Hello, my mac book air won't update. Every time i try it goes onto the purple starry screen and stays that way for hours, so i just have to shut it down. I have deleted a lot on my laptop so there is enough space, please help?

Question

Hello, my mac book air won't update. Every time i try it goes onto the purple starry screen and stays that way for hours, so i just have to shut it down. I have deleted a lot on my laptop so there is enough space, please help?

Answer 1

I believe that system has a hall sensor on it to detect when the lid is closed so it can put the system to sleep and/or disable the monitor so it can be used with an external monitor only. If the sensor is marginal or has a bad cable, it may intermittently cut the monitor on and off, and may likewise put the system to sleep. One way to check would be to plug in an external monitor and if the laptop's screen cuts off or doesn't show up, start using the trackpad and press on a non-typing key like the shift key. If the external display suddenly pops and becomes active while the laptop display remains black, it's probably a problem with the sensor or the cable/connection. You might be able to fool the sensor into kicking on and off by moving a magnet over it. It's located on the left had side of the base with the unit opened up, and right over the audio output plug.
I know of some people that put a small magnet right over the hall sensor's location so the laptop display turns off and they use the system with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If fooling with magnets, make sure they're small and don't get them close to the hard drive because a strong magnet can wipe them out.
I don't know if this will help you much, but it might.