I'm trying to fix my GF's Macbook Pro. This thing since day 1 has had so many little issues she's replacing it with a Dell. Anyhow, I want to try to fix the computer and I'm very good with computer hardware, just not familiar with troubleshooting Macs. The computer when turned on doesn't make a sound, it just sits at a blank screen with the power LED on the front lit solid. I have tried resetting the PRAM, resetting the SMC, and reseating the memory. I even swapped the memory.
It's the same behavior each time, just sits there, nothing comes on the screen. No noises. It does get quite warm sitting there powered on, though not obscenely hot. I can power it off with the power button as well. I have heard of trying to boot off of the restore CD or something but I feel that won't work and the problem is most likely hardware related. Nothing strange happened before this computer stopped working. It was not dropped, no water, or anything like that.
Specs are the machine is as follows:
15" Macbook Pro 2.2 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 128MB VRAM, 120GB 5400 RPM Drive
All of a sudden my 13" MacBook pro (2011) takes a long time to shut down. And on boot up it remains on a blank white screen where all I can do is move the mouse around. It may or may not boot to the desktop. At the moment I'm leaving it on sleep and it performs fine, apps load like normal but I'm afraid to shut it down incase it won't boot up again. The shut down takes so long that I need to hold the power button to shut it down. I've read around that it could be hardware failure but like I said I have it on sleep and it performs fine when I wake it.
Info: MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)
My MBP 13" Retina just stopped rendering the screen. On boot, it chimes and the back light comes on but that's it. At first I thought it was non responsive, but when I connect an external monitor I can see that it works fine. It's just the primary display that doesn't render anything (only backlight with blank, black screen).Â
A few details worth knowing:
1) Last time I saw my primary display work, I had 10% battery left, I shut the lid. Next time I opened the lid, around 2 days later, it was just blank and backlit. I did a forced restart and from then on it only gave me a blank backlit black screen.Â
2) Works well if i boot it with an external monitor connected. when the chime comes on, I immediately shut the lid and use only the external display with external keyboard and mouse.Â
3) Video gets laggy when I use it on dual monitor mode (not the case before this problem happened). I boot up the macbook with an external display connected. No video on both screens. I have to login blindly before the second monitor gets video. Primary display still doesn't render anything, albeit showing a lighted blank black screen.Â
4) I've already tried resetting the PRAM. didn't work.Â
White MB about three years old. Was watching something on Hulu and HDD started making strange noises and screen froze. Forced reboot and only got white screen. Couldn't even get into single user mode. Got a new WD hard drive thinking it would fix the problem. Put in my backup of the Install Disk (lost the original like an idiot) but all it shows when I hold down the C key is a large blinking folder icon with a question mark on it. Still can't get into single user mode. I may have screwed up the backup of the Install Disk or am using the wrong DVD since I forgot to label it.
My Macbook will not boot up. I am now faced with a plain grey screen with no apple logo, chime sound or activity wheel appearing.
Like most Macbook users I know, I rarely go through the booting up process from day to day use unless the System Updater requires a restart, but this time there was a different reason for me restarting the system.
When I was expanding an archive with Stuffit Expander, the app froze up. I went and deleted the archive file knowing that it was corrupt, but I did this too soon before the app had a chance to close down properly. It became stuck as a process that couldn't be closed down. Its dock icon didn't have a 'Force Quit' menu option so, I chose to perform a restart.
The Macbook went through the startup process but took a very long time. (I guess after reading around the forums this was fsck attempting to scan and repair the potentially damaged hard drive). I mistakenly performed a hard reboot thinking the system had hung.
The second time, it displayed the apple logo and wheel for about 2 minutes before showing a circle with a line through it and no further activity. When I rebooted again the apple logo and wheel were displayed with the hard drive activity audibly in a repetitive on and off state. I left this for about 15 minutes before deciding to turn it off. At the present moment it starts up to a plain grey screen as mentioned at the beginning. I tried experimenting with removing the extra 2gb memory module but there was no difference with or without it. I tried resting the NVRAM with Option-Command-P-R but all I got back was the startup chime (i.e. the muted volume I had it at has now reset to the default level).
When Option is held down on booting, the mouse cursor is visible over the same blank grey screen. No volumes show up. I have selected the Finder Preferences option to hide all volumes from showing up on the desktop, but I doubt this would affect volumes from showing up on the boot up screen.
I have tried booting from the 10.4 CD that came with the Macbook and the 10.5 (retail) DVD. The 'C' or 'D' keys do not have any effect either.
I think my options now are either to try and obtain a firmware reset CD which might make it possible to recognise volumes again, or there's the possibility that I'll have to get a new hard drive. Can you suggest anything else I might be able to try?
On the subject of hard drives, if it turns out that the Macbook's hard drive is beyond repair and I need a new drive I only have a caddy for 3.5" PATA drives which I use for Time Machine. With an appropriate 2.5" SATA caddy is there any way I could access the filesystem in Windows? How else could I format the drive to the correct FS?
I came home for lunch today, and found my Mac Mini G4 with the fan running, and a blank screen. It was obviously locked up. System has 10.5.2 with all of the latest updates. This is not my primary system, I have an MBP for that.
Here is what I did:
Force a power off/on, and I get the normal gray screen with the Apple, and spinning gear, but it never stops spinning.
I have a G5 that has started intermittently booting up with a totally blank screen - not blue, no video at all. Sometimes on reboot or after resetting the PRAM it works again.
From time to time, now, on my recently-acquired 2008 2.8x8 Mac Pro, it'll boot to a blank white screen, no Apple logo, no spinning indicator. It does not have Boot Camp set up. A single press of the power button will turn it off and it'll boot fine the immediately subsequent try. The console doesn't show anything.
Some weeks ago the screen on my iMac started to go blank. The only way to recover was to re-boot. The problem got worse until the machine became un-usable. I tried everything I knew, including switching off and unplugging to reset the pram as suggested, but eventually took it to the Apple Store where the 'expert' reset the pram the old way holding down the cmd/opt/p/r keys on startup. Problem solved (why do Apple give bad advice to clear the pram?).
Something had corrupted the software that drives the screen. The only program that I could think might have done that was ScreenRecycler which I have now stopped using. However, the problem has started to re-appear, the only new program I have used is Audirvana which being a music program should not affect the screen.
Info: iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.4), printer, scanner, ATVs, external hard drives, USB DAC
I just bought a powerbook, and I'm trying to get it to turn on. It doesn't have a hard drive, so obviously it won't be able to get it to boot. I just want to be able to get to the flashing folder. When I press the power button, the computer does nothing, not even the fan spins. The only indication I have that it is on is the caps lock light turns on. I've tried resetting the pram, but the screen stays blank and does nothing. I don't have any ram modules in it, so it shouldn't be a ram problem.
I did some reading online, and know that the flashing question mark basically means that there's either a problem with the OS installation or the hard drive itself. I borrowed a friend's Snow Leopard installation CD (mine didn't come with the CD) to try to boot from it, but it refuses to boot from the CD.
The only keyboard bootup control that does anything so far as I can tell is the alt key (using a windows keyboard), which results a long delay while booting, followed by a blank screen with a mouse cursor. Everything else just ends up with the flashing question mark. If I try to hold C to boot from the CD, it sits there for 3-4 minutes with the occassional CD whirring sound, then ejects the CD and goes to the flashing question mark.
After using a PC laptop for six months or so (and it really messing with my eyesight) I thought I'd try to revive my old macbook. Basically 70/80% of the time it won't turn on. There are these patterns of faulty behaviour which I hope you guys could diagnose:
1. I'll press the power button, I hear the disk noise, and the screen is black (i.e. not a backlight problem). The chime won't sound, I can just hear the fan and the hard drive whirring. The only way to get out of this is to power it off via the power button.
2. Sometimes after it's started up successfully and I move the Macbook (say, from a desk to my lap) the same thing will happen - black screen, with the rest of the stuff whirring, and if I try to shake it around nothing happens, I have to power off.
3. Occasionally when I power on, I just get the disk noise, a white screen, but no question mark, no apple logo, nothing.
4. Another time I tried to boot up with an external hard drive fitted and just got the chime over and over and over. Removing the drive solved this.
5. One time the screen just greyed out and a message in about 5 languages came up saying I needed to shut down my computer NOW.
This is not a hard drive fault - I saw that apple had extended the warranty on the hard drive because the question mark usually pops up for half a second at startup, and the nice guys at regent st London just whacked a new hard drive in, with a clean install of leopard (which was cool, I was previously on tiger at the time). I read something about resetting the PRAM (which I haven't tried), but I'm guessing it's the logicboard/motherboard. If this is the case, any idea how much it costs to fix? (My macbook is out of warranty). Figures in GBP appreciated but I can convert USD estimates. Is there any way I can try to blag a free motherboard and install from apple by exaggerating some symptoms?
Got this mac friday but haven't really played with it before yesterday. My problem is:
1) Yesterday I went for logging in to facebook, but suddenly the screen went green? Had to close the mac down and start it again. 2) After I had turned it on and was on the desktop the screen (with me doing nothing) went white, and I had to do the same again. 3) This morning when I wanted to turn the mac on, it wouldn't! But few hours later I tried again and there I could turn it on by pressing esc + start button.
Should I call for a replacement? (Already had two - 1 with dead pixel and 1 with creaking).
I was using it in my bedroom, it was plugged in. I went to make some food, and upon my return I am greeted by a blank screen, probably just a hiccup right? So I held the power button down expecting it to spring back in to life. But it didn't. It wouldn't turn back on. At all. Luckily, I thought, I have my old 2006 Macbook that I keep as a back up just for times like this. As it hasn't been turned on for a while, the low battery warning comes on, so I plug it in. 10 seconds later, it hibernates. I switch it back on, but it keeps hibernating for no good reason. So I think restarting it will solve the problem. It didn't. It too, now wouldn't turn back on. At all.
In the space of a few minutes, they both completely died. I've tried resetting SMC, PRAM, everything I've found on Apple's support page and forums like this. Nothing has worked. The light on the power cable glows orange when plugged in, so it is still charging, and the battery indicator lights on the side of the MBP work fine. Aside from that, they are both completely lifeless...........
when I turn on my computer there is a blank screen. You can still hear the normal noises coming from the computer like any normal boot-up. But if I let my computer sit for a while without turning it on, it will turn on with weird almost static noises. If I force shut down then try again, I get the normal boot-up noises. I tried the safe boot-up method,holding down the shift button while turning the computer on, but no dice. I actually tried this method on both the good and static noise boot-up.
Yesterday I was working with my MBP in one of my client's office and the computer went blank. The screen turn to black and it was still ON. I had to press the ON/OFF button to shut the computer.
I'm trying to upgrade to LION to move to iCloud...the folks at the genius bar recommended that I go from 2gb ram to 4. They gave me the website to purchase the memory and told me how to load it. Prior to loading, I shutdown the computer and unplugged it. I then removed the 2 1 gb cards and replaced with 2gb cards. The loading seems to have gone fine, but all I get is a power light on the front of the case and a sound that makes me think it's running....the screen is totallly black though.
I have a MacBook Pro with 10.7.3 installed. When I go to my system settings and click on iCloud the page is blank. Just grey screen in the window where it should show whatever should show with iCloud.
I am currently running OS X Lion. There are no system updates. My macbook pro JUST started doing this. It never did it before. When I shut my computer and let it sit for however long and then open my computer, the screen comes on, and then about 5 seconds after that, the screen goes blank. In order to turn my screen on, I have to adjust the brightness on my keyboard EVERY single time.
I'm new with this, My ibook plays the little loading tone when I turn it on but nothing else seems to happen. No more lights on the board no nothing the only thing that does s that it change the color of the charger plug, play the song and on the bottom where it goes the battery turn 3 lights like if it where loading something, I guess it means there is power in it. Also if n that moment I click on the mouse does like if it were doing something.
I haven't used my built-in web cam in months now and out of sheer bordem decided to play around with Photo Booth, to my surprise nothing was showing up. It's just a blank screen. The little green light by the lens goes on, but nothing comes up.
my macbook was almost dead on power when I shut it down. I couldn't charge it because I was on a plane. Anyway, I plugged it in recently and tried starting it up, it makes the start up sound but won't get passed a blank white screen. Is there anyway to fix this? I've heard reinstalling the startup cd might work, but will I lose my files on it? All the pictures of my dog that just passed away on it, and I don't want to lose these. I just got the right cds to back them up and was going to.
This has happened 2 times (rarely). Basically, when I wake up the macbook pro, the screen would remain "blank". I know the screen is on because I can see the mouse pointer but the whole screen is black. I'm assuming Finder has crashed?
I don't know how to restart on the macbook (ctrl + alt + del didn't work, using option didn't either) so I just held down the power button for 4 seconds and restarted that way.
I was using my computer normally, it started to move slowly, so I properly shut it down. After leaving it off for a few minutes, I started it up again. However, every time I press the power button, it comes on and there is just a blank gray screen. No folder with a question mark on it, just a blank gray screen.
