Sometimes when I open my laptop back from sleep, I get a black screen with the cursor showing.

Question

Recently I've been getting this weird problem where my macbook air will show a black screen with only the cursor visible that I can move around but nothing else can be done to get to the desktop. The only way is to close the lid and wait for around 10 or more seconds and then open the lid again to bring the laptop back from sleep and hope that the laptop goes to the lock screen and then to the desktop. This works often but sometimes the only solution seems to be to restart the laptop. This also happens when I tilt the lid to the point where it is almost closed and when I tilt it back the screen presents the above state. Theis has been happening often now and it is almost impossible for the above not to happen atleast 2 to 3 times a day. iThis is a relatively new problem that has been occuring since the past two weeks or so and never happened to me on my Macbook Pro 15 2011. My current system is a Macbook Air 11" 2013 Haswell 1.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 256 GB SSD. Now I dont want to have to send in my laptop if I dont have to if there is a way I can solve this myself. Anybody else have this problem?

Answer 1

Hello tseten,
I would be concerned too if my MacBook Air was not waking from sleep appropriately.  For an issue like this, I recommend resetting your System Management Controller (SMC) and NVRAM.
Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own
Note: Portable computers that have a battery you should not remove on your own include MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and later, all models of MacBook Air, and MacBook (Late 2009).
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer. 
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.
You can find the full article here:
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Resetting NVRAM / PRAM
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
You can find the full article here:
About NVRAM and PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.