MacBook keeps turning itself off after 5-10 second startup

cmF · Jan 13, 2009, 03:27 AM

My macbook keeps turning itself on and off for no apparent reason. Apparently it's not uncommon as many MacBook owners claim to have it as well.

It happens exactly as documented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vThy5yF-30w

Could this be a hardware or software problem?

BlueRevolution · Jan 13, 2009, 03:49 AM

If it's a common problem, maybe it has a common solution as well? You could try resetting the PRAM, but I imagine it's a hardware/design issue, in which case the appropriate course of action would be to take it in to the shop. However, if no solution has come up in your research, I don't know that there's a lot we can offer.

toolbox · Jan 13, 2009, 04:13 AM

is this one of the very first macbooks? Mine had a problem with it getting too hot, the heatsink expands and touches the motherboard and shorts

eman · Jan 13, 2009, 07:31 AM

Pull the keyboard off and check to see if the processor fan is spinning up at start up. Have you had any liquid spills to the macbook?

Prekesh · Jan 13, 2009, 08:18 AM

make sure you've connected your power cable, if your macbooks a year+ old it could have a battery with low health (they deplete over time, like all batterys)

does it work with the magsafe connected?

mrrish · Jan 13, 2009, 04:58 PM

Happened to me, the hard drive was corrupted. Try verbose mode or put in your OSX DVD and attempt to view/repair the partition.

Finto7 · Feb 7, 2013, 06:56 PM

Hey, I have the same problem keeps turning itself on then goes off at the startup screen (apple logo) and on and off again repeatedly until the battery goes dead! Any solutions to this as its prob not worth getting fixed in a shop as its old so I will try repair myself! Thanks for any info!

Jan 13, 2009, 03:27 AM	#1
cmF macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: California	MacBook keeps turning itself off after 5-10 second startup My macbook keeps turning itself on and off for no apparent reason. Apparently it's not uncommon as many MacBook owners claim to have it as well. It happens exactly as documented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vThy5yF-30w Could this be a hardware or software problem?
	0

Jan 13, 2009, 03:49 AM	#2
BlueRevolution macrumors 601 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montreal, QC	If it's a common problem, maybe it has a common solution as well? You could try resetting the PRAM, but I imagine it's a hardware/design issue, in which case the appropriate course of action would be to take it in to the shop. However, if no solution has come up in your research, I don't know that there's a lot we can offer. __________________ Ⓟ PIRATE PARTY OF CANADA — Information leadership for the 21st century
	0

Jan 13, 2009, 04:13 AM	#3
toolbox macrumors 68020 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Australia (WA)	is this one of the very first macbooks? Mine had a problem with it getting too hot, the heatsink expands and touches the motherboard and shorts __________________ 2009 iMac 27 inch \| i7 2.8 \| 1 TB \| 16GB DDR3 iPhone 3gs \| iPhone 4 \| iPhone 4s \| iPad 1 \| iPad 2
	0

Jan 13, 2009, 07:31 AM	#4
eman macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: In the great white north	Pull the keyboard off and check to see if the processor fan is spinning up at start up. Have you had any liquid spills to the macbook? __________________ I buy broken macbooks.
	0

Jan 13, 2009, 08:18 AM	#5
Prekesh macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2009	make sure you've connected your power cable, if your macbooks a year+ old it could have a battery with low health (they deplete over time, like all batterys) does it work with the magsafe connected? __________________ Mid 2011 27" iMac 3,1Ghz i5 4GB RAM
	0

Jan 13, 2009, 04:58 PM	#6
mrrish macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2008	Happened to me, the hard drive was corrupted. Try verbose mode or put in your OSX DVD and attempt to view/repair the partition.
	0

Feb 7, 2013, 06:56 PM	#7
Finto7 macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2013	Hey, I have the same problem keeps turning itself on then goes off at the startup screen (apple logo) and on and off again repeatedly until the battery goes dead! Any solutions to this as its prob not worth getting fixed in a shop as its old so I will try repair myself! Thanks for any info!
	0

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