Restart your Mac in macOS or Windows

After using Boot Camp to install Microsoft Windows on your Intel-based Mac, you can choose whether your Mac starts up in macOS or Windows.

Start up in macOS from Windows

  1. From the notification area on the right-hand side of the Windows taskbar, click the caratcarat to show hidden icons.

  2. Click the Boot Camp iconNo alt supplied for Image.

  3. From the menu shown, choose Restart in macOS. If you haven’t installed the latest Boot Camp updates, you may see the message “Could not locate the OS X boot volume”.

boot-camp-win-10-restart

Or follow these steps:

  1. Turn on or restart your Mac. If you're currently in Windows, you can restart your device by choosing Power from the Start menu. When your Mac begins restarting, press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key on your keyboard. Release the key when you see a window displaying all available startup volumes.

  2. Select your Mac startup volume (Macintosh HD), then press Return or click the up arrow:

    Startup Manager screen

Start up in Windows from macOS

  1. Restart your Mac. When your Mac begins restarting, press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key on your keyboard. Release the key when you see a window (pictured above) displaying all available startup volumes.

  2. Select the Boot Camp volume, then press Return or click the up arrow.

Or follow these steps in macOS Ventura 13 or later:

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click General in the sidebar.

  2. Click Startup Disk on the right.

  3. Select the Boot Camp volume, then click Restart.

Or follow these steps in earlier versions of macOS:

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Startup Disk.

  2. Click the lockNo alt supplied for Image, then enter your administrator password.

  3. Select the Boot Camp volume, then click Restart.

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