How can you repair a MacBook air when it won't start properly?

My MacBook Air is just over 3 years old and thus out of warranty.
It gives a message that says the Preference Pane cannot be opened. Mostly the screen is black but sometimes (oddly) Adobe Bridge has a window ... but I cannot move to any other application.
1) is Genius Bar only available if your product is under warranty?
2) is there no way to check it? No recovery shows up when I option-restart.
Advice would be appreciated. the closest Apple store is an hour away.
Diane T

Backup your files. If you have a 2010 model that came with a set of two software discs then do the following:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase
the drive and everything on it.
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process by opening Software
         Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1. If you wish to upgrade to a later version of OS X, then do so on the App Store.
If you have the 2011 model then do this:
Install or Reinstall Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
How to Clean Install OS X Yosemite
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

Similar Messages

  • How can i purchase a macbook air in Nigeria? apple has no shop in the entire country and independent dealers charge ridiculously sometimes more than double the prices of mac products without guarantee of getting it with required specifications. its sad cl

    how can i purchase a macbook air in Nigeria? apple has no shop in the entire country and independent dealers charge ridiculously sometimes more than double the prices of mac products without guarantee of getting it with required specifications. its sad cos Nigeria has a very large apple market plus phones and most recently ipads especially. its been frustrating trying to get a macbook, even have to wait for when someone will travel out of the country, then you send the person(thats if you have the money at that time). Please somebody help inform apple maybe they can do something about this, its really disappointing.

    This is a user-to-user technical support forum. You're not addressing Apple here. Use the apporpriate link on fhe Feedback page to let Apple know how you feel:
    http://www.apple.com/feedback

  • How can I unfreeze my Macbook Air?  I have tried restarting but it simply opens on the frozen email page.  Any suggestions?

    How can I unfreeze my Macbook Air? I have tried restarting but it simply opens on the frozen email page.
    I have tried a few multople key combinations.  I would be very grateful if someone could post one that might ensure that any applications quit before re-starting.

    Try Force Quit.
    Press   command + option + esc  keyboard keys together at the same time.
    Wait.
    When Force Quit window appears, select Mail if not already.
    Press Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.
    Wait.
    Mail will quit.

  • How can I connect a MacBook Air (new) to a Sony Bravia TV

    How can I connect a MacBook Air (new) to a Sony Bravia TV

    This Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter will let you see and hear your Mac on your HDTV - http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042802 &p_id=5311&seq=1&format=2

  • How can I restore my Macbook Air?

    Hi! I forot the ID that I purchased for Mac OX. How can I restore my Macbook Air?

    iForgot iCloud Password
    Your Apple ID: Manage My Apple ID.
                            Apple ID- All about Apple ID security questions.

  • HT5105 How can you do picture in picture when you are working with a Multicam clip?

    How can you do picture in picture when you are working with a Multicam clip?

    Im doing a drumming music video and with the multi cam clip all the angles are nicely sync'd top the audio.
    Problem is if i want to have 3 angles on top of the main shot, im gonna have to re-sync them all to get them to line up manually. If i could use the multi cam clip they will already be aligned
    Thanks for trying to help appreciate, hoping someone has some multiclip knowledge and will be able to tell me if yay or nay.

  • How do you sign on to IMessage when it won't let me sign in with my apple ID and my password

    How do you sign on to IMessage when it won't let me sign in with my apple ID or my password

    No.
    Purchases are tied to the iTunes account they were purchased with.
    You can add it to your iTunes library and authorize your computer with his iTunesID.

  • How can you fix your ipod touch when apps are closing on you, how can you fix your ipod touch when apps are closing on you

    How can you fix your ipod when apps keep crashing on you while your in that app?

    See:
    iOS: Troubleshooting applications purchased from the App Store
    Contact the developer/go to their support site if only one app.
    Restore from backup. See:
    iOS: How to back up              
    Restore to factory settings/new iPod

  • How can I configure my Macbook Air to always show the menu bar when in full-screen?  I hate, hate, hate it popping up and then going away all the time.

    I cannot find a way to change this in System Preferences.  When I have applications open full screen, my menu bar disappears.  Then when I try to move between tabs, I find it is always popping up & then disappearing.  I really just want to set up my computer so that the menu bar always displays in the foreground. I find this popping up & disappearing intrusive and annoying.  How can I fix this?  I hate, hate, hate this about my MAC...
    I have searched the full User Guide, Quick Start Guide, etc.  and cannot find a way to fix this.

    Don't use the full screen arrow in the top right corner of the window.  Instead, use the green + in the top left corner.  That takes the window full screen just below the menu bar.

  • HT1941 how much to repair a macbook air screen

    how much to repair the screen of a macbook air bought in may 2012?

    Genius Bar will tell you.  Estimates are free, so you can decide if repair is better than a new system.

  • How can I connect my MacBook Air 11" to my old TV?

    I have these things at home. Are these  cabels and connectors enoght for the connection, how can I "DIYs" method connect my Mac and my TV?
    I have...
    ... a mini display port to VGA connector...
    ... a VGA to RCA cable like this on this picture:  http://webshop.garmix.hu/images/vga_3rca_cable.jpg
    ... a SCART connector, with IN/OUT possibility. With two (L/R) sound RCA pin, and a Video RCA pin, and plus an S-Video port too, a picture about this thing:
    http://shop.mikes-cs.co.uk/images/Scart_RCA.jpg
    ... an S-video to RCA cable, the S-Video and of the cable has 4 pins+ the border/cape ir what...., oicture here:
    http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/355585976/6ft_S_Video_to_RC..
    On my TV I have a 3 RCA input like on the SCART,  a video RCA input and two, RCA sound input.
    On the back of the TV I have two SCART I/O port.
    Can I make a connection from these tools or maybe I need more stuff or another tool to do that connection?
    Thanks for your help!

    None of those options are ideal.
    What model MacBook Air do you have? If it has a Thunderbolt output you can use this:
    Mini DisplayPort | Thunderbolt® to HDMI® Adapter w/ Audio Support
    Then you will need to convert the HDMI video and audio signals to composite video and stereo audio with something like this:
    HDMI® to Composite Video Converter
    If your MacBook is an earlier model with only a Mini DisplayPort (no audio) then you need to connect its audio output directly to your TV.

  • How can I turn my MacBook Air on after an over-heat-shutdown?

    I was using my Mac today and it suddenly froze and the date on the top went funny. I tried pressing buttons on the keyboard and nothing seemed to work. So I pressed and held the power button down and it turned off. Then I tried turning it back on but, it won't. The white status light on the bottom side of the computer becomes bright and then starts blinking with an alarm sound. Im not sure of the reason for that sudden freeze. I think its cuz of over heating, cuz I left it turned on since last evening. (MacBook Air, Intel Core 2 Duo, OSX Lion)

    As BobTheFisherman already said, it is impossible to say until you find out just what was damaged.  If enough coffee got inside it, it could well be the logic board and every other piece of circuitry inside is fried.  Or it could be less damaged and repairable.  But you really need someone to open it up, disassemble it and find out just what was shorted out and how extensive the damage is.
    I would forewarn you that you may be looking at having to replace the whole machine, in a worst case scenario.

  • How can I tell my MacBook Air to automatically detect my Thunderbolt Display?

    I have a brand new MacBook Air (13", mid-2011) running 10.7.2 (and all updates) and Thunderbolt Display (with firmware 22.2, the latest)
    When I plug the thunderbolt plug into the port, I expect the MBA to recognize the display and automatically start using the display based on the last settings (arrangement, etc.) This is how every other display (Apple or not) has worked with a MacBook I've owned. This is one of the nice little touches that I really appreciate about Apple products.
    What actually happens when I plug in the thunderbolt display is.... nothing. The MBA will work happily as if there is no external display plugged in until I bring up the Displays control panel and "Detect Displays". This is contrary to how it worked in the past and based on that experience, I consider the current behavior to be a bug.
    Is there some setting I'm missing to make this work properly? It is pretting annoying to have to many times a day (in the morning and every time I take my MBA away from my desk). Is this a known issue that Apple will be fixing soon?
    Thanks,
    Paul Philion
    Acme Rocket Company
    Mac Owner Since 1985

    It's definitely not supposed to work like that...when you plug the display in, it should just turn on and adjust your displays.  It works like that on my MBP.  Kind of a silly question, but do you have the MagSafe from the display plugged in your MBAir too?  Thats a requirement.  Beyond that, it should "just work."
    Not sure if there is some setting to enable...i haven't seen it.  Call to support?

  • How can I revert my Macbook Air back to Mountain Lion?

    I got my Macbook Air for Christmas in 2012, so it's only a little over a year old. It came with Mountain Lion, and it's been fine, until I updated it to Mavericks. Well, it was alright for a little bit, until the past two days, it has frozen on me for absolutely no reason at all twice. I wasn't running a lot of programs or anything, my hard drive space was fine, my battery was fine, and I've taken good care of it (never spilt anything on it, dropped or banged it). When it froze, the keyboard and cursor didn't respond, it wouldn't go into sleep mode and the sound skipped. All I could do was hold the power button until it shut off. So I was doing research on it and I think the reason is Mavericks. So I backed up my important things onto a separate drive, and I did the restart with command+r and I erased the hard drive completely. But now the only option for installing is reinstalling Mavericks, which I don't want to do because I'll be brought back to square one. My brother has a disc for Snow Leopard, but apparently you shouldn't downgrade a computer to a system software older than the one it came with...does this mean I have to buy Mountain Lion now or something? I don't have any backups in Time Machine (which is stupid of me). My mom has a Macbook Pro with Lion, but I don't know if I can do anything with that (unless it came with a CD, which I don't think it did, and besides it's still an older version). Am I just stuck with Mavericks then? I wish I never upgraded...unless the freezing is related to something else?

    Okay. What I could possibly try doing is reinstalling Mavericks, and now that my computer's hard drive is empty, try using it and seeing if it starts freezing again. For all I know, the cause may not be Mavericks, and maybe erasing the hard drive might have fixed it...but if that doesn't work, then I'll probably have to contact Apple or something about it, and see if going back to Mountain Lion fixes it, or if there's something else wrong with my computer.

  • My iPhone mail app deletes emails from my hotmail. How can I get my MacBook Air mail app to do the same?

    Hi
    When using Mail on my MacBook Air (I don't open it often), i receive hundrends of emails through it, even if those messages have been deleted from my iPhone/hotmail.
    When i set up Mail on my iPhone there was an option that enabled deleted/read messages to also be deleted/read on hotmail automatically.
    I can't work out how to join up my MacBook mail with this too? Anybody know what I mean and can help??
    Thanks

    Comcast is POP email. I have it as well. POP email does not sync across devices. If I read an email on my iPad it will appear as unread on my Mac in the Mac Mail App when I launch it.That's how POP accounts work. The emails will not sync across devices.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Should I create outlines for a type logo before saving as a pdf?

    I have designed a logo in Illustrator (CS3) which has three elements:  the company symbol, company name, and a tagline.  I did not alter the typeface in any way, but I set it with some very tight custom kerning.  The tagline is in a small size italic

  • Plant to plant transfer in Q status

    Hello, Can someone please provide the steps to configure movement type to allow plant to plant transfer of stock with Q status? Can this be accomplished with custom movement type configuration or a user exit is available? Please advise. Thanks, avi

  • QuickTime X - can't see recording button anywhere

    I'm trying to do a new screen recording but can't see the record button anywhere on my screen, how do I get it to show?  I'm on 10.6.8 and everything is up to date.

  • APEX Report - how can i create column with serial numbers in a report

    Need help I have created a report with displaying no of rows resticted to 43, every time i genarate this report i would like to add serial numbers from 6 to 48 apear in additional column. How can i do this?

  • Accessing MetaData from Bex - Document Links?

    Hello experts, This is a two part question. We are interested in BW's ability to provide metadata access to report users.  We are familiar with the Metadata Repository in the Admin Workbench but this will not be accessible to the majority or report u