You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Power outage shut my iMac down

After the power outage my iMac is having trouble turning back on, it keeps turning off or my personal desktop and folders wont appear just the Apple colorful screen. What should I do?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Feb 25, 2023 10:55 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 25, 2023 11:15 AM

Try holding down the power button for 10-15 seconds and see if it starts up normally. If it does not, please book an appointment at your local Apple Authorized Service Provider.


Apple Authorized Service Provider Locator (AASP) & Genius Appointment

4 replies

Apr 3, 2023 8:49 AM in response to halbert176

I had exactly the same problem, except after several attempts, the iMac would suddenly shut down and finally not turn back on at all. I made an appointment at the Apple store where I purchased the iMac (Oct. 2021) and they ran tests and fixed it. Said they might have to "change a chip". I recuperated it the next day.


Since then (been 3 weeks) it seems to work fine, but today there was a fleeting, barely noticeable power outage—some appliances did not even turn off—and the iMac had trouble again turning back on. But after disconnecting everything and waiting 10 seconds, I was able to pwer it back up and so far it has not shut down all day.


My question is, is there something I can install to protect the iMac from sudden outages like this? It's an uncomfortable feeling that I could lose access to my computer at any time because of an outage. The last time three weeks ago was a mega waste of time.


Thank you for your help!

Apr 3, 2023 8:56 AM in response to catparis

You purchase a quality surge protector that your Mac is then plugged into, or an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) that is compatible with macOS and that continues to provide current to your Mac when the power is cut. Then you shut your Mac down until power is restored, if not longer than the UPS battery provides.


My Macs are also configured to not automatically power up after a power disruption as often, that is a sporadic return to service with additional outages. Only after power is restored and appears stable do I then power up the Macs.

Power outage shut my iMac down

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.