MacBook (ML) won't connect to Wi-Fi, no network preferences, no Spotlight

Hi,
First of all, thank you for taking the time to read and help ! :-)
I have not been able to find any kind of solution to my problem, because I did not find anyone with all these problems at once.
Here's what's wrong: out of the blue, my mid-2009 Macbook (white unibody) won't recognize any network (WiFi or Ethernet), refuses to load the Network preferences pane, and won't allow Spotlight to work (is "loading" everything on the right side of the upper bar, including the clock...). The Energy Saver Preferences pane seems to be out too.
I just upgraded my Macbook RAM, and subsequently upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion, but it had worked fine for a week (granted, a week of not much use).
Booting seems to take more time too, so I'm considering a system repair or whatever the name is, but I'd like to understand the issue, and how to avoid it in the future !
Moreover, I'm not sure on how to repair my OS without any network .......
Thank you for the help ! ;-)
SV

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Similar Messages

My macbook pro won't connect to my airport extreme

My Macbook Pro won't connect with my airport extreme network....the extreme seems to be working fine....Any thoughts? I ahve tried diagnositics and assistant....thanks

OOPS...it actually says "Incompatible security". Any ideas? I had no problems connecting to my other wireless network at home.

My new Macbook air won't connect to my Vizio HDTV.

My new Macbook Air won't connect to my Vizio VO32LF HDTV. I bought a mini-displayport to HDMI cable to connect the two. When I connect the cable, and switch to the appropriate HDMI input on the TV, my Macbook Air screen will flash blue for a second, and then return to normal. The TV reports it's unable to find a signal. I use the HDTV as my primary monitor, so I'd really appreciate some help on getting the two to place nicely together!

Cp,
Thanks for the reply. However, it appears that the issue is not with the hotspot, but with the network settings in the MacBook Air as every other device I have (including non-Apple devices) will connect to the iPhone hotspot. Another symptom is that my MacBook Air can find my iMac (and other network devices) on my wireless network, but the iMac can't find the MacBook Air.
KDR

MacBook Pro Won't Connect to the Internet

Hi hi. Okay, I've noticed this unusual behavior in my MacBook Pro (Intel Core Duo, 2.4 GhZ, 15-inch, probabl 2 months old now) just last night. It connects to the wireless network but will not load any webpages. If I type in www.google.com or so, it says Contacting "www.google.com" and it stays on it and the page remains blank. I'm writing this from my MacBook which seems to connect fine to this wireless network. The problem persists in the MacBook Pro when I'm on XP (boot camp) and when I'm on Leopard. I've restarted the machine and everything but it still occurs. Prior to me discovering the problem, I think the MacBook Pro was asleep for 2 days (in XP).
I've opened Network Diagnostics in Leopard and it detects the wireless network and everything but then it says it needs a WEP password. But the MacBook can join this same network without a password. I access the university network (from a dorm) so while you don't have to have a password to connect to the internet, you only log in when you open an internet browser and then sign in with the student ID (but its not the WEP password, if that makes sense). Basically, I can't acess the internet if I don't log into the internet and of course even the university login page won't show up. Can anyone please help me? It's driving me nuts. Thanks!
P.S.- I've been hearing other MBP users having this problem but I don't know if I installed the Airport Update, and restarting doesn't help either.
Message was edited by: GStreakT

GStreakT:
Your OS is shown as 10.4.7, but most people who are having problems similar to yours have later versions of Tiger or Leopard. If you're running a later version than 10.4.7, please update your settings for this.
Some people, including me, have found that setting the router to "G-only" mode solves the problem (at least until Apple fixes the problem in a software release.) Please post a reply or email me as to whether this works for you.
TIA

My MacBook Pro won't connect to the Internet, but my phone and PC will.

My MacBook Pro won't connect to the Internet. My iPhone has no problem doing so, and neither does my PC. I think it's something to do with my DNS, but I'm not sure. My network connections say that both my Ethernet or FireWire are failed. What's wrong with my MacBook? Is there a simple way to fix this?

Hello Rattisate,
Sorry to hear you are not able to connect to Wi-Fi on your MacBook Pro. I would be concerned about this too. You can find information on how to troubleshoot this in the following article:
Troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues in OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
Follow the steps in the section labeled, "Symptom: My Mac does not connect to the Internet."
Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

My MacBook Pro won't connect to the Internet via wifi but it worked fine on ethernet cord...I tried running diagnostic but it didn't work:(((( it happen every time if I restart the modem and/or router

My MacBook Pro won't connect to the Internet via wifi but it worked fine on ethernet cord...I tried running diagnostic but it didn't work:(((( it happen every time if I restart the modem and/or router.. Any idea how to fix this?

Hello Rattisate,
Sorry to hear you are not able to connect to Wi-Fi on your MacBook Pro. I would be concerned about this too. You can find information on how to troubleshoot this in the following article:
Troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues in OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
Follow the steps in the section labeled, "Symptom: My Mac does not connect to the Internet."
Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

MacBook Air won't connect with TimeCapsule

I recently bought the new Time Capsule and for a while it was happily backing up both my and my wife's MacBook Airs. Then it stopped backing up my wife's computer. On investigation I find my wife's MacBook Air won't connect to the Time Capsule. When I try to select the Time Capsule as the back-up disk an error message appears: "There was a problem connecting to the server "John's AirPort Time Capsule"". I can see the Time Capsule in Finder on my wife's computer but when I click on "Connect As" I get the same error message. On my computer the Time Capsule appears in Finder as Connected, but disconnecting it doesn't make any difference to my wife's computer.
Any help gratefully received.
J

First, restart the Time Capsule by disconnecting the power adapter and reconnecting it. If other devices on the network can see it, you can skip this step.
From the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Network
Click the lock icon in the lower left corner of the window and authenticate to unlock the settings, if necessary. Click the Advanced button, then select the TCP/IP tab in the sheet that drops down. Click Renew DHCP lease.
Try again to back up.
If you still can't, open the Time Machine preference pane and delete the TC from the list of backup destinations. You may have to unlock the settings by clicking the lock icon in order to do this. Then add it back.

Macbook Pro won't connect to WIFI

Help! My new Macbook Pro won't connect to my home's existing WIFI network. The other computers (PCs) are running on it without a problem but when I try to join the network it rejects my password as being incorrect, though it definitely is the right one!

Check to make sure the Caps Lock is off.
What type of wireless security are you using? If it's WEP Mac's don't do WEP anymore and you will need to change it to WPA or WPA2.

Macbook Pro won't connect to wireless printer anymore suddenly

Suddenly my Macbook Pro won't connect to my HP Photosmart B210e Printer. I have tried adding it via IP address, it worked but I can't print anything. It says the printer is busy and idle? I updated the software and drivers. All other computers and devices in my home connect just fine. It is connected to our wireless router as is my laptop.
I have searched online and done all the solutions I could find and nothing is working. VERY frustrated as I have to log onto my Dell to print anything.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Kim

"It says the printer is busy and idle?"
System Preferences>print and Scan. What is the staus of the printer? Green light for idle or yellow light for in busy? Have you tried power down the printer and paowering it back up?

MacBook Pro won't connect to safari

New MacBook Pro
won't connect to safari. All other devices on the wifi network work fine.

Hi Mcm65,
Sorry to hear you are having issues connecting to the internet with your Macbook Pro.
Try the steps in this article first:
Troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues in OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6
- Judy

MacBook Pro won't connect to home wifi, but will connect to other networks

Help! MacBook Pro won't connect to home wifi but will connect to other networks. Others can connect to my home network. I've tried diagnostics, resetting the router, restarting my computer, and forgetting the network and then trying to access it. Nothing works.

Hey Brittany,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you’ve done quite a bit of troubleshooting to try and resolve the issue with your MacBook Pro not connecting to your Wi-Fi network. If you haven’t already, take a look at the article linked below which provides some additional troubleshooting suggestions that may help you resolve the issue.
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity - Apple Support
So long,
-Jason

My Macbook sometimes doesn't connect to my Wireless N network

I had my topcase replaced by apple a few weeks ago. Since then I've noticed my macbook SOMETIMES doesn't connect to my wireless N network (from my AEBS running on 5.8ghz frequency).
It's strange because most of the time it finds the network fine. But sometimes when i open the macbook up (awakes from sleep) it doesn't see the network (it's not available from the list of available networks). If i try to connect manually to the network when this happens i get a "connection timeout" message. If i turn off my airport connection off and then on with the macbook (thru the menu bar) it sometimes finds the N network. Sometimes that doesn't work, and i have to put the macbook to sleep and hope it finds the network when it awakes. Sometimes that solves the problem, but i may have to try it 3 or 4 times.
If i switch my AEBS to a mixed signal (supporting G) i don't have these problems, but i shouldn't have to do that, and i'm sacrificing wireless speed if i do that. I have a stable connection when it DOES find the network (it won't drop out and will be at full strength) but as soon as i put it to sleep i run the risk it may not find the network when it awakes.
As i said before i didn't notice this problem before I sent in the macbook to have the topcase repaired - is it possible the airport card was damaged? I was only running a N wireless network a week prior to submitting the macbook for repair, so i'm not positive that's it either.

There's a reason why some are less than energetic in answering your question: the "pinwheel of death" could mean a lot of things. To start off, you will need to use various utilities to coax your MBP into functionality:
1. Perform a Permisions Repair, and also Repair your disk on Disk Utilities. If this doesn't work, proceed to the next step.
2. Using a free utility like Onyx, clean your caches.
3. Using the free Kext Wizard, make sure your files are consistent and accurate.
4. Use OpenDNS by connecting to this link:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2478039?start=0&tstart=0
OpenDNS is a simple way of making your online experience faster and easier.
If these steps were successful, take the time to post here; others will profit from your experience. If you still don't have the answer, post...and we'll find the solution!

IPod Touch won't connect WiFi to local free network

iPod Touch 2G with 2.2 software won't connect WIFi to local free network.
This is a local free network. I'm not asked for any login info.
My Mac Mini connects wireless to the free WiFi network without issue (see specs in sig if needed).
Touch (just purchased) shows connected to same free WiFi, shows strong signal, but Safari iTunes, etc. say can not connected to Internet
Mini and Touch show different IP addresses, different Subnet Mask. Touch shows no router nor DNS, Mini does.
Touch set to DHCP (as it should). Renew Lease does not change above info.
BTW when set to DHCP there's obviously no way to change IP or Subnet.
I tried Settings/General/Reset/Reset Network Settings - but had no impact on the issue.
About shows WiFi Address so that seems OK too.

That was my first stop before I posted here.
I did an odd "experiment" which fixed it. As I mentioned I was getting a strange IP address which was very different than my Mini also on the same service.
I set up my own router enabling wireless. The Touch used that without issue, I then disabled the wireless portion of my router. The Touch was then able to grab on to the public wireless service.
Odd that it took that to fix it. I had realized that the Mini has been wired to my router previously before using the public wireless service.
While it is working now, why would using my router on my service to grab an IP address have ANY impact on using the public wireless service? Maybe it registers an IP address with the device (Mini, Touch) that the public service sees and uses?

My wi-fi worked fine on Airport Express two days ago. Now the light is green, but I can't get the Internet on my satellite connection. I've checked Network Preferences, Aiport Express menu, and the satellite tech support. The Ethernet connection works.

My wi-fi connection from my iPad via the Airport Express Base Station on my home computer worked just fine until yesterday morning. I have a Macintosh G5 with a satellite connection. I could not get an Internet connection. After using the Network Preferences and Aiport Express applications several times, then unplugging and replugging in the computer, satellite modem and Airport Express module, checking the satellite dish for any obstructions, and so on, the computer still wouldn't connect to the Internet. (The green light was on in the Airport Express module.) I called the satellite company technical support division last night. The tech couldn't find any problem with the satellite connection. When I plugged the satellite modem cord directly into the Ethernet outlet on my computer, I could pick up the Internet.
Today, the Airport Express module still has a green light but still doesn't connect to the Internet. The only thing I can think of is that lights went out for about 15 minutes yesterday morning. All of my electronics, except the Aiport Express Base Station, are on surge protectors. Why would the Airport Express module still have a green light if it was damaged by the electrical outage?
I bought the module in 2009. I have never had problems with Apple equipment before this. Is this base station fixable?
I would appreciate your suggestions.

Hello everyone. I too have experienced the same problem Mary described starting on the same day she mentioned January 12. I have a G5 iMac, a G5 mini-mac, and a G4 laptop. They were all working fine but all have mostly the same problem now in that the G4 does not connect at all and the G5s connect once in a while after restarts but do not maintain the connection. In my case there was no power interruption. In fact, the G4 laptop was not even connected to the home power connection. My iPad2 and iPhone 4s wireless work fine and a wireless PC and Android tablet work fine as well. The G5 and G4 work fine on an ethernet connection. ISP tech support (AT&T u-Verse) was very generous with their time in trying to solve my problem although it was established early on that their connection and equipment was working fine and that the problem was with my computers. They walked me through a manual reset of all the particulars on IP addresses etc. so the problem was not related to that either. In the end ISP tech support concluded that the problem must lie with the Airport driver. For some reason it changes the IP addresses to an incorrect address so it cannot connect. Indeed when I tried the diagnostics on the G4 I got a window Pop-up that said an application had reset my settings. (In retrospect I seem to recall that I may have gotten that same message early on with the G5s but at that time I did not think much about it and went about trying to reset the settings but that process never concluded well) I think that the problem may be that there must have been an update of the Airport software that was not backward compatible with the G5 and older Macs. I mention all this for two reasons. First, perhaps someone out there who knows better than I do how to bring this to Apple's attention and perhaps they will address this. Second, I would be curious to know whether there is anyway one can return a configuration on Macs to some earlier time period (as you can on PCs) when everything worked and then leave it that way foregoing any subseqent upgrades or any subsequent apps?

MacBook Pro won't connect to wireless network unless tilted

Hi! My MacBook Pro occasionally has trouble connecting to the wireless network in my house, but that can usually be solved by turning Airport off and then back on. Today (very suddenly), Airport disconnected from my network and could not find it again. I tried restarting my MacBook Pro and router multiple times. Finally it was able to connect, but here's the thing: it only works if my MacBook is tilted at an angle. If I try to open a webpage while the MacBook is sitting normally on a flat surface, the page won't load. If I lift one side of the MacBook so that it's tilted at a 45 degree angle, the page will load. Once it's level again the internet will stop working and the Airport signal bars will turn gray.
I've never come across a problem like this before. Everything was running fine this morning. It is so strange and I have no idea what to do! Help, please? Is my Airport dying? Is something loose inside? My MacBook Pro is about 4 years old.

Delete your network from system preferences, network, advanced.
re enter your network you wish to join
If that fails then do a PRAM reset
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
and a SMC reset
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Maybe something to do with the motion sensor
if so try resetting the SMC

MacBook (ML) won't connect to Wi-Fi, no network preferences, no Spotlight

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for