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OS Ventura 13.6.1. Option key doesn't present Start Up boot options Any help please...
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Mac mini
See: Install macOS on an external storage device and use it as a startup disk - Apple Support
You don't want to do this on a drive that has data on it you wish to keep. Make sure you back up anything on the external drive first.
Does your Mac mini have an Intel processor, or an Apple Silicon one?
Pressing the Option (⌥) key to get into Startup Manager only works on Intel-based Macs. On Apple Silicon Macs, you are supposed to press and hold the power button until you see a startup options screen.
Sorry, I was thinking about something else. You should have the keyboard plugged in as I mentioned, and, press the Option key before, or soon after you turn on power.
hello dialabrain, Thanks for trying. Tried your suggestion twice - holding down option until the Mac HD showed up and continued to hold for exactly 10 minutes... got a numb finger now! then I tried once more and gave up after 8 minutes.
My keyboard is wireless running on WiFi.
brarn wrote:
Yes, I want to change the start up disk from Mac hard drive to my external drive, because I don't appear to have enough space on the Mac HD to upgrade my OS. hope that makes sense...
That's fine. Do you actually have macOS installed on your external drive or is that what you are trying to do? The external drive won't show up when you hold the option key unless you actually installed macOS onto it.
Hi, I am on OS Ventura 13.6.1. I am trying to get Ventura 13.7.1 or higher. But I think I have a problem with my ext drive in as much that I have 2.5 TB of data that I can't afford to lose nor do I have a way of backing it up.
Does it show up on the Desktop? If it does you can offload the necessary data to another drive to backup it up. Do you have Time Machine activated on the Mini? If so you should be able to backup the EHD as well.
Does the EHD show up in Disk Utility? If it does try running First Aid on it.
Assuming they are all in a folder, sure. just drag them to the external. Then delete the folder on the internal drive. I would mention how to "move" it rather than "copy" it, but it's safer to just copy, just in case something goes wrong.
What system are you running on the Mini and what system do you want on the EHD?
You have to hold the key down until you see, Loading startup options, or words to that effect. If you don't see that, try plugging in the keyboard with the charging cable first.
I think I missed something so maybe let's try this again. What exactly are you trying to do? And FWIW, wireless keyboards connect by Bluetooth. Is it an Apple keyboard or from a third-party?
Just to add, pressing the option key alone would just let you chose the startup drive.
Yes, I want to change the start up disk from Mac hard drive to my external drive, because I don't appear to have enough space on the Mac HD to upgrade my OS. hope that makes sense...
Also, my ext drive is already connected to my Mac mini I use it for various things it all works fine.
I see. Yes this is exactly what I am trying to do, how can I do this then?
Option key doesn't present Start Up boot options on Mac mini
