When a Mac is super slow to start up (or completely "hangs" — the bar just stops filling up) and when it is shutting down frequently, a Safe Mode Restart can often clear up the problem. Please follow the step below to perform a Safe Mode Restart on a Mac.

  1. Completely shut down the Mac (if there is no way to select "Shut Down" then hold the power button down until the Mac turns off).
  2. Press, hold, and keep holding down the "Shift" key (side should not matter, but Apple does tend to favor the buttons on the left, so I always use the "Shift" key on the left side of the keyboard).
  3. Once the "Shift" key is pressed down, press the power button to start up the Mac.
  4. Continue holding down the "Shift" key for the entire startup process. This will be longer than normal, likely in the 5-10 minute range.
  5. Eventually, the login screen will appear, but you will see in red in the top right corner of the screen the words, "Safe Mode." Also, if the login screen has some black lines initially appear, that is normal.
  6. Once you reach the login screen with the words "Safe Mode," click on the "Restart" button in the middle of the screen at the bottom.
  7. The Mac should start up faster, and when it does, it will bring you to the normal login screen.

The Safe Mode Restart cleans out a bunch of unneeded files which is why it often helps "fix" start up and/or random shutdown issues. If the problems you are experiencing continue immediately after the Safe Mode Restart, then submit a techhelp ticket. Depending on the Mac, it might be normal that after a few uses, days, or weeks, you will need to perform another Safe Mode Restart.