MAC SLEEP BLACK SCREEN

mac sleep black screen needs cursor movement to clear

I have a variation on this issue.
We have been rolling out Lion and came accross this issue and applied the fix suggested and it works. However the new twist is that when the user logs in all their apps have shutdown (without savaing).
For security reasons our company insists that all workstations (Mac or Windows) implement account lock down after 15 mins on inactivity. So I need to find a fix for this.
Cheers
Phil

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro Early 2009 Randomly Sleeps / Black Screen While In use

My macbook pro Early 2009, randomly goes to sleep while I am using the computer, I first noticed it occuring while I was using the mini display adapter to a computer monitor, and using a second monitor and watching a movie, the screen would go blank and I would have to wake it from sleep for it to come back on, sometimes closing the lid, sometimes pressing the trackpad, or keyboard to get it to work again, sometimes it would go back to sleep within 1 minute of waking.
I assume the problem could have been from perhaps water damage, as I recently used a wet paper towel to clean my keyboard, and perhaps the paper towel was a little to moist, not overly but perhaps just enough to damage the sleep sensor. I am still unsure where that is located, the only other problem I have noticed with the computer is my [battery service indicator] notification has been on for the last year, but since I never used the battery, I always have it plugged in at the desk I never bothered getting it serviced. So
I'm assuming its the Sleep Sensor? but here is what I hace done, just to make sure its not software. I was orignaly running 10.8, and after being frustrated while watching a movie and having my computer sleep every 2 minutes, I whipped my hardrive, put 10.9 developers preview on a usb and installed that.
On 10.9 I can swipe with 3 fingers on the trackpad and the display appears but if i let go of the swipe it goes back to black screen.
I can see Icons like, brightness, and sound, when adjusting the levels, but screen is black behind the icons
The mouse pointer cursor is visible but the screen is black
I can move the mouse and hear system sounds, but screen is black. Now I have to actually restart the computer because It seems like I cannot wake it up at all.
So I formatted the hardrive again and
I tried reinstalling Leopard OSX , as that was the disc that came with the mac,
but have Same problems in 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 I upgraged to developer 10.9 to see if the problem would fix, but still occurs.
I ran hardware diagnostic off the leopard disc 2, by pressing the D key on startup with disc in drive, extended hardware test reported no problems.
I SMC reset and PRAM reset, [control]+[option]+[shift]+[powerbutton] while computer is turned off with power plugged in
and after that failed I tried pressing [Option]+[Command]+[P]+[R] before startup chime, chime repeat let go of keys and it booted normally.
Then computer randomly sleeps while in use, while using safari and it has happened 3 times within 2 minutes of typing this.
I have downloaded a program called InsomniaX, and activated the disable sleep for Lid and Idle, but now the screen will randomly just go black and then turn back on, sometimes it will just black screen for 10 seconds and come back on, altho after changing some more of the settings It appears to be not as frequent. It hasen't gone to sleep since writing this entire paragraph, so thats a good sign.
I was going to take it into the apple store, and have them run diagnostics, but I hate going into those stores because of all the iphone people, crowding the place.
Well my screen just blacked and came back within 10 seconds on while I typing this line so InsomniaX didn't work. I hope having the sleep sensor replaced isn't too expensive, or if my model even has such a sensor.
I read on another topic that this problem can be replicated by users putting a magnet on their laptop, something like an iphone or a money clip or even having one of these in their pocket while using the macbook on their lap. I have not had anything near the computer, so I have a different problem.
Just thought Id document this, will let you know what happens after the diagnostic, I tried apple support, and they said I did more than they would have done, so he couldn't really tell me anything besides take it into genius bar, (is that what its still called) and have them run diagnostic, [note its different than the hardware test on the cd]
and my computer screen goes black again, wow..

Hi pictureswithPS, welcome to Apple Discussions!
1. I have an original late-2008 unibody MBP that was purchased a week after the introduction. I have never had a single "black screen of death" ever, and I do some gaming under OS X on my machine. The heat issues are, in my humble opinion, greatly exaggerated. Does the machine get warm? Yes. However, any computer with this much power in this thin of an enclosure is going to get warm. Mine has never crashed, frozen, black screened, etc. once.
2. I don't think PS is particularly intensive on the graphics card. It may use the graphics card, yes, but I don't think it will be quite as intensive as a 3D modeling application or 3D games. I would doubt you would ever run into problems anyway.
3. Lastly I am aware that their are tools to manage fan speed behavior - as a workaround to cool down temperatures. Using this software would it void the warranty that is provided by Apple?
No, it wouldn't likely void the warranty. However, if your fans die prematurely as a result of running them at high speeds for extended periods of time, I doubt Apple would be especially happy about replacing them. I do not use any 3rd party tools to manage my fans, and never will. It is simply not necessary.
--Travis

Mid-2010 Mac Mini - black screen after installing boot camp drivers

I successfully installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 on my new Mac Mini. The display worked without issue in XP at this point.
After doing this, I proceeded to install the boot camp drivers. They installed and automatically rebooted the machine.
After reboot, Windows XP no longer has a functioning display. The display is a black screen and eventually the monitor shuts off.
Things I've tried:
- Reset PRAM
- Reset SMC
- Tried both Mini DisplayPort and HDMI connections to connect to the HDMI port on the monitor
- Booting into Safe Mode. Holding down F8 successfully brought up the Safe Mode options, but again the display was blank after choosing the Safe Mode option and attempting to load Windows.
Message was edited by: mullingitover

Update: Other stuff I've now tried--
- Swapping out RAM modules. I've tried it with the stock 2GB sticks in place, also with a single 4GB stick. Same result.
Other interesting/troubling problems:
- Unable to boot into Safe Mode with command line. The text-only interface with safe mode options that is reached by pressing F8 during windows startup is displayed. However, no matter which option I choose, the result is a dead display.
- Unable to boot with Windows XP install CD (?!). After choosing the CD at the boot selection screen, the display blanks and never wakes up.

Mac retina black screen

My retina display froze up when the screen saver turned on, have not had this problem before, then the screen turned black. I can see and move the mouse on the black screen, but other than that it's frozen, I'm on the forum via my iPad :(. I held the power button to crash it. Why did this happen I never expected this from a mac pro. I had nothing intensive running, only the Internet on, no downloads, just the default screensaver universe pics.

Hello zoesterk,
The article linked below details a number of useful troubleshooting steps and information that can help resolve issues with your MacBook Pro's display.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1573
Cheers,
Allen

Slideshow in Lightroom 5.5 Mac Yields Black Screen

I just discovered that the slideshow functionality in Lightroom 5.5 on my Mac yields only a black screen.
This is the case for both impromptu slideshows (CMD-Return) and the Slideshow module.
From a Google search and looking over topics in this forum, I've found other posts describing this identical problem for both Mac and Windows versions of Lightroom going back to the original introduction of Lightroom 5 over a year ago.
I've been using Lightroom on various Mac computers since the first Lightroom beta release over 10 years ago. I generally don't use the slideshow functionality of the program, so I was quite surprised to discover yesterday that it's not working in Lightroom 5.5. I originally tried to preview/play a slideshow with 100 photos--some Olympus Raw files and some Canon JPEG files. I have since replicated this problem with a test collection of 5 JPEG images.
I know that the slideshow functionality used to work back in Lightroom 3 and 4. I hadn't tried to use it in Lightroom 5.x until now, so I don't know when it became broken, but it's definitely broken now...and from reading various posts here on Adobe forums and in related non-Adobe forums, it appears that Adobe has yet to acknowledge that this problem exists...which I find surprising and disappointing.
The only work around seems to be to export a PDF slideshow from the Lightroom 5.5 Slideshow module, which does produce a full-screen slideshow PDF. But, the slideshow functionality should work directly in Lightroom, as well.
DETAILS:
Hardware: Mac Book Pro Retina -- fully loaded (2.6 GHz Intel Core I7, 16 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB graphics card, External Apple 27" Cinema Monitor connected via Thunderbolt)
OS: Mac OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks
LR Version: Lightroom Mac 5.5
Problem 1: Impromptu Slideshow (pressing CMD-Enter/Return keys from Library/Develop modules) causes:
1. spinning beachball for seconds to minutes depending on how many images are in current folder/collection
2. followed by "Preparing Preview progress bar
3. followed by entirely black screen. Pressing forwards/backwards arrows do nothing; pressing ESC or mouse click returns to Lightroom module
Problem 2: Slideshow Module - Clicking Preview button (or Preview triangle under slideshow window) causes:
1. Preparing Preview progress bar
2. followed by slideshow window turning completely black.
Pressing forwards/backwards arrows does nothing; pressing ESC or clicking mouse returns slideshow window to display of slideshow layout
Clicking the Play Slideshow button exhibits exactly the same behavior as above, except that my entire screen blacks out instead of just Lightroom's slideshow window.

I’m disappointed
Edit
Delete
Robert Kahn less than a minute ago
Update:
Just upgraded from Lightroom Mac 5.5 to 5.6.
Per my post above, creating an impromptu slideshow (CMD-Return) or using the Slideshow module produces either a completely black preview or a completely black full-screen slideshow.
While Adobe addressed other issues and bugs in Lightroom 5.x, they apparently did not address the slideshow functionality in this release, alas....

Mid 2010 Mac Pro, Black Screen on start up. Video works after I turn machine off, let it cool

My Mac Pro is acting up.
If I do a reset after its beenruning for a period of time I get a black screen at start up. I have tried multiple different monitor cables and nothing seems to work. It does seem to resart and I can here the start up chime but no display. If I unplug the machine and let cool for 1/2 ~ 1 hour it then turns back on with no problem.
Processor 3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 24 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB
Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)
Display is the 27 inch cinema
Any ideas? Bad graphics card?

AC if you used it this once would pay for itself. Same for a good solid UPS - a good one can stop that 1/100,000 surge that takes out a modem (if you filter of course).
I've known people that never knew you could filter coax cable or dsl and we get enough severe storms it has been, not if it happens, but when.
Unlike the X1900 which had a air chamber and would cause clogging you really should not need to and be pulling it out to clean dust all that much if at all.
People have gone through 2 or 3 ATI 5770s and some 5870s due to what are probably design or bad batches especially the first months run.

"Connection Lost" on boot + Wake from sleep black screen and racing fans

When my iMac boots, I receive a "Connection Lost" symbol indicating the Bluetooth Mouse, yet Bluetooth is not turned on. How do I get rid of this? I have been having the "wake from sleep" issue for the last few weeks (black screen, racing fans) and wonder if this is somehow related.
I have reset pram, nvram, trashed the com.apple.PowerManagement.plist file, unplugged the computer, repaired permissions, etc. to no avail. I have to power down with the power button and reboot every time it goes to sleep. This is getting very annoying. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I used to have a similar problem when I used a Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro (not wireless). The computer would wake from sleep in the wee hours on its own and in the morning it would be so hot I could fry and egg on it. The Mouse was obviously so sensitive that any slight vibration would trigger a signal to the computer and wake it up.
Also I got the connection lost message on startup even though Bluetooth was not turned on. I figured that for some reason the Turbo Mouse was not discovered in the startup process. When this happens the System gives a warning that since no mouse was connected, I would have no way to control the computer and it advised me to turn on a Bluetooth mouse. It would then search for one for a minute or two. I just unplugged the Kensington Mouse and plugged it back in and I would usually get a message informing me that a mouse had been detected and the startup process would continue.
As soon as I substituted a Mighty Mouse for the Kensington Mouse, everything has been just fine since. I also uninstalled the Kensington Mouseworks software and started using USB Overdrive which gives far more options and a far better Mouse feel than the Apple Mouse settings.
Griff

How to start Mac when black screen occurs?

My MacPro can't start up now, only show black screen and sounds when click the power button. The power is charged. So I don't know how to open it now?
About my MacPro: MacBook Pro 7.1, with 10.9 and Ubuntu 14.04.

Try SMC and PRAM resets:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
If available, connect it to an external monitor. If there is an image on the monitor, then the display or display connection is probably faulty. If there is no image, then the GPU is faulty.
Last option is an appointment at an Apple store genius bar for a FREE evaluation.
Ciao.

Wake from sleep black screen.

Since the last "Security update" install my iMac G5 has a problem when I try to wake up. The sleeping light goes off but the screen remains black. I tried holding the power button to reboot. But, it doesn't work. I have to unplug the iMac to reboot. I unchecked the "put computer to sleep when possible" option. Ran permissions repair and daily, weekly and monthly scripts. And still problem. I use Time machine but only when I back up. If I do restore to last save. Will my current data be wiped?
Help,
Donald

Update
I thought I would try something that has been used in many trouble shooting situations where there might be a hardware or software problem with the computer. Creating a new user account. While I do have another account to sign into on this computer. I chose to simply "log out" and let the computer go to sleep and later see if it wakes up. Sure enough it does wake up. And acts normally. I'm not sure if logging out is the same as another user account.
What if there is something in my main account causing the "wake from sleep" problem. Outside of "permissions" and "running scripts" to clean up accounting. What can I use to trouble shoot which situation is causing this? I've used a couple of pref checkers but with no luck. Log doesn't show what happens while computer is a sleep. Only reports time it went to sleep. And nothing about trouble waking up. I have seen a lot of wrong permissions in cups iofn the reports. And there are not fixed when trying to repair. Especially, in the Colorsync first aid.
Any advice? Or should I wait for 10.5.6 to see if it corrects my problem before I reinstall software?
Donald
P.S.-the only software I have installed with nightly builds is the WebKit for Safari. It is much faster than Safari. Not sure why Safari is slugging/slowing it.

Mac pro black screen suddenly

why does screen go black suddenly ?

Hard to tell with no details.
What model mac pro (year)?
What video card?
What display?

Mac book black screen

Can't turn on my Macbook.
computer light is on but screen is black.
Any fix?

I have the same problem, too. I have a MBP 15" and all at a sudden, the screen randomly turns black or off. I need to type my login password to get screen working again. This is no danger but very incovenience to me.
However, once I had installed the latest OS X Mountain Lion operating system, this problem just disappeared and now I become a happy guy again loving my MPB 15"!!! For USD20 only, it is worth a try!!! Good luck!!!

New Mac user, black screen on start up! Password not working after SW reinstall

Re doing this again.......
I got blk screen, reinstalled Mac os x ( had the lastest software up to 2 days ago) and now my password does not work?
I did get a prompt 2 days ago to update but didn't get a chance to. Also had my iTunes acct hacked into. Can someone help?

Foxfire, welcome to Apple Discussions.
A failed internal memory battery can cause the no video. Check this site for battery part numbers and sources. Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial
Cheers, Tom

XP Works Fine, Mac OS X Randomaly Black Screen

Hey there,
Macbook spes:
White Macbook 2.2GHZ C2D Early 2008, 1.5Ghz, 120GB.
Here's my Macbook story:
The laptop had Leopard OS X 10.5.7 installed on it, when it started with randomly sleep/black screen - which sometimes I could wake the screen back by pressing the keyboard, but screen goes back only for a second than goes back to black - seems like MBK took a nap/went to sleep mode, but with no option to get it up for more than 1 second. When "hitting keyboard" in order to get it back stopped working, I moved to keying F1 & F2 which also helped to get screen back for no more than 1 second - than it also stopped working, and no other "solution" was found. Than I tried resetting ram, resetting power, nothing helped, so I inserted XP install and erased the HD - made a fresh XP install with no bootcamp (tried to install OS X from flash drive OS X DVD backup I made, mbk booted from flash drive, but after apple logo than 1 sec blue screen and than black screen again with nothing helped to get it back). xp installed successfully- of course several drivers were missing - mouse track pad was working and also button, but after I restarted the system than mouse button stopped working, and than got back randomly, but no screen problems - no sudden black screen.
After that - I tried to make a fresh install of Leopard 10.5.6 again, I Had it on a flash drive which I made as a backup - so I formatted the entire HD with windows xp DVD (deleted windows xp), than again tried booting from flash drive in order to install OS X in the blank internal mbk hd , but after apple logo than 1 sec blue screen - mbk screen got blank with nothing helped to get it back - than tried to play in mbk user single mode - than loaded flash again - suddenly OS X installation loaded - went diskutil made 2 partition - and baaaaam than again screen went off - got black.
Apple Hardware Test showed no problems.
Anyone has an idea what could cause this issue - I thought maybe Hardware issue, but than again how could xp load well with no issues except mouse button randomly function?
Any respond will be appreciated, sorry if I have some English grammar/spelling mistake s- wrote a lot and "fast" so hope mistakes are few to notice :P.

Boot from another Mac OS media - hard drive or DVD - and use First Aid Disk Repair.
Did OS X crash/freeze or something?

Macbook Pro 13-inch (10.6.8) random white/black screens and becomes unresponsive...what is wrong/what to do to solve?

PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS I'M IN NEED OF URGENT HELP. || Heeey everyone! I'm new here. Please don't bite me. =))
Okay. So I have a Macbook Pro, 13 inch (bought Dec. 2010). It's currently running on Snow Leopard (10.6.8). It had a hard drive crash in Feb. 2012...I had it replaced and lost all my files . It had two major falls (January 2011 & November 2012). Oh, and it also makes this weird grinding noise when you listen closely.
Everything was going fine, until last week, I encountered a kernel panic. Restarted, but was faced with that awkward blank white screen thing at start up. I was told at the Apple Store back when my hard drive crashed in Feb. 2012 that repeated pressing down of the power button can be damaging, so I waited for it to run out of battery to restart. After that, it was normal again. I downloaded OnyX and verified/repaired permissions...nothing was out of the ordinary.
THEN. The next day, in the middle of use, my mac suddenly black-screened. Not a lot of windows were open, and I wasn't doing anything that...will put a strain on anything. It wasn't total pitch-black like the screen looks like when it's turned off. I could still hear the hard drive working and making that grinding sound. I pressed the caps-lock key, and it didn't light up. =))) What, is it off or something? But I can still hear the hard drive there. And it's totally unresponsive. So I decided to restart by pressing down the power button. It was normal again...until a few hours later when it suddenly white-screened. OKAY it's white now. I don't know what that's supposed to mean. But it had the same symptoms as the black-screen. Unresponsive, caps-lock didn't light up, normal grinding sound as if the computer was still on. So I let it run out of battery so I could restart. Upon restarting, I opened Disk Utility and verified disk permissions. There was no damage, nothing again.
I recently got uTorrent (around late December), and thought that it might have been that, so I deleted it and emptied trash. The next day, it did the black screen again. Same with the next day. There's at least one per day. It didn't seem to affect performance at all, everything still ran smoothly. I made sure to check disk permissions to see if everything was okay. And everything was.
Then, about three days passed without any black/white screen and I thought that nuisance was over. BUT NO. Two days ago, I got black-white-white screened and I was...shocked. I let it run out of battery again. =))) Checked Disk Utility, again, nothing. So I decided to get that Software Update thingo that always pops up. I upgraded to 10.6.8. A day passed without the dreaded black/white screens. But yesterday, it white screened once. And today, it white screened again.
I really can't figure out a concrete pattern. It seems random. But what I do know is that:
1. It happens in the afternoon. All the time, consistently in the afternoon. LOOOL IDK what this is supposed to mean, but its one of the common factors. =))
2. Most of the time, it happens when I leave the computer for about 30 seconds - 1 minute to get something. Or if I'm watching a long video (like a TV show episode), a period of time where I don't touch the mouse/press any keys. Is that related somehow?
3. I can't do anything to get it out of the white/black screen except restart. Each time I restart, I check Disk Utility and nothing is wrong.
And yes, I've went to the Apple Store to get this checked. All they said is: "Upgrade to Lion, maybe the error will disappear. If it does, then it was just a software error. If it doesn't...then sorry." LOOOOOOL NOT FALLING FOR THAT, not spending money when I'm not sure it'll fix the error. I want concrete answers.
I'm a student, and my Christmas Break will be over in less than a week. SO I NEED ALL THE HELP IN THE WORLD PLEASE. What is wrong with my laptop? Can I fix this? Will opening it in safe mode help in any way? PLEASE I'M DESPERATE.

Try these:
See what's loading in your login items. - delete the ones you don't need.
Open up Activity Monitor and under all processes, see what's using most of your cpu's resources. Highlight the ones using the most % CPU and hit quit process.
Next, open up disk utility and verify your disk. Once that's done, verify disk permissions - repair if needed.
Restart your Macbook and see if it speeds things up for you.
good luck....

Guide to Upgrading to Windows 8 on the T540p (+fix for brightness/black screen on wake)

Hello all. I recently received my new T540p running Windows 7. Although I probably would have qualified for receiving Windows 8 recovery media from Lenovo, I went ahead and did the upgrade myself since I had a copy of Windows 8 laying around (and because I'm impatient). I'm fairly tech-savvy and expected the process to go smoothly; boy was I wrong. I decided to write up this little guide after having a thoroughly annoying time upgrading in the hopes of saving someone else out there from the hassles I underwent.
NOTE: The most troublesome part of the whole process was figuring out why the screen brightness was no longer adjustable and the display would not turn on after waking from sleep (black screen) after upgrading to Windows 8. Skip ahead to step #9 if that's the issue you're having.
Step #1: Make a bootable recovery disc or USB drive
This is important in case anything goes wrong during the upgrade or you decide you despise Windows 8 and want to bring back Windows 7. The T540p comes with a recovery partition in the hard drive (like most laptops nowadays I assume) which allows you to completely wipe your computer and reset it to its original factory state (the same as when you first received your computer). This is normally done by restarting your computer and hitting the enter key to interrupt normal startup and selecting the recovery option from a menu. I wrongly assumed that I would still be able to conduct the recovery after installing Windows 8, but for some reason after upgrading I was unable to start a recovery from the recovery partition. Thus it's important to create a set of recovery discs or a recovery USB drive yourself BEFORE starting the upgrade. Lenovo includes a program which makes this step very easy; see this page for details: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/ht004960
Step #2: Uninstall certain programs BEFORE upgrading
I skipped this step because I forgot about it. I haven't noticed anything adverse (aside from the brightness/display problem which I assume is completely unrelated), but Lenovo does suggest to uninstall certain programs before upgrading so it's probably wise to do so. Here's the list:
    - DisplayLink Core Software
    - Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver
    - Lenovo Solution Center
    - RapidBoot
    - ThinkPad(R) Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate Software
See this page for details: http://download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/windows8/upgrade/think/notebook2_en.html
Step #3: Download and save wireless drivers to external media BEFORE upgrading
After upgrading, I discovered my wireless didn't work and thus I couldn't connect to the internet. I wound up downloading the wireless driver to my phone and transferring it to my T540p. You could also use an ethernet cable to connect to your wireless router or cable modem. But if you have a USB drive, CD, DVD, external hard drive, whatever, save yourself the hassle and download the wireless driver ahead of time. You will need to know the brand of the wireless device (Intel or Realtek); look it up in your email receipt or from the Windows Device Manager under "Network Adapters". Mine was Intel. After figuring out the brand of your wireless device, go to the T540p drivers page here: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-t-series-laptops/thinkpad-t54... Look for a drop-down menu that says "Component" and select the option "Networking: Wireless LAN" (LAN, not WAN!). The page will refresh to show only the wireless drivers. Select the Windows 8 64-bit driver that matches your brand (I'm assuming all T540p laptops are 64-bit. If I'm wrong, please correct me). Download that sucker and put it to on the external media of your choice to use later!
Step #4: Begin Windows 8 upgrade
You'll obviously need to have a valid Windows 8 key or purchase a copy of Windows 8 for this step. I had a valid Windows 8 key that had been used on an old computer which died (hence my new Lenovo), so I reused it. This requires Windows 8 to be activated by phone which isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. We'll get to that later.
There are two ways to do upgrade: use a Windows 8 installation DVD or download a web installer. I had a Windows 8 key from a previous web installation and went with downloading a web installer. If you have an installation DVD, just insert it and get started. If you prefer to download a web installer, go to this page: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only I think product keys are tied to either Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, so select the one that you have a key for and download the appropriate one. If you're not sure, you may have to try both.
During the upgrade, you will be asked whether you want to download updates (I assume this updates the installer) and afterward you will be asked to enter your product key. For some reason, when I downloaded the updates my product key would get rejected. I just restarted the Windows 8 installation, skipped the updates and then my product key was accepted. I don't know if this is tied to the fact that I was reusing a Windows 8 key (again, which had been used on a now dead computer) but if you find your key getting rejected then you may find skipping the updates helps. If this doesn't work and you're using the web installer, try downloading the other web installer (e.g. if you're using the Windows 8.1 web installer and find the key is rejected even after skipping updates, your key may actually be for Windows 8 and you should try downloading the Windows 8 web installer).
The installation itself should be a fairly straight-forward process. There are lots of guides online in case things go awry. If you have any trouble or errors, you should hopefully have made recovery media for worst case scenarios where you need to start from scratch.
Step #5: Install wireless driver & connect to your router
You should now have Windows 8 up and running on your system, but no wireless. Now's the time to use that driver you downloaded earlier. Install it and you should now have wireless access. Connect to your router and get online so we can start some badly needed updating!
NOTE1: your touchpad/trackpoint/keyboard experience will be especially funky at this point. That's because the drivers for them haven't been installed. Normally the touchpad won't be active while you're typing, but because the drivers haven't been installed you'll notice you'll accidentally move the mouse or click while typing (e.g. when entering passwords). Not to worry: this will go away when we install the Lenovo drivers now.
NOTE2: your function keys won't work (adjust sound, adjust brightness, etc.). That's also because of the drivers.
NOTE3: you may notice your screen's brightness may not be adjustable even from the Windows menu. Again, that's also because of the drivers. Hang in there!
Step #6: Activate Windows
Now that we're connected to the interwebs, it's time to activate Windows. If you're completely new to Windows 8, here's where you go:
-move your mouse to the upper right corner then move down
-select "Settings"
-select "Change PC settings" at the bottom
-select "Activate Windows"
This is where you'll enter your product key. As I've said before, my product key had already been used on an old, now dead, laptop. Reusing a key requires you to do a phone activation. If you find your product key gets rejected, go to the phone activation option and follow the instructions. An important note: at some point you will probably be asked how many devices/computers you installed Windows on. The correct answer is "one"; if you accidentally give another number, you'll need to call again and start over. (I'm assuming you're not doing anything illegal. As far as I know, there's nothing wrong with you reusing your key so long as you're no longer using the old computer Windows 8 was installed on, e.g. when that old computer no longer works. But if you're trying to install Windows 8 on multiple computers and you can afford to buy a new copy of Windows 8, shame on you. It takes a huge team of coders and support staff to make a product like Windows happen; help them pay their bills by purchasing a legal copy of Windows 8. Students can even get a copy for less than $70 with proof of student status. http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Windows-8.1-Pro-for-Students/productID.288769600...
Step #7: Install Lenovo-specific updates and drivers
I typically hate all the crapware and bloatware companies include with new laptops, but Lenovo does make some which are useful. Their system updater should take care of downloading the rest of the drivers you'll need instead of having to download them all individually (with one exception: the graphics drivers may require a separate download later). Download the system updater here and keep running it until there are no more updates to download: http://support.lenovo.com/en/documents/ht080136
Step #8: Install Windows Updates
Load up Windows Update and start installing. If you're completely new to Windows 8:
-move your mouse to the upper right corner then move down
-select "Settings"
-select "Change PC settings" at the bottom
-select "Update and recovery"
-click the "Check now" button to check for updates
-click the "View details" text link to see the available updates
-click the "Install now" button to begin installing immediately
(Yes, the Windows 8 interface is dreadfully unintuitive unfortunately. Watch some Windows 8 tutorials on YouTube if you find yourself having trouble. Already looking forward to the next version of Windows!)
You'll also want to download the Windows 8.1 update if you installed only Windows 8 (the update to 8.1 is free). The download is available from the Windows Store.
Step #9: Install graphics drivers (if you're having display problems: unadjustable brightness, black screen on wake from sleep)
As I stated earlier, this was the most frustrating part of the installation process. My T540p came with only an Intel HD Graphics 4600 card, but it seems some others include a dedicated NVIDIA card. Whatever updates were installed with Lenovo's System Updater and via Windows Updates didn't seem to do the trick. I even updated the driver with the latest from the Intel website to no avail.
The solution, at least in my case, was simple: go to the T540p driver's download page and download the graphic card drivers appropriate for your system. Go here: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-t-series-laptops/thinkpad-t54... Look for the "Component" drop-down menu and select the "Display and Video Graphics" option and download the Intel and/or NVIDIA drivers appropriate for your system. (I have no idea what the Intel Wireless Display driver is for, so I avoided it thinking I don't need it)
BONUS Step: Go to ninite.com to download commonly used programs
Shameless plug for one of my favorite websites. It lets you pick from a list of commonly used programs, then downloads and installs each of them all automatically (and skips all toolbars/extra junk downloads). Makes getting started on a new computer a breeze!

Hello Yolanda,
a) I noticed that I can´t install MediaCenter on Win8, but just on Win8 Pro.
b) My problem is, as described, that installing "MediaCenter" on either "Win8 Pro" or "Win8.1 pro", though the "Media Center" key is accepted,
which I once 2 years ago downloaded on ANOTHER "Windows 8 Pro" computer, for free as it was a gift of Microsoft at that time - You could reserve = get up to 5 Media Center licenses per "Windows 8 Pro" computer for later use
on OTHER "Windows 8 Pro" computers - but never used ( i.e. NEVER USED FOR ACTIVATION ),
but after the first reboot, I am running "Windows 8 Pro with Media Center" WITHOUT LICENSE, as shown in the system screen.
Neither my "Windows Media Center Key" nor my "WIndows 8 Pro key" is then accepted to change the situation - I mean the keys I entered just before during the installation process of "Windows 8 Pro" and "Windows Media Center".
I am shure that I did not use the "Windos Media Center" key, as I have a list of personal keys I got for free from Microsoft, and I marked those 2, I used for other "Windows 8 Pro" computers.
So fact is, that with my brand-new computer, 32 Gigabytes of RAM, 4 Cores, "Win8 Pro" installed, I am forced to avoid the installation of "Windows Media Center", though I got valid licenses.
So your answer was not quiet helpful, as it does not change anything.
Sincerely
Rolf

MAC SLEEP BLACK SCREEN

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