Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MBA won't boot. Fans on high, no picture.

C

CashDude

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
128
15
Mid 2011 11 inch MBA. May be related to recent firmware update. I have tried all of the keyboard tricks and nothing will boot it.

I figured out that by doing the triple SMC reset and holding the power button for several seconds, I can get the fans to come on high, but nothing else happens.

I opened it up and unplugged the battery for a bit, but still no change. I also removed the SSD, and still get the same symptoms whether it's left out or plugged back in.

Does anyone know what this could be?

I found 2 leads on other boards. One said that this happens when the temp sensors are faulting, and the other said it happens when the computer doesn't see an OS.

Please send any suggestions.

I am going to send it in, but they said they would have to wipe the SSD, which would really suck.
 
You say no picture, by this do you mean the screen itself will not turn on? Or is the backlight on the screen coming on?
 
CashDude said:
Mid 2011 11 inch MBA. May be related to recent firmware update. I have tried all of the keyboard tricks and nothing will boot it.

I figured out that by doing the triple SMC reset and holding the power button for several seconds, I can get the fans to come on high, but nothing else happens.

I opened it up and unplugged the battery for a bit, but still no change. I also removed the SSD, and still get the same symptoms whether it's left out or plugged back in.

Does anyone know what this could be?

I found 2 leads on other boards. One said that this happens when the temp sensors are faulting, and the other said it happens when the computer doesn't see an OS.

Please send any suggestions.

I am going to send it in, but they said they would have to wipe the SSD, which would really suck.
Click to expand...

I don't know how long you let your computer sit before messing with it, but sometimes, especially after an update, the fans will run without the screen turning on. One time something similar happened to me after an update on my 2012 13" MBP, and I just left it plugged in to a charger. 30 minutes later it just turned on.

My motherboard also died on my 2010 13" MBA, but my computer was completely dead that time. If it is working at all, you may want to just let it sit while plugged in and turn it on after an hour or so. The backlight may also be dead. Check your screen very carefully to make sure it isn't on.

Matt
 
nexus4life said:
You say no picture, by this do you mean the screen itself will not turn on? Or is the backlight on the screen coming on?
Click to expand...

There's definitely no picture at all. It does not seem to be a back light problem.

I also left it plugged in all night and when I woke up, the fans were still on high and nothing had changed.
 
CashDude said:
There's definitely no picture at all. It does not seem to be a back light problem.

I also left it plugged in all night and when I woke up, the fans were still on high and nothing had changed.
Click to expand...

So if there is nothing from the screen at all, it seems like you have a pretty big issue on your hands :/ - usually the backlight comes on at least. Now at the very least your screen is dead.

Do you have applecare/ square trade? If not - ouch. That repair bill ...
 
nexus4life said:
So if there is nothing from the screen at all, it seems like you have a pretty big issue on your hands :/ - usually the backlight comes on at least. Now at the very least your screen is dead.

Do you have applecare/ square trade? If not - ouch. That repair bill ...
Click to expand...

I really doubt the screen is dead. The computer just doesn't seem to be booting up. The caps lock light doesn't come on, but the keyboard is working because I can SMC reset and turn it on/off.

I have a repair lined up. But if anyone knew any tricks of how to get it running, I would rather not send it out for who-knows-how-long.

Also does anyone know if this sounds like a thermal sensor issue or a badly corrupted firmware issue? Or none of the above? I have seen some complaints about this last firmware update on my model computer, but none being bricked this bad.
 
CashDude said:
I really doubt the screen is dead. The computer just doesn't seem to be booting up. The caps lock light doesn't come on, but the keyboard is working because I can SMC reset and turn it on/off.

I have a repair lined up. But if anyone knew any tricks of how to get it running, I would rather not send it out for who-knows-how-long.

Also does anyone know if this sounds like a thermal sensor issue or a badly corrupted firmware issue? Or none of the above? I have seen some complaints about this last firmware update on my model computer, but none being bricked this bad.
Click to expand...

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/07/22/users-report-install-crashing-issues-with-latest-macbook-air-efi-update

in the article, it said one user had a bricked MBA. Maybe you and that person had/have same issue.
 
The Phazer said:
Exactly the same seems to have happened with my 2011 Macbook Air.

Tried resetting the PRAM etc. Dead as a doornail.
Click to expand...

Try my method and see if the fans come on high.

Do the triple SMC reset and on the third one, don't release the power button. Keep it held down for about 15 seconds. Then release and push power again and see if they kick on.
 
I ordered a sata hard drive adapter from eBay and I'm going to try to copy my SSD over to a PC before I send it in for repair. I will let you know if it works in case you want to do the same thing.
 
So I sent it in, and they replaced the logic board. Is it possible that the botched firmware update fried my logic board? Or is it maybe just a coincidence?
nexus4life said:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/07/22/users-report-install-crashing-issues-with-latest-macbook-air-efi-update

in the article, it said one user had a bricked MBA. Maybe you and that person had/have same issue.
Click to expand...
 
Did the SMC update completed normally? Sounds like a botched bios update.
 
CashDude said:
So I sent it in, and they replaced the logic board. Is it possible that the botched firmware update fried my logic board? Or is it maybe just a coincidence?
Click to expand...

Hard to say, but it's unlikely to be anything other than the firmware update if everything was working normally prior to the update.
 
I just want to note here that TWICE I've brought laptops that were having issues (one, no sound at all and the other had display issues) into the genius bar and both times they immediately said "bad logic board". BOTH times, I later found easy fixes for the issues online. The Geniuses seem to say "bad logic board" an awful lot.
Not saying it wasn't the case for this, but it certainly was with mine (and others I've talked to). It's never a bad idea to get a 2nd, non genius bar opinion. Of course if the repair is completely covered by AppleCare then I guess it's fine (although I'm not crazy about having a 2nd logic board put in a fairly new laptop. i've run into problems with that in the past with non-matching serial numbers and other issues).
Anyway, just my experience. I'm happy they fixed the issue for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back