2010 MacBook Won't Start Up

[Riviera122]

Hi everyone,

I"m trying to figure out why my 2010 MacBook won't even attempt to start up. When I press the power button, nothing happens - no noises. When the AC adapter is plugged in, it shows a green light. I've tried PRAM/SMC resets, reseating the ram, removing the battery, holding the power button/plugging AC adapter in/pressing power button again, 'jump starting'... Could it be a bad logic board? There are no signs of damage, e.g. burnt capacitors.

I haven't used it for a few years, and the last time it was used there was an overheating issue which made the laptop shut down.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I haven't used it for a few years, and the last time it was used there was an overheating issue which made the laptop shut down.

That sounds like the answer

 

[Riviera122]

That sounds like the answer

Yep seems most likely. I thought the shut-down feature was to prevent damage occurring? What can overheating do to the logic board?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Yep seems most likely. I thought the shut-down feature was to prevent damage occurring? What can overheating do to the logic board?

My understanding is that the self protecting that computers do is more about throttling back to prevent overheating and is a normal occurrence in modern computers (not sure about 2010). Actual shut down is a bit different from throttling back and implies a failure to me.

Even if there are some failure modes where the machine does shut down to protect itself, that does not mean that all over temperature events are the result of self protection.

Somehow not surprised that a machine that shut itself down for overheating wont start years later.

Not an expert so maybe someone else will chip in.