remobec

Q: My screen goes black every time I turn it on

I have a mac that the screen keeps going black. I’ve
searched the Internet and tried all the common solutions.  Details of what I’ve tried are below. It is a
MacBook, purchased probably around 2007. Sorry I can’t tell you more without turning
it on.

 

 

What I’m wondering is, first, if anyone has any suggestions
I haven’t tried. And second, do you think it would be worth it to take it in to
fix it or is it just an old computer and I’ll pay more to try to fix it then to
just buy a new computer. I do rather like my computer…

 

 

I turned it on, it would light up for a few seconds, and
then the screen would go black. Also, the little light at the bottom right
would also go black. Sometimes it seemed that the more I turned it on, the
longer the screen would stay lit. Sometimes it would just flash on, sometimes
it would make the start up sound and you’d see the apple before it went black.
It did appear that it was on, since the fan seemed to be on and it was running.
It just had no picture. Also, when I first noticed this problem, a few times it
did come on all the way. Later it didn’t come on all the way unless I did something
special (see below).

 

 

I went online and looked what other people were doing. I
tried:

 

 

Turn off the computer, disconnect the power cord. Let sit
for 5 minutes. Restarted the computer while holding shift key. This made no
difference.

 

 

I reset the NVRAM (or PRAM), as instructed here:  http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063.
I turned off the computer. Turned it on, held down Command, Option, P & R as
soon as I heard the startup sounds. Then lifted up when the startup sound
sounded again. This actually worked and it came on as normal. However, when I
turned it on again it did the same thing. Doing this again did no good.
Although I did hear the startup sound a second time. It will also flash on
again at the second start up sound.

 

 

Then I reset the SMC by unplugging it, removing the battery
and holding the power button for 10 seconds. This worked and I used my computer
for 30 minutes or so… before the screen went black. Doing this again did no
good.

 

 

I tried the Keypress Sequence detailed here: http://osxdaily.com/2014/11/22/fix-macbook-pro-booting-black-screen/
With the computer on, press the Power/OFF button once. Press “S.” Hold the Power
button until a hard shut down is forced. Wait 15 seconds and Power on. By the
sounds, it did appear it went to sleep and then had a hard shut down. This did
no good.

 

 

Next I tried, with the computer off and the cord plugged in,
I turned it on holding down Shift + Control + Option + Power for a few seconds.
Not sure what that did. The little light flashed, then there was a buzzing
sound, the screen flashed and went blank. And apparently went back to its old
standby.

 

 

I adjusted the brightness settings. Nope.

Mac Book, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Feb 7, 2015 2:57 PM

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Q: My screen goes black every time I turn it on

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  • Helpful answers

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Feb 7, 2015 3:29 PM in response to remobec
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Feb 7, 2015 3:29 PM in response to remobec

    Hi there. The shift control option power button is for macbook's with batteries that cannot be removed. It's an SMC reset. When I do the pram reset I let it go though three chimes before I continue the boot. When you do a normal restart and wait a few minutes can you see asleep light on with the lid closed? Just asking to see it it is just a screen problem. In case it's not a screen problem, see it you can go to single user mode. Command/Option/S while starting up. YOu will get a black screen with white letters. http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203176

  • by remobec,

    remobec remobec Feb 8, 2015 2:13 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2015 2:13 PM in response to my ginger

    Thanks ginger. If I understand you correctly, I turned the computer on (with the power button), allowed it to boot up (by the sounds) and then closed the lid. As soon as I closed the lid, the little light on the front side lit up. The apple on the back did not. So I guess this means it's a screen problem?

     

    If this is the case what are my options? Is there anyway to trouble shoot it myself? Would fixing it likely be expensive? Should I buy a screen?

     

    I tried the command-option-s and nothing happened.

     

    Thank you so much for your help!

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Feb 8, 2015 2:36 PM in response to remobec
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Feb 8, 2015 2:36 PM in response to remobec

    Hi there. With the macbook booted up there are two ways to check the screen. One requires an external monitor with a mini dvi plug. The other way is if the backlight on the IO board is bad is use a flashlight to see it you can se anything on the screen. I cannot tell you what it would cost to fix it as it depends on what it needs. You could take it to an Apple store to have them check it out. Or if you have another  mac. you could use a firewire cable between the two and start you Macbook up in target disk mode to see if you macbook screen shows up on the other ones desktop.

  • by R.K.Orion,

    R.K.Orion R.K.Orion Feb 9, 2015 12:45 AM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 12:45 AM in response to my ginger

    I believe that system has a hall sensor on it to detect when the lid is closed so it can put the system to sleep and/or disable the monitor so it can be used with an external monitor only. If the sensor is marginal or has a bad cable, it may intermittently cut the monitor on and off, and may likewise put the system to sleep. One way to check would be to plug in an external monitor and if the laptop's screen cuts off or doesn't show up, start using the trackpad and press on a non-typing key like the shift key. If the external display suddenly pops and becomes active while the laptop display remains black, it's probably a problem with the sensor or the cable/connection. You might be able to fool the sensor into kicking on and off by moving a magnet over it. It's located on the left had side of the base with the unit opened up, and right over the audio output plug.

     

    I know of some people that put a small magnet right over the hall sensor's location so the laptop display turns off and they use the system with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If fooling with magnets, make sure they're small and don't get them close to the hard drive because a strong magnet can wipe them out.

     

    I don't know if this will help you much, but it might.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Feb 9, 2015 9:08 AM in response to R.K.Orion
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 9:08 AM in response to R.K.Orion

    Hi there. You are partly right. But the sleep function is tied into the internal battery cable. An external monitor when plugged in can then be selected in system preferences displays.