Apple Certified Support Professional 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Safe Mode on a Mac is specifically designed to prevent certain software from loading during the startup process. This function allows the operating system to boot with only the essential kernel extensions and necessary system files, disabling any third-party applications and extensions that could potentially cause issues. When a Mac starts in Safe Mode, it performs a disk check automatically to ensure that the file system is in good condition and clears some system caches.

This mode is particularly useful for troubleshooting because it helps isolate problems related to software, such as corrupted extensions or conflicting applications that may not be apparent during a normal boot. By limiting the startup processes in this way, users can determine if the issues they are experiencing are caused by third-party software or if they stem from the system itself. In contrast, the other options do not accurately describe what Safe Mode does; it does not load third-party applications, only allows command line access, or optimize performance through overclocking.