October 15, 2009, 9:44 AM — by Wallace Wang -- Booting into 64-bit mode Snow Leopard is a 64-bit operating system, but it defaults to 32-bit mode to maintain compatibility with print drivers and other software that haven't been upgraded yet. To take full advantage of Snow Leopard's speed, you’ll want to run in 64-bit mode.
Restart or shut down your computer and when it starts to boot up, hold down the 6 and 4 keys. This will boot Snow Leopard into 64-bit mode.
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Booting into safe mode When troubleshooting Mac OS X, you can boot in safe mode, which loads the bare minimum necessary to run Mac OS X. This will let you boot up and correct any problems caused by drivers or other programs that normally start automatically.
To boot in safe mode, hold down the Shift key after restarting or shutting down and booting back up again.
Booting from a CD/DVD If you need to run a diagnostics program directly off a CD/DVD, you can boot from that CD/DVD by holding down the C key after restarting or shutting down and booting back up again.
Mimicking a mouse with the keyboard If your mouse isn’t working, you can still control the mouse pointer using the keyboard to a limited extent.
Ctrl+F2 – Highlights the Apple menu. Now you can use the arrow keys to highlight different menu titles (such as File or Edit) or menu commands (such as Print or Edit). Then press Return to choose an option.
Ctrl+F3 – Highlights the Dock. Now you can use the left/right arrow keys to highlight icons on the Dock and press Return to select a program to run.
Command+W – Closes the currently active window.
Ctrl-Eject – Displays the Shutdown dialog giving you a choice of shutting down, restarting, or putting your Macintosh to sleep.
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