MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2015 Retina) blank screen

APK_Apple wrote:

I upgraded the OS on my Apple MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2015 Retina) and now the screen is blank.

When I start-up I can hear the chime and the fans, the trackpad seems to work, but nothing on the screen and the keyboard backlighting does not come on either.

Try booting into Safe Mode instead.

There is a possibility the GPU is bad which can happen with the 15" models, although it is less of an issue with the 2015 model.

Try connecting an external display to see you get any video on the external. If the internal display is bad, you should get video on the external display. You may need to force clamshell mode by connecting the power adapter, and a wired USB keyboard & mouse, plus the external display...then closing the lid of the display (best to do so immediately after the startup chime in order to attempt to see any early boot screens).

You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if they will run and whether they detect any hardware issues.

I need to recover the files on the SSD as it has some family pictures that are irreplaceable.

You can try putting that 2015 laptop into Target Disk Mode to see if the SSD shows up on another Mac. The other Mac will need to be running macOS 10.12.x+ in order to see & mount any APFS volumes used by newer versions of macOS. If the 2015 laptop was running macOS 10.15+, then you may need to manually mount the "Data" volume which is where the "Users" folder with the data is located (there are two items named "Users" on macOS 10.15+ systems since the drive layout changed to APFS volumes....the other one is just a link which is empty when viewed from an older OS).

The display on the 2015 laptop does not need to work to be able to put the laptop into Target Disk Mode. Target Disk Mode is a very low level functions which can bypass most hardware issues....the only requirement is the keyboard is recognized and the SSD and Thunderbolt ports work (USB ports are an option if neither Mac was running macOS 12.x+).

You can try Target Disk Mode while the 2015 SSD is installed into the older Mac, but you will still need access to another Mac in order to read the SSD.

Another option is to install the SSD from the 2015 laptop into an OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure so you can connect the SSD to another computer if Target Disk Mode does not work. I'm assuming you are using an Apple OEM SSD in the broken 2015 laptop.

If you don't have access to another Mac to read the SSD, then it may be possible to install a third party driver on a Windows PC which can read the Apple file system...just do not let Windows write to the SSD or you risk corrupting the SSD.

My understanding is that sending it in for repair will wipe out the SSD.

Possibly. You never know what Apple may do. Many repairs should not have the SSD erased....assuming the SSD is not the problem, but the Apple tech may decide it is necessary in order to test the laptop. When you give Apple your device to repair, you are giving Apple permission to possibly erase & reset the device no matter what a tech may tell you. Apple will not even try to save your data anymore, although an Apple Authorized Service Provider may offer this as an extra paid service.

People should always have frequent and regular backups of their computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data. If people don't have good backups, then it is only a matter of time before they lose an important document or even all their data. This is very important when using an SSD and even more important for even newer Macs since there are so many more new ways to permanently lose access to data.

APK_Apple wrote:

I need to recover the files on the SSD as it has some family pictures that are irreplaceable.

You can try putting that 2015 laptop into Target Disk Mode to see if the SSD shows up on another Mac. The other Mac will need to be running macOS 10.12.x+ in order to see & mount any APFS volumes used by newer versions of macOS. If the 2015 laptop was running macOS 10.15+, then you may need to manually mount the "Data" volume which is where the "Users" folder with the data is located (there are two items named "Users" on macOS 10.15+ systems since the drive layout changed to APFS volumes....the other one is just a link which is empty when viewed from an older OS).

I had no idea about Target mode - I am hoping this will work.

The older Mac is running 10.10, so should I upgrade?

You won't be able to access the data on the SSD/laptop which uses an APFS volume unless the other laptop is running macOS 10.13+ since older versions of macOS don't understand the APFS file system.

I am hoping the same issue with mine does not occur if I upgrade the other Mac to Monterey.

It shouldn't if you are using the most recent Monterey installer, but if Monterey has never been installed before, then it will update the system firmware which is always risky.

If your other Mac never had macOS 10.13+ installed previously, then you need to install at least macOS 10.13 to that laptop. After doing this, then you may even be able to install the SSD from the 2015 laptop into this older Mac.....this may be why it did not work previously....the system firmware was not updated to work with the APFS file system. However, macOS can be very stubborn when the wrong SSD is installed into a laptop, so even if you upgrade macOS on the older Mac... the 2015 SSD may still not boot in the older Mac and you may not even be able to boot macOS from external media while the 2015 SSD is installed in the older Mac.

I would try installing macOS 10.13 to the older Mac and see whether the SSD from the 2015 laptop will work in it.

If macOS won't boot even under these conditions, then if you are familiar with Linux, you could boot Linux from a USB drive to access the data on the 2015 SSD (you would likely need to install the APFS drivers from the Linux software repository and possibly use the command line to manually mount the APFS volume). I have successfully accessed data on an APFS volume using Linux. These options would not require you to purchase anything extra.

I tried USB and it cannot detect, so will try Thunderbolt - need to get a cable.

Required if one of the Macs has been upgraded to macOS 12.x Monterey (see the article I linked).

Another option is to install the SSD from the 2015 laptop into an OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure so you can connect the SSD to another computer if Target Disk Mode does not work. I'm assuming you are using an Apple OEM SSD in the broken 2015 laptop.

These are really expensive and the cost of shipping is almost the cost of the item, at least when trying to purchase from the UK.

Yes, the enclosure is expensive.

OWC should either have a UK office, or they should have an official OWC reseller for your region.

https://www.owc.com/partners/where-to-buy/

Seems from that link they list these resellers:

https://www.macupgrades.co.uk/

http://www.megamac.com/

https://mrsystems.co.uk/

http://www.techologyexpress.co.uk/

http://www.thebookyard.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=OWC

APK_Apple wrote:

(2) MacBook Pro 15.4" - Mid 2014 is running 11.7.8, I have (finally) managed to upgrade this machine from 10.10 to 11.7.8. Apple store will not allow me to upgrade to Monterey or Ventura. I am assuming this is because it is a slightly older model.

Yes, macOS 11.x is the last supported OS for the 2014 laptop.

My challenge is that the Macbook with the working display is running a macOS that is older than the macOS on the SSD.

That is Ok. At least you are running an OS which can understand the APFS file system used on the SSD from the broken 2015 laptop.

When I switched the SSD from the Mid-2015 to the Mid-2014, I get the same 'no-entry' sign (circle with a line diagonally across). Whilst this is not ideal, I am hoping it is because the SSD is intact and is a newer macOS than what is installed in the mid-2014 machine.

It is likely due to macOS and perhaps even the Apple hardware being too particular & knowing the SSD does not belong to this older laptop (a bit simplistic & slightly explanation, but you get the basic idea). Booting from the SSD is more complicated than just accessing data on the SSD. We don't have enough information to know anything about the SSD yet.

If macOS won't boot even under these conditions, then if you are familiar with Linux, you could boot Linux from a USB drive to access the data on the 2015 SSD (you would likely need to install the APFS drivers from the Linux software repository and possibly use the command line to manually mount the APFS volume). I have successfully accessed data on an APFS volume using Linux. These options would not require you to purchase anything extra.

Are you able to kindly direct me on how this can be done please? I believe my NAS (QNAP) runs Linux but is unable to detect the mid-2015 in target mode. I am assuming this is because it does not have a thunderbolt connection or perhaps missing APFS drivers.

Probably both. It is unlikely the QNAP has APFS drivers installed because there is no need for the NAS to use them. I would hesitate trying to install APFS drivers on the NAS even if they would be available.

I would suggest creating & using a bootable Linux USB drive instead. Usually I would suggest using a bootable Knoppix Linux USB stick, but the APFS drivers are not installed by default. Technically they could be installed, but this can be tricky due to the highly complicated way Knoppix was created/designed since Knoppix v9.1 is several years old now. Installing Linux to an external USB drive may be the faster more reliable method, but to install & utilize the APFS drivers would require using the command line. Ubuntu or Linux Mint would be the best options for installing onto an external USB drive. I would have to research the instructions for installing & utilizing the APFS drivers since it has been a while since I used them myself.

How would I get past the user login/pwd on Linux?

Unless Filevault was enabled, then that is not a problem. Sorry to burst that bubble that a user/login password protects your data.

If Filevault was enabled, then you will need to be able to have macOS access the SSD. Technically Linux should be able to unlock a Filevault encrypted volume, but I was never able to do so the one time I attempted it (only a half hearted attempt since I was too busy to pursue it).

APK_Apple wrote:

Hi all,

I upgraded the OS on my Apple MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2015 Retina) and now the screen is blank.

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen (white, black, gray, or blue)

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen - Apple Support