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). These keys are sometimes referred to in computer manuals as interrupt keys, since they are often used to interrupt the operation of a malfunctioning program. Other humorous synonyms include 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 and pre Windows 95 Ctrl + Alt + Del Reboot the machine

IBM PC under Windows (post 95 and NT) Ctrl + Alt + Del, Ctrl + Shift + Esc Bring up login screen at login (or enter task manager post NT 4)

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 (7 and later) Command + Option + Esc Force quit applications

SGI workstation Left Shift + Left Ctrl + Left Alt + Keypad Divide + F12
Commodore 64 Run/Stop + Restore Halt (soft reconfiguration) 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.