My MacBook screen went black and now the screen won't turn on

This has just happened to my computer, one minute i was using it, one minute the screen went black. I thought i just needed to reboot it so i held down the power button to shut it down and then restarted it. I heard the same start up sound however i saw nothing on the screen. But after looking a bit closer i realised that the stuff on the screen WAS there but so so so faint. I also found that when i pushed f1 (lower brightness) all the way down and then back up again with f2 my screen would come up as normal for a split second. When i kept doing this (back and forth on the brightness) it eventually stayed bright in short time periods so i eventually could navigate my way to the system preferences and this is what I changed:

> Apple button (top left corner)

> System preferences

> Hardware > Energy Saver

> Untick everything under the "Power Adapter tab"

> Put the Computer sleep and Display sleep to "Never" by moving the time slider to the right

> Do the same thing for the "Battery" tab

This has worked for me so far so I just wanted to let other people know that are having the same problem. Before I did this i was contemplating taking it to the Apple store like everyone else and paying 200 quid to get it fixed. Glad I played around with it first though and I hope this means other people will be able to fix their ones too!

This is what worked for me:

1. Start up the mac (hear the chime)
2. After about 30 seconds you should be at the login screen. You can tell this by pressing backspace a few times and hearing a sound (make sure to turn the sound on and off to make sure you haven't muted it).
3. Close the laptop lid to put the macbook into stand by mode.
4. After 40 seconds open the lid and force shut down by holding the power button for 10 seconds.
5. Press the power button and the screen should function as normal.

I did it on a Macbook Pro (Late 2012, retina). Hope this helps.

This simple action fixed it for me! I know this thread is over a decade old...but the problem still exists. My computer screen went black after a sleep. So I did a hard restart. Once I got to the log in screen and when the bar was at mid point, my screen went black again. I know the computer was on because I was watching a video before the I put my computer to sleep and it was playing with a dark screen. I tried everything in this thread. None worked. Then I simply closed my macbook. Waited 10 seconds and opened (folded down screen as if I was packing it in a bag) and voila, screen is back.

Check if you can see the screen. The best way to do this is during the day using the sunlight (a tourch will reflect). Tilt your laptop in various angles to see if you can see anything. Also, does your laptop hit up pretty quickly? Can you hear your fan going off like mad? If you can, than it likely to be a problem with the thermal compound. It's pretty easy to change (I've changed mine) although a bit scary.

I used these instructions: http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/76366/Changing+cooling+paste+on+MacBook+Core+ 2+Duo

You can also type "change thermal compound" on google and get a couple of videos to familiarise yourself with.

I bought the materials from amazon (spudger, arctic silver arcticlean, arctic silver thermal paste and compressed air) and followed the instructions EXACTLY as described. You'll also need mini screwdrivers. There's a ton of screws to come off which can be a nightmare if you're not careful. To avoid them mixing up or rolling, I placed them on top of a cloth, grouped according to the order I took them out.

Hope this helps.

I just had my logic board replaced less than a week ago for a different issue and now this has happened to me. I can hear my hard disk and fan working and it makes a startup sound when it boots but there is no power going to the screen backlight, the screen itself (no image even with flashlight), or even the keyboard backlight. It started while I was watching a YouTube video while hooked up to an external display, then suddenly both screens went black and the external display was no longer receiving a signal.

I've tried resetting the PRAM and the SMC but no luck, and trying to boot into safe mode does nothing. I'm going to do some more research but it looks like I might be going back to the apple store already...

you only need a coin to flip it out.

Try this

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove

Note: Learn about removing the battery on MacBook and MacBook Pro.

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
3. Remove the battery.
4. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
5. Release the power button.
6. Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
7. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Hi guys!

Doing this solved the problem for me:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

After resetting NVRAM or PRAM, you may need to reconfigure your settings for speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, and time zone information. If issues persist, your Mac's logic board battery (not a portable Mac's rechargeable battery) may need to be replaced. The logic board battery helps retain NVRAM/PRAM settings when your computer is shut down. You can take your Mac to a Mac Genius or Apple Authorized Service Provider to replace the battery on the logic board.

Hope it helps!

Hi To all who are having this problem. Black screen at startup is ether a hardware problem or a system management problem. If you start up to a black screen and hear the startup chime. Wait a few minutes and then close the lid. If you see the light on the front of the laptop come on it is a video problem. Ether involving a bad screen or video card.To check screen problem ,you need an external monitor. You could also toggle the F1 key or Command F1. Power management, you run a pram reset or an SMC reset. Pram,hold down /Command/Option/P/R for three chimes at boot. SMC reset read this.http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

My friend has the same problem and I fixed it. The steps are very simple.

1. The first step is probably the easiest. Turn off your Macbook if it isn't already off
2. Turn it back on by pressing the power button like normal
3. After 2 minutes get a flashlight.The flashlight app on ios 7+ will do.
4. Bring the flashlight and the MacBook into a well shaded area.
5. Shine the flashlight close to the screen,a few inches away.Bring it to the center of the screen.
6. You should now see the users on the login screen.
7. Click on your user and type in the password.
8. Wait 3 minutes
9. Your macbook should now be on with full brightness or the brightness your macbook was last on.
10. HAVE FUN ON YOUR FIXED MACBOOK! 😀

-Your apple dev,Nick

A lot of people suggest the EPROM reboot but that didnt work for me. What got my problem sorted was this:

https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/82502-mac-mac-boots-to-a-black-screen-wi th-cursor

Adding it here in case it helps others who are in a bind. Goodluck.

Ok same problem but I know abit more.

The screen is black but computer starts up normal

Its a macbook air and i cant get the battery out

Holding shift key at restart as the tone sounds does nothing

Also there is nothing when shining the light into the screen

FYI... This computer was refurbished from a friend and could have everything to do with but never mind that any help would be great

Has anyone else noticed that the Apple logo lighting on the back of the screen casing does not come on when the screen is black? Can we buy this cable off the shelf somewhere or does this mean a new, entire screen?

One question, it seems to be a problem with display brightness as i read this discussion, but in my case the is one more symptom, there is no typical sound for booting OSX, i just hear something from inside as usual, but no sound of OSX booting. That makes me think that it is not an display issue, what is your opinion?

my problem: macbook went black when I wanted to wake it up. Mac was somehow alive, logo apple was shining but screen was black. what I did: press on/off button for 5 seconds, mac went switched off. next attempt to turn it on was OK, and my Mac is working again.

miroslav