How to Efficiently Fix a Mac Computer that Won't Turn on

August 15, 2019Nicole Jones

Mac laptops and computers are famous on excellent performance. However, you cannot access any files anymore if Mac won't turn on no matter how you press the Power button.

In this post, you can get 7 solutions to fix this problem quickly and boot into your Mac as usual.

Fix Mac Won't Turn on

Fix Mac Won't Turn on

Part 1: How to Fix Mac Won't Turn on

Why my Mac won't turn on? The reasons are complicated and may be involved software and hardware. Here are solutions you can try to fix them.

Solution 1: Check Mac Power

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Insufficient battery power can lead to Mac laptop or computer won't turn on. So, plug your Mac into a power source. Moreover, you should check your charger, power cable and power outlet, and make sure they work well.

If your battery is drained out, you need to wait for a while after plugging it into your wall power source. Then press the Power button to turn on your machine.

Solution 2: Run a Power Cycle

Sometimes, MacBook Pro won't turn on due to get stuck in a frozen state. Then you can try to run a power-cycle and force restart your machine.

Run a Power Cycle

For MacBook without a removable battery: hold down the Power button for at least 10 seconds. This will cut the power and force restart your Mac.

For Mac laptops with a removable battery: remove the battery, wait for 10 seconds, and put the battery back. Then turn on Mac as usual.

For a Mac desktop, remove the power cable, leave it for at least 10 seconds, and plug it to a power source. Now, turn on your Mac.

Solution 3: Boot into Safe Mode

If your Mac won't turn on after you install a new app, you can fix it in the Safe Mode.

Safe Mode
Step 1.
Hold down the Power button on your keyboard and immediately press the Shift button.
Step 2.
When you reach the login screen, release the button combination. Then your Mac will boot into Safe Mode.
Step 3.
Uninstall the apps installed recently, and check virus and malware.
Step 4.
Next, restart your Mac in the standard mode.

Solution 4: Reset NVRAM

NVRAM stores certain settings of Mac system. Your Mac won't turn on if something wrong with it. However, you can reset it to fix the problem.

Reset NVRAM
Step 1.
Press the Power button, and immediately hold the Option + Command + P + R buttons for at least 20 seconds.
Step 2.
Let the button combination when you hear the startup sound for the second time.

Tip: For Mac computers with T2 Chip, release the button combination after the Apple logo disappears for the second time.

Step 3.
Then your Mac should power on as usual.

Solution 5: Rest SMC

SMC, standards for System Management Controller, controls a host of basic functions. Resetting SMC is able to fix Mac that won't turn on.

Rest SMC

For a Mac desktop: Unplug the power cord, 15 seconds later, plug the cord back in, 5 seconds later restart your Mac.

For MacBook Pro 2018 and later: hold Shift + Option + Control buttons for 7 seconds while hold down the Power button for another 7 seconds, restart your computer after releasing them.

For MacBook without removable battery: hold down Shift + Option + Control + Power buttons for 10 seconds.

For MacBook with removable battery: remove the battery, keep pressing the Power button for 5 seconds, then put the battery back and restart Mac.

Solution 6: Perform Apple Diagnostics

Apple Diagnostics is the built-in tool for checking hardware issues that lead to Mac screen won't turn on.

Perform Apple Diagnostics
Step 1.
Remove all unnecessary external components, and press Power button and hold the D button until you see the setup screen.
Step 2.
Select your language and run Apple diagnostics. When it finishes, you will get the results and some suggestions.

Solution 7: Use Recovery Mode

Recovery mode boots the full macOS independently and offers a suite of tools for fixing Mac won't turn on.

Use Recovery Mode
Step 1.
Press your Power button, hold the Command + R buttons.
Step 2.
When the Apple logo pops up, release these buttons. After booting, the macOS Utilities window will show up.
Step 3.
Now, you can decide to fix a Mac that won't turn on with the options including Restore From Time Machine Backup, Reinstall macOS, Get Help Online or Disk Utility.

Part 2: Recover Files after Mac Turns on

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How to Recover Files after Mac Turns on

Step 1.
Install Mac Data Recovery
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Launch it and you will get three sections in the home interface, file type, Hard Disk Drives, and Removable Drives.

Scan
Step 2.
Preview lost files
Choose the file types you wish to get back and the source hard disk, and click the Scan button. When it is done, you will be presented the result window. Here you can preview lost files by categories and formats or perform a deep scan by hitting Deep Scan button.
Deep Scan
Step 3.
Recover files from Mac
Make sure to check all files you want to get back, and click the Recover button to perform file recovery on Mac. Then your files will be restored to another drive.
Recover

There may be occasions when Mac won't turn on or Mac won't shut down. If your Mac keeps shutting down and restarting, you need to find solutions to fix kernal panic on Mac.

Conclusion

Mac computers are still the most popular hardware around the world, partly because the excellent performance. However, some users reported that their Mac won't turn on. In our post above, you must master the solutions to fix this problem. Then you can access your Mac as usual. We hope that our guide is helpful to you.

If you have more questions related to a Mac that won't turn on, feel free to leave a message below this post.

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