Single user mode

[GeoffreyG]

MacBook Pro 2018, MacOS 14.4
How can I boot into single user mode.
Cmd - S does not work.
I want to run fsck.
Thank you.

 

[pigoo3]

Hope this helps.

How to Boot in Single User Mode on a Mac

- Nick

 

[Randy B. Singer]

MacBook Pro 2018, MacOS 14.4
How can I boot into single user mode.
Cmd - S does not work.
I want to run fsck.

On recent Macs, command-S no longer works to get into Single User Mode.

Do this instead:

- Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold Command-R to start up from macOS Recovery.
- Select Disk Utility from the Utilities window, then click Continue.
- From the Disk Utility sidebar, select the volume that you're using, then choose File > Mount from the menu bar. (If the volume is already mounted, this option is dimmed.) Then enter your administrator password when prompted.
- Quit Disk Utility.
- Choose Terminal from the Utilities menu in the menu bar.
- You can now enter UNIX commands. When done, choose Apple () menu > Restart.

Start up your Mac in single-user mode or verbose mode - Apple Support

 

[GeoffreyG]

Thank you Randy,
However, I have tried Cmd-C, and using Terminal in Recovery mode, before I made my initial post.
Using Recovery mode, I can get fsck to run, but it runs it on the Base System. I need to know how to run it on my main boot drive.
BTW, I have tried several times, in case I did something wrong or I missed something.

I am beginning to wonder if running fsck on my main boot drive is possible.

 

[ferrarr]

When you boot into Recovery and open Disk Utility, do you see your Macintosh HD partition/volume? Maybe the drive has an issue?

Maybe try safe mode, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

 

[GeoffreyG]

I have no issues except i can't boot into single user mode. Is it even possible anymore?

 

[MacInWin]

Start up your Mac in single-user mode or verbose mode - Apple Support

Note the comment at the bottom of the first section of that document:

These steps replace the Command-S method, which doesn't work with the recommended settings on current Mac computers.

 

[GeoffreyG]

Jake,
I tried that method, as stated previously.The fsck only runs on the Base System. If I am doing something wrong, please enlighten me.

 

[MacInWin]

From the man fsck page:

DESCRIPTION
The first form of fsck preens a standard set of filesystems or the speci-
fied filesystems. It is normally used in the script /etc/rc during auto-
matic reboot. Here fsck reads the filesystem descriptor table (using
getfsent(3)) to determine which filesystems to check. Only partitions
that have ``rw,'' ``rq'' or ``ro'' as options, and that have non-zero
pass number are checked. Filesystems with pass number 1 (normally just
the root filesystem) are checked one at a time. When pass 1 completes,
all remaining filesystems are checked, running one process per disk
drive. The disk drive containing each filesystem is inferred from the
shortest prefix of the device name that ends in one or more digits; the
remaining characters are assumed to be the partition designator. In
preening mode, filesystems that are marked clean are skipped. Filesys-
tems are marked clean when they are unmounted, when they have been
mounted read-only, or when fsck runs on them successfully.

Would appear to read that if you mount the external drive in question, as in the instructions at the Apple support page, then run fsck with the flags as you want, it will check first the boot drive, then any other drive appropriate to the description given.