MacBook won't start / no chime / black screen / blinking light

[taproots]

Many Thanks

I had a similar issue arise last night around 1am while I was bouncing audio. I've been having issues with overheating but didn't think it was too serious, the MB shut down and, had no startup, black screen, solid LED. After a number of sleepless hours spent sacrificing small animals to the computer, I looked up the problem on an old tower PC that I have, thankfully I stumbled across this forum. One of my ram chips is fried, there seemed to be a white filmy substance on the contacts which I tried to clean off, to no avail.
So I'm down to one gig of ram now which seems to be functional, I'll probably have to take it in for repairs soon anyways, to deal with some heat sync issues.

I lost the bounce but at least my hard drive is okay.

Thanks again for the info.

Cheers
Steve.

 

[Papaverales]

I have the exact same problem. Blank screen, light turns on and stays on.
I recently had a lot of the innards of my macbook replaced, new HD, new optical drive, new keyboard. It's been working fine for a few weeks now.
Do you think it's still a RAM issue, as it was installed by a professional, and a while ago?
Could it be anything else?
Thanks for any input.

 

[Hellhammer]

I have the exact same problem. Blank screen, light turns on and stays on.
I recently had a lot of the innards of my macbook replaced, new HD, new optical drive, new keyboard. It's been working fine for a few weeks now.
Do you think it's still a RAM issue, as it was installed by a professional, and a while ago?
Could it be anything else?
Thanks for any input.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_doesn't_boot

 

[mantoya]

Intentionally overheating MBP A1226 seems to have resolved these symptoms

Excellent guide Hellhammer. Thanks.

I had the same symptoms as many here. MBP 15" A1226, on pressing power button the harddrive would sound, no chime, screen unlit, light would come on and stay steady (it was brighter when closed than when opened).

After trying prescribed measures with no luck, I read a thread on iFixit about soldering a graphics card ("MBP A1226 Logic Board last resort fix for nVidia video chip") and decided to overheat the computer upside down, theoretically to melt the materials back into place--ridiculous idea? maybe. but it seems to have worked...

This was the apparent fix: Plugged in AC power, turned on computer, closed it, turned it over, placed a folded-up quilt on it, then left it for a few hours (3 or 4). Came back and opened it, unplugged AC, then turned it off by holding power button. The button was extremely hot and the fans were blowing high. Closed it and set it near a fan, still upside down. After about five minutes, turned it right-side-up, opened it up, pressed power button, and it booted up like normal.

It had stopped booting up after a series of unusual actions on my part; left it near a window during a rainstorm on Monday, it worked all day Tuesday, Tuesday night let the battery die while the computer was resting on a cushion and powered on and unplugged (i.e., it was insulated and possibly overheating while the battery died--I wouldn't know if the fans had been running high), Wednesday morning plugged in mouse, opened it, then unplugged mouse and plugged in AC power, plugged mouse back in, switched to a newer AC adapter (both 85W), tried to turn it on and it displayed the symptoms described all day, took it to a Mac store Thursday morning, they agreed it was probably the logic board, took it home Thurs afternoon and tried this nonsense and it worked. It was backed up completely so i didn't mind taking the risk of frying it under the quilt.

 

[MTPA]

I had similar symptoms:

- no start-up chime
- screen flashed briefly, but otherwise stayed black
- optical drive made a shorter than usual sound
- then nothing but the fans

- I got it to boot once, but it kernel panic'd very quickly.


I tracked down the problem, not to bad RAM, but to a bad RAM slot. Independent of the which memory SO-DIMM I use, if I have memory the first slot, it doesn't boot. If I only have memory in the second slot, it boots fine.

Down to 1 GB of RAM, but that'll do until I upgrade.

 

[fritzgreatlakes]

Try the ram. Have you changed/upgraded it recently? Try pressing it in more, or removing the new piece completely. Here's something I found on the web for your problem, it might work:

1. Get rid of the PSU.
2. Get rid of the battery.
3. Do the >10 second thing on the Power Button with everything off.
4. Take all the RAM out. (This was what made the difference IMO).
5. Do the >10 second thing with the Power Button again.
6. Have a cup of coffee.
7. Do the >10 second thing with the Power Button again.
(I have to wonder if whatever that does takes a lot longer to drain / clear the PMU than Apple thinks.)
8. Stick the RAM back in.
9. Stick the battery in.
10. Connect the power.
11. Blow on your fingers, and fire her up.. et voila: Your Mac is back.

Hope that helps some people anyway.

This worked impeccably for me - exactly the same symptoms - black screen, flashing light - fix worked first time - Thanks a heck of a lot!

 

[artifax]

Same deal, not sure how if any of that other stuff is needed

I had the same symptoms off all the other posters, black screen, no startup chime, disc drive spinning, blinking light. What I ended up doing was turning it on and leaving it plugged in and let it sit overnight at the black screen. In the morning I did a hard shut down by holding down the power button and then rebooted as normal and everything was fine.

If your not into opening up the back and taking the ram out etc., I recomend letting it sit at the black screen w the power light on in the front for a good 8 hours until it has cooled considereably and then turn it back on.

Edit: All my RAM is still working fine.
ReEdit: Right before this happened I was in bootcamp and my MBP was running really hot. I restarted the computer from bootcamp and that when the black screen came on.

 

[topher2889]

So Glad I found this forum. Though it was the macbook display/inverter so I had the macbook all torn apart trying to troubleshoot. Popped one of the sticks of ram out and it fired right up. yee haw!

UPDATE: Actually it seems that there must be an issue with the logic board/RAM slot. Even with proven good ram in the slot it will not power on. Guess I will be limited to using 1GB in the slot that works.

 

[dotCEO]

Intentionally overheating MBP A1226 seems to have resolved these symptoms

Excellent guide Hellhammer. Thanks.

I had the same symptoms as many here. MBP 15" A1226, on pressing power button the harddrive would sound, no chime, screen unlit, light would come on and stay steady (it was brighter when closed than when opened).

After trying prescribed measures with no luck, I read a thread on iFixit about soldering a graphics card ("MBP A1226 Logic Board last resort fix for nVidia video chip") and decided to overheat the computer upside down, theoretically to melt the materials back into place--ridiculous idea? maybe. but it seems to have worked...

This was the apparent fix: Plugged in AC power, turned on computer, closed it, turned it over, placed a folded-up quilt on it, then left it for a few hours (3 or 4). Came back and opened it, unplugged AC, then turned it off by holding power button. The button was extremely hot and the fans were blowing high. Closed it and set it near a fan, still upside down. After about five minutes, turned it right-side-up, opened it up, pressed power button, and it booted up like normal.

It had stopped booting up after a series of unusual actions on my part; left it near a window during a rainstorm on Monday, it worked all day Tuesday, Tuesday night let the battery die while the computer was resting on a cushion and powered on and unplugged (i.e., it was insulated and possibly overheating while the battery died--I wouldn't know if the fans had been running high), Wednesday morning plugged in mouse, opened it, then unplugged mouse and plugged in AC power, plugged mouse back in, switched to a newer AC adapter (both 85W), tried to turn it on and it displayed the symptoms described all day, took it to a Mac store Thursday morning, they agreed it was probably the logic board, took it home Thurs afternoon and tried this nonsense and it worked. It was backed up completely so i didn't mind taking the risk of frying it under the quilt.

Crated an account just to say thanks as this was the ONLY thing that worked for me.

I didn't have to leave it for hours.... I just took out the battery, Turned it ON, Closed it, Turned it over so the battery hole would be facing up under a blanket till it automatically turned off... I hit the Power button and it turned on...

Thanks again!

 

[tluger]

Awesome

Comocho's instruction worked like a charm. Thanks!

My concern now is why this happened in the first place. I have never touched the RAM on this computer before (Macbook Pro, 15", 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM preinstalled). The computer may have been running very hot for a while, though. That is the only thing that seems in common with others in this thread. Running hot is not new for this machine, though.

What is new is that I just got a Lacie 1 TB External Hard Drive. My laptop is elevated on a stand and the front overhangs the stand. Because the included USB cord for the Lacie drive was so short, I had the drive positioned under the front of the computer right where the battery and RAM are located. At the same time I was accessing files on the Lacie via a USB 2.0 port, I was also using a second external drive connected through the Firewire port to back up the computer using Time Machine. Are any or all of these things taken together what caused this or do I possibly have a larger problem?

TIA

Update: I put the computer to sleep and the problem immediately reoccurred. I tried the solution again and it failed. I tried using only only one RAM module at a time in every module/slot combination but to no avail. I have to assume it's the logic board. It looks like I am better off buying a new mac than replacing it. Do others concur? I may try the overheating solution if the service provider confirms it's the logic board. Right now, I am going to leave it on the black screen all day and then try a reboot.

 

[webdog314]

Odd coincidences

I too am seeing the exact same problem as others have mentioned here. Odd that these issues are creeping up again. Anyone have any further luck discovering a solution? The blank screen issue seems to be oddly intermittent, meaning that waiting and/or trying repeatedly seems to result in being able to get a chime (for a while), then the problem returns. This very much sounds like a heat issue. I know that heat on these laptops is a serious issue, especially if the user is running any graphic intensive games (WoW or The Sims). As an aside, my laptop keyboard and trackpad stopped working, though an external mouse and keyboard seem to work fine.

Not good.

 

[shamanoid]

I also have these exact problems.
The apple have recognized the graphic cards in some macbook pros between 2007 and 2008 were faulty and offer to replace free of charge up to 4 years after purchase, even if the warranty is out of date.

Check out http://support.apple.com/kb/Ts2377
for details about the free repair by apple. Superb customer service I must say. How many other companies would fix your computer if the warranty had expired?

May I add if you have a hard time convincing apple its the graphics card and not the the logic board, you can prove it by using screen sharing to access your black screen computer.

Make sure you start your black screen mac each time with PRAM reset and chime noise, to access it for Target mode or screen share. Otherwise it will not work for anything.

To set up screen sharing on your black screen mac, first start with reset of PRAM, then restart again holding T for target mode, connect to another mac, and select it as a startup drive. Once booted on another computer go into preference and configure the screen sharing.....
Then

 

[Computergeek27]

Computergeek27

Hi, I own a Macbook Pro, and I have had the same exact problem, I took it apart, and well, My memory unit was down, I got it replaced and well, my computer does not mess up anymore, Like you said I didn't have a chime, and the sleep display was flashing rapidly, well, it is running normally, um you can email me at Christopherstiles1@hotmail.com if you need anymore info

 

[8CoreWhore]

Hi, I own a Macbook Pro, and I have had the same exact problem, I took it apart, and well, My memory unit was down, I got it replaced and well, my computer does not mess up anymore, Like you said I didn't have a chime, and the sleep display was flashing rapidly, well, it is running normally, um you can email me at Christopherstiles1@hotmail.com if you need anymore info

Right...

At least try removing the RAM and reseating it.

 

[badbones]

Try the ram. Have you changed/upgraded it recently? Try pressing it in more, or removing the new piece completely. Here's something I found on the web for your problem, it might work:

1. Get rid of the PSU.
2. Get rid of the battery.
3. Do the >10 second thing on the Power Button with everything off.
4. Take all the RAM out. (This was what made the difference IMO).
5. Do the >10 second thing with the Power Button again.
6. Have a cup of coffee.
7. Do the >10 second thing with the Power Button again.
(I have to wonder if whatever that does takes a lot longer to drain / clear the PMU than Apple thinks.)
8. Stick the RAM back in.
9. Stick the battery in.
10. Connect the power.
11. Blow on your fingers, and fire her up.. et voila: Your Mac is back.

Hope that helps some people anyway.

ok i had my mac go black screen. first i had a kern all panic had to reboot 2 times. then black screen no chime. after a long time pulling my mac apart and reading here i found out it was a bad memory chip. put one in at a time my mac works now,. i thought it was the 8600 card but not the case. my mac was bought in 08 and not in warranty. apple won't honor to fix video card if it goes bad since the recall. but might do a $350 flat rate to fix my mac if it get broke.

----------

I too am seeing the exact same problem as others have mentioned here. Odd that these issues are creeping up again. Anyone have any further luck discovering a solution? The blank screen issue seems to be oddly intermittent, meaning that waiting and/or trying repeatedly seems to result in being able to get a chime (for a while), then the problem returns. This very much sounds like a heat issue. I know that heat on these laptops is a serious issue, especially if the user is running any graphic intensive games (WoW or The Sims). As an aside, my laptop keyboard and trackpad stopped working, though an external mouse and keyboard seem to work fine.

Not good.

try scm fan control app to control heat. you can run fan as fast as you like. and keep laptop on your lap.
ok i had my mac go black screen. first i had a kern all panic had to reboot 2 times. then black screen no chime. after a long time pulling my mac apart and reading here i found out it was a bad memory chip. put one in at a time my mac works now,. i thought it was the 8600 card but not the case. my mac was bought in 08 and not in warranty. apple won't honor to fix video card if it goes bad since the recall. but might do a $350 flat rate to fix my mac if it get broke.

 

[morrislevy]

The RAM was the culprit after all! The 2007 MacBook Pro 15" only supported 3Gb RAM (1 x 1Gb, 1 x 2Gb), not 4Gb (2 x 2Gb)! THANK YOU!

 

[macfixblacknoch]

Problem I had:

Macbook Pro 17" from 2008. After a Lion update I would push the power button and get a solid white light (from the sleep light), black screen and there would be no chime. I had a disc in so I would hear it spinning.

I thought it was because of the Lion update.


Fix:

The Macbook must have overheated when I was doing the Lion update. I tired SMC resets, taking the RAM out, PRAM zap, etc. I heard that this could be due to the Left Logic Board.

What I did was set the Macbook up like a teepee under the covers on the bed. I put lots of pillows around and covered it good. After it got really hot to the touch, I set it in another room upside down overnight. The next day it worked! I had the HDD out, so I powered it down and put it back in.

Problem was, I decided to do updates. About a year+ worth since that's how long it was down. So there was a 2GB combined Lion update. I did the update, restarted and the issue was back: solid white light, black screen, no chime.

I set it up like a teepee again under the covers and overheat it. That did not work. So a day later I powered it on, but this time I put it upside down on the bed with the lid closed, so the batter was facing up. With it powered on, I covered it really good. After about an hour give or take, I put it in the other room to let it cool. Once it was cool to the touch I powered it on and it worked.

I thought there was a correlation with Lion, but I think it is just a heat issue. While doing updates, the computer heats up.

So far it is still working. I downloaded smcfancontrol and set the fan speed to max. I am going to order a big cooling tray for it.

But it seems it was overheating and affecting some connectors on the logic board.



So in summary, the fix (at least for me) for the black screen, no chime, solid white light: is to overheat the laptop upside down under the bed covers and then let it set until it is cool. Then give it a shot. While I overheated mine, I took out the battery and HDD. Then download smcfancontrol.