The iMac: How to Boot from a CD

The disc drive is on the right side of an iMac when you are facing it.

Some CDs and DVDs are bootable. What this means is that the disc contains a version of an operating system that allows a computer to boot, or start up, without accessing the hard drive. If you are performing repairs on your hard drive, or troubleshooting a computer problem, you may need to boot your iMac using a CD. By default, an iMac is set to automatically boot from the hard drive, so you need to enter a keyboard shortcut to tell the computer to boot from the disc in the optical drive.

Instructions

1. Go to the "Apple" menu, scroll down to "Shut Down" and press the "Shut Down" button to shut down the iMac.

2. Insert the CD into the disc drive of the iMac. The disc drive is on the right side of the computer when you are facing it.

3. Hold down the "C" key on the keyboard and press the power button for the iMac. The power button is on the back of the lower left corner of the computer when you are facing it.

4. Allow the computer to start up while keeping the "C" key held down. The iMac will boot up using the CD.

References

• Apple: Startup Key Combinations for Intel-based Macs
• Apple: iMac User Guide