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jenniferwhatevr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 13, 2014
6
0
ok let me start off by saying i spilled water on my macbook(i got it in february 2014) and immediately it shut off and so i dried it and i was freaking out so i tried turning it on (big mistake) and it turned on for ten seconds then it shut off for good and i kept trying to turn it on (i know im an idiot) and it wouldnt turn on and also the light from the charger dissapeared so i just put it in rice for 4 days but still nothing. i thought i completely killed it. so then i went to apple on thursday and of course they found water and told me the flat rate is 750$ and i was like oh hellll nooo. it wasnt until last night i was so angry at myself and at my macbook, i tried plugging in the charger and the light went up!!!! it never done this after i thought i killed it. so i tried turning it on and i heard the startup chime and the caps lock key works/lights up but the screen stays black. i tried ALL of the resets and nothing. i just want to know whats wrong with the macbook and what needs to be replaced and what i need to do. i dont think i would have to replace the logic board because it turns on? idk anything, can somebody please help?
 

Ronnoco

macrumors 68030
Oct 16, 2007
2,568
522
United States of America
The display remaining off is not a good thing...I would try starting from an external boot drive or disk and see if the display comes up or perhaps connect an eternal display and see if that works.
The Startup Chime: When you press the power button on your Mac, the first thing that happens is the Mac's hardware is initialized and the firmware -- BootROM -- is loaded and run. The BootROM is stored on flash memory chips on your Mac's motherboard, and it works as a miniature operating system to get things started before Mac OS X is loaded.

At power on, the firmware runs the Power-On Self Test (POST), which tests the processors, system memory, and network (Wi-Fi, Ethernet) and peripheral (USB, FireWire, Bluetooth) interfaces. If your hardware passes the POST, the startup chime is sounded and a light gray background is displayed on any attached display.

So what happens if your Mac doesn't pass the test? The display(s) either remain blank or off, or you might see error codes displayed. It varies from Mac to Mac, but error codes can be audible tones ("The Chimes of Doom"), flashes from external or internal lights, or a combination of those items. It doesn't take an Apple Genius to know that when your machine doesn't boot, you ought to take it to your AASP (Apple Authorized Support Provider) ASAP!
 
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jenniferwhatevr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 13, 2014
6
0
ok but i just discovered that the screen isnt black its just super dim, i can slightly see the computer boot up and go to the login screen under light but its too dim to see the mouse. what does this mean?
 

JGruber

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2006
348
2
ok but i just discovered that the screen isnt black its just super dim, i can slightly see the computer boot up and go to the login screen under light but its too dim to see the mouse. what does this mean?

Screen Brightness is turned all the way down. Try hitting F2 on the keyboard till it gets bright again.
 

jenniferwhatevr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 13, 2014
6
0
i did and i can see the brightness icon/window show and at the brightest level but the brightness still stays just as dim?
 

ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,011
Between the coasts
It could be the backlight for the display. There are several potential causes, but most likely something that has to be fixed in hardware, not software.

Considering we're talking about exposure to water, all bets are off. Even if you managed to get it bone-dry and operating correctly today, the condition of the machine could continue to degrade, depending on what happened while it was wet.

You shouldn't have to pay $750 just to have Apple or other qualified repair shop assess the damage. $750 was most likely the worst-case scenario quote. Have someone look at it under the hood, and see whether it's worth investing additional funds to do the repairs.
 
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