Mac OS X Server 1.x: How to Enter and Exit Single-User Mode

This article describes how to enter and exit single-user mode when using Mac OS X Server 1.x.

Note: This document is for Mac OS X Server 1.x only. For Mac OS X 10.0 or later, see technical document 106388, "Mac OS X 10.0: How to Start up in Single-User or Verbose Mode".

Follow these steps to enter single-user mode:


Follow this step to exit single-user mode and start up into the standard graphical environment:
You can also type  reboot  to exit single-user mode. This causes the computer to restart.

Note: If the computer is in single-user mode, and then switched to the standard graphical environment, a black screen with the word "continuing" appears briefly. Additionally, a black screen with the word "done" appears briefly during shutdown.

Published Date: Feb 18, 2012