Mac won't start; stuck in options, mouse unresponsive

Hi,

Force restart your MacBook by holding down the power button for 10 seconds. Once off, connect an external USB mouse and try booting again. If your Mac is stuck in recovery, use the external mouse to reinstall macOS via the Apple Support recovery menu.

Troubleshooting Steps

If your MacBook is stuck in Startup Options with an unresponsive mouse, follow these steps to isolate the issue and get your Mac working again.

1. Hard Reset

If your Mac is frozen, you need to force a hard power-down.

• How-to: Press and hold the power button (or Touch ID sensor) for at least 10 seconds until the screen goes completely black.
• Wait about 10 seconds, then press the power button once to turn the Mac back on.

2. Test an External Mouse

If the internal trackpad or mouse cursor is not moving or clicking, the trackpad itself may have failed or disconnected.

• Plug in a standard USB mouse (or a USB-C mouse) directly to your MacBook.
• If the USB mouse works, your internal trackpad likely has a hardware defect and the laptop will need to be serviced by Apple Support.

3. Boot in Safe Mode

Safe Mode disables unnecessary third-party extensions and clears system caches that may be freezing your Mac at startup.

• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3 chips): Turn off your Mac. Press and hold the power button until you see "Loading startup options." Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
• Intel chips: Turn off your Mac. Turn it back on and immediately press and hold the Shift key. Release it when you see the login window.

4. Reinstall macOS via Recovery

If your Mac is stuck in a loop of opening startup options, the operating system may be corrupted.

• Boot your MacBook into macOS Recovery (turn off, hold power button on Apple Silicon; or hold Command (⌘) + R on Intel).
• Select Options.
• Open Disk Utility, select your primary drive (usually Macintosh HD), and run First Aid to check for disk errors.
• If no errors are found or errors persist, use the Recovery menu to select Reinstall macOS. This will fix the corrupted system files without deleting your personal data.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it may indicate a hardware failure (such as the trackpad cable or logic board). Book an appointment at your nearest AppleStore or Apple Authorized Service Provider to get it professionally diagnosed.