How do I enter "Recovery Mode"

[bluewonderful5234]

I was told to restart my Mac, holding down COMMAND + R to enter recovery mode.

It's not working.

Is there another way?

 

[chscag]

Which Mac do you have? Newer Macs no longer sound the POST chime and it's sometimes difficult to get into Recovery unless the timing of pressing the keys is right.

 

[imaccooper]

The timing is the key to this. You have to hold it down while the computer is on initial startup. I normally use “shut down” instead of “restart” to make it easier. Once the computer is shut down, put one hand on the keys and use the other to press the power button. As soon as you press the power button, press and hold command and r until you get there.

 

[Fishrrman]

1. Power down, all the way off
2. Press the power on button
3. IMMEDIATELY hold down "command-R" (for recovery mode) and keep holding it down for a while.
4. For "internet recovery", do the above but hold down "command-option-R" instead. You will need to enter your wifi password, too.

You didn't tell us WHICH Mac or which version of the OS you use.
The recovery partition doesn't exist on old Macs. I believe it originated with OS 10.7 (Lion).
To do internet recovery, you need a 2010 (2011?) Mac or later.

 

[BrianBaughn]

What do you see if you hold down the "Option" key when restarting?