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Installation and Recovery Flashcards

6 cards from real ACSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 6 Installation and Recovery flashcards as text
  1. On Apple silicon Macs, how do you access macOS Recovery?

    Answer: Press and hold the Power button until 'Loading startup options' appears, then select Options

    On Apple silicon Macs, press and hold the Power button until the startup options screen appears showing available volumes and an Options button. Clicking Options enters macOS Recovery. The Intel keyboard shortcuts do not apply to Apple silicon.

  2. What does 'Revive' do in Apple Configurator 2 for Apple silicon Macs?

    Answer: Updates the firmware and recoveryOS on an Apple silicon Mac without erasing user data

    'Revive' in Apple Configurator 2 reinstalls firmware and recoveryOS on an Apple silicon Mac, fixing firmware corruption while preserving the macOS installation and all user data on the Mac.

  3. What is 'Internet Recovery' on Intel Macs and when would you need to use it?

    Answer: Internet Recovery boots a minimal macOS environment from Apple's servers when the local Recovery partition is missing or corrupt

    Internet Recovery (Option+Cmd+R or Shift+Option+Cmd+R at startup on Intel Macs) boots a recovery environment directly from Apple's CDN when the local Recovery HD is absent or damaged, downloading a recovery image over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

  4. What is Safe Mode on macOS and what does it do during startup?

    Answer: Safe Mode starts macOS with only essential kernel extensions, skips startup items and login items, and performs a basic disk check

    Safe Mode (hold Shift during startup on Intel; hold Power then Shift in startup options on Apple silicon) loads only essential kernel extensions, disables all startup items and login items, clears font and kernel caches, and performs a basic file system check.

  5. What does 'Startup Security Utility' in macOS Recovery control for Apple silicon Macs?

    Answer: It controls the security policy: Full Security (default), Reduced Security (allows older OS), and Permissive Security (allows custom kernel extensions/SSV bypass)

    Startup Security Utility in Recovery for Apple silicon sets one of three security levels: Full Security (default, most secure), Reduced Security (allows older macOS or remote management), and Permissive Security (allows custom kernel extensions and disabling SSV — least secure).

  6. How do you create a bootable macOS installer on a USB drive using Terminal?

    Answer: Use the 'createinstallmedia' tool included inside the macOS installer app with the command: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyDrive

    The 'createinstallmedia' command-line tool, included inside macOS installer apps downloaded from the App Store, creates a properly formatted bootable USB installer. It erases and formats the target drive before copying all installer files.