Initiating the Startup Manager

Question

Level 1

9 points

Initiating the Startup Manager

Hi all,

I have installed Sierra but need to wipe my drive to improve performance and have set up the macOSSierra Installer on a USB stick and need to get to the Startup manager to start the install.

I believe you hold the Options/Alt key during restart to get to the Startup Manager but nothing happens when I do this - it just goes through to the login screen. I'm using a small apple wireless keyboard and wonder if it is active during the early stages of startup?

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in anticipation.

Julian

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 8:00 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 29, 2016 1:16 AM in response to JP from EG

When you are using a wireless keyboard you have to wait till after the Mac's startup sound is heard, then press and hold the option key.

If you hold down the option key from the very beginning, the Mac won't see the key depression because the Bluetooth service does not become active until after the Mac's hardware initialization.

You can find out more here: Mac OS Startup Keyboard Shortcuts

Tom

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,516 points

Sep 26, 2016 8:32 AM in response to JP from EG

What happens when you boot holding down the Options key and select the USB drive and select “Install macOS Sierra”?

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Answer 3

JP from EG Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2016 1:16 AM in response to Tom Nelson1

Thanks. I got it this time although I notice with Sierra that there is no sounds when it starts too boot up.

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Answer 4

JP from EG Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2016 1:18 AM in response to rkaufmann87

The problem was I was not getting the Startup Manager to appear with the Options key due to my timing of starting to hold it down. I managed to 'catch it' at last and have installed Sierra. However, I wish I hadn't as my mac freezes now 2-3 times a day which it never did with El Capitan. 😟

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,516 points

Sep 29, 2016 5:34 AM in response to JP from EG

Please post an EtreCheck report of your system and we can look for obvious issues. Click the link, downland and run the app and then copy and paste the complete report into your reply to this message.

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Answer 6

JP from EG Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2016 5:35 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Here you go:

EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)

Report generated 2016-09-29 13:33:35

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:31

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Other problem

Description:

The iMac freezes while using Safari. the mouse is mobile but nothing else can operate and clicking on anything has no effect. This has occurred after installing Sierra on an 2010 iMac.

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac10,1

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12 (16A323) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE HDD HUA722010CLA330 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (575.25 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670SC ()

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Logitech USB Optical Mouse

Wacom Co.,Ltd. Intuos PS

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

LaCie Porsche Desktop

Apple Card Reader

Configuration files: ⓘ

System Integrity Protection status: enabled (Custom Configuration)

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Kies.app

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-10-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-10-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-10-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.32 - SDK 10.5 - 2015-10-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-10-28) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.FTDI.driver.D2XXHelper (1.0 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-09-26) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.7-3 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-26) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 176 Apple tasks

[running] 87 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.postfix.newaliases.plist (2016-07-30)

[not loaded] 40 Apple tasks

[loaded] 163 Apple tasks

[running] 98 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-10) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[running] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2015-12-16) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2013-12-24) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-08-28) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-30) [Support]

[loaded] com.wacom.displayhelper.plist (2015-12-16)

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2014-08-12) [Support]

[running] com.amazon.music.plist (2016-09-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-09-29) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Android File Transfer Agent Application (~/Library/Application Support/Google/Android File Transfer/Android File Transfer Agent.app)

AdobeResourceSynchronizer Application Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat DC/Adobe Acrobat.app/Contents/Helpers/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

TotalFinder Application Hidden (/Applications/TotalFinder.app)

KiesAgent Application Hidden (/Applications/Kies.app/Contents/MacOS/KiesAgent.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeExManDetect: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 (2016-09-10) [Support]

AdobeAAMDetect: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-09-10) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-09-14)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-19) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-19) [Support]

WacomNetscape: 2.1.0-1 - SDK 10.8 (2013-10-11) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-01-12) [Support]

DirectorShockwave: 12.2.4r194 - SDK 10.6 (2016-02-23) [Support]

WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 - SDK 10.9 (2015-12-16) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2015-11-22)

Save to Pocket - Read It Later, Inc. - http://getpocket.com/ (2015-12-25)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-08-30) [Support]

WacomTablet (2015-12-16) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

JP Time Machine [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 8

Oldest backup: 05/09/2016, 10:06

Last backup: 23/09/2016, 19:14

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

3% WindowServer

1% fontd

0% kernel_task

0% Adobe Photoshop CS6

0% com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

588 MB kernel_task

541 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

483 MB Adobe Photoshop CS6

262 MB Finder

213 MB Dropbox

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

1.99 GB Free RAM

6.01 GB Used RAM (3.28 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Sep 29, 2016, 01:16:09 PM Self test - passed

Sep 29, 2016, 11:26:23 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Photoshop CS6_2016-09-29-112623_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS6/Adobe Photoshop CS6.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Photoshop CS6

Sep 29, 2016, 09:52:38 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-29-0952 38_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/Software Update.app/Contents/Resources/softwareupdate_download_service

Sep 29, 2016, 09:12:09 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-29-0912 09_[redacted].crash

Sep 28, 2016, 10:30:02 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-28-2230 02_[redacted].crash

Sep 28, 2016, 08:29:16 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-28-2029 16_[redacted].crash

Sep 28, 2016, 01:30:36 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Photoshop CS6_2016-09-28-133036_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

Sep 27, 2016, 10:52:23 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-27-2252 23_[redacted].crash

Sep 27, 2016, 11:15:46 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Aperture_2016-09-27-111546_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

/Applications/Aperture.app/Contents/MacOS/Aperture

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Answer 7

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,516 points

Sep 29, 2016 7:30 AM in response to JP from EG

Nothing stands out as a problem, however there are troubleshooting steps you can take. First, I would suspect that you may have outdated applications. Go through your third party apps and ensure they are all up-to-date. Some may not be and may be causing a conflict. Also ensure they support Sierra, if they don't then take steps to either uninstall or upgrade them.

After you have updated all apps post back with how things are going, if necessary there are further steps to take.

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Answer 8

JP from EG Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2016 8:41 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks for advice but it is using Safari that seems to cause the problem and I'm not aware of any updates for that. I'm never using any third party apps when the freeze happens and none have caused any problems in the past. I'm tempted to uninstall Sierra and try and fine the El Capitan installer.

Julian

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Answer 9

Sep 29, 2016 8:50 AM in response to JP from EG

If you think it is Safari, try turning off any Safari extensions you have installed, then check if they have versions available for macOS Sierra.

I noticed you have AdBlock and Save to Pocket extensions installed. You should also check your list of Internet plug-ins, as they can also be the source.

Tom

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Answer 10

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,516 points

Sep 29, 2016 8:50 AM in response to JP from EG

If you believe Safari is causing the problem, then you may want to first try to Reset it. Look in the Safari - File menu to reset it. Why do you believe Safari is causing your problem?

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Answer 11

JP from EG Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2016 10:18 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Only because I get the freeze only when I'm using Sahara.

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Answer 12

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,516 points

Sep 29, 2016 10:22 AM in response to JP from EG

Please reset Safari and also ensure any third party Safari Extensions are up-to-date.

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