I switched on my MacBook Air and was browsing the net for just 5 minutes when suddenly it switched off. The battery was sitting at 95% so it wasn't an issue with the battery needing charged. I connected the power supply just in case but the light on the power supply remained green. I tried to switch my MacBook Air on but nothing. It wouldn't switch on which has made me think that my MacBook Air has died. I have had my MacBook Air since August 2011 so it looks like it's fit for the skip as it's out of warranty and I don't have the money to get it repaired. Please advise.
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MacBook Air has died
- Thread starter Artmuzz
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Try resetting PRAM.
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
I tried all the suggestion but still nothing
I guess it looks like my MacBook Air is now fit for the trash as I don't have the money for Apple to repair it as it's out of warranty.
Pathetic considering my old White MacBook that I bought in 2006 is still working great unlike this piece of **** MacBook Air that I have only had for 2 and a half years and it dies.
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Since you are out of warranty, pull the back cover off, disconnect the battery power cable to the logic board. You do not have to remove the battery, just disconnect it.
Just toss the back cover back on (without screws is fine)
Then proceed to try a SMC RESET outline for portables with removable batteries.
In other words, press and HOLD the power button for about 5-10 seconds.
Then reattach the battery, plug in the magsafe charger and see if it will power on.
It's worth a try and has worked for me in the past as I work with many of the airs
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Air_13"_Mid_2011
Just toss the back cover back on (without screws is fine)
Then proceed to try a SMC RESET outline for portables with removable batteries.
In other words, press and HOLD the power button for about 5-10 seconds.
Then reattach the battery, plug in the magsafe charger and see if it will power on.
It's worth a try and has worked for me in the past as I work with many of the airs
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Air_13"_Mid_2011
Slow down! There are lots of things that could be wrong, and many of them mean that someone will pay good money for it on eBay. Take it to an Apple Store and find out what exactly is wrong. For example, if the screen is broken, you can attach an external monitor and keyboard and turn it into a MacMini. MacBooks with broken screens sell quite well on eBay. If the screen is fine, someone will buy your MBA and take it apart for spare parts. And there _is_ the chance of some minor fault that is easily fixed.
Good news!
I managed to get my MacBook Air back to life
I don't know what I did but I pressed the the power key shortly after pressing the alt/ctrl/shift and power keys at the same time and it came back to life. However what is strange is I tried that a few hours before and it still wouldn't go on. Anyway its working and I've saved myself a bill.
I managed to get my MacBook Air back to life
I don't know what I did but I pressed the the power key shortly after pressing the alt/ctrl/shift and power keys at the same time and it came back to life. However what is strange is I tried that a few hours before and it still wouldn't go on. Anyway its working and I've saved myself a bill.
Similar Situation
Hi all,
Thought I'd post to this thread instead of starting a new one.
My 2010 MBA is exhibiting some of the issues the OP mentioned (but not others). They are:
- MBA will randomly die when running on a fully charged or almost fully charged battery (93%-100%)
- No information is preserved when I reboot. It's as if the computer was never on.
- MBA does work when connected to the AC adapter
- Battery takes an unusually long time to charge (took 10 hours from 83% to full, usually takes less than an hour)
I've got an appointment with the Genius Bar on Monday, and have been trying to isolate the problem. A few things I've noticed:
- Fans are working and kick in whenever the CPU is under load (the MBA will die even on idle)
- Other sensors seem to work fine. iStat Pro shows all my other temperatures and they're doesn't seem to be anything unusual.
- I can't find any logs concerning the crashes. Though I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking in the right place (Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is empty).
- I'm traveling (though I've traveled with it before and it's in a case plus a padded laptop sleeve) and I first noticed the issue when I plugged my wife's iPad in to sync it. Could something have shorted when I plugged it in?
- Battery health is 92% and it's at 88 cycles.
- I don't have my pentalobe screwdriver on me, so I wouldn't be able to open it and unplug the battery.
Did an SMC Reset and reset the PRAM. After I reset the PRAM, the computer did go for about 20 minutes before dying. Tried it again but same result.
Any thoughts on what I could do before my appointment with the Genius Bar.
Forgot to mention, I bought the computer used and the original owner lost the USB drive with the Apple Hardware Test, so I can't run that.
Thanks!
MacPoulet
Hi all,
Thought I'd post to this thread instead of starting a new one.
My 2010 MBA is exhibiting some of the issues the OP mentioned (but not others). They are:
- MBA will randomly die when running on a fully charged or almost fully charged battery (93%-100%)
- No information is preserved when I reboot. It's as if the computer was never on.
- MBA does work when connected to the AC adapter
- Battery takes an unusually long time to charge (took 10 hours from 83% to full, usually takes less than an hour)
I've got an appointment with the Genius Bar on Monday, and have been trying to isolate the problem. A few things I've noticed:
- Fans are working and kick in whenever the CPU is under load (the MBA will die even on idle)
- Other sensors seem to work fine. iStat Pro shows all my other temperatures and they're doesn't seem to be anything unusual.
- I can't find any logs concerning the crashes. Though I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking in the right place (Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is empty).
- I'm traveling (though I've traveled with it before and it's in a case plus a padded laptop sleeve) and I first noticed the issue when I plugged my wife's iPad in to sync it. Could something have shorted when I plugged it in?
- Battery health is 92% and it's at 88 cycles.
- I don't have my pentalobe screwdriver on me, so I wouldn't be able to open it and unplug the battery.
Did an SMC Reset and reset the PRAM. After I reset the PRAM, the computer did go for about 20 minutes before dying. Tried it again but same result.
Any thoughts on what I could do before my appointment with the Genius Bar.
Forgot to mention, I bought the computer used and the original owner lost the USB drive with the Apple Hardware Test, so I can't run that.
Thanks!
MacPoulet
ust be polite and be able to demonstrate your problem. They will check it out and it could be a quick fix.
Good luck, let us all know how you made out!
Good luck, let us all know how you made out!
You do know that barely using your battery will make it die faster right? 88 cycles in 4 years is pretty bad and I guarantee you that it's not really 92% health. Also, seems like your mac is dying and it may have a logicboard problem.
Hi AppleFanatic, thanks for your reply.
This isn't the original battery but a replacement, hence the 88 cycles. I would always run on battery and only charge when it's needed.
The logic board was also replaced, as was the I/O board. I'm hoping if it's hardware related, it's the I/O cable which is still original. That's also the USB port I used, so if it's dying, better an I/O cable or I/O board than a logic board.
Thanks Newtons Apple, at least this problem is easy to show and it'll happen within a few minutes.
Oh ok. I just read a post on here about a guy who never left his battery off the charger, and let his battery go dead. I don't know if you know this but a dead battery can cause a lot of problems. Glad you actually use it. If you can get a new cable and see if that's the problem. I'm not sure how easy it is to switch things like that out but if it is I'd go ahead and do it.
Yep, heard the same about the batteries which is why I've been running this one on battery until now. Since this happened last week, it's never been plugged in for so long.
Replacing the I/O is pretty easy once you get the bottom case off. Just unplugged the battery and take the cable off with a spudger. Not like removing the logic board. Nice thing about this laptop is you only need three screwdrivers to take it apart. Not so nice thing is they're tricky to find.
Post Apple Store
So I had my genius bar appointment today and they weren't able to figure it out. The MBA passed the hardware test, and I was able to demonstrate the problem. Genius was sure its hardware related and proposed to replace parts until the problem was fixed.
I'd suggested sending the machine to the back for a more thorough hardware diagnostic and the genius was surprised I knew about it. He said that was a possibility but I have to book it in for servicing, which I will once I finish my current contract this week.
Surprised he didn't ask if I reset the PRAM and SMC...
So I had my genius bar appointment today and they weren't able to figure it out. The MBA passed the hardware test, and I was able to demonstrate the problem. Genius was sure its hardware related and proposed to replace parts until the problem was fixed.
I'd suggested sending the machine to the back for a more thorough hardware diagnostic and the genius was surprised I knew about it. He said that was a possibility but I have to book it in for servicing, which I will once I finish my current contract this week.
Surprised he didn't ask if I reset the PRAM and SMC...
Good news!
I managed to get my MacBook Air back to life
I don't know what I did but I pressed the the power key shortly after pressing the alt/ctrl/shift and power keys at the same time and it came back to life. However what is strange is I tried that a few hours before and it still wouldn't go on. Anyway its working and I've saved myself a bill.
Your MBA didn't died, it just went into sleep/hibernation/whatever . Happened to mine once in a while too. Most of the time I just close the lid and open a few times and it turn back on.
If that doesn't work, have to do a hard reset and hold the power button for a few seconds until it shutdown. It's actually not off, just goes into sleep mode, that's why you couldn't get it to turn on, it was already on, but unless you hold power for a few seconds to trigger soft off, it doesn't do anything.
It's just one of those random bug thing that happen once every few months. Kinda annoying a little, but once I realized closing/opening the lid trigger wake up, it was fine.
Hi iizmoo. Interesting thought, though I think my situation is a bit different. I tried to open/close the lid 10+ times with no result. I even attached an external monitor and as soon as the computer shuts down, I lose that signal too. Usually when you've got another monitor, it wouldn't shut down or sleep, nor would it go to sleep while I'm typing.
Would there be any other way of testing if the computer is on and not shut down.
PS: it also boots right away, in that I don't need to hold down the power button.
To test whether it's "on" with just a dark screen, how about plugging something into the USB port that has an indicator light?
When you say it boots, does it come up to the desktop (wake from sleep) or do you get the Apple chime, gray screen/Apple logo, etc.? Do you press any keys other than the power button, move the clamshell, anything at all that seems to trigger it?
Hi ApfelKuchen,
Just tested it with a USB key and my iPhone. USB indicator light goes out once the computer appears to shut off and the iPhone no longer charges.
No combination of key presses or clamshell moves does anything aside from a simple press of the power button.
When I press the power button, I get the Apple chime and grey screen. Of course it boots to desktop in about five seconds, but it's still a complete boot, not a wake from sleep.
It's currently at 94% and says "3:46 until full" which is highly unusual.
It all sounds like something an SMC reset should fix, but so far no luck, unless I'm doing it wrong.
Yeah, sounds like SMC might be involved. Are you following http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 > Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own ? Note that it is a 4-key combo (it's possible to miss that the power button is part of the key combination).
I'm bothered by something you posted originally -
Are you referring specifically to the absence of crash logs, or is /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports totally empty? How about ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports?
If OS X isn't generating logs of any sort, something could be wrong with OS X. Even if it wasn't logging crashes, there are other events and processes that are routinely logged. What version are you running? Have you tried running Disk Utility > Verify and/or updating/reinstalling the OS?
Hi ApfelKuchen,
The whole DiagnosticReports folder is empty. I've attached a screenshot. What's the difference between /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports and ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports?
Rather new to Mavericks, other systems are on Leopard (PowerBook G4), Snow Leopard (2009 Mac Mini) and Lion (2006 Mac Pro) and I believe I heard that Mavericks keeps certain things hidden from users. Not sure if this would be one of them...
I've verified the disk and repaired permissions a few times so far, just did it again after I read your post. Disk is okay (so says Disk Utility) and there were only a few permissions to repair, like five or six. One thing I've noticed just now in Activity Monitor, is that rpcsvchost was using 90%+ CPU. I have no idea what process it is, but it just cleared out now.
Haven't tried reinstalling the OS, but I think that's my next step. Just bought a drive for time machine backups as my regular one is back home (currently traveling).
EDIT: Yep, I followed Apple's directions for resetting the SMC. even had the MagSafe adaptor change colours a few times.
EDIT 2: Hooray! I found my logs. There's like a second set of these folders and found one with the ending .crash which is approximately when I last unplugged the machine from the mains. Though I have no idea what any of it means. Here's the past bin info: http://pastebin.com/wp2GzHiy
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My Mba is just 18 months old and died with no explanation. Took to service and the guy said it needs to change the mother board, in other words..trash. I've had macs since 2005 and never had a problem until getting this mba. How can this thing die like this?
It may not be dead at all. Did you follow the suggestion of disconnecting the battery, leave it for an hour, connect the charger, don't touch any keys, and see if it turns on by itself?
