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PLEASE HELP ME!!! MBP retina late 2013 disaster

W

wendykl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 1, 2015
6
1
Hello please help me,

I've got all my school work on my laptop and I have exams and presentations to give soon. I'm going to die!

I have a late 2013 MBP ( NO WARRANTY ) retina display. Last night it just crashed, the screen went fuzzy and froze, I turned it off and on again.

Now, it just comes on, blank WHITE screen, NO Apple jingle sound. No Apple logo, nothing!

I can make use of the caps lock light, the top keyboard buttons seem to be working, I can adjust the contrast of the display.

Please help me? I've been crying so much.

Wendy :(:(:(:(:(
 
wendykl said:
Hello please help me,

I've got all my school work on my laptop and I have exams and presentations to give soon. I'm going to die!

I have a late 2013 MBP ( NO WARRANTY ) retina display. Last night it just crashed, the screen went fuzzy and froze, I turned it off and on again.

Now, it just comes on, blank WHITE screen, NO Apple jingle sound. No Apple logo, nothing!

I can make use of the caps lock light, the top keyboard buttons seem to be working, I can adjust the contrast of the display.

Please help me? I've been crying so much.

Wendy :(:(:(:(:(
Click to expand...

First off, whereabouts in the world are you?

If you're anywhere in Europe, go to the Apple store after booking an appointment with the genius bar. You will get warranty service. The EU consumer laws are such that the one year limited warranty is not considered a reasonable period.

Explain that there is important stuff on the SSD and that you have no backup. They will make no guarantee that they can get the data back, but by telling them that, they will try to read it.

Please in future, backup your computer. Buy a portable hard drive and when you're at home, connect it up at least once a day and let Time Machine do its thing.
 
Its model number: a1502 emc 2678

MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.6 13" Late 2013

I'm currently in Borneo. There are no Apple shops only jungles and monkeys, I bought this from England. :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

----------

okay I held down the Command key and turned it on and I heard the Apple Jingle but it went back to the white screen. This is the first time I've heard the sound. Its still stuck on the white screen though.

----------

okay just reset the SMC and PRAM, no joy. Feeling sick, I spent so much on this laptop. It has no user serviceable parts either.
 
wendykl said:
okay I held down the Command key and turned it on and I heard the Apple Jingle but it went back to the white screen. This is the first time I've heard the sound. Its still stuck on the white screen though.
Click to expand...

No, I mean hold down the Option key shortly after you press the power button. If you can get to the boot menu it may just need a simple disk repair or OS reinstall (edit: unless it's a hard drive failure). If not, something more serious may have happened.
 
Last edited:
Don't panic, try to repair the disk via Disk Utility or reinstall OS X, as it may just be a bad update. Do you know anyone else with a Mac as you could start your machine in Target Disk mode, access your files and save to a portable drive.

I use Dropbox and iCloud so I can always access my files and have a physical backup, I know there is an authorised Apple retailer in Labuan (Financial Centre) as I worked there for a couple years, however I am not sure if they would be of any help you. Equally any retailer would be able to help by connecting to another Mac to access your files.

Sounds like a bad update to me, if set your system will automatically update and Apple has just released as now Operating System update. Certainly from my time in Labuan the internet speed and stability is not constant.
 
Last edited:
1st option: Hold down an Option key while booting, in order to access the Mac OS X system recovery, then go to disk utility and repair your hard drive

2nd option - if 1st option didnt work or you are in hurry and just want to save your files and repair later, you can boot Ubuntu Linux without installation, access your files stored on Mac's hard drive and copy them to external hard drive / flash drive or upload to your online storage like Dropbox
1) Create a bootable Ubuntu LiveUSB using another computer & insert it to your Mac . Can use this wonderful tool for creating LiveUSB https://rufus.akeo.ie/
2) Hold down an Option key while booting, then select EFI Boot
3) After it will boot you can do with your files whatever you want

If any questions, please post them below...
 
I can now get the Apple Jingle after the PRAM & SMC reset. Still no joy on getting past the white screen.

Yes I do remember it telling me there was an update ready to be installed after reboot but it crashed before I got a chance to reboot. I was busy working on some school material so couldnt just shut down and reboot. I have done it this way since forever.
 
Queen6 said:
I use Dropbox and iCloud so I can always access my files and have a physical backup
Click to expand...

Very probably the best advice on this thread.

Computers break. They misbehave. They get stolen.

Always have your work someplace you can get at, and someplace else too.


Meanwhile, OP: Do you have an external monitor you could try connecting?

AppleMacFinder's suggestion of using target disk mode to access your files from another Mac is a really good one. I hope you can do so before going much farther, if only to copy your essential work files across.
 
wendykl said:
I can now get the Apple Jingle after the PRAM & SMC reset. Still no joy on getting past the white screen.

Yes I do remember it telling me there was an update ready to be installed after reboot but it crashed before I got a chance to reboot. I was busy working on some school material so couldnt just shut down and reboot. I have done it this way since forever.
Click to expand...

Please try all the solutions suggested above (regarding Option key), and tell us the results for each solution!
Only in such way we're able to help you...
 
sjinsjca said:
AppleMacFinder's suggestion of using target disk mode to access your files from another Mac is a really good one. I hope you can do so before going much farther, if only to copy your essential work files across.
Click to expand...

Actually, my advice was about using Ubuntu LiveUSB for booting it at the same Mac.
Even if OS X is broken and can't boot, she would be able to boot into Ubuntu LiveUSB (which acts as a temporary OS stored in RAM, not at Hard drive) and then do all the actions with files, including copying them to external flash/hard drives, or uploading to Internet

However, to use this method she needs to produce that LiveUSB using another computer and
a clean flash drive without files. If she doesn't have these resources, she can't follow this alternative solution
(which is about getting files from a Mac with a broken OS X installation without fixing it)
 
Natzoo said:
its a SSD, i wonder if its retrievable if it does fail
Click to expand...

Depending on the extent of the failure, it can be very difficult to retrieve data off any failed hard drive. That's why you always back up.

Anyway, we don't yet know if the OP has suffered from such a failure.
 
It could be GPU or display failure. Try connecting it to an external display and see if you see anything.
 
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