Troubleshooting Apple portables: Black screen at startup (#2)

How to tell if you are having the problem Systems that are affected by this problem will wake up from sleep, but never activate the display. In order to test if your machine is exhibiting the flaw, or simply frozen (or off for that matter), try pressing the volume keys and listening for feedback. If the speakers produce noise, the display is not functioning along with the rest of the system.

The only way to back out of the problem is to hold down the power button until the PowerBook completely shuts down, or press control-Command-power to initiate a reset.

Latest Panther beta solves Several developers have reported that this problem disappeared from their PowerBook G4 12" models after installing the latest preview build of Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) 7B59.

USB Issues Having USB devices connected to your system when it is going to sleep can trigger this issue. Try disconnecting all devices a few seconds before sleep.

Latch problems MacFixIt reader Andrew Massey describes a similar problem that is caused by improper latching of the PowerBook's two halves: "Sometimes when the machine is asleep and the lid is down, I'll try to 'pop' the latch to open it, but my finger will slip and it won't open enough for me to pull the lid open. Of course, the latch disengaging triggers the machine to wake from sleep, but then the lid is almost down and it is automatically triggered to sleep again (or at least that's what I assume is happening). Anyway, the result is the machine turns off (or at least it seems to). I have to wait a few minutes before the power key will allow me to start up."

Refer to the note above (How to tell if you are having the problem) to determine if you are experiencing the same phenomenon as Massey, or just a lack of display functionality.

Disconnect Ethernet cable when sleeping One MacFixIt reader was able to avoid this issue by disconnecting an Ethernet cable when putting his system to sleep: "I've had the issue when I use it with an ethernet connection at work. If I disconnect the ethernet cable, close the lid, I will often get a black screen when I attempt to awaken again. If I disconnect the cable when the PowerBook is asleep, then all seems well -- usually. "

Bad RAM Make sure to run the Apple Hardware Test CD that shipped with your Macintosh to determine if a bad RAM module may be causing this issue.

Power problems? Another MacFixIt reader describes an odd situation where turning on other devices on the same power chain as his laptop cause the display to go haywire "I have my laptop power supply plugged into a power bar. Also plugged into the bar are all my other peripherals and a light source (desk lamp using a fluorescent bulb). Whenever I put my laptop to sleep, I can wake it up without any problems. However, while it is asleep, if I turn on the light source, I can see my peripherals waking up and the sleep light go out on the laptop. When I open the laptop, I have a black screen and cannot wake it up unless I close the top and hit my light switch again. Then the laptop wakes up as it should. Apparently, there may be some sort of power surge that is affecting the sleep mode in the laptop."

Affects older models too PowerBook G4 and newer iBook models are not the only machines affected by this flaw. Daniel Dobkin describes the issue on a PowerBook G3 (2000/FireWire): "It does not bother me often any more, since I stopped using the Bookendz dock, which suggested to me a latent problem with the VGA port and switching between two-headed and one-headed mode. Since the G4s don't have the VGA but are exhibiting the same symptom as the G3, perhaps the USB theory bears further investigation."

Another reader reports the same issue with a Lombard: "I have the same problem with a 400 MHz Lombard PowerBook, running Mac OS X 10.2.6. It happens in about 70 percent of the wake up times - even with a virgin OS installed or different users logged in. The hard drive starts spinning and the POWERBOOK then never goes to sleep nor does the hard drive spin down. The only way out here is to restart the PowerBook."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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