How to Boot Mac into Disk Utility to Repair Mac Disk or OS

Cassie Xie
Last updated: Sep 12, 2023
Summary: This post mainly introduces how to boot into Disk Utility on Mac to use Disk Utility to repair Mac disk, startup errors, or other disk-related problems.

If your Mac computer suffers system crashes, startup issues, disk failures, etc., you may use the First Aid feature in Disk Utility to repair your Mac disk. Learn how to boot Mac into Disk Utility to resolve Mac issues below.

boot Mac into Disk Utility

6 Steps to Boot Mac into Disk Utility

If your Mac can’t boot, you can open Disk Utility on Mac startup from macOS Recovery. Follow the steps below.

Step 1. Shut down your Mac.

Step 2. Start Mac in Recovery Mode.

Intel-based Mac: Turn on your Mac by pressing the Power button. Immediately press and hold the Command + R keys at the same time until you see the Apple logo.

Apple silicon Mac: Press and hold the Power button until you see the startup options window. Click Options and click Continue to boot your Mac into recovery mode.

start Mac in Recovery Mode

Step 3. Boot into Disk Utility on Mac.

In the macOS Recovery screen, select the Disk Utility option and click Continue. It will launch the Disk Utility app.

Step 4. Select the Disk You Want to Repair.

In Disk Utility, you can see the list of all available disks and partitions in the left sidebar. Select the target disk you want to repair.

If your Mac won’t boot or has other startup issues, you can choose to repair your Mac’s internal startup disk.

Step 5. Run First Aid for the Disk.

After you select the Mac disk, click the First Aid button at the top of the Disk Utility window. Click Run to repair the Mac disk with Disk Utility.

You can first run First Aid for each volume and each container on the disk and then repair the disk itself.

Step 6. Exit Disk Utility and Restart Mac.

After you finish using Disk Utility, you can close it. Then restart your Mac to see if helps repair Mac OS problems.

tip
If Disk Utility doesn’t find any error or it can’t repair the errors on the disk, you may back up all data on your Mac and consider reformatting the disk. Remember this should be your last consideration since disk formatting will erase all data.

Open Disk Utility on a Bootable Mac

If your Mac can start up, you can click Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility to easily open Disk Utility on your Mac. Or you can search for it with Spotlight.

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Bottom Line

This post offers a step-by-step guide on how to boot Mac into Disk Utility to help you scan and fix Mac disk errors, solve startup issues, etc. If you have other Mac or iPhone problems, you may find solutions from our official website: https://www.drbuho.com/.

Cassie has been writing about technology for her entire career life - over 5 years. She enjoys diving into how Apple products work and then breaking it down in a way anyone can understand.