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Mac Not Starting Up: Possible Fixes To Know!

Akshita Gupta ,

Mac has been a very popular and advanced operating system with barely some glitches found. Mac and MacBook always come up with a USP that says it is not immune to problems like Windows. Sometimes, of course there comes some issues with your Mac wherein your Power button doesn’t respond or you find your Mac not starting up.

When you find your Mac not turning on, there are multiple reasons behind and you just want to fix it up. You can undergo certain fixes listed in the article and make changes and improvements to your Mac to turn it on and make it work again better and faster.

What you need to do is elaborated in the article below. It includes from the very basic hacks including the stability of power connection to using a Mac cleaner tool like Disk Clean Pro to remove unwanted junk files and privacy traces, if any. The fixes in this article applies to almost all, especially the latest versions of macOS. Mac not turning on is indeed a frustrating issue, but do not worry it is pretty fixable.

Note: In case your desktop Mac or Macbook is not starting up after a failed operating system update, then you should directly take a resort to step where we have explained ‘Reinstall macOS’.

How To Know If My Mac Is Turning On Or Not?

To check if your Mac is turning on or not, keep a check on the obvious notes. Press and hold the Power button and check if you are able to see the Apple logo, you are able to hear sound of the startup chime or fan or drive sound, if not and you find your Mac not turning on at all, follow the instructions listed below in the article.

How To Fix Mac That Won’t Turn On?

1. Check Power Connection

Just a heads up and the first and foremost , check if your desktop Mac power is on and the Mac is rightly plugged-in the socket and for a laptop check if the battery is alright and doesn’t need charging. While using an external display for Mac, the display might be causing issues. Switch adapter and check if Mac turns on.

2. Disconnect All Accessories

Remove and disconnect all external accessories that are connected to Mac be it printer, USB hub or anything just to ensure they are not the reason for your Mac not starting up. Also, if you have got a new RAM for your Mac or a hard drive for Mac, anything can lead to your Mac being rendered non-functional. For this, ensure that all these external accessories are rightly connected. If you face any issue, reinstall old RAM, or hard disk or drive. If the issue persists, check out the next resorts.

3. Perform Power Cycle

While turning your Mac on, if you are unable to hear any sound that justifies Mac is starting up, you can run a power cycle and force restart your Mac. For this, press and hold the power key for a few seconds on a MacBook. Try restarting the MacBook by simply pressing the Power key. If you have a Mac desktop, you should unplug it and keep it disconnected from power socket for around ten seconds. Now, plug it back again and attempt restarting. Your Mac might start again, but in case, if not try the fixes listed ahead.

4. Reset System Management Controller (SMC)

Next resort in our list of fixes is to reset System Management Controller (SMC). It controls basic Mac functioning and handles everything. It manages your Mac’s keyboard backlight, battery and almost everything including the issues that arise when you press the Power button. This is one of the best fixes to fix the Mac not turning on. Here’s how to do it:

On Your Mac Laptop:

  • Turn it off and them try unplugging the power cable.
  • Plug it back again and press Shift + Ctrl + Option/Alt keys and the Power button altogether.
  • Release all the keys and the power button.
  • Wait for the power cable light to flicker.
  • Now, restart your MacBook.

On a Mac desktop:

  • Unplug Mac from the power cable.
  • Long press the Power button for a few seconds.
  • Plug in the Mac to the power socket and try turning your Mac on.

5. Reinstall macOS

Last but not the least, to make your Mac working again, try reinstalling the macOS. This is the resort to try when you are unable to fix the issue using any of the hacks above. To reinstall macOS, follow the pointers below:

Boot Into Recovery Mode

  • To launch into Recovery mode, follow the steps below but before you proceed ensure the Mac is shut down.
  • Now, press Command and R keys along with the Power button.
  • Keep these keys pressed until Apple icon is visible on the screen.
  • Your Mac will start in the Recovery mode. Now, click on Disk Utility.
  • Select your Mac’s hard drive and click on “First Aid.”
  • If there will be issues, your Disk Utility will find them. Choose ‘Repair the disk’ to fix any errors.

Try restarting your Mac, probably it boots up properly. If it doesn’t, open Recovery Mode and restore your Mac again using Time Machine backup or install a new copy of macOS.

That’s it folks! Try these fixes and you’ll probably be able to fix Mac not starting up issues. If still the issue persists, it is recommended to visit the Apple authorized service center for a complete checkup of your Mac.

Recommended Readings:

All You Need to Know about Macos Big Sur Features

How to Change Mac Address in Windows 10 or OS X

Learn How to Set Up And Use Chromecast From Mac

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