Mac Computer Won’t Boot or Start: How to Fix

It is not surprising that a Mac computer, like any PC, breaks down and does not start either due to a software problem (usually after an operating system update) or due to some hardware failure . There are many possible reasons, but what is clear is that if your Mac does not start you will want to fix it as soon as possible, so in this article we are going to show you what you can do about it.

Before getting into the subject, let’s see the obvious: does your Mac ever turn on? If you press the power button but the equipment does nothing, the first thing you should check is that it is connected to the power . Even if what you have is a laptop that obviously has a battery, you should connect it to the power because the battery may have stopped working.

Mac Computer Won't Boot or Start

In this regard, if you have the possibility, try a different plug or even with a different cable or power adapter , since it is also possible that this element is failing.

If your Mac won’t start, unplug all accessories

You often have a large number of accessories and peripherals connected to your computer, and it is possible that one of these is causing the problem. Therefore, another of the first things you should do is try to start the computer with only the power cord connected (this means removing even the keyboard and mouse if you have them).

Accesorios Mac

If you have recently installed new hardware in your Mac (such as RAM or a new hard drive), another thing you can do is try putting the old ones back in case the new ones are causing some kind of hardware conflict and causing the computer cannot start.

Cycle power

We’ve already seen what you can try to do if your Mac won’t even turn on. If the computer does turn on but won’t start, then the next thing to try is a full power cycle. This step involves forcing the computer to restart after completely turning off the power.

On a MacBook, with the computer on, press and hold the power key for 10 seconds . You will hear a beep when the power goes out and you force the computer to shut down. When you press the power button again it should boot normally.

If you have a desktop Mac like an iMac or Mac Mini, you’ll need to unplug it and leave it like that for at least 20-30 seconds to allow the power supply capacitors and motherboard to drain of power. After that, plug it back in and try to turn it on again.

If the Mac does not start, try restarting the SMC

In some situations, you may need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC). This is usually the last attempt before proceeding to reinstall the operating system and start from scratch. Apple has a complete guide to doing this depending on the type and version of the Mac, but here we are going to tell you how to do it on the company’s latest laptops and desktops.

On laptops

  • Make sure the equipment is turned off and unplugged from the power, wait about 30 seconds, and then connect it to the power.
  • Press the SHIFT + CTRL + Option keys and hold them down for 7 seconds.
  • After 7 seconds and without releasing these three keys, press and hold the power button. Hold down these four keys for another 7 seconds and then release them.
  • Wait a few seconds and then press the power button again to start up your Mac.

On desktop computers

  • Shut down your Mac and unplug the power cord. Wait 20-30 seconds and reconnect it to the power.
  • Wait five seconds and then press the power button as normal. This simply restarts the SMC on desktop Macs.

Repair the file system

If the Mac does turn on but cannot start the operating system, you could have a file corruption problem in Mac OS. Luckily this can be solved in a simple way thanks to the recovery mode that all Macs have incorporated, so let’s do it. To launch Recovery mode, follow these steps:

  • Make sure the Mac is off. Hold down the Command and R keys, and without releasing them press the power button.
  • While the Mac boots, don’t release Command and R until you see the bitten apple logo.
  • The Mac will boot into Recovery mode. Inside click on Disk Utility.

Disk Utility Mac

Select the disk where you have the operating system installed (generally Macintosh HD) and press the First Aid button at the top.

First Aid Mac

A message will appear warning you that this utility will be executed on your disk. Select the option to repair the disk if errors are found, and the tool will do all the work by scanning your hard drive for corrupted files and attempting to repair them. Once done, restart the computer and see if it starts up normally.

The last option is to reinstall the operating system. You will have to start Recovery mode as we have seen before, but instead of selecting the disk utility you will have to select the option “Reinstall macOS”.