I boot my mac mini, hold down alt on my non-mac keyboard, but it does not go to boot options.
How do I get to boot options with a non-mac keyboard then?
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Are you holding right or left "alt" key? It should work with left key. http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/5822/can-i-use-a-non-apple-keyboard-with-os-x – Pier Mar 30 '13 at 20:30
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Left key. Nothing happens except it boots like normal in OS X. – trusktr Mar 30 '13 at 21:47
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Hm, it should work though. Alternatively, you could use the rEFIt Boot menu http://refit.sourceforge.net – bluewoodtree Mar 30 '13 at 22:53
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@bluewoodtree That's what I was thinking, then I tried rEFInd (the fork of rEFIt) and now my mini is stuck in a boot loop. :( – trusktr Mar 31 '13 at 03:47
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@Pier I replied to you above. ^ – trusktr Mar 31 '13 at 03:48
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2@trusktr I saw your reply... but I didn't know you had to use a specific port. I'm glad you made it! – Pier Mar 31 '13 at 18:17
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you don't need USB keyboard please try to hold right alt key just after start sound heard. it shows boot option. – Ravi Kumar Apr 22 '18 at 06:48
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@RaviHMalviya I don't have a keyboard unless I plug one in. :) – trusktr Apr 27 '18 at 20:59
3 Answers
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Things which seem to work:
- Mac mini late 2012: I had to plug the keyboard into the USB port closest to the middle, then it worked.
- MacMini (mid-2010): the outside USB port worked for me with an ancient Microsoft intellitype keyboard. I also unplugged the USB mouse receiver, so that the only USB input was the keyboard. That seemed to make the difference and let me into the boot menu options.
nohillside
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trusktr
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3I had to plug the keyboard on the usb near the headphone jack on my iMac 2011, and unplug external drives. – Vitim.us Sep 11 '16 at 15:47
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This worked, also I needed to plug in a wired mouse to navigate the menus, the wireless ones didn't work – marsnebulasoup Aug 21 '21 at 19:12
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I had to plug in a wired USB keyboard. Wireless Logitech K800 did not work in any ports.
Austin M.
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This answer was already provided, and accepted. Can you please explain how your answer differs from the accepted answer? – fsb Jan 12 '17 at 20:12
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2@fsb the difference with Austin M's response is that using a wireless Logitech keyboard did not work for him, however a wired keyboard does. This is exactly the response that brought me here because I had the same problem (Logitech K330 in my case), and it helped me. In this case, there are multiple possible causes for the problem in question; 1) plugging the keyboard into the correct USB port, and 2) using a wired rather than wireless keyboard – Robert Fitzgerald May 19 '17 at 20:15
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That's great! That info should be included in your answer. It will help others who, like you, had a problem and searched for a solution. See [answer] for tips on how to leave a good answer and help others. – fsb May 20 '17 at 02:56
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For iMac retina, I have to plug the windows keyboard to the outer usb port and then press alt key on the left side to boot into the boot menu and see things like bootable usb drive.
Ray
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