How to Reboot Your iMac

By Joshua Mcgee

i Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Whether you need to install a new program, enter a different hard drive or escape a system crash, there will undoubtedly come a time when you will need to reboot your iMac. Fortunately the iMac offers a variety of ways to do it. If everything is working properly and you simply need to reboot your computer because of a download or to start a different drive, you can use one of Apple's normal restart methods to reboot the computer. If you have run into a problem that causes the normal restart methods to fail, such as the spinning beach ball of death, you will need to force a restart. Apple provides several boot options during start-up if you need to do more than simply restart your computer.

Normal Restart Methods

Step 1

Select Restart from the Apple menu. Then click "Restart" when the dialog box appears.

Step 2

Press the power button, which is located in the lower left corner of the back of the iMac. Then click "Restart" when the dialog box appears.

Step 3

Press the "Control" and eject keys simultaneously. (The eject key is at the upper right of the keyboard.) Then click "Restart" when the dialog box appears.

Force Restart Methods

Step 1

Press "Control," "Command" and "Esc" at the same time. If an application is frozen you may not need to reboot. Select the frozen application in the window that appears and click "Force Quit." If the computer still will not respond you may need to use one of the following methods to force a restart.

Step 2

Press and hold the power button for about five to seven seconds. The computer should shut down. Note that you will lose any unsaved work and may damage the operating system.

Step 3

Press "Control" and "Command" while you press the power button. The computer should shut down. Note that you will lose any unsaved work and may damage the operating system.

Step 4

Unplug the iMac from the wall. Do this as a last resort, as it will likely cause damage to the computer and software.

Restarting and Booting Options

Step 1

Plug the computer back in if necessary. Then press the power button to start the computer.

Step 2

Press the "C" key when you hear the start-up chime to boot from a CD or DVD.

Step 3

Press the "Shift" button when you hear the start-up chime to boot into Safe mode. Some features are disabled in this mode.

Step 4

Press the "Option" key when you hear the start-up chime to select which hard drive or volume Mac boots into. For example, if you need to boot into Windows using Bootcamp you should use this method.

×