MacBook just died spontaneously

[PittAir]

Very weird.

I've had it since may 2016, 1.3 GHz/512/8 with the latest Sierra 10.10.2 update. Was working perfectly until about 30 minutes ago when I opened the lid and just got a black screen with the cursor. Nothing else.

Tried rebooting x 2, when through the entire boot sequence and then back to the black screen with the cursor.

Tried safe mode, got to the log in screen, logged in, got to the black screen with cursor.

Booted again, now no boot sound, got to the black screen with cursor.

Finally, did a SMC reset. Now the computer does not even start. Nothing. A brick.

In retrospect over the past 2-3 months I recall weird things like no sound on certain videos, slow return from sleep when lifting the lid, etc.

Software? hardware? Anyone else out there with this issue?

 

[robotica]

Does it work it you plug it into power?

I would contact Apple.

 

[PittAir]

Nope. Not with the power cord plugged in, not without. Not with another SMC reset x 2.

Going to the Genius Bar today near me.
[doublepost=1483798985][/doublepost]Got it to work again.

Lessons learned:

(1) When doing an SMC reset, use the Apple USB-C cable! I used a non-Apple USB-C cable for it, and it would not restart after the reset until I used an Apple cable.

(2) When you get the black screen of death with a cursor after sleep, let the computer fall asleep again (5-10 min). When you wake it up, it should work.

(3) I think Dropbox was the cause on my machine. When it woke up, Dropbox now can't find the internet. I'm going to delete and reinstall it. Could there be a problem with Dropbox and OS X 10.10.2?

 

[BrianBaughn]

Sierra is 10.12.x

 

[Treyhunna]

Smc resets are last resort. And usually only fix hardware power issues. I always Boot into recovery first and run the diagnostic tools on components

 

[Gregintosh]

Im glad you got it working again! I always freak out when I hear stories like this but I am relieved that it was just software. I think the symptoms you experienced over the months prior to this are probably just normal glitches, though it may not hurt to do a full reset/reformat.

I am not sure if you do this, but I notice that people who install a lot of little utilities and internet tools and stuff tend to have more weird issues than those who stick to mostly stock apps and a few well known/big brand apps off the App Store. I used to be the same way, little GIF utility here, little video converter there, etc. but ever since I stopped using that stuff my computes have run smooth as butter.

 

[andy9l]

I am not sure if you do this, but I notice that people who install a lot of little utilities and internet tools and stuff tend to have more weird issues than those who stick to mostly stock apps and a few well known/big brand apps off the App Store. I used to be the same way, little GIF utility here, little video converter there, etc. but ever since I stopped using that stuff my computes have run smooth as butter.

This.

I'd even go as far as saying this is also partly the reason Windows gets such a bad rap - it generally relies on more third-party "utilities" or "services" than macOS, and thus the problems start. My as-clean-as-possible versions of macOS and Windows have been running flawlessly for several, several years.

 

[c0ppo]

I use Breeze and Sizeup for window management. I use TotalFinder, hazel, bartender, keyboard maestro and a lot of more of those 'small' utility apps. And since 10.6 all I ever did is restore from TM backup when I purchase a new mac.

Never had any major issues. Sure, small ones like the time when Apple introduced SIP, but nothing major. I just couldn't live without the utilities listed here. Breeze is the best window managment tool out there, only thing lacking is switching apps from one monitor to another. Thus SizeUp is there as well. TotalFinder and keyboard shortcuts with keyboard maestro = godsend.

But I do agree, everything works just a little bit better (especially battery!) when I'm on fresh install. But without those utilities, I feel like a handicapped person