Three-finger salute
In computing, the three-finger salute is a jocular term for the keyboard combination that forces a soft boot or jump to ROM monitor (on machines that support such a feature). It is also known as the "Vulcan nerve pinch" or "Vulcan death grip" from the original Star Trek TV series.
| Platform | Key combo | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Amiga | Ctrl + Left Amiga + Right Amiga | Reboot the machine |
| some Amigas | Ctrl + Commodore + Amiga | Reboot the machine |
| IBM PC under DOS | Ctrl + Alt + Del | Reboot the machine |
| IBM PC under Windows | Ctrl + Alt + Del, Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Bring up login screen or enter task manager |
| IBM PC under other OS | Ctrl + Alt + Del | Often, but not always configured to reboot |
| Sun workstation | L1/Stop + A | Enter ROM monitor |
| Sun workstation (serial console) | Break | Enter ROM monitor |
| Apple II family machines | Ctrl + Reset | Enters the monitor or ROM BASIC |
| Ctrl + Cmd + Reset | Reboot the machine | |
| Ctrl + Option + Reset | Enter BIOS setup, then reboot | |
| Ctrl + Option + Apple + Reset | Self-test, then reboot | |
| Some Apple Macintosh computers | Cmd + Power | Enter monitor |
| Control + Cmd + Power | Reboot the machine | |
| Mac OS X | Command + Option + Esc | Force quit applications |
| SGI workstation | Left Shift + Left Ctrl + Left Alt + Keypad Divide + F12 | |
| Commodore 64 | Left Shift + Ctrl | Reboot the machine |
| Run/Stop + Restore | Halt and return to READY prompt | |
| X Window System | Ctrl + Alt + Backspace | Restarts windowing system, logging the user out if using xdm or similar, kills X otherwise |
| TI-89 | 2nd+Left Arrow+Right Arrow+On | Restarts the calculator and resets all settings to defaults. |
The "three-finger salute" is named after the one-finger salute, a euphemistic name for a rude hand gesture.
See also: David Bradley
Article based on Three-finger salute at FOLDOC, used with permission.
