Check Mac processor type (Intel or PowerPC) from single user mode #

Identify your Mac's CPU model from single user mode or the Terminal:

$ system_profiler

   Hardware Overview:

      Model Name: MacBook Pro
      Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,5
      Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
      Processor Speed: 2.26 GHz
      Number Of Processors: 1
      Total Number Of Cores: 2
      L2 Cache: 3 MB
      Memory: 4 GB
      Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
      Boot ROM Version: MBP55.00AC.B03
      SMC Version (system): 1.47f2
      Serial Number (system): XXXXXXXXXXX
      Hardware UUID: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
      Sudden Motion Sensor:
          State: Disabled
...

The system serial number and hardware UUID have been masked in this example, but will display normally when system_profiler runs.
The output above has been considerably truncated; you may want to use grep to reduce noise:
$ system_profiler | grep "Processor Name:" Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Another method for tightening up output: $ system_profiler SPHardwareDataType SPSoftwareDataType
In Recovery Mode, specify the full path when running, e.g., /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/usr/sbin/system_profiler
The sudden motion sensor (SMS) has been disabled on this hardware since an SSD is installed. Enable SMS via $ sudo pmset -a sms 1 and disable with $ sudo pmset -a sms 0

/mac | Apr 09, 2011

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