MacBook Pro won't switch on after SMC reset

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Level 1

9 points

MacBook Pro won't switch on after SMC reset

My late 2008 MBP has been experiencing a few minor issues lately, and a Google search suggested that an SMC reset would solve them. I did a PRAM reset first, then I booted into diskutil and repaired the bootdisk (a Corsair SSD) for some minor issues (permissions and orphaned blocks).

Finally, I did a SMC reset by removing the battery and holding down the powerbutton for 5 secs.

After that, my computer refused to switch on. It's not completely dead, though. The battery indicator on the left side switches on all LEDs (the battery was replaced recently) when I connect the MagSafe connector, and my Sandisk USB card reader lights up if I connect it. It just won't turn on anymore.

I found an article suggesting that I should press and hold Shift + Option + Control + Power and release them all at once, and that should fix it, but it did nothing for me.

Is there anything I can do?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Jul 11, 2012 12:05 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 11, 2012 12:31 AM in response to Verise

Mght be something you haven't tried here > Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on

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Answer 2

Jul 11, 2012 12:49 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

That just directs you right back to the Resetting SMC page!

To Verise - have you tried to, or can you even get far enough along to, do an Apple Hardware Test? Check this - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509. It may help, may not. If it doesn't, you may need to take your MBP into your local Apple Store for diagnostics.

Good luck,

Clinton

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Answer 3

Verise Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 11, 2012 1:05 AM in response to Verise

I did the SMC reset procedure several times, removed and reinserted the battery several times more, tried starting the computer without any peripherals, but nothing helped. I googled and tried out some suggestions that seemed to fit my symptoms, but still nothing.

Finally, I removed all cables and the battery and left the computer sitting there while I wrote that question on my wife's iMac. More time passed while I waited for an answer and considered what impact a new Mac would make on the family budget. Then it occured to me that I never tried starting the machine on PSU power while the battery was disconnected/removed.

That worked. I don't know if it was the 30+ minutes without any power source attached, or the powerup without the battery, or something else that did the trick. Frankly, I don't care. I'm posting this because I've seen too many threads just go silent. That's really annoying when you experience a similar issue.

It still wouldn't boot normally, but I was able to boot into recovery mode and set the proper boot device. Now it works again, and the minor issues I had prior to the SMC reset seem to have vanished as well.

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Answer 4

Verise Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 11, 2012 1:06 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

That's a good starting point, all of it was tried, though.

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Answer 5

Verise Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 11, 2012 1:08 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

No, it was completely unresponsive at that point.

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Answer 6

Jul 11, 2012 1:14 AM in response to Verise

I'm really happy for you that you were able to 'solve' your problem - no matter how mysterious the solution was.

You're right about too many threads going silent. I try to go pages and pages deep to see, even if I don't know the answer to someone's problem, I can 'bump' some messages up the line to those who are far brighter than myself. I would still do an Apple Hardware Test if I were you - it can't hurt anything and it may discover a 'problem' that you didn't know existed. With any luck, you're safe now, since you say that your previous issues have vanished.

See, you're smarter than you thought, aren't you?

Best of luck,

Clinton

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Answer 7

Verise Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 11, 2012 1:38 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Well, thank you very much, Clinton!

I tried to start AHT, as you suggested, but it wouldn't start by just holding the "D" key. Apparently, I need to insert my original OS X DVDs to run it.

After I installed a SSD, I removed the superdrive in favor of a caddy for my original harddrive for additional storage. I don't think I'll bother reinstalling it for the purpose of running the test at this point, but I'll keep it in mind in case of any future issues.

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