There are lots of reasons why you might find that your Mac won't turn on, or your MacBook won't start up, simply you probably just want to go it working again. Nosotros'll run through the various checks and changes to brand to get your Mac to boot upwardly to you tin can start using it once more.

Read on for some unproblematic tips that should go your Mac working, from the obvious stuff similar checking the ability connection, to performing a ability bicycle, starting in Recovery mode, and checking the file system. And if your Mac actually is dead, we'll also tell you where to turn next.

The fixes in this article utilise to most recent versions of macOS. The menus and interfaces may look slightly unlike depending on which Os you are running, but their functions are in essence the aforementioned. Similarly, if you have an M1 Mac there are some changes to the way you perform sure functions - similar starting up the reckoner in Safety mode or Recovery, we'll detail these below.

Mac won't turn on

i. Cheque your Mac turns on

Commencement, let'south find out if the problem is that your Mac won't starting time up, or that it won't turn on - those might audio similar the same thing, but there's actually a big departure.

Printing the Power button on your Mac. If y'all don't hear a startup chime, yous don't hear any fan or drive noise, and there are no images, video, or visuals of any sort on your display, and then your Mac isn't turning on at all. You're not even getting to the point where information technology refuses to starting time up.

A Mac that doesn't plow on calls for a different approach to one that doesn't beginning up. If your estimator doesn't plow on so yous need to exercise the following:

i) Cheque your ability connectedness

Don't be the cliche: check that the power is on and the Mac is plugged in correctly. Or if it'due south a laptop, be sure that the battery isn't expressionless - and if it needs charging give it a while to endeavor to accuse before concluding that it isn't going to piece of work. If your MacBook won't charge read this.

ii) Try a different power cablevision or adapter

Information technology may exist that the fault resides with the ability cable. If you've got a friend with a Mac power cable that fits your machine, try it to see if that solves the problem. If it does, it could be a simple set up that involves finding a secondhand power cable on eBay (although nosotros propose confronting buying third-political party power cables that aren't fabricated by Apple, as they are much more likely to be faulty and maybe dangerous).

If yous recently had a power cut, that could be responsible: your ability adaptor could have been damaged in a power surge and you lot may demand a new one.

Finally, information technology's possible that the cablevision is loose, and pulling it out and plugging information technology in once again volition solve the problem. Only we doubt it will exist that easy.

Apple sells various cables for charging Apple tree Macs and laptops. Y'all should find the one you need here: Apple power adaptors. Besides read: Which MacBook charger do I need?

three) Disconnect all accessories

Unplug all the accessories (such as printers and USB hubs) attached to your Mac. It could be that one of your peripherals is causing bug with the startup sequence.

If yous recently installed new RAM or a new hard drive, brand sure they are correctly installed and compatible. (If possible, reinstall the quondam memory or difficult drive and see if that helps.)

If none of those steps work then it's fourth dimension to movement onto the side by side stage.

2. Perform a Power Cycle

If you aren't hearing whatever signs of life, you could perform a power wheel, which involves forcing your Mac to restart later on killing the power to it.

  • On a MacBook you need to hold downwardly the power central for ten seconds. You'll usually hear a squeak as the Mac's ability is forcibly cutting. Hopefully afterward waiting x seconds and restarting, all volition be well.
  • If your Mac is a desktop you will need to unplug it and leave it unplugged for at to the lowest degree ten seconds before plugging information technology back in and attempting to restart.
  • For M1 Macs if you press and concord the Power button you would somewhen meet Loading startup options - bold the Mac was working properly. If pressing and holding the power button does let you to access the startup options then yous tin run through those options beneath to go your Mac upward and running. We discuss this below.  We likewise talk over how to revive your M1 Mac using a second Mac and the Configurator app below.

If performing a power cycle on your Mac doesn't assistance, or if pressing the Power button on the M1 Mac doesn't open the starting time upwardly options, there are a few other unproblematic things to try out before moving on to the more complicated steps.

3. Check your display

If you're using a desktop Mac such equally a Mac Pro or Mac mini this could apply to y'all. If you don't have a split brandish plugged in you can skip this step.

You could take a problem with the display you have plugged in, rather than the Mac itself. Have a listen to your Mac to see if it's making any sounds during kicking-up.

screen and mac mini

It is possible that your Mac does plough on, but doesn't boot up because it tin't access the display - if that's the instance y'all are nearly likely having problem with the display hardware (rather than a broader startup issue).

If y'all think information technology'due south a trouble with your monitor, then take a expect at this Apple tree Support document for advice on troubleshooting a display. If your display isn't working the advice is to:

  1. Cheque the ability supply to the Mac (and the power to the display if using a separate unit).
  2. Confirm that all cables are continued securely.
  3. Remove all brandish extenders and switches, and whatever other devices betwixt the Mac and monitor.
  4. Unplug the video cablevision (if using a separate monitor) and plug it dorsum in.
  5. If using more than than 1 monitor in a 'daisy chain', unplug all monitors and test using just one.
  6. If possible, try to apply a different display, or a different adapter (use DVI instead of VGA, for example).
  7. Apple tree likewise advises adjusting the screen resolution in System Preferences.

four. Kick up your Mac in Condom Boot

Safe Boot limits what checks and functionality your Mac focuses on during startup, and performs certain diagnostics. It's rare, merely sometimes you tin get your unhappy Mac to start upward successfully with a Safe Kicking, and then restart information technology normally, and everything returns to hunky-doriness. If yous want more help with this step read: How to start a Mac in Safe Mode.

  • To enter Safe Mode on an Intel-powered Mac: First your Mac upwards while belongings downward the Shift central. Safe Boot can take a while to start (if it does work at all).
  • To enter Safe Fashion on an M1-powered Mac: Press and continue to hold the power push until you run into the startup options announced on the screen. Cull the startup deejay. Now press and hold Shift and then click Continue in Safe Mode. Then release the Shift key. Y'all volition see the words Rubber Mode in carte at the meridian right of your screen.
  • To get more feedback about what's happening, y'all could beginning up an Intel-powered Mac while belongings down Shift, Command and V: that enters both Safe Boot and something chosen Verbose Mode, which spits out some messages about what Safe Boot is actually trying to exercise equally information technology goes.

At present you lot are in safe manner nosotros will discuss how to use Prophylactic Mode to fix your Mac start upwardly issues.

While you lot are Rubber Mode the interface volition look very slightly different, with blocks of colour rather than transparency. The biggest giveaway is the Dock at the bottom of the screen, such every bit in the paradigm below, for example.

Safe Mode Mac

Once in Rubber Mode you may be able to run certain checks (we'll run through these beneath) and brand changes that could gear up your Mac. For example you could reinstall macOS or update other software.

If you find you tin can start upward in Rubber Mode it is probable that the issue is related to one of your startup items, in which case you should get to: System Preferences > Users & Groups and remove all the items (click on -). You could apply trial and error to work out which startup detail is causing the trouble.

5. Reset the PRAM / NVRAM

In the PowerPC days, we talked about resetting the PRAM. On Intel Macs, the term is resetting the NVRAM. The NVRAM in M1 Macs is reset automatically, but there is a manner to reset NVRAM on the M1 Mac - nosotros discuss that here: How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac.

The name refers to special retentiveness sections on your Mac that store information that persists fifty-fifty when the Mac is shut off, such as volume settings and screen resolution.

Resetting that data isn't harmful, but quite frankly it'southward likewise rarely genuinely useful. But it tin't hurt.

You might need to grow an extra finger or 2 for this one, or have a friend help you out. Here's how to reset the PRAM/NVRAM on your Intel-powered Mac:

  1. Hold downwardly all of these keys: Command, Option (Alt), P and R, and turn on the Mac (it's the same keys to reset the PRAM).
  2. Continue holding the keys downward until you hear the Mac restart once more.
  3. Listen for a second reboot, then release the keys.

On M1 Mac resetting the NVRAM means using Terminal, the method is discussed in the article linked above.

In some cases, after performing this footstep, your Mac will restart usually. In other cases, you lot might instead see a progress bar on startup. If the progress bar fills up so the Mac starts up, you're probably good to go. In some cases we've seen, all the same, the Mac shuts down at effectually the halfway point in the progress bar.

6. Reset the SMC

In some situations, you may need to reset your Mac's SMC (System Direction Controller). This is largely a last-ditch endeavour to fix the current version of macOS before attempting to recover the information and moving on to reinstalling the Bone.

SMC is absent-minded from the M1 Mac and then you can't reset it. Nevertheless you tin change the settings that the SMC used to await after. Nosotros discuss how to practise this here: How to reset a Mac's SMC.

Hither'southward what to exercise if you want to reset the SMC (Intel Macs):

On a Mac laptop:

  1. Close down the MacBook.
  2. Unplug and and so reconnect the power cable.
  3. Press Shift + Ctrl + Option/Alt keys and the ability button at the same time.
  4. Now release all those keys and the ability button at the same time.
  5. Y'all may see the light on the power cable flicker.
  6. Restart your MacBook.

On a Mac desktop:

  1. Shut down the Mac.
  2. Unplug information technology.
  3. Press the power push for 5 seconds.
  4. Plug the Mac dorsum in.
  5. Turn on your Mac.

How to fix a Mac that won't turn on: Reset the SMC

7. Run Disk Utility in Recovery Fashion

If your Mac is booting but the operating system isn't loading up, y'all may have a corrupted drive. Luckily it is possible to set up this in Recovery Manner. Nosotros have a detailed tutorial on using Recovery Way here, but nosotros'll run thorough the basics below.

Yet again, accessing Recovery Mode is a little different on an M1 Mac (read about All the new ways of doing things on M1 Macs).

The first step is to run Deejay Utility. On a Mac running Mountain Lion or subsequently, which will be the vast majority of Macs, you lot can run Deejay Utility by booting into Recovery Fashion.

  • On an Intel Mac you need to make sure the Mac is turned off. If it's not responsive because it's stuck on a grey, blue or white screen, only concur down the Mac's power button for several seconds until it gives upwards and shuts off. (Here'south what to do to fix a Blue Screen of Death on a Mac.) Hold downwards the Command and R keys, and power the Mac back up over again. Keep pressing Cmd + R while your Mac is booting upwardly until yous see the Apple tree logo.
  • On an M1 Mac press and agree the Power button until the Mac starts up and eventually shows the start up options. Select Options > Continue to enter Recovery.

Now you are in Recovery mode here'due south what to do:

  1. In one case your Mac starts in Recovery Style you will gain admission to Utilities. Click on the Deejay Utility option. macOS Utilities
  2. Locate your Mac'south drive - probably Macintosh HD, select it.
  3. Click Offset Aid. First Aid Mac
  4. If in that location are errors with your disk, Disk Utility should find them and volition either repair them automatically, or will ask if you would like to repair them. Click Repair Deejay if this is the case.

In Recovery Mode you tin besides do the following:

  • Restore from a Time Machine backup.
  • Get help online.
  • Install or reinstall macOS (we discuss this below).

8. Revive a M1 Mac

If you have an M1 Mac and you nonetheless haven't been able to revive information technology, the next option to try is to apply a 2d Mac running Apple's Configurator two to update the firmware.

Y'all will need a second Mac, a USB to USB cable, a web connexion and Apple's Configurator 2 software.

  1. Connect the two Macs with a USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A cable.
  2. Open Configurator 2 software on the working Mac.
  3. At present on the non-working Mac press and hold the power button while besides pressing the following key combination: Correct shift, Left Choice/Alt, Left Control. You volition need someone to help you unless you have gigantic hands because you also need to be pressing the Power Button at the same time.
  4. After about 10 seconds let go of the keys, but keep pressing the Power button. Hopefully the M1 Mac will appear in the Configurator app on your second Mac by this point (the M1 Mac still won't prove any screen activity though).

The procedure is a little different for the M1 Mac mini.

  1. In this case yous demand to unplug information technology and await for about 10 seconds.
  2. Press and hold the ability push button.
  3. Plug it in again, while still holding the power button.
  4. Release the ability button.

How to utilize the Configurator software to revive an M1 Mac.

  1. The M1 Mac should be showing in the Configurator software on the other Mac. Select the M1 Mac you want to revive.
  2. Click on Actions > Advanced.
  3. Select Revive Device.
  4. This will revive the firmware on the M1 Mac.

9. Check the file system

This step is actually kind of fun - at least when it'due south not your Mac that's nether the weather condition. Information technology'south fun because information technology feels so geeky.

Before yous get too excited though, this isn't an option for M1 Macs.

  1. Close the Mac off, and beginning it up again while holding Cmd + S to launch in Single User Mode. You tin can release the keys when the intimidating black screen with messages in white text appears.
  2. Wait until the command-line prompt appears, when all the text is done scrolling past. Then blazon fsck -fy and hit Render. And expect. Possibly for several long minutes.
  3. Eventually, afterward v different checks that take varying amounts of fourth dimension, you should get to i of ii messages: "The volume [your Mac's name] appears to be OK" or "FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED."
  4. If yous encounter the offset bulletin, type reboot and press Return.
  5. If y'all see the latter message, you need to run fsck -fy all over once more. You can retype the control and hitting Return, or printing the Up pointer once so press Return.

If this doesn't work, and your Mac withal doesn't kickoff up, then move on to the adjacent step.

10. Use Target disk mode to copy files

This step should be taken prior to reinstalling macOS and it depends on your backup situation. Yous exercise make regular backups, or at to the lowest degree sync of import documents, music and photos to the cloud, right?

If yous're non sweating at the moment, and are confident in your Time Machine or other backup solution, so skip to Stride eleven beneath. Just if you wish you'd backed up your Mac then now is the time to see what you can salvage from the machine.

For this, you'll demand a second Mac. If you haven't got ane so ask a friend. Follow these steps to apply Target Disk Mode:

  1. Connect both Macs together using an Apple tree Thunderbolt cable (£39 from Apple tree). If yous have an older Mac this same process works with FireWire cables.
  2. Switch off your Mac.
  3. Start upwardly your Mac while belongings downward the T push button on the keyboard.
  4. Go on holding the T push button down equally you hear the startup chinkle and keep information technology pressed until the Thunderbolt icon appears on your screen.

This places your Mac in Target disk mode. In Target Deejay mode your Mac acts like an external drive. You should now hopefully see the hard drive for your faulty Mac on your second Mac's Finder.

Y'all should be able to grab the files you need from your unresponsive Mac, or even clone the entire hard drive to another external drive.

Plug in Mac

11. Reinstall macOS

This is pretty drastic, but if you have tried everything else, and then reinstalling the operating organisation could remove the result that is stopping the Mac from starting properly.

Remember macOS Recovery from the pace above? Yous tin can use it to reinstall macOS too.

  1. Kick into Recovery mode as to a higher place (hold the Control and R keys while you start up, or printing and hold the ability button if you lot are on an M1 Mac).
  2. Once in Recovery click to install the latest OS and follow the onscreen prompts.

Our article on resetting a Mac to factory settings has more than data on wiping a Mac and reinstalling macOS.

12. Brand a Genius Bar appointment

If you've made it this far and your Mac still doesn't work, you'll demand to have it to an Apple Genius Bar to run across if they tin assist y'all set up information technology (or arrange for a repair under warranty). Hopefully you have got enough data from your Mac so as to be able to back up, or go along working on a new Mac.

Wondering how many years your Mac should concluding for? Read: How long do Macs last?