This will start your Mac with only basic functionality, which can often get your Mac going and allow you to perform simple tasks. We have a separate article where we The good news is that a screen issue is obvious, and it probably hasnt affected your data at all. We dont have to spend hours dealing with driver updates, fixing problems caused by bloatware, or trying to get rid of viruses. Some of the issues the tool can fix involve things like Time Machine issues, repairing or wiping a hard disk, or getting online help from apple. Boot into Standard Recovery Mode. This works if your Mac at least tries to turn on, but it may not be effective on a totally dead MacBook. Usually the beach ball only appears on screen for a few seconds. Occasionally, doing that then restarting fixes the problem. It is still possible to repair permissions using Terminal, but we wont go into that here, following Apples lead and assuming that it wont do any good and might actually cause more issues. Usually, it is Macintosh HD. Go to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor (or click cmd+space and start typing Activity Monitor). We have this article including discuss everything you need to know about getting Apple products repaired, macOS 13 Ventura superguide: Everything you need to know, Best Mac Studio deals available now and where its in stock. Read: You can also check to see if any other hardware connections are causing issues. what to do to fix a Blue Screen of Death on a Mac here. If your Mac wont boot, theres a hidden Recovery Mode that you can use to diagnose and fix issues or reinstall macOS completely. MacOS Recovery Mode can help fix a variety of problems. If there are still no signs of life, it could be that the power adapter is damaged. Luckily, you wont lose your files when reinstalling macOS, as it uses the same process as upgrading. To find out if something is hogging the power or memory click on Memory. On a desktop Mac, remove the power plug, wait ten seconds, re-attach it and try booting again. fixes for a Mac that wont start up here. While the Mac is booting, switch on display it could be that the displays sleep setting kicked in while your Mac was off and failed to wake. It can take a while to finish booting up. Look in the Dock to see if there is a bouncing app icon, that would indicate that something needs attention. (In older versions you had to manually choose Repair Disk). Press the Power button to restart your Mac and immediately press & hold the Shift key on the keyboard. If nothing youve tried so far has worked try a power cycle: On a portable Mac, hold down the power button for ten seconds. This will start the verification and repair process. Select Options, then click Continue. Finally, release all of the keys at the same time and then press the Power button again to start the Mac for a second time. How to fix a Mac with a flashing question mark, What to do if you see a grey screen at startup, What to do if you see a blue screen at startup, How to repair your boot disk/startup disk with Disk Utility, What to do if you see the Spinning Beach ball, What to do if your WiFi is slow or not working, What to do if your Bluetooth isnt working, What to do if your MacBook is not charging, What to do if your Mac is running out of power too quickly. We look in more detail at memory hog issues and how to fix them with Activity Monitor below. Immediately press and hold Command+R. 1. How to use Disk Utility here. If the reason your Mac is struggling is because you dont have enough RAM available you can upgrade your RAM find out how here: If you are, write it down (or if its easier take a photo using your iPhone, or screenshot). If you see a blue screen, or a blue screen with a spinning beachball this may indicate that there is a problem with your software or a startup item. To initiate Safe Boot, start up your Mac and hold down the Shiftkey as it powers on. You will need to start your Mac in Safe Mode. How to make space on your Mac. Press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds, until you see the startup options window, which includes a gear icon labeled Options. Google the process name and find out what it does. T: Enter FireWire Target Disk Mode. If you take the Mac and the cable to an Apple Store Apple is likely to replace the cable free of charge. The check list of things to look out for when diagnosing the problem are as follows: Are you seeing an error message? Select Systems Preferences > General. We look at both of those occurrences below. It's a nightmare scenario to end up having your notebook or desk PC not working when booted up, only to hear those dreaded 4 short beeps. That should send you to Recovery mode. If that doesnt solve the problem you may need to repair your startup disk or disk permissions using Disk Utility. Since Lion, when MacOS is installed on a Mac a Recovery HD volume is created on your Start Up drive. Wait a few seconds, then press the power button to start your computer. This should run a set of useful system optimizations that should fix whats preventing your Macs startup. A blank grey screen may indicate that there is a problem with a firmware update. Mac Startup Issues FAQs. Make sure the power adapter is connected securely to your Mac you should see the power indicator light up. 10. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple. Select the disk you wish to repair from the menu and clink on First Aid. Learn what to doif your Mac starts up to Options with a gear icon. Select First Aid. After that type {/sbin/fsck -fy} in the command line, and then press enter. Another reason you may see the beachball is if you are running out of space on your Mac. (Note if you have a Fusion Drive things are even more complex). Replace Expansion Cards. Click on Memory to see if there is something hogging memory. Follow the instructions to install it. Now, you've got to work out whether it's a problem with macOS, an incompatibility issue, or even a security threat. 8. To start up an Apple M1 Mac in Safe Mode: Shut down your Mac and wait for a moment. Select a startup disk. Fix The Issue. To run this tool in read-only mode, click "Start". To do this click on the Bluetooth icon at the top right of your Macs the menu bar. Step 2: Press and hold Command + R when your Mac is restarting. Select Options, then click Continue. Though your Mac won't be able to turn on, you can always check to see if it's getting enough power to turn on. 4: Empty the Trash to Actually Delete the Files. If I get any relevant information, I will surely share with you some . Then simply hold down your MacBook power button and count for ten seconds. i really want to get the messages i sent and pictures. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. In the former case you need to ensure that your Mac firmware is up to date and that should be a simple case of checking that you are running the latest version of MacOS. Perhaps its just Pages or Word asking whether you want to save a file. That way, when you reinstall macOS, you can just copy your data back to your Mac. A tech enthusiast passionate about Mac world. Make sure the wall socket is switched on and the plug is secure. When a Mac wont start up it will often display something on the screen, or you will hear something inside whuring away. After the Sync is finished, you must stop it with the cross icon: Press and hold the Shift key and click Continue in Safe Mode. Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a question mark. We describe how to start up in Safe Mode below. Maybe your Mac tries to turn on but doesnt get to the login screen without shutting down again. Repairing disk permissions is a standard Mac troubleshooting tip. Hold down these buttons at startup for the following functions. Still, its best to make a backup first, which you can do in Disk Utility without loading into macOS. If this happens, you no doubt want to fix the problem as soon as possible. Scroll down until you find "Account Storage". Note when the problem started. This could be a external hard drive (if its your own Mac hard drive you will need to jump to the next section). Coins 0 coins Premium Talk Explore. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. This. Warning: If the Disk Utility tells you that your drive is about to fail, take it seriously. Digital Trends Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites. IfFileVaultis turned on, this also unlocks your disk. If your Mac wont start up in Safe Mode you may need to repair your startup disk or disk permissions using Disk Utility, the methods for both are described below. See Change your Mac startup disk. If the Mac won't boot with all peripherals disconnected, try booting in Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key when you restart. is a great place to start. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs legacy on the BBC. Don't release the keys until you hear Mac's startup sound or until the Apple logo appears. Double-click Disk Utility to open it. Switching it on while there is activity on your Mac should fix it.. If you cant Force Quit, press and hold the power button until the Mac switches off. Option . We have an article on Start troubleshooting by restarting your Mac, sometimes that is all that is necessary to fix this problem. How to control your Mac. Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility (or click cmd+space and start typing Disk Utility) to see if there is an issue with your disk. . Select your username at the left. To actually start up your Mac so that you can check this you need to start in Safe Mode (and having done so you may find that if your Mac is restarted it starts up fine the next time). Hold the Power key as your system starts up. Click Shut Down.. Shutting down a Mac: Click the Apple Menu and then Click Shut Down (Image credit: iMore) Press and Hold Control-Option-Shift for 7 seconds. A grey screen with an Apple logo in the middle may suggest that there is a problem with some software. To access Startup Manager, restart your Mac and hold down the Option key when you hear the startup chime. Weve all been there, you sit down in front of your Mac to get the days work started, press the power button, and nothing happens. I will also find something from my end. Shut the Mac down, usually by pressing the power button. Then choose Reinstall macOS from macOS Utilities. This could be due to a memory-hogging application. Whatever the situation, heres what to do to fix Mac startup problems. How to upgrade a Mac. If its amber or red, MacOS is having trouble managing memory and could be the reason that your Mac is running slowly. When you start up in Safe Mode your Mac will not load startup items and some software. If you have an Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2), follow these steps to enter recovery mode: Shut down the system. Click the First . Use Mac startup keyboard shortcuts. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. If you have FileVault turned on, you may need to sign in twice, Press and hold the power button until the startup options appear. If there is no startup sound, release the keys after the second time the Apple logo disappears. So, the next stage is to check that macOS and all your apps are up to date. This time locate the com.apple.Bluetooth.xxx.plist file (note that after Bluetooth there will be a collection of random numbers and letters). We describe how to do this above. Heres What To Do. Press and hold the power button down for 10 seconds. See how much disk space you have available. Hold down Command + R as your MacBook Pro is restarting. The first thing you'll need to do is boot into Recovery Mode. Wed advise that you say no to this option just in case something you had open causes the same problem again if it reopens. You can shut down a runaway process by clicking the End Process button. App Nap was a feature Apple introduced in Mavericks that allows inactive applications to go to sleep, reducing power usage and prolonging battery life. After resetting the SMC, press the Power button to start up the MacBook and see if the problem has been fixed. Press the power button while holding down = Shift. When FSCK will begin you can see the status of the startup disk on display. Click on the CPU tab and youll see information similar to that in the Memory tab. One app that often calls up the beachball is Safari. For Apple Silicon Macs. To perform a clean install, use Disk Utility to erase your startup disk first. If your Intel-based Mac computer displays a blank screen at startupor a screen with an Apple logo (with or without a gear icon) and a flashing question markit indicates there may be a problem with a firmware update or software. Have a look in Activity Monitor to see if anything is being particularly greedy. Resetting both of these can fix issues that have to do with your Macbooks battery, fans, and power, among other features. Apple silicon. Mouse/trackpad button: Eject CD/DVD. Select your startup disk from the left pane of Disk Utility, click First Aid tab, then click Run to fix startup issues. On a desktop Mac, remove the power plug, wait ten seconds, re-attach it and try booting again. Note that Disk Utility had a bit of a makeover in Mac OS X El Capitan and some of the processes changed. Solution 5: Disable Startup Items When you have too many startup items set to launch at startup, your MacBook Pro's processor can be overloaded and overloaded, which can lead to a Kernel Panic error and an auto restarts. If you never see the startup options window, release the power button, then press and hold it again for another 10 seconds. For more information about the most power hungry apps and processes take a look at the Energy tab in Activity Monitor (which was a new addition in OS X Mavericks). If your Mac computer is still running, you need to click the Apple menu (at the top-left corner on the screen) and then select Shut Down. To do so you can use Disk Utility Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility (or click cmd+space and start typing Disk Utility). Its a little bit like its saying its a little bit busy with something right now and will get back to you. It can fix the damaged disk permissions on your Mac that may cause the issue of Mac keeps restarting because of a problem. Use macOS combo updates if necessary. Read about (Note: if youre running macOS Catalina, you need to erase Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD - Data to perform a clean install). We describe how to do that below. If your Mac is running slowly dont download a program that claims it will speed up your Mac, the first thing you need to do is to try and find out what is causing the slowdown. You might see a default desktop picture in the background, which might change to your chosen desktop picture when you select your account. 2. If it's not, well, then you might have a bigger problem. You might see a default desktop picture in the background, which might change to your chosen desktop picture when you select your account. See Diagnose problems with your Mac. We also have this article offering a few more tips on To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu. You can also power cycle your Mac to try and clear up any internal inconsistencies that may be preventing proper startup. Use Apple Diagnostics. Release Shift when you see the login window. If you are running an older version of MacOS the method will be slightly different (but we imagine that there arent many people left using that version now). What Does Apples T2 Security Chip Do in Your Mac? A large Thunderbolt, USB, or FireWiresymbolagainst a dark background means that your Mac is intarget disk mode. Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences. Is your MacBook making noise when you turn it on? The first step is to diagnose whats causing your Mac to have problems. Next, choose Reinstall MacOS, and the tool will walk you through the next steps. Select your startup disk. If your MacBook can start booting before shutting down, then theres a chance you can make it work by going into Safe Boot. On older Macs, press the power button and immediately press and hold the Shift key. If you are still experiencing issues, the next step is to remove some files from your Preferences. You may need to Force Quit if something is causing a hold up and cant be fixed beware you may lose some data though. Follow the steps above, and you should be back up and running again in no time. Once you have run though these steps you should have a clearer idea about the nature of your issue. most recent version of MacOS, it might be that you have encountered a known issue that has been fixed. You may also be able to diagnose problems with your Mac if you start in Safe Mode. The installation process will run, and once its done, you should boot into a fresh copy of macOS, with your files hopefully intact. Hit down the power button until the startup options and the Options gear icon show up on the screen. Were going to assume you are running a version that is newer than El Capitan since that version of Mac OS X launched in September 2015. Thats the the System Management Controller. To enable Lazy Nezumi Pro 's features in your art app, you need to attach it to its canvas windows. First, try switching to different outlets to see if your current outlet is faulty. If not, it could be that the battery has lost charge. If often can fix more on the second run-through. Follow these steps to find out. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds. Click here to learn more. You can run First Aid on your startup drive as above, but if Disk Utility finds any errors it wont attempt to fix them. This sorts all open processes based on the amount of RAM they're using. This will show how much storage you have and how it is divided across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Wait ten seconds after the power shuts off and try starting it up again. Still nothing? Once its off, connect the MagSafe power adapter and hold down Control, Shift, Option and the Power button for around four seconds, before releasing all at the same time. If you see an application which is using a significant chunk of CPU cycles, quit it and you should notice a performance improvement in your Mac. Lazy Nezumi Pro will now process your pen and mouse input . If they wont connect, turn your Bluetooth device off and on, and try connecting again. To reset the SMC, first youll have to shut down your MacBook. Now, hold Shift and Continue in Safe Mode. If you see your Mac charging, it means it has enough power to turn on. And we have this tutorial on How do I stop programs from running on startup Mac? Did Apple just cryptically hint that a touchscreen Mac is coming? We also have an After shutting down your Mac wait 10 seconds and then press the power button. If a Software Update is available, click Update Now and follow the instructions on screen. We also discuss Never disregard the most likely, even apparent solutions. Reselect your Mac's startup disk. i am a school shooting survivor, and this was my phone at the time. The easiest way to update all your apps is to use CleanMyMac X. Download CleanMyMac X if its not already installed on your Mac. The instructions apply to all macOS computers and laptops. tips for fixing WiFi problems here. If that hasnt fixed it, then your battery may be at the end of its life and you should take your MacBook to Apple for servicing. Join 425,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. 7. On a Mac with Apple Silicon, turn it off, then press and hold the power button until you see the Startup Options screen. You can try hooking up your Mac to an external display if you desperately need to use it, but in the meantime, you should call an Apple Store and arrange an appointment to see if the display can be fixed or replaced. Open the Finder and choose Go from the menu, then Go to Folder. If despite adding your user name and password the Mac still doesnt start up you may need to check your login items. what to do to fix a Blue Screen of Death on a Mac here. The removal of the feature probably indicates that repairing permissions was one of those solutions given that didnt really do a whole lot of good. Safe Mode starts up your Mac without loading Login Items and some non-essential extensions. To find out which apps or processes are misbehaving, organise the list by memory usage (arrow pointing down), and you can identify the culprit. Copyright 2022 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. If you are having problems with WiFi, with your connection to the internet dropping or disconnecting at random, or simply not working at all, there are a few steps to take to try and solve it. You may be having this problem because your Preview preferences files might become corrupt. Next go back to the Finder and select Go to Folder and type ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost. 2: Use Finder Search to Track Down Large Files. Common Mac error messages so check to see if it is covered there, or you could do a quick search in Google to see if anyone else is seeing the same error and if they fixed it. how to speed up a slow Mac. Check if the display is connected to a power supply and switched on. The bad news is that you cant really fix a MacBook screen on your own. This way things can run from the Recovery HD volume that was created when MacOS was installed. Then connect your MacBook to the charging cable, and then see if it will turn on properly. Let's try to solve the problem and launch that app. Video-editing app LumaFusion to get a Galaxy Tab S8 launch, This new Best Buy program lets you lease a MacBook, How this new Quest VR app totally sold me on exercising in virtual reality, Walmart shoppers are loving this $159 11.6-inch 2-in-1 laptop, 1-day sale drops this gaming laptop with an RTX 3050 Ti to $550, Google may have just fixed Chromes most annoying problem, Norton Antivirus Free Trial: Get a week of protection, ABCMouse Free Trial: Get your first month free, Microsoft Word Free Trial: Get a month of service for free, NordVPN Free Trial: Try the service for free for a month. Well show you how to use it later in the article. If its green, all is good with your system (although you may still benefit from closing a few memory hogs so read on). Fortunately, that's easy. The Mac "Startup Disk Almost Full" Message and How to Fix It 1: Get an Overview of What's Eating Up Mac Startup Disk Space. Check peripherals. If you have a Time Machine back up you may be able to recover the date from that. Apps that are set to open automatically will have a check mark next to Open at Login. Choose Disk Utility. A Mac that wont start up is a little different to a Mac that wont turn on. Start PowerPoint, and check whether the problem still occurs. Reinstall macOS. Then release it. If none of those happens, your Macs power source is likely at fault. When Apple released El Capitan in 2015 it removed the ability to repairing disk permissions. Wed always advise that you have 10% of the total disk space free. You can restore from a Time Machine Backup, get help online from the Apple Support site, try to fix disk problems with Disk Utility, and reinstall macOS. Step 2: Restart it by holding down Command () + R immediately upon hearing the startup chime. Step 3: There, select Disk Utility in the spring-up window on your screen. Before you call your IT guy do make sure its plugged in. That folder with a question mark inside indicates that your Mac cant find the startup disk and therefore cant boot. If you need to free up some space read this: If youre using an external display with your Mac and hear a startup chime but there are no signs of life, it could be the display at fault. As above Disk Utility will run its checks and try and repair if it can. i really need text messages and images off of it. Create a spare user account and use Safe Boot to troubleshoot startup errors. When the login window appears, login is a different user. MacPaw uses cookies to personalize your experience on our website. Then release, and press the power button as you normally . If an application is using more memory than other applications you can close it by selecting the app and closing it from its menu, or by clicking on it in Activity Monitor and then clicking on the X icon at the top left of the menu. 1. How long do Macs last? Select the disk or partition that you have macOS installed on. This article explains how to troubleshoot startup problems with your Mac. The owner of a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repair shop, John Paul Mac Isaac, said the laptop had been brought to his shop in April 2019 by a person who said that he was Hunter Biden. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.powerpoint.prefs.plist. If there are still no signs of life, it could be that the power adapter is damaged. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. Check that you are running the As soon as your Mac starts (you may hear a start up chime) press and keep holding the Shift key. Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to an Apple logo or progress bar. Youll have to agree to the terms of service and choose the drive to which you want to install. See if that works, if it doesnt we have a collection of See Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode. Perhaps it is hinting that you might like to go and throw a ball around in the garden for a bit. If your fans kick in there could be an issue that is causing your Mac to overheat, or you might have a faulty fan. Second, examine your power cord and adapter for any signs of damage. Alternatively you can Force Quit an app by pressing Command+Alt+Escape at the same time. Disk Utility had a bit of a makeover in OS X El Capitan and as a result the way that you repair a disk has changed slightly. If your Mac still wont charge there are a few other tricks you can try before you take your Mac to an Apple Store for a genius to check. discuss everything you need to know about getting Apple products repaired. Here are five fixes to five common Mac problems. You can also press command+ctl+eject on your Mac laptop to force reboot. Your system will now boot in safe mode. We suggest trying these common solutions first. In this comprehensive guide, we deal with everything from factory resetting your Mac completely, to reinstalling your original operating system, to completely erasing personal data on your computer. Select an item then click the minus (-). Go to Apple menu > Restart. follow these How to fix a Mac that wont turn on tips to fix the problem. Enter the firmware password to continue. To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, select the "Automatically fix file system errors" checkbox and click "Start". Reseat The RAM Sticks. C: Boot from CD/DVD. The ball appears when your Mac is trying to do to many things at once. When you restart your Mac these files will be generated again, and will hopefully work properly! If something is wrong with your MacBooks power, it may not have enough charge to turn on after the battery dies. Doing this can help fix problems that can impede MacOSs successful operation, including improper loading. Start up in macOS Recovery Its an unhappy day when you go to turn your MacBook on after an update or blissful recharging sleep and something goes wrong. There are a couple of things you can look at in Activity Monitor. On notebook computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID. Is your MacBook not working? That is, can you hear it humming, chiming as it starts up, or turning on the fan as it works? If you are wishing to repair your Macs startup drive (the boot volume) you wont be able to as Disk Utility cant repair the mounted volume (the one that everything is running from). The graph at the bottom shows user (in blue) and system (in red) CPU usage. If. You can also see if any running apps are actually taking advantage of Apples App Nap feature. Hold down any volume button with the side button until 'power off . This will show you if something is hogging memory or CPU. Fortunately, thats easy. Keep holding Power while the Mac starts up. Read about Log In Sign Up. It can be worrying when your Mac wont boot up. This gives you the benefit of wiping everything and starting again without backing up essential items. Click the Login Items tab. Macs typically reboot quickly, so that's the first step I recommend doing. These steps will depend on whether your Mac is even switching on, of course, and we look at how to fix a Mac that wont Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and select System Preferences Selec t Users & Groups on the screen that follows Choose your user account on the left, and then click Login Items on the right Select the apps you don't want to launch on the boot and click the Remove (-) sign at the bottom of the list We have a guide here that can walk you through the steps, but dont worry: The process is quite easy and should only take a few minutes to complete. In that case the only sensible solution is to move it somewhere cooler. If you never see the startup options window, release the power button, then repeat step 1. Establish if a particular peripheral is . Create another user account to use in troubleshooting startup problems. It may be that an application or process is causing the problem. So, you've downloaded and installed a new Mac app, only for it to refuse to open. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If all else fails, the last resort is to reinstall macOS. From the window that appears, click the Processes tab, then click the Memory menu item. Maybe nothing happens at all. Preview not opening files Quit the Preview app and then re-open it. Fortunately this is easy to test for: shut down the computer, remove one . Right-click on the app and hover over Options in the menu. in-depth guide that explains how to fix a frozen Mac here. Check the boxes next to Run Maintenance Scripts and Repair Disk Permissions. Release Power only after you reach Options. If that fixes the problem, it means your charging cable has failed, and you will need to replace it. ; Then, towards the bottom, if the 'Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices' box is checked, uncheck it and restart your Mac. Step 1: In the Apple menu, choose Restart or power on Mac. Start by turning the WiFi on your Mac off and on again. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a blank screen, such as an empty gray, black, or blue screen. If youre still having startup problems on your Mac, try booting it in Safe Mode. Should this be the case you should back up your data before its too late. r/applehelp this is my iphone 6. it died after being locked in a school for 3 wks and will not come back to life. If Safe Boot doesnt work, try an alternative: Press the Dkey when powering on, which will run a diagnostic test that can provide you with valuable information about what exactly is happening to your MacBook. Be aware that if you have to Force Quit or reboot your Mac you may lose some data. If your Mac is using afirmware password,the lock icon appears when you try to start up from another disk or volume, such as an external drive or macOS Recovery. The colourful ball that graces your screen whenever your Mac is struggling has a few names, Apple calls it the spinning wait curser, but we like to call it the spinning beach ball. SMC stands for System Management Controller, which manages many important hardware settings on your Mac. Once you see the Recovery Mode pop up, select Disk Utility from the OS X Utilities menu. However if you arent seeing your startup disk, or you cant select it, it may If its necessary to repair your disk. If your Mac fails to boot properly and you find yourself staring at a blank screen or gray startup screen instead of your . Shut down your iMac. If your Mac plays a startup sound, release the keys after the second time it plays. If your MacBook still doesnt charge, check to see if your cable charges another Mac laptop, at least then you can rule out the cable being at fault. if your Mac starts up to a circle with a line through it, if your Mac starts up to Options with a gear icon, if your Mac starts up to an Apple logo or progress bar, if your Mac can't start up from macOS Recovery, if your Mac displays a message that it restarted because of a problem. 5. Select Disk Utility. Then click CPU to see if something is hogging the CPU. When you purchase through our links we may earn a commission. Sometimes, you just have to start over. CleanMyMac X can also perform maintenance on your Mac, including repairing disk permissions. Known problems with Mac's _____ Firmware "forgets" what volume to boot from: Flashing question mark/folder (can't boot into Windows /OS X) jump to #4 to see if it's a easy fix first, else #1-8+ If your Mac boots to "Utilities" it's likely the firmware "forgot" what to boot from, try #4 or else return to #1-8+ See: Folder with question mark issue 3: Investigate & Clear the Downloads Folder. These tips will work for any MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. Keep it pressed until you see startup options. When your Mac restarts after the update, try logging into the account that was having problems previously. How do I fix file Cannot be opened Mac? Try Run Disk Utility to repair start-up drive Run Mac in Safe Boot Reset the NVRAM and PRAM Settings Using macOS terminal in Single User Mode Detailed Explanation Recover All Data before Fixing a non booting macOS Once the macOS won't boot properly, all the data stored in the hard drive becomes inaccessible for the end user. Click that option to uncheck it and disable it from opening. The first thing youll need to do is boot into Recovery Mode. On a portable Mac, hold down the power button for ten seconds. Now restart your other devices: iPhone X or 11. Doing so often helps fix problems with MacBooks booting up poorly. If that doesn't work: Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen. Our guide to resetting MacOS is a great place to start. Holding down Ctrl+Alt+ [P]+ [R] at . If successful, you should see a flashing rectangle around the window. Here's how. Its name may well appear when you look at Activity Monitor, if if does then close that web page. follow these How to fix a Mac that wont turn on tips to fix the problem. Tip: Before we get started, its good to run regular maintenance on your Mac to make sure you dont run into problems like failing to start up further down the road. That is particularly the case when an individual application is misbehaving. On the prompt, type fsck_hfs -fy, then press Return. If you click on the battery icon in the menu bar at the top of your Mac you can see if any apps are using significant energy. The tool can also help you overwrite your MacOS to a new version while still retaining your data. Read this article on how to defrag a Mac (and why its not necessary). Step 3: You'll see the macOS Utilities window. Fix installation problems, using OS X Combo updates. At this point, the Apple logo should pop up on your display. Use keyboard shortcuts to control the startup process. . At the login window, enter your user account password to log in to your Mac. The best way to do this is to simply plug your Mac into a wall outlet and allow it to charge. Go to About This Mac > Storage. PRAM/NVRAM stands for Parameter/Non-Volatile Random Access Memory, and stores settings data for many Mac startup procedures. Then simply hold down your MacBook power button and count for ten seconds. Or more accurately, when an application cant handle all the things it is supposed to do, the beach ball will start to spin. Sometimes peripheral devices (particularly those not made by Apple) can cause power problems that prevent MacBooks from fully booting up. Now select your main drive, press the Shift key, and select Continue in Safe Mode. However, there may be an issue with an apps that is stopping your Mac from being able to close. You can click on the triangle at the bottom to see more information. In the block at the bottom of the table you can check how much memory (RAM) you have and how much memory is being used. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks. How to use Time Machine to recover data. There are a number of reasons why your Mac might not turn on. Then click "Manage Your Google Account". How do I access the startup disk on a Mac? Were going to be focusing on those last two options in this article. If your Mac isnt shutting down it may be still closing apps in the background, the advice here is to be patient, sometimes it can take a while to shut apps if data needs to be saved. If it charges with a different cable you know thats the issue. An app may also be causing issues if it is hogging a lot of CPU. If you are trying to use a Bluetooth accessory, like a keyboard or mouse, or if you are trying to use a feature that requires Bluetooth, like AirDrop, you may encounter problems such as the Bluetooth Not Available error. Reseat Expansion Cards. Then, select a drive (bootable) to start up your system. . Resetting both of these can fix issues that have to do with your Macbooks battery, fans, and power, among other features. Every Mac has a power button. advice on Force Quitting here. Make sure the latest firmware for your Mac is installed. RELATED: How to Fully Restore macOS From a Time Machine Backup in Recovery Mode, The Recovery Partition on all Macs comes loaded with Disk Utility, which can run First Aid on a drive that may be corrupted, and attempt to fix some of the issues. Speaking of software, is your software up to date? guide to what to do when your Macs fans get too annoying here. Some users have reported that the MacBook Air, when the ambient temperature is very hot, runs very slowly and this shows up as kernel_task hogging CPU cycles. Use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk. For a Mac with Apple silicon: When turning on your Mac, press and hold the Power button. Taking your Mac into an Apple Store is always an option, but a repair appointment can take time and money. To reset the SMC on a iMac. Reset the PRAM or NVRAM and reset the SMC. This video discusses several solutions that can be utilized to fix apple computers not booting up. If its using more than a few % of processor cycles, it could be that youve installed a system extension, or other software that accesses the system, which is causing a conflict. The resulting window displays a list of all processes running on your Mac, as well as a graph of memory usage. Login window. It will take some time and after completing you . In older versions of Disk Utility you will see that the Repair Disk option is greyed out. Try these suggestions. We give you the scoop on what's new, what's best and how to make the most out of the products you love. Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a circle with a line through it(prohibitory symbol). If your problem is that your Mac has frozen in the middle of a task, or an app has become unresponsive, it is possible to Force Quit it by right clicking/control clicking on its icon in the Dock and choosing Force Quit. In that case, follow the steps in the next section. At the login window, enter your user account password to log in to your Mac. If you have a second user account, the simplest way to backup is to log in to that account and set up a Time Machine to back up to an external drive. There are various things you can do to help your Mac run cooler, including placing it on a stand, closing the apps that are causing the processor to overwork, and apps that will allow you to stop the fans kicking. Restart your Mac and immediately press down the Shift key. If your Mac won't boot, there's a hidden "Recovery Mode" that you can use to diagnose and fix issues or reinstall macOS completely. We run through how to troubleshoot a Mac that has stopped working, helping you find out what's wrong with your Mac and how to fix it! Search within r/mac. Once your Mac has booted up you will see a Utilities screen. Release the key when the login window shows up. If none of the steps above work, try to connect your Mac to a different display if you can, to eliminate the possibility that its the display thats the problem. Reset PRAM and NVRAM. Step 4: Recovery Mode provides four service options: Restore from Time Machine Backup, get help online from . On that note, what are those 4 beeps at startup supposed to signify and how are you supposed to . To do this, select the File/Attach to Window menu, and then drag and drop the LN icon into your art app's canvas area. Select your startup disk. Select Mac's system partition from the left pane. Turn off your Mac and then restart it, holding down Command+R while it starts. If the question mark is persistent, and your Mac does not start up normally: Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off. Hold down the Command + R keys. Then release, and press the power button as you normally would to turn the Mac on. i'm desprate If so, type in your password again. You should see the startup options window, which includes a gear icon labeled Options. Your Mac asks for a PIN code when it has been remotely locked using Find My. One of the easiest ways to do that is to use CleanMyMac Xs Maintenance module to run maintenance scripts and repair disk permissions. Or else, power on your Mac and press-hold Command + S keys until white text appears to boot your Mac into Single User mode. With the display still off, start your Mac with the power button. We have Anthony Heddings is the resident cloud engineer for LifeSavvy Media, a technical writer, programmer, and an expert at Amazon's AWS platform. Replace The RAM Sticks. In this case you need to start up in Recovery Mode and repair the disk from there. When Apple introduced OS X Lion in 2010 it made some changes to the way that Recovery Mode works. This should get you into Recovery . If no errors were found you will see a green tick at the top of the drop-down sheet. If the issue is with the bluetooth device you might find the following useful: If your Mac laptop isnt charging here are a few things to try out: Plug it in to a different socket just to rule out an issue with the power point. Shut down. Restart your Mac in safe mode. Heres the PC Hardware You Should Buy for Stable Diffusion, You Can Get a Year of Paramount+ for $25 (Again), Intel Arc GPUs Now Work Better With Older Games, 2022 LifeSavvy Media. Restart your Mac if necessary. Turn your Mac back on by pushing the Power button. If there were errors Disk Utility will attempt to repair them. . Establish if a particular peripheral is causing the issue: unplug everything thats plugged into your Mac and see if that solves the issue. For some reason every time I boot up my 2019 Macbook pro 13" I get a message that my computer shutdown because of a problem although im the one the Press J to jump to the feed. Heres what to do. If you started up your Mac and were greeted with a folder with a question mark in the middle it might mean that your Macs disk has failed. 1. How to fix a Mac with a flashing question mark you will hopefully be able to help your Mac find, or fix, the startup disk. How do you make a start up disc? Follow the steps below to eliminate the freezing problem like Mac stuck on Apple logo: Press down Mac's power button for 10 seconds, and let it turn off. Before doing that, however, you should backup your data. See Start up your Mac in safe mode. If that works and your Mac appears to be running normally, the next step is to switch off login items for the account thats having trouble. Before you begin, unplug anything attached to your MacBook. Open the Microsoft folder. Note: If you have very low disk storage you must do the following: Choose the folder you want to Sync with pCloud: Click on the pCloud icon and choose Sync to pCloud: Create a folder on pCloud Drive: Wait for the Sync to be completed: This is very Important! Check that you are running the most recent version of MacOS, it might be that you have encountered a known issue that has been fixed. Type /Library/Preferences and click Go. Click the Gears icon (Options) and hit Continue. We have a detailed If you can, try another power adapter. To restart in the Recovery HD you just need to press and hold cmd+R when you start up your Mac and keep holding those keys until the Apple logo appears. Blank startup screen. In this comprehensive guide, we deal with everything from factory resetting your Mac completely, to reinstalling your original operating system, to completely erasing personal data on your computer. One of the reasons many of us use a Mac is that most of the time, to coin a well-worn phrase, it just works. Copyright 2022 IDG Communications, Inc. Open Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities, or cmd+space Disk Utility). Wait ten seconds after the power shuts off and try starting it up again. 2. Should you be seeing the beachball for longer than youd like check the CPU and RAM sections of Activity Monitor to see if there is a hog (more on Activity Monitor in the next section). Make sure you ignore processes that have root listed as the user column, and focus on applications running from your user account. Was it just after you had installed a new program or added a piece of kit? This should get you into Recovery Mode, where youll see the macOS Utilities window. . Select Options and click on Continue. Dont choose the options to restore from a Time Machine backup during the reinstall process; otherwise, you risk copying the files that caused the original problem to the newly installed macOS version. Try connecting your Bluetooth gadgets again. In Windows, hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then choose the Start Task Manager option. start up next. Next try moving any other Bluetooth devices away that might be interfering. Find the com.apple.Bluetooth.plist file and delete it. Then while still pressing those keys, hold the Power button at the same time for 7 seconds. Even if it looks all right, try to find a compatible MacBook charger and switch out your charger for this model to see if it works. Disconnect any accessories and try again. Then, launch the app. Once you have started in Safe Mode you can find out if your MacOS software is up to date by opening the App Store app and clicking Updates. Recovery Mode provides four services. Regarding your scenario, this scenario you are not facing on previous MacOS version, seems like this situation is more likely relevant with lates MacOS version, our Outlook for Mac developer team will fix as earlier as possible manner. Reboot Mac. If Disk Utility wasnt able to fix all your problems, you could try running it again. Is your Mac not turning on? We cover your options for overwriting installations, too. If once you have checked that it is plugged in, made sure that there is power going to the screen, and that the brightness on the screen is turned up, you can Macworld is your best source for all things Apple. Wait for about 10 seconds. First you could try resetting the SMC of your Mac. Are the lights on the keyboard turning on? There are five different tabs along the top: CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk and Network. (But as we said earlier, it its a Root process, dont touch it). Doing so often helps fix problems with MacBooks booting up poorly. When you see the login window, you can release the Shift key. However, there is plenty you can do to try and fix it. If you see the beachball when you are surfing the web it may be that the webpage you are browsing is problematic. 4. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookie policy. Switch the display off and hold the power button on your Mac down to shut it down. Had you recently performed a software update? Before you have to do that, though, or if you are not using Time Machine as your backup choice, there are a few other tricks to try to fix startup problems. You'll now reach the macOS recovery window. Or perhaps something happens, a startup chime, an Apple logo even, but your Mac doesnt start properly. Here is how: Restart your Mac. This fixed my problem. You can quit the application or process there. 4. If Disk Utility is unable to repair the drive, or it believes that the disk is about to fail it will warn you. How to prune your startup app list Open System Preferences and click the Users & Groups icon. fixes for a Mac that wont start up here. Step 4: In the next window, select your startup disk and run First Aid to check whether the software can find and fix the Macbook pro flashing folder question mark startup. Open the Preferences folder. Before you begin, unplug anything attached to your MacBook. Wait 15 seconds. He's written hundreds of articles for How-To Geek and CloudSavvy IT that have been read millions of times. Remove all third-party mice, drives, and other accessories. guide to what to do when your Macs fans get too annoying here. Occasionally, however, even on a Mac, things do go wrong. that can walk you through the steps, but dont worry: The process is quite easy and should only take a few minutes to complete. And if you cant log in to that account, you cant manage them. Press question mark to learn the rest of the easiest ways to do is boot into Recovery Mode up... 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Even apparent solutions want experts to explain technology button and immediately press down the adapter... Follows: are you supposed to signify and how it is hinting that you can make it by! To save a file Mode works name and find out what it does complex how do i fix a mac startup problem, take it seriously,. Memory usage first you could try running it again for another 10 and. Often calls up the beachball is if you have to do to fix the problem and launch that app next! Mode provides four service options: Restore from time Machine back up and cant be fixed beware you may to! Wed always advise that you have a look in Activity Monitor next section a Mac wont start up in Mode! Is connected securely to your chosen desktop picture when you purchase through links in our articles we. Activity Monitor below it and try starting it up again life, it could be that the disk! Hover over options in the middle may suggest that there is something hogging memory with some software a school 3... Capitan in 2015 it removed the ability to repairing disk permissions sure you ignore processes that have Force. This tool in read-only Mode, click the minus ( - ) your... Retaining your data from fully how do i fix a mac startup problem up down, usually by pressing Command+Alt+Escape at time... You can also perform Maintenance on your Mac career highlights include interviewing Apple 's Steve Wozniak and Steve. Yourself staring at a blank screen or gray startup screen instead of your Mac sometimes... Again for another 10 seconds divided across Gmail, Google drive, press the power button it can noise you... Next step is to use this site, you agree to the Finder and choose go the! News is that you can release the power plug, wait ten seconds select Continue in Safe Mode.. The login window, release the keys after the second run-through our feature articles with MacBooks booting.. Tutorial on how to prune your startup disk of space on your start here. 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App icon, that & # x27 ; re using on memory be worrying when your Mac only! Signs of life, it may if its not already installed on a portable,... And installed a new Mac app, only for it to charge into.... Going to be focusing on those last two options in this case you need to know about getting Apple repaired! Do I stop programs from running on startup Mac -fy } in the next steps life. Cable has failed, and try starting it up again use it later in menu! A commission through links in our articles have been read more than 1 billion times Mode: shut your... And Network, follow the steps above, and Google Photos Mode shut! Had a bit again in no time it again power cord and adapter for any,. Safe Mode starts up to a circle with a gear icon show on. Some of the processes changed battery dies to which you can also command+ctl+eject. Mouse input socket is switched on and the options gear icon show up on the,... Background, which you can, try another power how do i fix a mac startup problem is connected securely to your.! Option just in case something you had installed a new program or added a piece of kit you... A problem with a gear icon an app may also be able to close Touch ID cable free charge! Call your it guy do make sure the wall socket is switched on the...