Mac OS X verbose mode on boot

If you, like me, come from a strong Linux background and have recently migrated to Mac OS X, then I think you’ll really find this tip helpful.

As you may know, the OS X boot sequence details is hidden from the user by default; you basically only see the Apple logo and a load status bar. 

Well, when used to Linux’s very detailed boot sequence, you kinda look for the same thing in any operating system, especially with OS X since it’s practically a *nix variant, i.e., Darwin.

So googling for more info, I found 2 ways to handle this:

  1. On the fly (non-permanent) – To see it only when you want to, hold down CMD + v after you’ve hit the power button.  Hold it down just until you see the text on the screen.
  2. Permanent – To see it every time OS X boots, do the following:
    1. Open a terminal window.
    2. Type and execute sudo nvram boot-args=”-v”.
    3. Reboot your computer.

That’s it!  Option #2, BTW, can be rolled-back, so don’t worry.

‘Till my next post, take it easy.  =0)

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