MacBook shuts off during start up...

When I turn on my computer it's starts to boot up normal but all I get is (and in this order) the Apple logo, a loading bar, and the spinning wheel. The bar only loads to about 5% then after about a minute my MacBook shuts off. I have two questions:
What could be wrong?
What is the shortcut the guys at the genius bar us to check the hardware status?

You can eject a stuck disc several ways, all during startup:
Hold down the eject key, or the space bar, or the mouse button until it pops out (sometimes it can feel like it isn't working, but be patient and try all three).
If none of those work, there are terminal commands we can try...

Similar Messages

  • Macbook shuts off during start-up - can't get through safe-mode, single user mode (fsck -fy) and target-drive shows no problems when running disk utility repair

    Hi everyone,
    I'm simply all out of ideas on what to do - my best guess is the problem is not specifically hard-drive related since all the 'normal' fixes just won't work.
    What could be the cause of my issue? The only way i've managed to keep the Macbook Pro on for longer than a minute is through target drive, where it seems to work just fine - i can access everything. To sum up everything:
    1 - I tried resetting the PRAM
    2 - I tried to go in to safe mode, it shut off before i could type the password
    3 - I tried fsck -fy command from single user mode, sometimes i can get to actually typing it but mostly it shuts off before
    4 - I tried to repair disk via target drive - success, no problems detected (and it didnt fix my issue)
    5 - I reinstalled OS Mavericks.
    The Macbook Pro previously had some problems with the power-button not working properly (a mac-cunning friend of mine had to open up the mac and start it by swiping to metal pins on a specific (battery/power?) part inside it. The problem kinda went away afterwards but it might be related to this?
    This is way off my comfort zone of 'diagnosing' issues, so I'm crossing fingers for some good advice.
    Thanks,
    Aske
    Denmark

    I think you're right.
    If it's hardware related, is it possible to guess at what it might be? It would be nice to know how much I should expect to pay for a repair before actually getting it fixed.

  • MacBook shuts off during startup

    I have a macbook I got in 08 that is running leopard. Ok so after running Onyx it told me that the volume needed to be repaired. I inserted the install disk and ran disk utility and the volume repair, but it told me it couldn't be fixed. So I quit out of all that and restarted my laptop, but now it won't get past the blue loading screen. The little wheel just goes and goes then my MacBook shuts off. I can still run the Mac os x installer. When i go again to disk utility I can see the Macintosh hd tab and before I couldn't. Is this a good sign?
    Can anybody please help? Should i just try to do a restore, if it would let me or?? This is my first time dealing with a problem with a mac and I don't even know where to start.

    Thanks for responding. Yes, I have used time machine, although I stopped it from backing up data about a year ago (big mistake). I was wondering if it would be best to restore with time machine or do a restore and then connect the external hd to get my data manually. Because have I changed my login name from the last backup and I don't know if that would cause any extra problems. I really don't want to lose anymore data.
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  • Macbook shuts off during time machine backup

    Hi all,
    I've recently been having problems with my MacBook randomly shutting itself down - usually when I'm importing a CD into iTunes, watching GoPro files on QuickTime, for example. When this happens the fan is usually working so I'm guessing that's an overheating problem. A few other niggles have also appeared, all seemingly after I upgraded to Snow Leopard, which has made me decide to downgrade again (I think maybe its too advanced for my old machine!). So my real problem is this - I need to back up all my data and up until recently have been using an external HD with Time Machine. Now, my mac keeps shutting down when it gets to the actual backup part of the process. The fan never comes on and the mac is well ventilated and doesn't feel warm at all (ive been doing it in the morning when it's been off all night). Any suggestions as to what might be happening here, and how I can actually finish a back up? I've had a quick scout on the web for solutions (I'm not particularly IT savvy so most answers baffle me!) but have read that using 'Safe Mode' might help?
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    Nina. :)

    Strawbs7 wrote:
    Thanks for the link to the safe mode start up info - I'll give that a go tonight.
    Among other things, that will check the directory structure and fix it if possible.  That might be all you need.
    I'm on 10.6.8 and my brother upgraded me so I guess he still has the discs, I will check. Is that for a reinstallation?
    You need the main one to reinstall OSX (only; that doesn't disturb anything else), or to restore from TM backups.  You may not need to do either, but should always have the disc handy.
    What did your Mac ship with, and do you have the original discs?  One of them has an Apple Hardware Test specific to your Mac.  It's not real extensive, but might find any hardware problems.
    Only I'm not really wanting to do anything like that til I've backed up - bit of a catch 22!!
    If you're sure the backups were completing until recently, eject and disconnect the drive until you need it. No sense risking any damage to them!
    If you have or can borrow another external, you might be able to make a copy of the current contents of your HD on it, via the Restore tab in Disk Utility.  From your description it sounds doubtful, but might be worth a try.
    And/or, if you have some CDs/DVDs or a USB Thumb drive, you might be able to copy some stuff to them.

  • Macbook shuts off on boot

    macbook shuts off during boot after about 15 seconds. During boot at Apple logo, during a fsck process in safe mode, during a boot into Diskwarrior CD, even during a boot into Leopard install DVD. I am a decades mac user and have never had this problem. Tried zapping the pram, tried resetting system management controller (2 diff. ways). 10.5.8 was just installed, but i don't believe this was an issue. I believe it's hardware related. Any ideas?

    Hi,
    I am having problem with my macbook for like a month now. I is constantly shutting off when I start the pc or sometimes while I am using it. Would you know what the problem is. I tried to update software and it seems better for a bit, then it started again. Do you think the geek squad at Best buy would be able to fix it.
    Thank you very much.

  • Cleaned files and apps with "app cleaner" and now MacBook Air turns off during start up. What happens? What can I do? Please help

    Cleaned files and apps with "app cleaner" and now MacBook Air turns off during start up. What happens? What can I do? Please help

    The "app cleaner" managed to do bad things to the file system so that it is unable to boot any longer.
    This is the primary reason I always recommend that any of those so called "cleanup" apps never be used. They do more harm then good.
    Try a safe boot by holding down the shifgr key when you hear the boot chime. Maybe that can fix the damage.
    Let us know what happens.
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  • MacBook Pro does t start I turned it off during start up I've tried a lot of stuff. When I hold startup my hard disk says efi boot instead of Macintosh hd

    MacBook Pro does t start I turned it off during start up I've tried a lot of stuff. When I hold startup my hard disk says efi boot instead of Macintosh hd

    Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
    Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
    If this does not work, then you will have to erase and reinstall Mountain Lion:
    Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain 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.
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Erase the hard drive:
      1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
      2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
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      3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
            the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
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      4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
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  • My macbook shuts off randomly, how do I know what's causing this and prevent it from happening again?

    My macbook shuts off and I kept a journal for it because mine's got complications.
    July 1, 2014 (Tuesday)
    I spilled a cup of choclate milk on my keyboard, it was soaked! But my battery was drained so I know nothing had short out. So I turned it over and never tried to turn it on.
    July 2
    I went to the nearest apple center and asked them to clean it for me. (I knew it wasn't a good idea to clean it myself) They put it in a plastic bag but I asked them to open it as soon as possible so I know what parts are affected. They told me they'd take a picture of the inside for me and go back after an hour. Milk was still inside everywhere so I asked them to take it in.
    July 8
    I called to get an update on my mac and they said it wasn't economically practical to repair it because they recommended a full system replacement. I got depressed and accepted my Mac's fate. But what's annoying is I put my mac in on July 2 and they only tried to clean it in July 5 which makes me think that was the reason my mac was irreparable.
    July 9
    I took my mac and tried to find another opinion but I showed the diagnostics from the apple store and they said they couldn't fix it. My parents were getting ready to buy a new one.
    July 13
    I realized that my mac didn't have charge when milk spilled on it so I tried to charge it and BOOM IT OPENED. They keyboards were sticky and it takes a moment before my computer reacts to the trackpad but it works! Even all the keys works! But it doesn't charge.
    After lunch, it was workingp perfectly and my batteries were at 30% charge! I was really happy!
    (in the interval my mac works perfectly, it stays for normal 7 hours when battery is charged fully)
    However at July 19
    There was no electricity for four days (A typhoon came in the Philippines) and my battery is about 7% so I went to the public market to get it charge while I wait for electricity. I charged it for about 3 hours and sideways because it was inside my backpack while it charged so noone will notice it. When I got home and opened my laptop, it shut off randomly after my desktop appeared after start up. So I was sad.
    July 20
    I found a solution online to use the option-shift-power button my mac opened and worked normally!
    July 21
    My computer was normal in the morning then in the afternoon it shut off again after I waked it up from sleep. Tried option-shift for about 3-5 times before it worked with varying intervals from 5-20 minutes each
    July 22
    I get nervous when I use it but it worked perfectly I was even able to edit with Final-cut pro and HD clips.
    Wednesday
    Worked perfectly in the morning but in the afternoon, after waking it up from sleep it won't turn on tried the option-shift then I tried resetting the SMC for about three times (my mac is a unibody) but it didn't turn on the whole evening.
    Today Thursday morning July 24
    I tried to reset SMC first thing in the morning after the thing won't turn on. After about an hour, I tried to turn my mac on normally and it opened. So what I did is to back up all my files. (It took the whole afternoon) and at night I ran diagnostics (D during start up) and no threats were found
    Haven't been experiencing the trouble, as of the moment I'm writing this Jul 25, Friday (12:13 AM) HK time Philippines.
    So what I'm asking here is what do I do to make sure this doesn't occur anymore. I probably written a very detailed log. So what else (diagnostics and other) should I do to prevent this from happening again. School starts in August and I will need my laptop to work perfectly to let me go through college with less burden. Thank you and I hope you reply. Any more questions about details on my Mac will be answered
    Macbook Pro 13-inch, Mid 2012
    Bought in December 2012
    Processor  2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
    Memory  4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics  Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Software  OS X 10.9.4 (13E28)

    tryshdanielle wrote:
    So what I'm asking here is what do I do to make sure this doesn't occur anymore.
    Get a new computer. Consider switching to regular milk, or even a light fruit juice.

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    2007 White MacBook shuts off (not shutdown) when power cord is removed. Battery shows 98% charge. Any ideas? I plug AC power back in and it reboots when start button pushed. This problem just started tonight.
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  • I updated my ipod touch, then a while later it said waiting for update then shut off. then started turning on and off, what do i do ?

    I updated my ipod touch, then a while later it said waiting for update then shut off. then started turning on and off, what do i do ?

    Try:
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    iPhone 5 w ios7 shows over half charge in battery but shuts off during use listening to pod cast for example.  When placed on the charger it takes a couple of minutes then shows over half charged again. What's wrong?

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  • My 4s shuts off during use of map directions

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