Plugged in HDMI Cable - Gave Power Issues and Consent Alert Sounds

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Plugged in HDMI Cable - Gave Power Issues and Consent Alert Sounds

HDMI Cable Gave Power Issues and an Unresponsive Mac:

I lifted the screen of my Mac. It froze after doing so. Pressing buttons and using the trackpad gave me an "Alert Sound". I had to power off the Mac. I powered it back on and I got the same error. I reset the SMC & NVRAM and that made no difference. Then, I unplugged the HDMI cable (which had nothing on the other end, and all now works.

Two Recent Changes:

I have made two major changes recently: enabling "Tap to Click", and changing the "Alert Sound". No installs or downloads.

Unplugging HDMI Cable:

I then saw that I had my HDMI cable was plugged in. I unplugged the HDMI cable and no longer is it longer hung. So, I unplugging the HDMI cable made all the difference - no more power issues and then keyboard, touch bar, and trackpad all work fine.

I'm not so certain why unplugging the HDMI cable made all the difference.

MacBook Pro 15”, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 15, 2020 12:04 PM

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Answer 1

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TheLittles Author

Level 10

195,401 points

Sep 16, 2020 7:00 PM in response to John Galt

John Gault Said:

"I think we're discussing different things. You have to boot Recovery mode to restore a Local Snapshot, so Safe Mode isn't a factor."

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This Stands as: "Working as intended".

Used Safe Mode to Create a New Administrator. Used the New Administrator to stop getting the "beep". Elsewise, I wouldn't have been able to log in.

Booted: into Safe Mode
Created: the New Administrator
Logged Out: of Safe Mode
Used: the New Administrator to boot into Recovery Mode (elsewise, I'd keep on getting the beep).
Restored: through Recovery Mode

Works fine for the last day.

Hope that explains this clearly.

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Answer 2

TheLittles Author

Level 10

195,401 points

Sep 15, 2020 4:38 PM in response to John Galt

John Gault Said:

"HDMI cables suffer from a lack anything resembling a cohesive standard. The cable may be inappropriate or defective, so try another one."

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Thanks.

I let the Mac sit for a bit. Can't get into the login screen. Pressing the buttons, I keep getting the Glass "alert sound". So, maybe it isn't the HDMI cable.

Screenshot from earlier:

"Tap to Click" Deselected:

"Alert Sound" Selected:

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Answer 3

TheLittles Author

Level 10

195,401 points

Sep 15, 2020 4:55 PM in response to John Galt

John Gault Said:

"Maybe it isn't. You can't even get to the login screen now?"

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No. I get to the screen and all there is is the background - without pressing a key, or being able to use the Touch Bar, I cannot, therefore, proceed to the login screen. Tried Safe Mode - that works. I am wondering if a TMB Recovery, or if a reinstall (not reformat) would fix this?

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

146,234 points

Sep 15, 2020 5:01 PM in response to TheLittles

You can try a quick fix, which is to restore a Time Machine "local snapshot" which takes all of two or three minutes from start to finish.

I'm concerned something about that HDMI cable may have caused some other problem to arise. It doesn't seem very likely though.

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Answer 5

TheLittles Author

Level 10

195,401 points

Sep 15, 2020 5:25 PM in response to John Galt

John Gault Said:

"You can try a quick fix, which is to restore a Time Machine "local snapshot" which takes all of two or three minutes from start to finish. I'm concerned something about that HDMI cable may have caused some other problem to arise. It doesn't seem very likely though."

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Fixed (Maybe For Now):

Tried the "Local Snapshot". Somehow can't do it in Safe Mode (I'm not certain that not being able to do it in Safe Mode is normal). So, I created a new Administrator User, performed the "Local Snapshot" on that user - and it is fixed! I will be using it for a bit, and see how it keeps working out.

Note on HDMI Cable:

It's not Top-End (Monster brand), but rather a low-end cable that came with the projector I've been using with my Mac.

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Answer 6

John Galt

Level 10

146,234 points

Sep 15, 2020 5:29 PM in response to TheLittles

👍

Perhaps I'm just lucky but I literally use the cheapest HDMI cables I can find (Monoprice). This after a home theater installation company quoted me over $500 for cables alone. Forget that.

Monster is a waste of money. Unless you're talking about Monster Beverage of course.

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Answer 7

TheLittles Author

Level 10

195,401 points

Sep 15, 2020 5:54 PM in response to John Galt

John Gault Said:

"Perhaps I'm just lucky but I literally use the cheapest HDMI cables I can find (Monoprice). This after a home theater installation company quoted me over $500 for cables alone. Forget that. Monster is a waste of money. Unless you're talking about Monster Beverage of course."

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I'll get back to this tomorrow (or if it pops up sooner). Let's wait and see how it all works out. Look forward for an update. But what about not being able to perform the "Local Snapshot" in Safe Mode: Is that normal?

I'll never know about Monster Beverage (for my own reasons) - but does it get you more enthused about using Macs.

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Answer 8

John Galt

Level 10

146,234 points

Sep 16, 2020 6:19 PM in response to TheLittles

Any luck yet?

But what about not being able to perform the "Local Snapshot" in Safe Mode: Is that normal?

I think we're discussing different things. You have to boot Recovery mode to restore a Local Snapshot, so Safe Mode isn't a factor.

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Answer 9

Sep 16, 2020 6:32 PM in response to John Galt

I have found MonoPrice to be high quality, well-engineered, and very low prices. They seem to know what they are doing, and can do exactly the right stuff for less than so many others, many of whom are clueless about what is actually needed.

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The cables you want for HDMI-only Monitors (higher resolutions than HD TV sets) are marked as Certified with an anti-counterfeiting tag and are labeled:

"Premium High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "with Ethernet" --OR--

"Ultra High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "48G"

Cables with No Certification tags are good for your standard TV set, and not much more.

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