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My MB Pro can't turn om, what should I do?

H

hlavkus

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 7, 2016
13
0
I have a MacBook Pro 2011, 13inch, with i5 and SSD.



It was working just fine but today I discovered a problem. I use my laptop for DJing and I use one USB port for and external HDD and one for my controller (powered from its own source, plugged into electricity). Today, one of the USB ports stopped working, the HDD was looking like it was on (the light was on, it was running) but mac did not detect it, it also did not detect a lash drive, the other port worked just fine. After I finished my performance, i tried to plug the controller to the port which was not working, after a while, it actually detected the controller but suddenly the screen went off and ever since I cannot turn the laptop on, even the charge LED is not on, it does not react to anything... What could be the problem and is it even repairable? Thank you


MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11)
 
Possibly the main logic board but see if you can try it with a known good charger just to make sure the charger wasn't busted earlier but you didn't notice and its run the battery flat.
 
simonsi said:
Possibly the main logic board but see if you can try it with a known good charger just to make sure the charger wasn't busted earlier but you didn't notice and its run the battery flat.
Click to expand...
actually, the charger is now blinking orange which gave me a bit of hope, I tried the reset tricks with holding various buttons at once and it did not work though
 
Is the Magsafe connector LED flashing? That's not a good sign. Should stay on steady.
What about the battery test light? Does your battery charge completely
Does the battery test light stay on steady, or does it race back and forth?
Has your battery been holding a good charge - is it the original battery?
Be sure to try another power adapter.
Be sure to try both the PRAM and SMC resets again, with nothing attached to the USB ports.

Plug a USB wired mouse into each USB port to see if the the mouse works (meaning also that the USB port provides power and data, and should be working) and should show the tracking LED on the bottom of the mouse, too. Not all mice have visible lights on the bottom, but most will. Check with USB port on any other computer as a double check.
 
Then, one or both of your normal USB devices are faulty.
An external hard drive that is bus-powered, and not self-powered, can sometimes have too much current draw for a USB port, disabling that port. A PRAM reset should also reset the USB port.
 
Sounds like the logic board at this point if you've tried the PRAM, SMC reset, etc. One more thing to try is to actually remove the bottom plate and unhook the battery to see if that makes a difference.

I had a MacBook completely drop dead on me about a year ago. Just screen turned off and that was it. Never got it working again. I purchased a logic board online and replaced it and it was up and running again. (In my instance, not a guarantee of it for you.)

Also, might as well bring it into an Apple Store Genius Bar. Those guys aren't what they used to be (I can say that cause I used to be one!), but they're going to be able to at least run through most of those scenarios above and give an informed opinion based on some experience.
 
I took it to a repair shop to see what they can do, if it was the motherboard. would the USB ports be working with that mouse though?
 
The 2011 MBPs have an extended service policy regarding graphics cards. If your MBP fails a specific diagnostic test, you'll get a free logic board replacement.

Worth bringing it to a Genius to have them run the tests.
 
Brammy said:
The 2011 MBPs have an extended service policy regarding graphics cards. If your MBP fails a specific diagnostic test, you'll get a free logic board replacement.
Click to expand...

The repair program for graphics card issues are for 15 and 17-inch models.
The OP has a 13-inch MBPro, so not under THAT program, anyway.
 
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hlavkus said:
I took it to a repair shop to see what they can do, if it was the motherboard. would the USB ports be working with that mouse though?
Click to expand...

Well it doesn't sound like you said the mouse was actually working... just that it's receiving power? It could definitely receive power and now work.
 
Power to the USB ports when the machine is off comes only and pretty direct from the charger AFAIK so that is just a very basic "test" - I think the logic board is faulty tbh on the basis of what we are seeing.
 
DeltaMac said:
The repair program for graphics card issues are for 15 and 17-inch models.
The OP has a 13-inch MBPro, so not under THAT program, anyway.
Click to expand...
Ah crud. I thought the 13s were on that list too.

Never mind.
 
So they discovered it was indeed the logic board issue but thankfully, they were able to fix it. Where was something wrong with the connection between the logic board and the processor. USB ports are fine, accordign to them. But my question is. What could cause it? Could it be my external hard drive? There is something wrong with it, Im having it fixed now but I don't think it could do such damage. My best is though, that I damaged it by plugging it into a socket which was not turned on and then turning it on with charger with laptop still connected in it. I'm afraid of connecting any external HDD now until I get a self powered USB hub but I need my files for work.
 
USB is designed to be "hot connect", and would not cause the issue that you found.
I say it was just a fluke, and you should not need to be concerned about using power from the USB ports.
Same for plugging in to a power strip that is turned off, then turn it on while your device is attached.
It should make no difference at all - unless you have a faulty external device
I HOPE the shop did not tell you that, as it would be a poor answer to give you.
I think all you need to know is that the shop is replacing your logic board, which will fix your issue.

It IS possible that you would like that additional protection (self-powered USB hub) because of the external USB devices that you use.
Should not be necessary, but still may help protect you in the future

Do your homework to get a decent USB hub that fits your needs. Anker makes some good ones, IMHO.
 
That was my suggestion, they said there is a possibility but it is not very likely. Anyway, I'm happy it works now, tried a different external hard drive, it worked fine in both USBs and I'm having the original one repaired. I will buy a hub just to be safe and I hope eveything will be ok
 
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