Can't restart system - MacBook Air

Question

Can't restart system - MacBook Air

My MacBook Air ran out of battery life. I connected to a power source and fully recharged but I now get a thick vertical stripe about 3" wide (with vertical lines) on the left side of the screen, black on the right. I tried to force quit; nothing happens. If I hold down the power button the screen will toggle on/off and the power light on the front will either be off flashing as though the computer is asleep. HELP! What can I try to get this working before I need to go to the Genius Bar. Thanks.

Posted on Jun 25, 2012 10:52 AM

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Answer 1

Bonenfant

Level 1

125 points

Jun 25, 2012 11:12 AM in response to Carolina Cohen

You can try resetting your PRAM

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Immediately press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.Continue holding the keys down until the computer restarts, and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

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Answer 2

Jun 25, 2012 11:29 AM in response to Carolina Cohen

I have tried to restart by resetting the PRAM, I hear the two start-up sounds but get the same result of the striped screen. It does not appear that I can actually shut down the computer (in order to fully restart with PRAM command), perhaps it's this reason that resetting the PRAM isn't working. Is there a way to Force Shut Down the computer to try again?

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Answer 3

Bonenfant

Level 1

125 points

Jun 25, 2012 11:34 AM in response to Carolina Cohen

Remove the power supply and hold down the power button for up to 10 seconds.

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Answer 4

Jun 29, 2012 10:15 AM in response to Bonenfant

I'm just checking back in to say thank you for your quick help. I discovered everything was okay with the hard drive, etc., but I had a crack in my LCD screen which is why I had the odd stripes. Thanks again!

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