reboot with option key

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reboot with option key

rebooting with option key isn't working. The MacBook Air just starts normally. Using Monterey. I want to reboot using an alternate MacOS drive with Catalina.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Oct 8, 2022 7:51 AM

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Answer 1

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steve626

Level 6

11,501 points

Oct 8, 2022 8:20 AM in response to lowellfrombrookfield

lowellfrombrookfield wrote:

rebooting with option key isn't working. The MacBook Air just starts normally. Using Monterey. I want to reboot using an alternate MacOS drive with Catalina.

When the option key boot does not present another drive as a boot option, that usually means that the alternate boot drive is not a legitimate boot drive for that computer. For example, if the Mac came with an operating system later than Catalina, it won't be able to boot from a Catalina boot drive and won't show you that option at all. Or if the Catalina MacOS was not installed into the other drive in a way that made it bootable, you will get the same result.

What year and model is your Mac, and what process did you follow to create the Catalina boot drive?

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Answer 2

Oct 8, 2022 9:20 AM in response to steve626

My MacBook Air is new, and came with Monterey, so this is why I cannot boot with Catalina or Big Sur. I created the boot drive using the terminal method on a flash drive, and, now, when I read the how to use a boot drive Apple Support, I see the disclaimer that the earliest compatible system to use as a boot drive is the one that came on the computer when it was new.

Thanks.

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Answer 3

Mal-S

Level 5

4,990 points

Oct 8, 2022 8:06 AM in response to lowellfrombrookfield

Make sure you have connected the alternate boot drive and it is visible in Finder, then change the boot drive in System Preferences, followed by a normal restart.

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reboot with option key

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