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.

See also: David Bradley

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Article based on Three-finger salute at FOLDOC, used with permission.