MacBook Pro screen goes dark as soon as white startup screen appears

If it is a 15" or 17" model, then you may be encountering a known GPU failure.

Try booting into Safe Mode in case it is an issue with some third party software. You can also try Verbose Mode (Command + V) so that you will see the boot log scroll by on screen at least for the first part of the boot process. Once the progress bar gets about halfway though Verbose Mode won't help you.

Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.

A failing hard drive could possibly cause this issue. Can you boot into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R? Or the Apple Diagnostics?

PhilMcG75 wrote:

Thanks for this. I’m unable to see anything on the screen while booting, so I can’t enter Safe Mode or run diagnostics. I have tried booting into recovery mode as well as per your suggestion, but again I can’t see the screen so I don’t know if it’s working.

You can still boot into Safe Mode since it only involves holding a key down immediately after hearing the startup chime. Same with the diagnostics if you are using an Ethernet cable and realize you must press the "Return" key two times at the proper time to acknowledge a couple of items. I do this all the time trying to troubleshoot broken systems. However, I doubt it will help here due to what you described next.....

i can confirm when the screen flickers on (which it does every few minutes), I can see the correct login screen or even the screensaver. But the screen won’t stay on long enough to log in.

That sounds like a hardware issue with the built-in Display Assembly which would require a repair, but I don't think it is worth it. Using an external display is the easiest & least expensive way forward if you don't need to carry around the laptop.

If you want to keep using this Mac, connect an external display or TV set.

Otherwise, your 14 year old MacBook Pro have have exceeded its useful life.

The Apple-silicon Macs are amazing. The single-processor benchmark test of a new M4 MacBook Pro exceeds the average MULTI-processor performance of the Mac Pro 2013 model.

post back if you have specific follow-on questions, readers are eager to provide more information.

MacBook Pro older than about 2015 are considered obsolete and no parts are available -- through official Apple channels. You may be able to get used parts installed by a 'junkyard' repair agent.

Be cautious -- it is very easy to pay far more than that old computer is worth. Computers are a commodity, and all samples of that same model are identical. Yours in NOT special, and it does NOT deserve any special treatment. it deserves to be replaced by a modern Mac.