UEFI bios boot into safe mode w/o msconfig or F8

Hi, thanks in advance for taking the time to answer. First off I'm using an ASUS motherboard with UEFI bios on windows 7 64bit.
I'm having trouble with my user account being corrupted and cannot be logged into. I've already looked up how to fix this issue but it requires me logging into safe mode to do so.
I am aware of the 2 common methods people are prescribing (msconfig and F8) but neither are an option in this situation it seems.
Being that I can't log in, and I do not have a second admin account, I cannot use the msconfig method. I've already tried hitting F8 during start and it just gives me the option to either boot my HD or enter bios. I also went through the bios
options and didn't see anything there either. There's got to be another method than the two I've previously mentioned, right? Or am I just missing something simple here?
== edit ==
== Solved problem myself ==
heres how for those with same problem: after hard restarting my computer quite a few times (apparently its SUPPOSED to do this each time but other folks on the internet and myself find it to only work 40% or less) it went into automatic repair mode.
after that ran through, to no avail (BIG surprise), it allowed me to enter Command Prompt mode outside of windows. there I was able to enable a safe mode boot loop so each time my computer boots it automatically goes into safe mode. fixed what
i needed and undid the safe mode loop in msconfig.
back to business as usual! woot woot

Asus boards BIOS Boot Menu key is F8... this is annoying if you use their boards with Windows installed, as it is also the key for getting the Windows boot menu.
What needs to be done is use the F8 to get the menu, select the hard disk (or boot manager if EFI) and then start hitting F8 after you press enter on the boot device. This is the easiest way I've found, as trying to guess when the boot is handed off from
the board to Windows is hit and miss.

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Intel Mini will only boot into safe mode - hangs on ANY Mac OS volume

I have an Intel Mac Mini... the core2duo 1.83GHz or whatever.
I acquired it from it's previous owner, as it was "broken".
He could not get it to run an install disc.
It will not boot any of the Mac OS install media (DVD or CD - 10.4, 10.5, 10.6).
It will not boot/install a Linux disc (I haven't tried, but that's what I was told).
It WILL boot/install Windows !?!?
So... anyway, I removed the HDD, and installed OS 10.6 Leopard on it (FW Target mode installs kept failing at the end - regular retail DVD). I then reinstalled the HDD back into the machine.
The system keeps hanging at the same point it would when trying to boot an install DVD - after the screen turns blue, it goes back to the gray screen, then immediately freezes.
However, I eventually discovered that it WILL boot into safe mode !
Everyone kept saying it's the logic board failure, but if it boots into safe mode, can that be true ? It doesn't seem to me that it would be hardware based in that case - unless it's just a specific component, like the Airport module or something.
The last line displayed in Verbose mode when it hangs is:
"athset_txchainmask[5124] sc->sc.config.txchainmask 5 mask 5"
It also says something about the Airport just before that.
I tried removing the Airport module and it still hangs.
I also tried different RAM, with the same results.
I ran the 10.6.2 combo update in Safe Mode. It still hangs. Haven't tried 10.6.3 yet, though I do have it downloaded and ready to install.
This thing is driving me crazy. Please tell me there's a fix, OTHER than replacing the logic board ?!?! It just doesn't seem like it should be so complicated considering that it runs in safe mode.
It's rare I can't figure out a Mac problem - please help !
Message was edited by: maxtechsystems

Very strange, and getting stranger !
Ok... so, from safe boot mode, I installed Windows XP Pro using the boot camp assistant.
Everything installed perfectly. I started up from Windows, and put in the Mac Mini recovery disc, in order to load the drivers. The Boot Camp software started with Auto Run, and I clicked through to install everything. The drivers start loading...Windows reacts positively, with the system tray announcing "new hardware installed" every 30 seconds or so. Airport/WiFi IS working (in Windows), as it detected my router/network...this is where it gets F'ed up - when the installer gets through with the drivers, and installs the boot camp software for Windows - the system reboots, goes through the usual Windows startup...the desktop background appears, but no icons or start menu - then it reboots again...same thing, again, over and over in a loop.
Went back into OS X (safe boot mode). Installed reEFIt (a bootloader utility), to see if maybe I can bypass the Mac OS/Boot Camp bootloader. No luck. Install worked, but still had the same issues.
For the heck of it, I try installing Linux Mint 8. The live CD starts up OK, but only as far as the boot menu. I tried the installer first - after the splash screen, it hangs on a plain gray screen (w/o the normal linux installer language selection menu - just solid grey).
I tried running the live CD w/o the installer - the actual OS. Same thing - after the splash screen, it hangs, only it's a black screen this time. If I use verbose mode, it still seems to hang on the WiFi card.
Here's the strangest thing yet - Ok, remember, it wouldn't boot normally into ANY Mac OS volume - including the installer DVDs - only in safe boot mode...
So, I try the "hackintosh" IPC osX86 10.5.6 DVD - it boots into the installer with NO problem, WITHOUT safe boot mode ! I tried installing it unsuccessfully. I forget now which options I choose, if any, though I may try it again later and pretend it's just a non-apple PC with the same specs as the Mini (or try just the "base system", and the bootloader - then run the official Apple updates)
This last thing really makes me think it has something to do with the EFI/bios - however, I've only been able to find info on how to update it, not replace or restore it - and it's only from a working install, not forced from a flash drive or CD (plus when I do try the installer from safe boot mode, it says it's current and unneeded).
I still haven't changed the hard drive. After almost successfully installing Windows, I made the assumption the -hardware- was OK, and reassembled everything.
Currently, I'm trying a direct installation of Windows XP Pro SP2 with which I'll try installing the drivers WITHOUT the boot camp software, to see if the WiFi (Airport card) and everything else is indeed working OK (remember too that the system passed ALL the ASD 3S116 tests).
So anyway, that's the current status. Any new ideas anyone ?
Thanks.
Message was edited by: maxtechsystems

Hard drive won't boot into safe mode

My mid 2010 Macbook Pro has suddenly decided to not boot up after installing BitDefender and running a scan.
I installed it on a whim when I saw minor malware that hijacked Safari, and decided to run a scan. While I was working on Photoshop, the scan must have finished because all of my windows disappeared and I was left with my desktop and the spinning gray loading at the bottom of my screen. I waited 20 minutes, realized it wasn't going anywhere and force shut down the Macbook by power button.
Now, I cannot successfully get it past the grey apple loading screen. Attempting to boot into safe mode still leaves it at the same screen. Tried to reset the PRAM, still can't get past the loading screen. I still have my OS disk, however it is Snow Leopard and my current is Mavericks and I'm unsure if it is a wise idea.
15 inch mid 2010 Macbook Pro running OS X Mavericks, how dead in the water am I and how much would this cost me to "fix"?

Use the original Snow Leopard installation disk and start the MBP as if you were going to reinstall the OSX. Early in the process you should see a menu bar on the top of the display. Click on UTILITIES and from the dropdown menu select Disk Utility. Run Disk Utility>First Aid, Verify and Repair. If it is not successful, the HDD will have to be replaced.
Ciao.

Can't boot into safe mode or prompt login window, need help.

Hello all,
This is cross-posted from the installations and set-up list.
Can anyone suggest a remedy for what's ailing this powerbook. its a g4 powerbook, i don't have much more info other than that. all indications are that it is running 10.2.6, although i was told that it had been updated to 10.2.8, its possible that it was updated only to 10.2.6. following the update, you get to the apple and spinning pinwheel screen and it will not proceed. literally, the pinwheel will spin for 24 hours+.
it looks like it gets to the point of the startup(login) items and hangs indefinitely. ie it will
if i start in verbose mode it will, give some clues:
truncated or malformed library: /System/Libray/Frameworks/Security.frameworks/Versions/A/Security
Some starup items failed to launch due to conflicts
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
init: getty repeating too quickly on port /dev/console, sleeping
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
last message repeated 10 times
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
init: getty repeating too quickly on port /dev/console, sleeping
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
last message repeated 5 times
this will continue to be repeated and i assume a new core.## file is sent to the /cores folder, until the hard drive is maxed out.
I can boot in single user mode and everything is fine but i cannot boot into safe mode.
fsck says the disk is fine, as does disk first aid, i have also corrected permissions, and followed many of the things that have been previously posted.
It looks like ther are conflicts with some startup items, what can i move from the starup folder and is best not to be touched?
what about the truncated library message?
also can i update to 10.2.8 from the single user mode, if i cannot get into safe mode?
any suggestions?
thanks in advance-
todd

I have solved this problem. I mounted the laptop in target mode and replaced this file:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/Versions/A/Security
with the equivalent file from a machine running 10.2.8.
It booted all the way through then i upgraded to 10.2.8.

Won't boot into safe mode

My 2012 iMac 27" was randomly rebooting itself, while in Sleep. I assumed this was due to the cheap 32 GB memory I bought, but before I could change it back to the original memory, to test, the Mac booted into Safe Mode (I assume - a progress bar showing at the bottom of the boot screen, below the Apple logo), and did not get further than a half the way, and then shut down. I swapped the memory to the original 8GB. I tried booting again, no buttons held down, as then it wouldn't get further than a quarter of the way. Further attempts to boot do not work, even when holding down Option to choose the boot disk, pressing Shift for Safe Mode, or Option-S for Single User Mode. I assume it's trying to boot in Safe Mode, but failing?
I also tried using a good Mac with the bad Mac as the Target Disk boot mode - the good Mac does not see the bad Mac...
I have an external DVD drive, but that isn't an option as I can't go into boot drive select mode. What are my options, apart from sending the iMac back?

Booting into the Recovery HD should allow you to effect repairs - that's the point of it, so it's a bit concerning that it won't allow you to. The Recovery HD is a partition on the internal drive that should allow you to effect repairs to the Macintosh HD, albeit part of the same physical disk.
I'm no expert, but I'd be concerned that the hard disk is on the way out. Do you have backup of everything - Time Machine or a bootable clone, perhaps?
Maybe have another try with Command+r. If it fails I'm not sure what would be the best next step - it depends if you have a full and up-to-date backup of your disk so that you can restore.
One of the options of the Recovery HD is to allow you to re-install the OS, which won't delete your data.
The more extreme step would be Internet Recovery which would involve erasing everything and re-installing via the internet.
Worth reading this carefully before proceeding: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Disk Warrior from Alsoft (not cheap) is another possibility for recovering damaged disks, although it's not a guaranteed solution.

OS hangs at grey startup screen, won't boot into safe mode

I rebooted my G5 this morning and when it came back up, it hung on the grey screen with the Apple logo and the spinning 'gear' progress bar. I tried rebooting several times, but that didn't help. I tried booting from the install DVD (which it did) and ran disk utility (both verify & repair on the start up drive and on permissions. It claims to have found permission errors and fixed them.) I hunted for answers online and tried to boot into safe mode, which did not work.
Someone mentioned booting into verbose mode and I saw that the load sequence was choaking on the login.
What could the problem be and how can I fix it?

Hi Yosarian,
Minor permissions repairs are no concern: The good news is that your data is probably OK.
Three things can be happening: Some of the machines boot settings are corrupted, or the OS files or settings are damaged, or there's a hardware problem.
Resetting the machines power management chip, called a PMU or SMU, depending on your computer, and the PRAM will resolve machine boot settings problems. Run a google search for your model of Mac plus reset pmu OR smu for instructions. After that, reboot your computer and hold Option-Apple-P-R down as you power on. Hold all 4 keys until you hear the startup chime a second time.
You can test your hardware with the grey disk that came with it that ays AHT in little letters. Boot from the CD and run the extended test. Be patient: AHT can take a long time to boot and run.
If you reset your PMU and PRAM and pass a hardware diagnostic but still can't boot normally, in safe mode, or in single-user mode, the problem is system software. Reinstall from your latest installer, checking off Archive and Install and Preserve Users and Settings from the Options screen available at the screen where you choose which disk to install to.
Good luck,
John

Can I ssh to a Mac that's booted into Safe Mode?

I'm needing to ssh to a Mac that's been booted into Safe Mode (I'm already able to ssh to it in normal boot mode, and I know how to boot it into Safe Mode from the command line, i.e. sudo nvram boot-args="-x", then sudo reboot).
I can't just test this for myself, as it has to work first time, otherwise I'll be locked out of the remote Mac. If ssh would still work in Safe Mode, the plan is to then ssh to it and issue the command to set it back to normal boot mode (with sudo nvram boot-args="") and then reboot... job done.
Ideally, but not too important, I could VNC to it in Safe Mode instead, but ssh would do fine.
Does anyone know (for sure!) please?
In case anyone wondered, I'm wanting to do the Safe Boot because I'm told it can cure an issue with Adobe CS apps freaking out and locking up, crashing etc. I want to try this over the w/e, and have no physical access to the Mac. I've already set it to power on later (via pmset) - something I do routinely.
I thought an answer to this would be easy to find, but after Googling I've drawn a blank. Can't find it in any Apple docs either.
Thanks in advance!

If this was already covered somewhere else, I
apologize. I did some browsing for this topic but had
no luck finding anything...
Anyhoo, I'm trying to log in to my wife's B&W G3
(running Jaguar) from my G4 (running 10.4.2) using
secure shell but she doesn't have a password set up
on her computer. When I enter the ssh command in
Terminal, it asks for a password — I don't enter
anything and just hit the Return key. It returns with
a massage saying "Permission denied, please try
again." What can I do to log in w/o setting up her
machine with a password first?
If you want to use SSH securily I would suggest you disable password authenticaiton altogher. If you setup public key authentication it is more secure and better than using passwords anyway.
see how to setup ssh with public keys

HT201262 Will not boot into safe mode

Hello,
My MacBook pro 2012 crashed last night. Could not force quite so closed it down. On restart it would get halfway then stop. I have japped p-ram (I know it is my called this anymore) but then loads halfway and the turns off. I booted into disk repair and it found a couple of problems so repaired successfully. On restart it still gets halfway then turns off.
From reading the apple support it seems other people have the same problem. All mention booting into safe mode. For the life of me I cannot get my machine to boot into safe mode!
I do exactly like the instructions say but it always just goes to the page where I choose whether to log in as me or a guest.
What am I doing wrong?!
I am on a MacBook pro running Yosemite.
Many thanks for any help.
Chris.

Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)
Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

No reboot after booting into safe mode

For a few years I've just ignored the problem but thought I should take time to mention it now.
When I boot into Safe Mode (holding down the shift key during boot up) I can always click on restart when the password screen comes up and the computers will restart.
But if I log in after safe boot and let the system boot up past the login screen THEN try a restart I get hours of beach ball. I've left various computers running over night and it is always the same in the morning, no restart, no beach but lots of beach ball.
So I do a force shutdown (hold the on/off button for 10 seconds) or a forced restart.
This has been the case from Leopard OSX10.5 and up including Snow Leopard. And on five different Intel Core 2 Duo Macs including 2GHz & 2.4 GHz iMacs and Macbooks.
The common theme is that I have migrated my setup through all these Macs so maybe there is some legacy thing in my software.
Suggestions?

Well… some improvement.
Here’s what I did: (note that I did a restart and sometimes safe boot after each and every step.
1 – use FontNuke (free shareware) to blast away font cache files. It found 8 some dating from 2002.
2 – use Apple’s Font Book to reconcile duplicate fonts.
Those two steps fixed my slow down problems with playing movie files in Quicktime and VLC.
But not Skype video. The biggest CPU load with Skype is with the transmitted picture oddly enough.
Then for good measure I zapped the PRAM and PMU. No noticeable improvement from doing those. Obliviously repair permissions and verify disk was done long long ago and redone.
I still have the problem of not being able to reboot from safe mode.
The Startup folders are clean except for Qmaster which I do not believe is the cause of not being able to reboot out of safe mode.
Does anyone know of other files/locations that put 3rd party startup items? I remember finding things from Western Digital and Symantic a few years ago in unexpected places. Symantic was especially hard to track down and eliminate.

I cannot boot into safe mode

I cannot boot into safe mode
I ran onxy, all appeared ok,
I booted from installer DVD,- repaired the drive, - nothing wrong with the drive,
and repaired disk permissions, twice, as a few permissions were incorrect
The only app which automatically logs in user account is KeyCue, and has done so always, and I don't know what what it belongs to. Nothing logs in automatically in the admin account.
I intermittently have a problem with DVDs not mounting, and a safe boot fixes the problem.

further to being unable to boot in safe mode-
normally when i boot in safe mode, when its starts up and reaches the login screen, above this are the words in red safe boot. As the words were missing from the login screen I had assumed that I was not in safe boot. I currently have about 94 GB of HD space. Other than this booting process appears to be normal. What prompted the safe boot was a DVD which mounted ok on insert, had unmounted when I went to eject, a restart and holding down the shift key ejected the disk, and I then tried to do the safe boot. Since I ran disk utility from the installer disk the same DVD has mounted and ejected just fine. The vanishing disk problem started 4-5 months ago, and has always been fixed by a safe boot

Unable to boot into safe mode with FileVault 2 enabled

I was trying to boot into safe mode earlier to try and fix a few things. It looks like I can't and I suspect it is because of FV2.
When the system starts I press shift after the tone, but then I have to release shift and enter the password and then Lion will only boot into normal mode.
I've also tried with sudo nvram boot-args="-x" from the terminal, but while it seesm that this way Lion starts to boot into safe mode, after a while it just restarts as if something crashed etc and then again, I have to enter the password for FV and all again as in a loop, i.e. Lion won't even start this way.
So I went into the recovery mode and I could make Lion start again at least in normale mode with sudo nvram boot-args="".
Any idea of what could be preventing Lion from entering safe mode?
Thanks in advance

The symptom may be unrelated to FileVault 2. I encountered the symptom with FileVault 2 disabled and with backward conversion (decryption) complete.
Apple reference for my bug report: 152162960. If the symptoms on your Mac compare to those on mine: progress may seem to cease during safe fsck.
Vito, as you are comfortable with the nvram command, please try the following:
sudo nvram boot-args="-v -x"
Restart the computer and note the last verbose lines that appear before you sense that progress has ceased. Then please add a note of those lines to this topic.
Additional questions
What model is your Mac?
What type of disk for the startup volume?
How many files on that volume?
Approximately how large are the attributes file and catalog file? (You might gain this information with a demo version of iDefrag.)
My current envronment
MacBookPro5,2
8 GB memory
startup from internal 320 GB rotational disk, Serial-ATA, Hitachi HTS723232L9SA62 (probably Travelstar 7K320)
3,961,791 files
495,744 folders /* not including the root folder */
catalog file 3.0 GB, not fragmented
attributes file 2.2 GB, not fragmented.
At http://www.wuala.com/grahamperrin/public/2012/01/09/a/?mode=gallery file speedy.txt includes details of the volume.

Cannot boot into Safe Mode with Networking - Windows 8.1 Update

I'm trying to boot into safe mode with networking. I can successfully boot into Safe Mode, but my Network Access is always disabled.
I've tried msconfig / Click on Restart / Restart Now from the Update and Recovery menu in 'Change PC Settings'. They all eventually get me to the Same boot options menu which says ... F4 for Safe mode, F5 for Safe mode with Networking etc.. I
select the F5 Safe mode with Networking and it re-boots into Safe mode but I have no network access.
I'm connecting to my home ADSL, no proxy required. If I boot normally I have network & internet access, but in 'F5 Safe mode with Networking' my networking is disabled.
Windows 8.1 Pro x64

I can see that I am actually connected to my router, but the network icon still shows as disconnected.
What about the Network list via the Settings charm (Win-I)? Last week I was having problems with that one after long sleeps. Later I realized that although I could see the icon in the Settings charm (as normal) when I clicked on it, it still
showed the same icon as I was expecting; the difference is that it didn't show "Connected"; so, clicking on the icon proved that it was offering a Connect button and clicking that finally got me connected. Meanwhile the troubleshooters were misleading
at best and destructive at worst, suggesting I power things off, etc. I don't know if there was a fix for this specific symptom or whether I just tried a different path but yesterday instead of trying the above procedure I tried to see what the Network
troubleshooter associated with IE's "unable to connect" page would do; amazingly it identified the problem precisely. That connection had somehow acquired a connect manually attribute. The troubleshooter offered to fix that problem for me
and I accepted. Since then, no more problem.
FYI
Robert Aldwinckle

YT2 Pro Volume button stuck/boots into safe mode

The Volume down button is stuck on my YT2 Pro and I think this is the reason it now only boots into safe mode. At first I thought it was an app so I cleared the cach and uninstalled the last 3 apps. That did not make a difference. Stil thinking it was a application problem I did a factory reset, nope, still boots into safe mode. Thats when I noticed that the volume down button is not working. Anyone else have this issue? I am calling Lenovo today, w/ the Hard Reset issues and now the volume not working, I think the tablet needs to be replaced.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

If you experience a problem with the volume key or button on a Yoga Tablet 2 model, please contact Lenovo Service for support.
A solution is now available.
Thank you,
Amy Tupper
Technical Resolution Lead, Pervasive Issues
Lenovo US
ThinkPad T431s, S3 Yoga 14, Helix, Edge 11 & 14, E431, IdeaTab A1107, IdeaPad A1-07, IdeaCentre Horizon, Yoga Tablet 2 10 1051
First computer was a 1980 Commodore 64 from Radio Shack/ GEnie SFRT member from 1993-1996

10.9.4 Boots Into Safe Mode

Every other boot, my MacMini4,1 boots into Safe Mode.
I tried Command+Option+P+R for two chimes but it continues to do this. Most posts are asking how to boot into Safe Mode and I'm looking for what is causing mine.
What should I try next?

Searched for "Safe" and this is where it started:
1/09/2014 6:33:44.000 am kernel[0]: SAFE BOOT DETECTED - only valid OSBundleRequired kexts will be loaded.
1/09/2014 6:33:44.000 am kernel[0]: calling mpo_policy_init for TMSafetyNet
1/09/2014 6:33:44.000 am kernel[0]: Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)
1/09/2014 6:33:44.000 am kernel[0]: ucode: no updates in safe mode
Then it lists the items: "can't load..."
Is there something else I should search for?

Did booting into Safe Mode "fix" hang-on-startup?

Yesterday my Mac Pro would hang on a blue screen every time tried to start. After booting into Safe Mode and repairing permissions (as suggested on this forum) everything seems fine. I'm wondering if Safe Mode has fixed this problem or if this was an early warning to drive failure or some other OS corruption. Is there anything else I can/should do to insure this does not happen again or to check the drive's stability?
Thanks!

Great! According to the info on that page, this issue was likely fixed by booting into Safe Mode. It says:
Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later: A Safe Boot deletes the dynamic loader shared cache at (/var/db/dyld/). A cache with issues may cause a blue screen on startup, particularly after a Software Update. Restarting normally recreates this cache.
Thanks so much!

UEFI bios boot into safe mode w/o msconfig or F8

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