k.panic has the answer.
That’s weird. Even if you don’t have a startup volume specified, it shouldn’t bring you into that menu.
Try resetting your PRAM according to this kbase article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
Like the above poster said, go into System Preferences, go to Startup Disk and select Macintosh HD (or whatever you’ve named your hard drive).
via Apple – Support – Discussions – problem when starting up ….
This would be a nice change. People hate rebooting.
via The Land, The Sea and Space
Mac 101: Whats happening when your Mac is starting up?. This might help you understand and troubleshoot problems with your Mac booting up.
Ian suggests “Press and hold the Home button and the Wake/ Sleep button at the same time, keep them pressed until the Apple logo appears on the screen. This can take over 10 seconds.” This didn’t help the poster so they had to visit the Apple store.
Even after the poster restored it and did extensive troubleshooting. Since it was only 3 months old, he took it back and got a replacement. Unfortunately sometimes there are lemons with products.
This is a great article that tells you step by step how to do it. The steps are basic and typical for linux installations.
This software rEFlt will allow you to do so. This is great for Apple technicians, system administrators or anyone who has to deal with Macs who might have a broken CD/DVD drive.
This is good to know. So many ways to boot the Mac OS!
Am I missing anything?