Fixes abnormal boot to black screen that occurs on some MacBook Pros

macbook-pro

There are few times that users of bitten apple products have been able to experience a situation in which after starting their MacBook Pro computer they have seen how the screen it will be totally black and they couldn't do anything to prevent it. Many of them have put their hands to their heads thinking that a failure of that style can be related directly with a possible hardware failure.

However, in some cases it is not a failure of the hardware of the computer but it is entirely attributed to a software problem that can be easily solved. This is the case that concerns us in this article, since we are going to indicate the steps you must follow in case the Your MacBook Pro's screen goes completely black during startup.

There are already enough users who have experienced this situation with their laptops and that is why in this article we are going to share with you the data that are known regarding possible solutions if it is a software problem.

The first thing to try is to try to restart the system management controller (SMC). On other occasions, this is the solution that has been found to failures related to how the fans work, problems to enter sleep or display. To do this, in any MacBook Pro or MacBook Air in which the battery cannot be removed, what should be done is:

  • Turn off the MacBook either the Pro or the Air.
  • Connect it to the electrical current using the MagSafe adapter.
  • Now we press and hold the keys Shift + Option + Control + Power Button for several seconds.
  • We release all the keys at the same time and start later as usual.

However, there are users who after doing the above continued to have the same problem giving a different solution that has consisted of knowing the sequence of keys that exists in all MacBook to be able to enter the sleep states or turn off the system. Oddly enough, with these key combinations the system goes out of the black screen. The steps to follow are:

  • Press the on-off key once to bring up the dialog box showing us the options for Restart, Sleep, Cancel, and Shutdown.
  • Now we press the key «S» to put the MacBook to sleep. Later we continuously press the power button to cut power to the hard drive.
  • After 15 seconds we press the power button again to start the computer.

If you are in one of these situations and have found a new way to get the MacBook out of its black screen, share it with us all.


94 comments, leave yours

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.

  1.   Manu said

    The same thing happened to me yesterday, and I took it to the apple store and used the keys Cmd + Alt + P + R at the same time that they turned on the equipment. They explained to me that it was due to a RAM memory error. I hope someone helps as it would have served me haha ​​😉

    1.    Elizabeth Rosario said

      Your comment only saved me, I was hopeless after trying so many different methods when I tried yours, it worked perfectly for me, I really appreciate it. thank you

      1.    Ruben said

        Thank you very much it is very effective

      2.    Cristina said

        I this and desperate, and even the bow of my computer for mac book air.
        This week either they solve it or I ride it too fat

    2.    Mar said

      Thank you very much for sharing it Manu. I was going to take it to an Apple Store and you saved me the trip (the closest I have is 80 km away).

      It has worked perfectly for me and if that was what they would have done to me ...

    3.    Marce said

      Thank you so much for sharing it! I had no choice but to wait to take it to the service but I tried what you shared and it works! Command + Option (alt) + p + r

      1.    Cristina said

        It happens to me every two by three, I was about to throw it out the window.
        It is not normal. And I was 200 kilometers from Batcelona.
        Either they solve it this week or I report them

    4.    Leo said

      Thank you very much!! 😉

    5.    jasmine said

      Thank you very much IT WORKS 🙂 you saved my day

    6.    Hugo Edmund said

      From which you saved me, thank you very much

    7.    Gonzalo said

      perfect thank you

    8.    David said

      I did what you said and it worked thank you very much for your comment you are worth a thousand never chance

    9.    Micaela Puvogel said

      Thank you very much, after trying 1 hour with what the page said, your comment made it turn on again, thank you very much

    10.    Angelica said

      If it helped me, thank you very much the same thing happened to me today black screen Mac air

      1.    Amparo Coloma said

        The black screen does not work for me, but the keyboard works and the volume I raise the brightness but nothing

        1.    Ray said

          Hello! How did you solve it? The same happens to me

    11.    Duniesky said

      Wow incredible 3 days with the broken MacBook, use your publication and voila, thank you….

    12.    Galo hernandez said

      Your solution is the right one, you are the most, I almost cried when the screen appeared

    13.    Miguel Cazorla said

      Thank you very much manu your trick has worked great for me

    14.    Paul said

      Friend Manu…. I owe you a couple of beers, thanks for the contribution !!

    15.    Jonathan said

      Good. I have a Mac Pro 2008 a1186, I turn it on and only the fans can be heard, it does not give video.
      I already tried Cmd + Alt + P + R, but on, and nothing. which may be

    16.    Edwin said

      You know, I tried so many options and none worked for me, I don't know if someone had the same thing that happened to me that nothing worked but I could repair it by doing something simple that if it worked for me alone, let the battery discharge and after 1 day the connect and I turned it on and everything normal I hope someone works as it worked for me MacBook Pro 13 inch, late 2011

  2.   Sebastián said

    Thank you Manu, your comment saved me ... it is exactly what had happened to me and no one was able to explain it

  3.   Pedro said

    i have yosemite on my macbook pro retina i always have black screen problem, no command seems to work help

    1.    Jonnie dave said

      That has a solution and it is very easy.

      1.    Pedro said

        Well my macbook is not 2011 it is 2015 and the problem does not occur when turning on the computer if at any time when I am using the mac

        1.    Jonnie dave said

          Friend, if your equipment is a 2015 model, you must take it under warranty, you do not have to invent anything with a model from this year, Apple must respond with a replacement.

  4.   Jonnie dave said

    I had the same problem, they brought me a macbook Pro that after starting the logo went to black screen, I tried all the commands and nothing worked, but this tutorial helped me.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtoQjvpMRRo

  5.   Nathy said

    Does anyone know any ... Alternative to the previous video if I don't have the cable? Some command to exit the external screen !!

  6.   Paul said

    My 2010 MacBook pro started up with a black screen, I could hear the startup noise but the screen was still black; I proceeded to open the lid and remove the RAM memory and put it back in, videos on youtube show it, after that everything returned to normal

  7.   DH-ROM said

    Thanks it worked well with the keys according to Manu.
    As you can see, Macs are good but they have their little things

  8.   anvnak said

    Please help me I have a macbook pro retina for exactly 4 days last night I put it to sleep and this morning it does not turn on or ace any noise or light or nothing stays as off all the time and the charging cable does light help me please I'm desperate

  9.   Flavio Contin Guzman said

    Greetings 16 months ago I have done this to my macbook pro press CTRL + OPTION + R + P and turn on and wait for the second beep and since then I have my macbook pro with the black screen and I have taken another mac that I had and I have I do the same steps and the same thing happened to him, there are already two mac the same model both 2007

  10.   Flavio Contin Guzman said

    the two mac with the black screen if someone here has knowledge of this I ask for your help since I have not found information about this in any other site thanks in advance

  11.   yokasta said

    Thank you very much the same thing happened to me and I was super worried because I thought it was a problem in the software or a virus and that is not covered by the warranty. I did what you said press command + option (alt) + p + r all at the same time while pressing the power button and voulaaaaaa my MacBook Pro turned on at once. Thank you so much 😀😀😀😀

    1.    Yadin said

      Thank you so much, you pull everything 100% on my MacBook pro retina

  12.   Luis Valdes said

    Thank you very much! Very grateful for the help because it has worked.

  13.   Alex said

    Thank you, it was very useful, I was about to throw my MacBook Air out the window

  14.   Smyrna BM said

    Thank you a thousand, blessings to you… THIS WORKS! cmd + alt + p + r and turn on Thanks a thousand, you saved me 🙂

  15.   Vivian said

    Many thanks!! They passed! I owe you one, I was already going into attack. A thousand thousand thanks!

    1.    Gulaine gustamar said

      I thank you for your advice boy apply my Mac turns pink and blue and the image blinks for a long time after the screen goes black and the key remains normal now it lights up when I restart it, the apple gives it a Gray color a little pale pink and remains black without image, but the keyboard is still normal. I really don't know what to do, I'm waiting for your help. Thank god bless you

  16.   JohnR1030 said

    Thanks Manu that was alt + cmd + p + r

  17.   Cristina1o said

    Yes that works! Thank you so much… I had tried everything without result ..

  18.   carotorreslerma said

    SOMEONE KNOWS BECAUSE THE SCREEN GETS GRAY ON MY 2014 MACBOOK PRO AND LET ME PUT MY PASSWORD AND THEN WHEN IT IS STARTED ONLY THE DESK PHOTO APPEARS AND WHAT I HAVE ON THE DESK WITH ANOTHER LETTER AND IT APPEARS AND THE V THOUSAND WRITTEN DISAPPEARS AT THE FIFTH MILLION. !!

    1.    Farling said

      The same thing happened to me and I started looking for alternatives and now it turns on, follow all the steps and then the dark gray screen with the cursor turns on, I can move it but nothing happens anymore, I'm worried I hope a little help from you!

  19.   José María said

    Excellent, I already considered my mac burned, I already solved it, thank you very much

  20.   German lopez said

    My Mackbook Pro turns on with the screen black but when looking closely, the icons are visible but little visibility such as a blurred gray center HELP

    1.    Yoan said

      Hello, have you been able to solve the problem you had with your macbook pro?

  21.   nahui said

    The same thing happened to me and I tried not that Manu recommended and it served me! Thank you. And another thing, I have bought my Mac for half a year and since this black screen happened, should I take it to be checked? (To take advantage of the guarantee).

  22.   Ruben Silva (@islachilote) said

    Hello, I updated my MacPro, when restarting the screen went black, I only see the cursor arrow and the waiting clock turning. I don't know what to do, I'm hundreds of miles from an Apple Store. Any clue? Did it happen to someone?

    1.    Nuno said

      My 2008 Mac Pro was left with a black screen too. The computer was working normally, as I had stood aside for a while, the Mac went into sleep mode, and when I moved the mouse to reactivate it a few hours later nothing happened. The screen has gone black and makes a little loud and continuous noise. I have forced the shutdown by continuously pressing the start button, and nothing…. the screen is still black.
      I did all the keybindings suggested on the forum. I have removed and replaced the RAM memory and the hard disk, I tried to put the hard disk in another slot and nothing ... I thought it was the damaged hard disk and I went for a new one this afternoon and unfortunately it doesn't work either ...
      Any suggestions?

  23.   Jerry said

    That such.
    I did the process as they suggest and indeed it already started! The issue is that now the screen is gray and with a circle and a crossed line in addition to that it is turning a circle (a sign that it is working) but it does not go from there, please help !!!

  24.   Alejandra said

    I turned on the Mac, entered the password, it loads the session for more than ten minutes and at the end there is only the black screen with an arrow left.
    What I do? I've already tried all of the above and nothing works.

  25.   jolman said

    Ps I have tried everything except the cable that knows where to get! And nothing at all!

  26.   Cristina said

    It's horrible, I'm about to avoid it through the window

  27.   Cristina said

    This week I have an appointment in Barcelona, ​​and I am 200 kilometers away, I have been like this for a year ,,,,,, I am already fed up with the MAC ,,, I spend hours h hours on the phone to find a solution, but nothing, we solved one day and I have already been ten days without an order.
    Either they solve the problem or the liomhorda, I've lost my nerves

  28.   Raul said

    My problem is this:

    When I turn on the computer and press ALT to choose which operating system to start with, the black screen remains, and it is solved by closing the entire lid. When leaving the mac completely closed, the apple light is on and when I open it again, the menu from which I can choose appears.

    I have tried all the methods and nothing works.

    It is a macbook pro retina 13 early 2015.

    Greetings.
    Raul

  29.   Zoe said

    Greetings. My MacBook Pro Retina, Mid 2012 has the exact same problem. I had searched and read countless solutions and none worked. In the end, after 2 months of desperation, I found this: http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/.

    Apple has an "Exchange and Repair Extension Program" for this problem. Expires February 27, 2016 or 3 years from the original date of purchase.

    For example: In my case, I bought it on January 3, 2013. For this reason, I have until January 2, 2016 to make a claim. I hope this restores your peace of mind and I recommend that you do so as soon as possible.

  30.   Raul said

    Thank you very much Zoe for the answer, but mine is mbpr 13 early 2015 so it does not classify within the group. I will see how to upload a video to make the problem more explicit.

    Greetings.
    Raul

  31.   Raul said

    Here is the video to see if it has happened to someone.

    https://youtu.be/jlfmpxlXV44

    [Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlfmpxlXV44&w=830&h=497%5D

    Greetings.

    1.    Jordi Giménez said

      Good Raúl, let's see if someone knows the solution or if the same thing will happen to him. What a strange thing partner….

      Luck!

      1.    Raul said

        Hi Jordi, hahaha that's quite strange, I don't know from what minute it started to happen, maybe it was the updates, I have Yosemite 10.10.5 and when I bought it it had 10.10.2.

        Let's see if the moderator can fix the link in the previous comment so that it appears as a video, which I did not know how to do. Thank you.

        Greetings.

  32.   Mario said

    I have a mac Pro and from one moment to the next the screen went dark but I could see the windows in the background but very low I need urgent help since I work with my mac.

  33.   Jessica said

    Thank you !! I was crazy all day trying to understand what was wrong with my new notebook and thanks to your comment it was fixed !! thanks !

  34.   nelson said

    Thank you manu I found it

  35.   YeiPee said

    Sure this post is from years ago but it just worked for me perfectly! Thanks Manu! Long life!

  36.   Belen said

    I love you, you saved my life!

  37.   Olga said

    Thank you! They just saved me !!!

  38.   Miguel said

    None of these solutions worked for me, if your computer is from 2011 it may be this problem, when you turn it on the computer confuses and thinks that you have an external screen connected, you have to connect to a screen via HDMI with the computer off, a Once the HDMI is connected, you turn on the computer and the screen of the Mac Book Pro will turn on normally, once it is turned on, disconnect the HDMI and that's it. This worked for me

  39.   kortizakorty said

    I have changed the Ram memories from 2gb to 8gb each ... and it doesn't turn on my computer, the screen goes black, but if I put the old ones or a previous one and a new one, it works for me ... does anyone know how to fix it?

  40.   ormazabal maca said

    Thank you manu it worked for me ☺️☺️☺️☺️

  41.   Max said

    3 months my Mac with the black screen until I found these tips, it worked for me by pressing alt + cmd + p + r and the power button, thanks!

  42.   Stanley gallegos said

    My Mac mini 2011 has stopped working and does not give video I have tried everything that they suggest here and I am waiting for a usb to hdmi adapter to see if that solves me ... You who suggest the Mac mini boots but does not give video anywhere.

  43.   Nathalia Nieto said

    Help!! I turned on my Mac, it started up but two seconds later some vertical colored lines appeared and then the screen went black and made a forced noise, the warranty expired 3 months ago and I had already taken it 6 months ago for the same problem and it they resolved. I took it to service again and the Mac technician tells me (in 5 minutes) that the power supply inside, the computer board does not work anymore and that it has no fix. I bought it 15 months ago….

  44.   jaimitop said

    Hola!
    I tell you that my problem was that the screen will be in minimum brightness that is practically black. Against the light I noticed that the desk was as is and that everything was normal. As the previous solutions did not work for me, against the light (making the screen shine with an external source) I decided to go to screen profiles and selected one other than lcd profile and that's it! The brightness returned. Then I calibrated it and renamed the profile and the problem did not return.
    I hope it helps you too.
    Greetings.

  45.   Elvis said

    The most, you saved my life.

  46.   Daniel crespo said

    I have a macbook from 2007 and I have not solved the problem. When you turn on the macbook you see a small flash of attempt to turn on the screen for about half a second but it remains completely black and does not take an image with the displayport cable or the screen itself. I would like you to help me. Thank you.

  47.   mrson said

    hello I need help, I have a MacBook Pro 2007, I was installing osx el capitan and I got a black screen, when I turn it on I hear that the login sounds but it does not give anything on the screen, I went to a mac technician and he told me I had to take it, but I had to pay 35 thousand, if you can help me I appreciate it, I did all the above mentioned and I do not solve anything, please help

    1.    Mario said

      DID YOU SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM? WHAT DID THE TECHNICIAN TELL YOU?

  48.   Gaby said

    My screen is not completely black, I only see the loading when the computer starts and sometimes when I start it looks like scratched for a few seconds, letting the background of my screen see a little, please I need help, I am very very worried, I have a 15 ′ mac pro with Sierra, PLEASE HELP

  49.   Francis said

    Thank you !!! Just great !!!

  50.   Christian said

    none of the solutions described here worked. Before I finished panicking I decided to route Factory Reset removes all information from time machine. it took about an hour but it worked fine. I can work again.

  51.   Alfred said

    Hello, it just happened to me. After following all the advice I found on the net, nothing at all. In one of the tips, I saw that there was a problem with the 2011 macbook pro models and I solved it by connecting another screen when turning it on to detect the one on the macbook. Then I thought it could be the same thing, that I had duplicated the screen. My solution was a combination of a few things. First, open and close the lid (leaving it down for a few seconds, until the screen returns. It returns in a way that you cannot manipulate any file and without the apple menu). Then open System Preferences-> trackpad-> more gestures. From there, activate exposé. Go to the desktop and with 4 fingers at the same time on the trackpad drag up. There I appeared 2 desks. I selected the second one, asked for my password, and entered my system again. Then delete the second Desktop. This happened to me after an automatic update. Every time this looks more like windows !!. I hope it helps someone, that I had a very bad time. regards

  52.   Miguel said

    Thank you Manu for sharing the solution, it has worked for me after a week without knowing what to do. You are big!!!

  53.   Norberto said

    Hello Alfredo and Miguel, that of opening and closing the cover that is the back of the Macbook ?, and another thing is necessary to disconnect the screen of the Macbook Pro from the motherboard ?, I do not understand the explanation well. Please give me a cable. A greeting.

  54.   daniel valenzuela said

    Thank you very much. It worked perfectly.

  55.   True said

    Thank you very much. Solved!

  56.   star rodriguez said

    I have a macbook pro, in it I download the photos but lately these photos well exposed in the camera's viewfinder come out dark on the mac.
    Could you explain why this happens?

  57.   Joseph said

    I did not understand this part says:
    "We press the on-off key once to bring up the dialog box where we are shown the options to Restart, Sleep, Cancel and Shut down."

    If the screen is black and I don't have video, how can I see the dialogue window?

  58.   JOSE ALEJANDRO said

    Excellent contribution!
    Only a month ago that happened to me and with alt + opc + p + r it worked but it is happening to me often, will it be normal ??? Or what can I do to prevent this from happening?

  59.   Angelo said

    It worked for me, it was with the Control + CMD + R + P keys plus the Power button, I have macbook air 13 ″ 2011… With the Option (alt) + Cmd + P + R keys, it restarted several times after the fans (fans)

  60.   Kevin Barrantes said

    Before starting, I leave a video with my problem

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTNddAxRZ5c&feature=youtu.be

    I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), I bought it a year and a half ago (it is literally new), and it had worked great for me. I had always been reluctant to do the software update, but two days ago, I decided to do it for no reason.

    Four hours later, working on a video I was editing, a series of colored dots appeared all over the screen (green, red and blue), they looked like pixels; Then the computer started to stick, and finally the screen went dark, but the computer was still on.

    I connected the computer to a television via HDMI cable and it works perfectly, everything remains intact at least in the functional part of the software, however the screen remains black. Something curious also happens, if I disconnect the HDMI, the screen begins to give an image, it lasts 4 seconds with an image, it goes black, the image returns 2-3 seconds, it goes black, and continues doing that until it decides to stay just in black again.


    From there I inquired on the net about possible solutions, I reset PRAM (Cmd + Option + P + R), I also did the SMC setting (Shift + Option + Control + Power), I started it in safe mode, also in Recover Mode (Cmd + R), and finally, I reinstalled the software again. None of all of these solutions worked.

    I find it surprising that a relatively new, fully functional computer started to give problems after I had installed the software. This being the case, I called Apple Technical Support, explained the situation, we did all the aforementioned steps again and still nothing.

    The fact is that I bought this computer in the United States, and there the warranty is one year, so it does not cover the two-year warranty that is generally given in Spain. I took it to two Apple certified places, and in one they told me that they did not know what it could be, and in the other they told me that they are sure it was a screen problem (Geniuses ...), and that the fix would be around 600 and 700 EUROS. Incredible.

    I am not going to pay such an expensive fix for something that an Apple software installation generated for me, it is very unfair and the customer service they have given me by all means has left a lot to be desired.

    I don't know what to do and I don't know what solution there may be, but this already has me on edge.

  61.   Fernando Arroyo said

    My bitch macbook pro retina from the beginning of 2015 worked perfect until a month ago it gave me a huge scare since the screen was black, only the horn was heard when it turned on but from there it did not happen, the apple stopped shining in the part from the back, you could only see if I connected the HDMI to an external monitor, but the laptop screen did not recognize me, I only recognized the monitor, so we searched with some friends on the internet and found that with some commands I could return to fucking life, and if with the Alt + cmd + P + R + power button I held it for a second, the screen could be seen again, I am glad and we will form the laptop since we saw that it could be a problem with the ram or software ... everything was fine, until the Today a fucking month later it failed again and twice a day I have been able to rescue it with the command that I put above, but I have a fucking doubt that is what happens and I am afraid that one day I will not wake up like chepirito did 😛 XD… I took a case from him to thule that according to my friends it could squeeze a lot or limit the ventilation of the computer ... have you been through something similar ?? ... I do not want my fucking mac to die, no mamessssssss ..

  62.   Pau (FR) said

    I have a 2010 Macbook Pro with Yosemite OS. I did not change him to El Capitan back in the day because I knew he would stop communicating with the scanner, printer and so on. The fact is that last week I decided to let it run updates because certain programs are incompatible and I thought that with that it could (which neither) since then it has turned off 2 times only while working and today it did not turn on the screen. After insisting, all it showed was a Change Password screen. In the end, after trying several things the combination of the PRAM (ctrl + alt + p + r) has worked for me