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Secure Boot

M1 Macs radically change boot and recovery

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Unlike Intel Macs, M1 models always start booting from internal SSD, and can only offer full Recovery from there too. This has benefits, and some drawbacks too.

January 14, 2021 Macs, Technology

Why do Macs with T2 chips display a black screen so long?

Why do Macs with T2 chips show a black screen when starting up or updating their firmware, and why so long that it’s scary?

November 13, 2019 Macs, Technology

Setting up a new (or repurposed) Mac: 5 Examples

Three workthroughs considering options and issues in migrating to a new Mac, with info on late migration, macOS upgrading, and Thunderbolt adaptors.

December 26, 2018 Macs, Technology

Setting up a new (or repurposed) Mac: 4 Test, tweak, Time Machine

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More work to be done before your migration is fully complete: check your workflows, key security settings, disk health, licensing, backups.

December 6, 2018 Macs, Technology

Welcome to your new Mac: living with the T2 chip

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So you’ve just got your new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini – or iMac Pro – with its T2 chip. How does that change things? Practical advice and solutions.

November 21, 2018 Macs, Technology

Diagnosing a Mac which can’t complete booting

What to do when your Mac won’t boot into the Desktop and Finder – another summary diagram for diagnosis and suggested solutions.

September 18, 2018 Macs, Technology

Booting the Mac: loading boot.efi and Secure Boot

The Mac has completed its self-test routines, and now prepares to load the EFI firmware or ‘boot loader’. Where it finds it, what it needs, and how Secure Boot changes this.

August 10, 2018 Macs, Technology

Before boot.efi: the Mac’s initial self-test routines

What happens in your Mac when you press the Power button? Before it loads the EFI firmware, it goes through self-testing, and initialising key chips.

August 8, 2018 Macs, Technology
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