Macbook Pro M2 Tahoe 26.3 blank screen after running for a day. Had external screen working for a while, but have accidentally turned off 'extended display" and now can't get anything. Keyboard still live - Capslock led will light up.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 26.3
Safe Mode does a number of different things.
On older Intel Macs, hold shift at startup, but have your userid and password at the ready.
On newer Apple silicon Macs, shut down your Mac. Then as you start up again, hold the power key until the ’Startup Options’ screen appears.
A parade of unusual things happens.
• Your Mac loads just enough of the kernel to do a disk check. Then it proceeds to do a disk check. This can take an extra about five minutes.
• your userid and password are required, even if you normally auto-login. So have them handy.
• Your Mac adds ONLY a minimal set of Apple-Only extensions, Not including graphics acceleration extensions. Screen updates will therefore be wonky and slow, but it ultimately should be correct.
• Your Mac assumes defaults for as many settings as possible, including screen resolution. This is the key for re-setting the screen, but there is a little more to it: Resolution is likely to be temporarily lower and settings ordinary. Use this as a starting point to customize settings to your liking.
If you make NO changes, regular mode will just revert to what you had set before, so DO make changes!
Any changes you make in Safe Mode will "stick" in regular mode after you restart.
• after a Restart in normal mode, your Mac will take slightly longer to start up [once] because it rebuilds some system caches.
"Works in Safe mode, fails in regular mode" implies "It's something you added".
How to use Safe Mode on your Mac
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
Safe Mode does a number of different things.
On older Intel Macs, hold shift at startup, but have your userid and password at the ready.
On newer Apple silicon Macs, shut down your Mac. Then as you start up again, hold the power key until the ’Startup Options’ screen appears.
A parade of unusual things happens.
• Your Mac loads just enough of the kernel to do a disk check. Then it proceeds to do a disk check. This can take an extra about five minutes.
• your userid and password are required, even if you normally auto-login. So have them handy.
• Your Mac adds ONLY a minimal set of Apple-Only extensions, Not including graphics acceleration extensions. Screen updates will therefore be wonky and slow, but it ultimately should be correct.
• Your Mac assumes defaults for as many settings as possible, including screen resolution. This is the key for re-setting the screen, but there is a little more to it: Resolution is likely to be temporarily lower and settings ordinary. Use this as a starting point to customize settings to your liking.
If you make NO changes, regular mode will just revert to what you had set before, so DO make changes!
Any changes you make in Safe Mode will "stick" in regular mode after you restart.
• after a Restart in normal mode, your Mac will take slightly longer to start up [once] because it rebuilds some system caches.
"Works in Safe mode, fails in regular mode" implies "It's something you added".
How to use Safe Mode on your Mac
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
The Process of 'power-down, then choose safe mode', sometimes papers-over whatever was making your screen go blank, so its worth a try regardless.
Thank you for the excellent description of safe mode. However - big snag - I need a screen to be able to select it, and at the moment I can't see anything at all. If it were to appear on the Touch Bar, that might be the only way I can get to it. Good news is I have managed to book an appointment at the local Apple store tomorrow to see if they can fix it.
MacBook Pro M2 blank screen, extended display disabled
