Apple MacBook Pro with white screen at start up, help!

Question

Level 1

9 points

Apple MacBook Pro with white screen at start up, help!

Hi Everyone,

I have been creating a powerpoint for a conference eI am presenting at next week and whilst working my Mac screen went temporarily distorted then turned white. I left it for a moment then held down the power button to reboot. On doing this it successfully got to the stage where i enter my password then displays the loading bar. Half way through loading it cut to white again and restated. I then repeated a few times, same results.

On looking at troubleshoot options online I have attempted the following techniques with no success:

Command-R power on: Goes straight to white screen after chime.

Command-option-R-P: Goes straight to white screen after chime and apple logo.

Command-shift: Get to the log in stage but then white screen.

Command-S and fsck -fy: Said mac was 'OK', rebooted and got white screen after chime and apple logo.

Connected to working mac using Thunderbolt cable: Successfully opened Target mode, but disk does not appear on working mac.

What else can I do?

There are no apple stores near me.

It is a 17" Mac Book Pro with El Capitain OS X (not sure which one) with no previous history of issues..

I hope someone can help.

Freya

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on May 3, 2016 11:08 AM

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Answer 1

Pmintz25

Level 4

2,058 points

May 3, 2016 11:12 AM in response to freya92

Try resetting the SMC

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

If you are attempting a Safe Boot, just hold Shift when the computer turns on, not Command-Shift.

Also, if you can get to the login screen, try holding Shift while you are logging into your account (Not while you are typing, but after you have finished your password and immediately after you press Enter/Return).

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Answer 2

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 3, 2016 11:17 AM in response to freya92

On the back of the MBP is the serial number. Enter it here and post back the model/year information:

https://checkcoverage.apple.com/

I am guessing that you have a faulty HDD or a faulty SATA cable.

Do you have another HDD handy, internal or external?

Ciao.

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Answer 3

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 11:30 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thanks for replying,

Its a MacBook Pro (17-inch Late 2011)

Would it just suddenly become faulty like that?

Will my data be safe if so?

Yes I have an external hard HDD handy.

Freya.

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Answer 4

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 11:35 AM in response to Pmintz25

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply. I can no longer seem to reach login.

When I do Shift and power on it goes to the apple logo and loading bar.

When I try to reset the SMC it does the same thing.

However when resetting the SMC I worry I am doing incorrectly as the instructions tell you to press power on, option shift and control the release them all and press power on again to reboot. When I do it it reboots when I press the power button the first time with the other buttons also pressed.. does that make sense?

All the best,

Freya

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Answer 5

Pmintz25

Level 4

2,058 points

May 3, 2016 11:46 AM in response to freya92

It should not reboot. Make sure the computer is completely off before trying the SMC reset.

Plug in the power adapter, then press and hold Shift, Option, and Control on the left side of the keyboard. Yes that matters.

With all three held, press and hold the power button for a second or two, and then release all of them at the same time. The computer should remain off the entire time. Also the light on the MagSafe adapter may change color.

While unfortunate, it is normal for a hard drive to start having issues 5 years into it's life. It's not guaranteed, but is not completely unexpected.

Best of luck

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 3, 2016 11:53 AM in response to freya92

Try to boot the MBP with the OPTION + COMMAND + R keys. You should get a display such as this:

Follow the directions until you get to this display:

Click on Disk Utility and run Disk Utility>First Aid>Repair.

If the disk can be repaired, restart the MBP. If not we will try the external HDD.

You will need a solid Internet connection.

Ciao.

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Answer 7

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 12:06 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

I followed the first instructions and have reached a 'Reset Password' screen, which is the first signs of life it has showed since this began.

Shall I continue on this route?

There are three options:
1. I forgot my password

2. My password doesn't work when logging in.

3. my keyboard isn't working when typing my password in.

There is also the apple button in the top left where I can select 'Startup Disk'

Where from here?

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Answer 8

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 3, 2016 1:17 PM in response to freya92

There should be no password screen. Retry using these directions:

There should be a loading bar beneath the revolving globe. It may take a while for it to complete connecting to the Apple servers, so be patient.

Again, a solid Internet connection is required.

Ciao.

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Answer 9

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 12:40 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I will retry this way. I have solid internet connection.

Is my HHD data safe doing this?

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Answer 10

Pmintz25

Level 4

2,058 points

May 3, 2016 1:17 PM in response to freya92

If your HDD is damaged already, there is no way to promise that your data is safe.

Running Disk Utility will try to repair the disk and will not erase anything unless you select the options to erase the drive.

As long as you follow OGLETHORPE's steps, you won't have to worry about that.

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Answer 11

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 12:56 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

HUGE update!!!

I decided to follow the forgot password route before retrying your above instuctions to see what happened.

After resetting it, it rebooted and I got to the login screen again. After typing in my password i pressed shift. I now see my desktop slowly appearing.

This is fantastic. I am worried to press anything yet, but I can see my work. There is a colour wheel mouse and leading wheels on all open applications.

Thank you both so much for your help, I think we're almost out of the woods.

What caused this I wonder, should I take it in for a check up soon anyway?

Freya

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Answer 12

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 3, 2016 1:00 PM in response to freya92

freya92 wrote:

Is my HHD data safe doing this?

If nothing goes wrong, the data is safe, but there is never a guarantee that always will be the case. As the extract that I included in my last response indicates, backups should always be made, if possible.

Ciao.

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Answer 13

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 3, 2016 1:02 PM in response to freya92

freya92 wrote:

What caused this I wonder, should I take it in for a check up soon anyway?

Yes.

Ciao.

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Answer 14

freya92 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 3, 2016 1:09 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

So I had five minutes of it working in which time I managed to get all my work off onto an external hard drive (thankfully).

It has now white screened again, but I can relax as I have what I need. There is obviously something seriously wrong, I just count my self lucky I had that quick chance to get what I needed!

I willfind a store as near as possible when I can.

Thanks again guys 🙂

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