fixed : screen and Touch Bar stay black when starting up MacBook Pro

Question :
I was trying to start up my MacBook Pro this morning but when I did, nothing appeared on screen… the screen stayed black… even the Touch Bar above the keyboard stayed black… I think I could hear a distant startup chime sound, but that was all… no indication of any response to my start-up attempts…
I thought that the battery might be empty, so I plugged in the USB-C power cable (which unfortunately does not turn on any light that indicates it’s charging), but the result of my start-up attempts stayed the same : black screen, black Touch Bar and only a dim, distant start-up chime…
Is this some kind of hardware failure (broken screen) ? Or is this a software problem that I can fix myself ?

What can I do ?

Answer :
This is a software problem.
You can fix this by doing the following :
– simultaniously press this key combo on your MacBook Pro’s keyboard :
[CTRL] + [CMD] + [ON/OFF] for at least 5 seconds, then release

[CTRL] = the ‘Control’ key
[CMD] = the ‘Command’ key, the key with the stylized 4-leaf-clover, previously known as ‘Apple’ key
[ON/OFF] = the ‘Touch ID’ key on the far right of the Touch Bar that is used for starting up, shutting down, and Touch ID

…and now, your MacBook Pro should start-up as usual, starting with a white Apple logo appearing on your black screen…
if it still doesn’t work, use this slightly longer procedure :
– press the [ON/OFF] key for at least 10 seconds to shut down your MacBook Pro
– then press the [CTRL] + [CMD] + [ON/OFF] key combo for at least 5 seconds to start-up

…That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰




fixed : MacBook Pro sighs then hangs during startup without progress bar over and over again

Question :

I have a Β 2018 MacBook Pro 13″ with TouchBar and 4 Thunderbolt3 ports that seems to hang during startup : the MacBook ‘sighs’ (fan noise) during startup and shows only a black screen with a white Apple-logo, but no progress bar as usual… then it automatically restarts… and the same thing repeats itself…

Is there any way to solve this ?

 

Answer :

This might be caused by a hardware problem, so if it happens frequently, you should take your MacBook Pro to an AppleStore or authorized Apple Repair shop for repair.

But before you do so, try this, as it might fix your problem :

If you do see a progress bar during startup, look at this post :

fixed : MacBook Pro hangs during final stage of macOS startup

If you do not see a progress bar during startup, do this :

  • unplug everything else from the USB-C ports
  • now plug in the USB-C power-adapter
  • then, if you can, plug-in a USB-C-to-Ethernet-adapter and make an ethernet-connection to your network (and the Internet), if not leave it
  • then, press the ON/OFF-fingerscan-button (top-right in the Touch Bar) to restart your Mac
  • then, during restart, immediately press the [CMD]+[ALT]+[R] key-combo on your keyboard
  • keep this key-combo pressed for about 30 seconds, then release
  • now, leave your MacBook connected to power and internet overnight
  • in the morning, your MacBook will have reinstalled the latest version of macOS

…and you will be good to go πŸ˜‰

If the problem persists overnight, you might want to try this also, before you decide to bring in your MacBook Pro for repair :

  • create a macOS installer on a USB-stick (or even a USB-C stick)
    • as your own MacBook Pro is not available for this, you need to do this on another Mac or ask someone to do this for you
    • instructions on doing this can be found here on Apple.com
  • then plug the USB-C stick (or USB-stick with a USB-to-USB-C-adapter) into your MacBook Pro
  • then restart your MacBook Pro, while pressing the [ALT]-key on your keyboard
  • release the [ALT]-key when the Startup Manager window opens
  • then select the USB-stick as your startup disk
  • then follow the onscreen instructions for (re)installing macOS

That’s it !

As mentioned before : if you keep running into this problem frequently, you might have a hardware problem and you should bring your MacBook Pro in for repair.

enjoy πŸ˜‰