Desktop Mac or MacBook won’t turn on, or perhaps won’t start via the Apple icon? Don’t worry, it can be annoying, but it can usually be fixed.
Here are all the steps you need to take to restart your Mac. Simply follow the steps in order, unless the Mac fails to start after an OS update has failed. In this case you can skip straight to step 8.
1. Check that your Mac has power
First, check that your Mac is plugged in. It’s silly but obvious, but anyone who gets technical support knows that you have to fix the obvious problems first.
So, if your MacBook won’t boot up on battery, the battery may be completely drained or may have failed.
If you can’t charge or turn on your MacBook with the power adapter connected, make sure it’s properly connected and not damaged in any way. If there are wires around, try using an alternative power cable. Also, check that the ports are clean. Dust buildup can interfere with proper charging.
While using it, check the external hardware as well. Disconnect all peripheral devices like printers or graphics input boards, as sometimes this can be the cause. If you have a Mac Mini, make sure the display is properly connected and powered on.
2. Restart the power supply
The next step is to reboot the power supply. This completely disconnects all power to your Mac and allows you to restart from the beginning.
- On the latest MacBooks, disconnect the power cord and then press and hold the power button for 10 seconds.
- For older MacBooks, disconnect the power cord and remove the battery for at least 10 seconds.
- If you’re using a desktop Mac, disconnect the power cord for at least 10 seconds.
Now reconnect the power supply and try to restart the computer. This will bring the computer back to life.
Holding down the power button like this is the equivalent of pressing the “reset” button or unplugging it. It works on mobile phones, e-book readers and almost any other gadget that doesn’t allow you to remove the battery, so it’s a good trick to remember.
3. Start in safe mode
If your MacBook won’t start, try remembering what you did the last time you ran it. Are you installing an application or importing fonts or tweaking your system?
If your Mac shows signs of life when you boot it up (it won’t go beyond the Apple icon or login screen), then booting into Safe Mode may help you fix it.
Press the Power button on your Mac, then immediately hold down the Shift key. Hold it until you reach the login screen, then continue as normal.
Safe Mode runs a bunch of diagnostic tests and then boots a simplified version of macOS. this will not load your startup applications, custom fonts, additional hardware features or any other basic information.
If the Mac successfully boots into Safe Mode, you can begin uninstalling any new apps, disabling startup items, uninstalling hardware or undoing any other recent changes that may have caused problems.
4. Reset the SMC
The System Management Controller (SMC) controls many of the basic functions of your Mac. It handles everything from keyboard backlighting to battery management and everything that happens when you press the power button.
Resetting the SMC is a great way to solve many problems, including problems with your MacBook not starting up or not waking up when you open the lid.
There are several ways to accomplish this, depending on the Mac model you own.
Desktop
- Unplug the power cord, then wait 15 seconds.
- Plug the power cord back in, then wait another five seconds.
- Restart your Mac.
2018 MacBook Pro + MacBook with T2 Security Chip
- Press and hold the right Shift key, the left Option key (ALT) and the left control key for seven seconds.
- While holding these keys, press and hold the Power button for another seven seconds.
- Release all keys, wait a few seconds, and then restart.
MacBook without removable battery
- Press and hold the Shift, Options (ALT) and Control keys on the left, and the Power button (or Touch ID button) for 10 seconds.
- Release all keys, then restart the computer.
Older MacBooks with Removable Batteries
- Remove the battery. 2.
- Press and hold the Power button for five seconds. 3.
- Reconnect the battery, and then restart the MacBook.
Reset NVRAM or PRAM
NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory) is a special part of memory used to store certain settings that the Mac needs to access quickly. Although problems associated with this are unlikely to prevent your computer from booting, resetting it as a precautionary measure will not cause any harm.
Older Macs use PRAM (peripheral RAM) instead. The process for resetting is the same.
- Press the Power button, then immediately hold down the Option (Alt), Command, P and R keys.
- Press and hold the keys for approximately 20 seconds even if your Mac seems to reboot.
- If your Mac plays a startup sound, release the keys after you hear the beep a second time.
- If your Mac is using the T2 chip, release the keys after the Apple icon disappears for the second time.
After your Mac has restarted, you will find that certain basic settings (such as the time zone or volume level) may need to be adjusted.
Run Apple Diagnostics
Hopefully, your Mac is now up and running again. If not, then you can use the Apple Diagnostics tool to check for hardware problems. This will check for problems and then suggest a fix or display your support options.
- Disconnect all unnecessary external devices, such as printers. If required, you can keep the keyboard, mouse and monitor powered on. 2.
- Press the power button.
- Press and hold the D button. Keep it pressed until you see a screen asking you to select a language. 4.
- Select a language and Apple Diagnostics will start running its tests. These will take a few minutes to complete.
When finished, you will see the results of the test. Some will suggest a quick fix and offer you the opportunity to re-run the test. Others will generate reference codes, which you can find on the Apple Diagnostics page. It will also show you your Mac support options. If there are no problems, the fault is probably not related to your hardware.
On Macs released before June 2013, you’ll get the Apple Hardware Test. You activate it in the same way, the principle is the same. Choose your language and click on “Test” to begin.
Using the recovery mode tools
All Mac hard drives have a special Recovery partition on them. This is separate from the full macOS boot and provides you with a set of tools for repairing your computer.
To boot into Recovery.
- Press the Power button.
- Press and hold the Command and R keys.
- When you see the Apple icon, release the keys.
When you have finished booting, you will see a new menu of macOS utilities.
The first one to try is Disk Utility. This is a version of the same tool available in macOS that allows you to scan and repair your hard drive or SSD. select the drive and click First Aid to start the repair process.
More tools are available through the Utilities menu. These include a terminal for more advanced users.
Reinstall macOS in recovery mode
If you have come this far, then your problem is probably not hardware related, nor is it a simple software fix. The best solution now is to restore a Time Machine backup, or to completely reinstall macOS.
You can do this with Recovery. To get started, press the power button and hold down the Command key and R key.
If you have a recent Time Machine backup, you can restore that backup to see if it solves your problem. If not, select Reinstall macOS from the menu.
When you choose to reinstall macOS, the system will give you the option to format the disk. Do not select this option if you only want to repair the installation – there is no problem reinstalling macOS on top of itself.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. You will need to be connected to the internet as the tool will download the OS from scratch. If this does not resolve the problem, you may need to make the Mac boot from USB.
Check for other warning signs on your Mac
All Macs (whether they’re high-end MacBook Pros or older iMacs) have a great reputation for reliability. But they can still run into problems.
While fixing a Mac that doesn’t boot up is usually relatively easy, it’s best to check for warning signs and fix problems before they happen.
Follow the advice in our guide to finding and fixing common macOS problems – covering everything from memory to malware – and you’ll keep your Mac running smoothly and problem-free.
