Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Using Shift Key During Startup with Multiple Keyboards

This article describes how to disable extensions by holding down the shift key when there are two USB keyboards connected to the same computer.
When the computer starts up, it detects devices on the USB chain. You can see the Caps Lock key light blink as each keyboard is detected. This initialization procedure takes slightly longer and the keyboard lights will blink more than once if more than one keyboard is connected.

If you hold down a key before the keyboard has been detected by the computer, it will not be recognized.

During startup, If you have this keyboard configuration, the Caps Lock light will blink a final time before the Happy Mac icon appears on the display. Hold down the Shift Key after the keyboard light blinks for the last time, before the Happy Mac icon.

This behavior also affects other keys held down during startup, including:


Published Date: Feb 20, 2012