Apple MacBook Pro Notebook Logo
Posted on May 14, 2010
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I dropped my macbook pro. No external damage but it won't turn on. It will charge.

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  • Expert 57 Answers
  • Posted on May 15, 2010
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Try these steps. They're worth a shot and the worst that will happen is that it still will not start up:

  1. Press the control key, the command key, and the power button simultaneously and hold for three seconds to try to restart the computer.
  2. Reset the PRAM. After pressing the power button, hold down these keys simultaneously: Command-Option-P-R, until you hear the startup chime at least one additional time after the initial startup chime.
  3. Reset the SMC for the MacBook Pro by removing the AC power, removing the battery and then holding down the power button for five seconds. On the MacBook Air, press (left) Shift-Control-Option along with the power button once.
  4. If these steps still don't help you get it going, there is a chance that the hard drive sustained too many G's on impact. This sounds worse than it is because a new hard drive is relatively inexspensive for your machine nowdays. The downside is that the amount of G's it sustained can be measured by a tech. That means that Apple Care will probably ask you to pay for it. This is all assuming that the hard drive is the issue.
  5. *** Don't just give up on getting some of your files back if it is the hard drive. There are several ways to recover info from a damaged hard disk. I hope this helps you and good luck! Don't forget to vote if this was helpful :)

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0helpful
1answer

Macbook pro dark screen

Close the lid, attach an external monitor, reopen lid.
Your display should now show on that monitr. If it is, your display on the MacBook Pro may be bad. I would try resetting the PRAM and the SMC before going to an Apple store. The SMC controls the MacBook's power founcts (see below)

Resetting the PRAM may do the trick:
You reset the PRAM by rebooting a Mac and then immediately hold down the Command+Option+P+R keys, you will then hear the Mac reboot sound again, signifying your PRAM has been reset. You must hit the key combination before the grey screen appears otherwise it won't work.

you've tried rebooting, you've reset the PRAM, you've done it all, but your Mac is still behaving strangely. What next? In certain circumstances, resetting your Mac's System Management Controller (SMC) can be a solution. This is sometimes necessary to restore normal lower level system functionality to your Mac.

Here's how to reset the SMC on any type of Mac (and any version of OS X) and the type of problems that it may resolve.
When & Why Reset SMC on a Mac? Some Common Hardware Reasons

Typically it's power and hardware related issues that can be helped or resolved by resetting a Mac SMC, particularly if you're having these types of problems:

* Issues with your Mac's cooling fans and fan management: fans run constantly at high speed, fans run high despite low CPU usage and adequate ventilation, fans not working at all, etc

* Power management and battery problems: Mac isn't turning on, sleep isn't working, random shutdowns and reboots, battery isn't charging, Mac won't wake from sleep etc

* Light problems and improper lighting management: battery indicator lights aren't working, display backlighting isn't adjusting to ambient light changes, keyboard backlights not working, etc

* Video and external displays not working: display brightness functionality not working properly, target video mode isn't working properly, external display isn't working, etc

* General performance and functionality problems: abnormally sluggish behavior despite no CPU or disk usage, external ports not working, airport & bluetooth aren't showing up, external devices are not being found, etc

So now that you've concluded you need to reset your SMC (Note that the SMC is on Intel Mac's only), here's how to do it on MacBook's, MacBook Pro's, iMac's, Mac Mini's, and Mac Pro's. Notice that the reset instructions are different for MacBook and MacBook Pro's if you have an internal or detachable battery.
Reset SMC of a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro Retina, or MacBook Pro's with an internal non-removable battery

This is how to reset SMC on most modern Mac laptops:

Shutdown your MacBook Air / MacBook Pro
Connect the power adapter to your Mac
On the MacBook/Pro's keyboard, hold down the Shift+Control+Option keys and the Power button at the same time
Release all keys and the power button at the same time
Boot your Mac as usual

Here's the key sequence to hold down:

Reset the SMC of a MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro

Do keep in mind that by resetting the SMC you will lose power specific settings, like the time it takes to sleep a Mac and other customizations to power settings. No big deal, but if you have made many changes to your hardware behavior you will want to adjust stuff like sleep behavior again.
Reset SMC of an iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini

Resetting SMC is different for non-portable Macs:

Shut down your Mac
Disconnect the power cord
Press and hold the Mac's power button for 5 seconds
Release the button
Reattach the power cables and boot the Mac as usual

Reset the SMC of a MacBook or MacBook Pro's with detachable batteries

mac reset the smc Older MacBook laptops with a removable battery can reset SMC with the following approach:

Shutdown the MacBook/Pro and remove the battery
Disconnect the power adapter, hold the Power Key for 10 seconds
Release the power key and reconnect your battery and power adapter
Turn your Mac on
Let boot as usual

Hopefully that will clear up your problems, if not it might be worth a visit to the Apple Store or a certified repair center.

Happy New Year,
Kerry
1helpful
1answer

1). Dropped MacBook Pro (While off, Battery Fully Charged, Normal working condition) 2). Turned on to see if okay... 3). Heard it begin to boot up like it normally does... 4). Immediately turned back...

Very difficult to tell what could have go wrong. Could be a connector, could be a chip. Even a flatcable or a motherboard can be dammaged. Online you can get service manuals and there are video's about how to open and close Macbooks. Still I do have to advice not to open a laptop, if you don't have any skills in repairing electronic equipment.
0helpful
1answer

MacBook Pro took a drop, boots up but nothing on the screen.

The screen, the cable that connects to the screen or something internal has taken a hit. You'll need to get it serviced to find out which. Sorry, but there's not much diagnosis we can do from a distance.
0helpful
1answer
0helpful
1answer

Fan won't stop

Resetting the PRAM may do the trick:
You reset the PRAM by rebooting a Mac and then immediately hold down the Command+Option+P+R keys, you will then hear the Mac reboot sound again, signifying your PRAM has been reset. You must hit the key combination before the grey screen appears otherwise it won't work.

you've tried rebooting, you've reset the PRAM, you've done it all, but your Mac is still behaving strangely. What next? In certain circumstances, resetting your Mac's System Management Controller (SMC) can be a solution. This is sometimes necessary to restore normal lower level system functionality to your Mac.

Here's how to reset the SMC on any type of Mac (and any version of OS X) and the type of problems that it may resolve.
When & Why Reset SMC on a Mac? Some Common Hardware Reasons

Typically it's power and hardware related issues that can be helped or resolved by resetting a Mac SMC, particularly if you're having these types of problems:

* Issues with your Mac's cooling fans and fan management: fans run constantly at high speed, fans run high despite low CPU usage and adequate ventilation, fans not working at all, etc

* Power management and battery problems: Mac isn't turning on, sleep isn't working, random shutdowns and reboots, battery isn't charging, Mac won't wake from sleep etc

* Light problems and improper lighting management: battery indicator lights aren't working, display backlighting isn't adjusting to ambient light changes, keyboard backlights not working, etc

* Video and external displays not working: display brightness functionality not working properly, target video mode isn't working properly, external display isn't working, etc

* General performance and functionality problems: abnormally sluggish behavior despite no CPU or disk usage, external ports not working, airport & bluetooth aren't showing up, external devices are not being found, etc

So now that you've concluded you need to reset your SMC (Note that the SMC is on Intel Mac's only), here's how to do it on MacBook's, MacBook Pro's, iMac's, Mac Mini's, and Mac Pro's. Notice that the reset instructions are different for MacBook and MacBook Pro's if you have an internal or detachable battery.
Reset SMC of a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro Retina, or MacBook Pro's with an internal non-removable battery

This is how to reset SMC on most modern Mac laptops:

Shutdown your MacBook Air / MacBook Pro
Connect the power adapter to your Mac
On the MacBook/Pro's keyboard, hold down the Shift+Control+Option keys and the Power button at the same time
Release all keys and the power button at the same time
Boot your Mac as usual

Here's the key sequence to hold down:

Reset the SMC of a MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro

Do keep in mind that by resetting the SMC you will lose power specific settings, like the time it takes to sleep a Mac and other customizations to power settings. No big deal, but if you have made many changes to your hardware behavior you will want to adjust stuff like sleep behavior again.
Reset SMC of an iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini

Resetting SMC is different for non-portable Macs:

Shut down your Mac
Disconnect the power cord
Press and hold the Mac's power button for 5 seconds
Release the button
Reattach the power cables and boot the Mac as usual

Reset the SMC of a MacBook or MacBook Pro's with detachable batteries

mac reset the smc Older MacBook laptops with a removable battery can reset SMC with the following approach:

Shutdown the MacBook/Pro and remove the battery
Disconnect the power adapter, hold the Power Key for 10 seconds
Release the power key and reconnect your battery and power adapter
Turn your Mac on
Let boot as usual

Hopefully that will clear up your problems, if not it might be worth a visit to the Apple Store or a certified repair center.

Happy New Year,
Kerry
0helpful
1answer

I dropped my macbook and it comes on but won't load what can I do?

You most likely have a damaged hard drive. I am afraid to tell you that you can either get it serviced, or you can get a new computer all together. Your hard drive sounds like it is beyond use at this point, and it is a pain to get it fixed/replaced. Try buying a newer model of MacBook Pro, they are said to be more durable now. If you go through with getting a new computer, you can also get a protective case for it by ordering one online. Hope this helps, I had my MacBook Po damaged also, so I share the grief.
0helpful
1answer

Keyboard Backlit not coming on at all

Set your backlighting in
Apple menu
System Preferences
Keyboard.

otherwise try:
Resetting the SMC on any type of Mac (and any version of OS X) and the type of problems that it may resolve.
When & Why Reset SMC on a Mac? Some Common Hardware Reasons

Typically it's power and hardware related issues that can be helped or resolved by resetting a Mac SMC, particularly if you're having these types of problems:

* Issues with your Mac's cooling fans and fan management: fans run constantly at high speed, fans run high despite low CPU usage and adequate ventilation, fans not working at all, etc

* Power management and battery problems: Mac isn't turning on, sleep isn't working, random shutdowns and reboots, battery isn't charging, Mac won't wake from sleep etc

* Light problems and improper lighting management: battery indicator lights aren't working, display backlighting isn't adjusting to ambient light changes, keyboard backlights not working, etc

* Video and external displays not working: display brightness functionality not working properly, target video mode isn't working properly, external display isn't working, etc

* General performance and functionality problems: abnormally sluggish behavior despite no CPU or disk usage, external ports not working, airport & bluetooth aren't showing up, external devices are not being found, etc

So now that you've concluded you need to reset your SMC (Note that the SMC is on Intel Mac's only), here's how to do it on MacBook's, MacBook Pro's, iMac's, Mac Mini's, and Mac Pro's. Notice that the reset instructions are different for MacBook and MacBook Pro's if you have an internal or detachable battery.
Reset SMC of a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro Retina, or MacBook Pro's with an internal non-removable battery

This is how to reset SMC on most modern Mac laptops:

Shutdown your MacBook Air / MacBook Pro
Connect the power adapter to your Mac
On the MacBook/Pro's keyboard, hold down the Shift+Control+Option keys and the Power button at the same time
Release all keys and the power button at the same time
Boot your Mac as usual

Here's the key sequence to hold down:

Reset the SMC of a MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro

Do keep in mind that by resetting the SMC you will lose power specific settings, like the time it takes to sleep a Mac and other customizations to power settings. No big deal, but if you have made many changes to your hardware behavior you will want to adjust stuff like sleep behavior again.
Reset SMC of an iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini

Resetting SMC is different for non-portable Macs:

Shut down your Mac
Disconnect the power cord
Press and hold the Mac's power button for 5 seconds
Release the button
Reattach the power cables and boot the Mac as usual

Reset the SMC of a MacBook or MacBook Pro's with detachable batteries

mac reset the smc Older MacBook laptops with a removable battery can reset SMC with the following approach:

Shutdown the MacBook/Pro and remove the battery
Disconnect the power adapter, hold the Power Key for 10 seconds
Release the power key and reconnect your battery and power adapter
Turn your Mac on
Let boot as usual

Hopefully that will clear up your problems, if not it might be worth a visit to the Apple Store or a certified repair center.

Happy New Year,
Kerry
1helpful
2answers

It turns off randomly, then take a few goes to get back on

I think the connection in Macbook is damaged, it's better to take it back to Apple and check, and if there is warranty is good too.

Android 4.0 Tablet PC
0helpful
1answer

Transfer macbook pro music

There are a number of different ways to do this. If you have an external hard drive, all you need to do is drag the Macintosh HD/[your user name here]/Users/Music/iTunes folder onto the external drive, connect the external drive to your Macbook, and drag and drop the iTunes folder from the external drive onto the iTunes icon in the dock. <br /><br />If you have an iPod classic, you can do this: <br /><br />http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1329<br /><br />...or if you don't have a huge library and/or have a lot of CDs/DVDs you can use, you can back up your library to disc: <br /><br />http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1382<br /><br />...or if you have anything other other sort of iPod, iPhone, or iPad, you can rip the music from it using this utility: <br /><br />http://thelittleappfactory.com/irip/<br /><br />
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