When I start from CD and run disk utility i am getting following error msg: "invalid b-tree node size"
Seems to be a fs problem and not hw. Safe boot might solve the problem : )
Now i am trying to do a safe boot but no success so far. I am having a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Holding down shift key and power on is not working but holding down cmd&s for single mode or holding
down c for booting from cd is working.
Any ideas?
Cengiz

lazom wrote:
I have a mac mini running mac os 10.6
Cannot boot my mac mini. When I start from CD and run disk utility i am getting following error msg: "invalid b-tree node size"
That message indicates that one or more of the directories on the drive has become damaged. Disk Utility can usually diagnose such problems, but not repair them.
Suggest you get a copy of Alsoft's DiskWarriot. DiskWarrior can usually fix such problems with no loss of data. There's no need to install DiksWarrior - boot the machine to the CD and run DiskWarrior from that.
http://www.alsoft.com/

Help. iMac won't start with Bluetooth keyboard

Hi, iMac has decided to quit on me. It kept going to the grey screen of death at startup and triedd resetting everything. Nothing worked until I unplugged everything and noticed when I shut the Bluetooth keyboard off, only did it start up but much slower than normal. Any ideas or suggestions on whats going on? Basically, everytime I restart my computer, I need to make sure the keyboard is shut off and it still loads very very slow. Thank you.

Hi, Warren
try to reset PRAM.
try to repair disk permissions.
slow loading/running is sometimes connected with too little memory? how much do you have, and is it sufficient? (have a look at the Activity Monitor).
please, post back with more details.
thomas

Startup key combinations with bluetooth keyboard?

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