A Ways Down Mac OS
Create a backup. Make sure that you have a current backup of your important files. How to speed up iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro. Shut down your computer. Unplug a power cord and wait 15 seconds. Plug the power cord in. Wait 5 seconds and press the power button. Resetting the PRAM to make Mac faster. Shut down your Mac. Press the power button. Press the Command+Option+P+R keys at the same time. Hold the keys until your Mac restarts. Many people start using OS X and decide they hate it because they can't get anything done. Although with the new Mac OS PC applications can be used with BootCamp. As with anything new, you will need to take your time to learn this new system. With a Mac everything is plug in and play there is not much setup needed and no extra devices needed. Use CleanMyMac X to make sure macOS Big Sur doesn't slow down your Mac. We may earn a commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. High Sierra is the last/ newest OS your Mac can use. Scroll down to Section 4 and click on Get macOS High Sierra. Make a full back up of your Mac before upgrading. Check to see with the developers of any third party apps you use that there are updates available so they will continue to work in the new OS.
There are many simple and basic Mac functions that everyone should learn how to do.
These functions can serve a lot of different purposes but they all help simplify things or can make operating your MacBook more efficient and easier to use overall. Some of these functions can help you navigate through your system faster while others help to perform essential operations.
One of these essential operations that everyone needs to know is how to shut down your MacBook. Sometimes you might leave your MacBook powered on for extended periods of time or put it to sleep instead of shutting down.
Regardless of your everyday habits or how often you shut the Mac down, you need to know how to complete this easy task when the time comes.
Contents
- When to Shut Down Your MacBook
- How to Shutdown Your MacBook (3 Ways)
When to Shut Down Your MacBook
There are different reasons to shut down your MacBook Pro.
Some are simply personal preferences while others are important for the longevity and long-term health of your Mac. No matter what the reason, shutting down your computer is really easy to do whenever you decide it’s time.
To Save Power and Battery
If you are using your Mac but don’t have reliable options when it comes to charging it back to full power, shutting down when not in use can save your battery.
By shutting down the computer completely, you will make certain that your display or other power-hungry functions do not come on while your Mac is not in use. Keeping your MacBook shut down when not in use also saves power, if an environmental impact or overall power use is a concern.
You Will Not Use Your Mac For Awhile
Another reason to shut down your MacBook is if you are not going to be using it for a while.
Maybe you are headed on vacation and not bringing your computer along or maybe you will just be away from your desk for a few days. Either way, shutting down your MacBook in these instances can save power, make sure nothing operates while you are not present, and can prevent family or friends from logging in.
To Prevent Automatic Processes
Whether you know it or not, there are a handful of automatic processes that occur on your MacBook whether it is fully on or even if it is in Sleep mode.
Computer maintenance tasks such as loading new emails, downloading updates, and storing data to the cloud can all happen automatically. This is pretty handy, but if you don’t want these processes to occur automatically, you can shut down your Mac instead of putting it to sleep.
How to Shutdown Your MacBook (3 Ways)
If you want to shut down your MacBook for any of the above reasons or if you just want to learn how, it is really simple and there are a few different methods for accomplishing the task.
Once you learn the different methods for a shutdown, you can use whichever one you wish or have options in the rare event that one method does not work correctly.
Before you shut down your MacBook, always make sure to close and/or save and programs or applications that are open in order to save your data.
Method 1: Standard Shutdown
This is the most common way to shut down your computer and is used frequently (sometimes daily) by some MacBook owners. Before you do that, always make sure to close and/or save and programs or applications that are open in order to save your data.
To perform a standard shutdown:
- Click on the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen.
- Then click on Shut Down from this drop-down menu.
That’s all there is to a standard shutdown. It might take your computer a few seconds or a few minutes to prepare for the shutdown and actually turn off, but the steps above will get your Mac shut down most of the time.
Method 2: Key Command Method
You can also initiate your MacBook to shut down through the use of a simple key command. This is my personal favorite method of shutting down as it is really fast and easy to do once you know the command.
The key command to shut down your MacBook is Control, Eject.
Simply hold down the control button and then press the eject key which is usually on the top left of the keyboard on most Apple keyboards. When you press these keys together the shutdown dialog box will appear and you can click on shutdown to turn off the Mac completely. If you hit your computer’s power but once, this dialogue box will also appear and you can shut down that way as well.
Method 3: Force Shutdown
The final way to shut down your computer is through a force shutdown.
You could use this method if your computer freezes or locks up and no other keys or commands work to gain control back over the machine. These forced shutdowns should only be used if your Mac becomes unresponsive or frozen and should not be done every time you wish to shut down your computer as it can lead to loss of data and other issues.
To force shutdown your MacBook:
Press and hold the power button on your computer until it shuts down or hold down the Control, Option, Command, and Eject keys all at once until your computer shuts down.
Final Thoughts
If you need to shut down your computer for whatever reason, now you know the three main ways to do so on your MacBook Pro.
Remember to always save any unsaved information in any running programs or apps before you shutdown. Also, do not conduct a forced shutdown unless it’s absolutely necessary to an unresponsive computer.
How often do you shut down your computer? What is your main reason for shutting down?
With 10.13's release Apple introduced APFS, which is not readable by older operating systems. An extra step to make 10.13 or later readable from 10.12.6 or older systems would be to make sure the 10.12.6 or older system is to wipe and formatted HFS Extended Journaled before installing 10.12.6 or earlier. And an extra step to make 10.13 or later readable to the 10.12.6 booted system would be to clone backup the newer system, and wipe and reformat the newer system's drive as HFS Extended Journaled. If you are just going to flip booting back and forth, only the first step is needed, as the Option key booting will choose the operating system that is loaded regardless of the drive formatting. When I say wipe, backup your data first. Also note, if you upgrade your libraries to a newer system, such as an Apple Photos library, only the raw photos will be readable by the older system, and not the libraries, tags, albums and favorites. It is better if you downgrade, to have a clone backup of the older system to fall back to, that way avoiding incompatibilities of newer libraries.
Starting with 10.7, on July 20, 2011 downgrading took an entirely new approach:
Apple introduced a restore install utility for Mac OS X 10.7 or later that boots with a command-R. Some macs older than 10.7's releasecould get this utility through this firmware update. As indicated elsewhere on this forum, Macs that had a hardware refresh on or after July 20, 2011,can't boot into 10.6.8 or earlier, though 10.6 server can be installed through virtualization. With each new retail release, the availability in the App Store may vary once you install an older retail online release. You may have to contact App Store billingto get an older online releaes available, or get a refund for an already previously purchased operating system that you go back to download.
Also, Apple has written these tips for those with Time Machine, wishing to restore an older versions of Mac OS X from Mavericks:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14176And El Capitan:OS X El Capitan: Revert to a previous OS X version
For a limited time 10.7 is available for purchase and download here:
10.8 is here:http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6377/os-x-mountain-lion
Change the /us/ for your country's 2 letter code when you go to http://store.apple.com/ to get the download link for your country.
Macs newer than March 29, 2010, but older than July 20, 2011 could not use a 10.6 installer CD, other than the prebundled CD with them. Call AppleCare if you need that disc:
10.6 retail otherwise is available for pre-March 29, 2010 Intel Macs:http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
A backup is still better than having no backups, as you avoid the pitfalls of older operating systems not being able to handle newer software, or newer software not being able to run on older operating systems. 10.7 was also available for a limited time on an Apple released USB flash drive. You could custom make a USB Flash drive with the installer if you didn't install the operating system the moment the download was complete by copying it to your desktop, and then to the flash drive from the Applications folder. You could also just keep a copy of the installer outside the Applications folder and later clone backup your system to hold onto the installer. Either way the installer was tied to the AppleID that downloaded it and license limitations agreed upon there.10.8's release on July 25, 2012, and 10.9's release on October 22, 2013 likely limited the same hardware refreshes on or after to the same downgrading options. You may not be able to operate drivers or applications that weren't downgraded and removed with the operating system, unless they were compatible with the older operating system. Check with various vendors if uncertain before attempting a downgrade.
You have one more option once backed up, before attempting a full downgrade. Just repartition your hard drive. This option is available in Mac OS X 10.6 and higher as long as your machine supports the older operating system. To repartition your hard drive, read this link
starting where it says:Create new partitions on a diskYou may be able to create new partitions on a disk without losing any of the files on the disk. Each partition works like a separate disk.Once you have a second partition that is large enough to install the older operating system, just install it there. Then you can use Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Startup Disk to change your active operating system. Keep in mind each partition can't get over 85% full and that each partition needs to be backed up separately.
The rest of this tip addresses downgrading 10.6.8 and earlier systems:
Downgrading the operating system is not easy without a clone backup of the same system at an earlier stage already being present.
With 10.5.1 Intel or later (including 10.6 to 10.6.8) to 10.5:
1. Verify you made a Time Machine backup before you upgraded to 10.5.1 or later.
*2. Boot off the Leopard installer disk. Note for Macs newer than the October 26, 2007 release of 10.5, a later 10.5 installer disc may be needed:- 10.5.1 retail was released November 15, 2007- 10.5.4 retail was released June 30, 2008- 10.5.6 retail was released December 15, 2008Macs generally won't boot an earlier retail version of Mac OS X than their release date, and they won't boot a system specific (model labelled) or Upgrade or OEM disc unless designated for their model and vintage of that model.3. Select the installation language.
4. Go to the Utilities menu and use the Restore from Time Machine backup to restore to your Time Machine state before you installed 10.5.1.
This will only work, if you have no data to salvage from 10.5.1 or later.
* With Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 a Lion recovery assistant helps you with this function.Note, you can also when you buy 10.7 or 10.8, make a self extracted backup of the full installer on a Flash drive. Several places on the netoffer solutions for that to work on the details before you download from the Mac App Store. Apple also for a limited time sold a USB Flashdrive version of 10.7, that will work on pre-10.7 (July 20, 2011) machines that meet the qualifications on the user tip for 10.7 installation.
A Ways Down Mac Os Download
For those with machines released after 10.8 (July 25, 2012), only the recovery assistant, may work and it may not be possible to use another 10.8 installer used on a 10.7 machine and transfered to a Flash drive. Of course all this requires any such installer follow the license agreement of the said installer for the number of installations.
_____With:
10.6 or later
From (10.5 Intel through 10.5.8) to (10.4.4 through 10.4.11)
From (10.5 PowerPC through 10.5.8) to (10.0 through 10.4.11)
From (10.4 through 10.4.11) to 10.3
From (10.3 through 10.3.9) to 10.2
From (10.2 through 10.2.8) to 10.1
Either restore from your backup or:
1. Backup your existing data by cloning it to external hard drive(s) at least twice.
2. Write down registration codes for installing applications.
3. Erase and install the operating system with none of the backups connected to the machine during the erase and install process, and no peripherals other than display, keyboard and mouse attached.
4. Restore user documents that are capable of being downgraded.
Ask on Discussions if the applications you use can be downgraded before attempting this.
5. Install from the original installation disks which shipped with your machine (Mac OS X 10.7 Lion has a Recovery Assistant instead of discs, if your Mac shipped with Lion) additional applications which didn't ship with the operating system:
A Ways Down Mac Os Catalina
6. Install from the third party CDs and downloads any other applications.
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Finally, users downgrading from 10.3.x to another 10.3.x, and 10.2.x to another earlier 10.2.x can use archive and install:
Note:
A Ways Down Mac Os X
1. Apple applications left behind from a newer installation may not work in an older installation on an archive and install.
2. Installation from restore disks are required if your Mac is
- - Intel and shipped with 10.4.4 through 10.4.11.
- - The install you are attempting is the minimum that Mac can run: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2191
- - The retail installation available is older than the Mac itself.