How to Fix Mac/Macbook won’t Turn on/Startup

Someday you tried to turn on your Mac/MacBook but it won’t turn on? Considering the work you might have completed is stock in your Mac/MacBook, the important photos and videos stored in your Mac, as well as other information in different formats stored in your Mac/MacBook, seeing your MacBook not fully turn on is a great issue as you picture yourself losing all the information found in your Mac/MacBook at that instant. Keep your fears away. This guide will help you save your information.

Your Mac not turning on differs from your Mac not starting up and both situations have different solutions.

Your Mac not turning on is mostly as a result of the Mac having power issues. Such Macs are totally not responsive when trying to turn them on (that is the fans and other internal hardware parts don’t make any noise upon turning on) and as a result the solutions are easy since they hover around the Macs power supply. Also, it can be as a result of the keyboard malfunctioning either hardware or software related.

Your Mac not starting up (that is as you turn it on, you may hear the fans turning as well as noise from other hardware components but the Mac won’t fully turn on) might be as a result of either hardware failures or software problems and as such due to the variety of these causes, it is more complex to fix as compared to Macs that don’t turn on.

In this guide, the solutions will be separated depending on whether your Mac won’t turn on or your Mac won’t startup.

Part 1. MacBook won’t turn on

For your Mac/MacBook not turning on as seen above, the problem is related to a power issue or keyboard malfunctioning hence the solutions below will revolve around checking and fixing the power of your Mac as well as a hardware check.

1. Make Sure Your Mac Receives (enough) Power

Most at times, when you try to turn on your MacBook, it won’t turn on as a result of power not being supplied to it. As such, when your Mac won’t turn on totally, it is necessary to check everything related to power. Make sure your Mac is properly connected to a power source. Also, try changing the power outlet as it may be faulty. Furthermore, change your charger or power cable.

Sometimes, this may also result from a bad battery. If your MacBooks battery is totally dead, plug it to a charger and let it charge for a certain period of time because at times, your Mac won’t respond as soon as you plug it to the charger.

2. Check Hardware and Cable Connections

In case your Mac is a desktop, make sure that every cable is properly connected. You may plug out every cable then plug them in again in order to ensure proper connection between hardware.

Moreover, if your Mac was recently operated upon for internal repairs or for any upgrades, check the hardware such (as the RAM and the Hard drive) if they have been properly inserted into your Mac. In case nothing changes, try unplugging every peripheral then reinserting them to their correct positions then try to turn on your Mac again.

3. Perform a System Management Controller Reset

The System Management Controller (SMC) is a chip on MacBook that runs the small system and hardware processes such as power control, keyboard, and fan running among others. The SMC is responsible for Mac responding to keyboard pressing hence resetting the SMC can solve the issue of the power button not responding in case of keyboard malfunctioning.

Performing an SMC reset depends on the MacBook in question.

For MacBooks with no removable battery, connect the Mac to a power source with the power cable.

1. Press and hold down the Shift+Control+Option on the left of the keyboard then the power. button and hold all of them down. You may request help for pressing the keys down.
2. Leave all of the four buttons simultaneously.
3. Turn on Mac by Pressing the Power button.

For MacBooks with a removable battery, disconnect the Mac from its power source then take off the battery

1. Press and hold the power button for five seconds then release it.
2. Put the battery back in your Mac and connect it to its power source.
3. Turn your Mac on by pressing the Power button.

If Mac is a desktop,

1. Disconnect your Mac from its power supply and leave it unplugged for about fifteen seconds.
2. Connect it again and allow for five seconds.
3. Turn on Mac using the power button.

Part 2. MacBook Won’t Start up

If your Mac/MacBook won’t startup that is, it responds to the power button but won’t boot completely, then the solutions below will do:

1. Perform an NVRAM Reset

NVRAM (that is, NonVolatile Random-Access Memory) is a little amount of memory that Mac uses to store certain information such as settings and access them rapidly. Sometimes (though in rare cases) booting information can be stored in NVRAM and this can cause booting problems so resetting the NVRAM can be a solution to the problem. In order to reset NVRAM,

1. Shut down Mac.
2. Press and hold Command + Option + P + R and immediately turn on Mac.
3. You may release keys after the second startup sound.

2. Perform a Safe Mode Booting

If you just tried out something new on your Mac such as installing a new app or changing some system settings it could result in your Macbook not starting up. A safe mode boot carries out diagnoses on Mac and when it boots Mac, startup applications and other extra features are not booted. Only the basic features are booted. To perform a safe boot,

1. Press the power button on your Mac then immediately press and hold the shift key.
2. Hold both keys until the login screen is reached then continue the booting process normally.

If your MacBook boots normally, undo any change that was made to it as this may be the cause of your MacBook not starting up.

3. Use Disk Utility tool from Recovery Mode Tools

This recovery mode boots differently from the entire operating system and grants access to some tools which can help to repair your computer. To access the recovery mode;

1. Press the power button then press and hold Command and R buttons
2. As soon as you see the Apple logo, release the keys
3. Once it finishes booting, MacOS utilities will be accessed. Select the Disk Utility option. Then, select your system drive and click First Aid.

This will help to repair the startup disk (that is the disk from which MacOS boots) and if your MacBook won’t turn on as a result of a problem with the startup disk, this method will immediately fix the problem.

4. Reinstall MacOS

When all methods above do not work, this affirms that your Mac does not suffer from a hardware issue but instead a complex software problem and the only solution left is to restore a Time Machine backup or reinstall a new macOS.

This can be done through a recovery mode. To enter the mode, Boot your Mac while pressing Command + R until a startup chime is heard and the apple logo or spinning globe is seen then the macOS utility window will open.

In case you have a recent time machine backup or you want to restore the older one, you can just restore it and see if your Mac will turn on normally. If it fails or you do not have any time machine backup, choose the reinstall macOS option.

NB: There is the option to format your disk as part of the process. If you are not comfortable with that, you don’t have to select it you can still continue the process without formatting your disk.

Also, this process requires you to be connected to an internet connection since a new operating system is being downloaded. As seen in this guide, Mac/MacBook won’t turn on as a result of a series of problems both hardware and software related. Going through this guide, you should be able to fix your Mac if not seek for special attention from the nearest repairer as your Mac may have some hardware problems such as a damaged part which may only be repaired at a repairer’s shop.

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