HELP!

The Mac is one of the most reliable PCs you can buy, which is probably why there’s a heightened sense of anxiety when you press the power button and nothing happens. But take a deep breath. When your Mac won’t start, there are a number of reasons why, and most likely it’s an easy fix. Apple has a support document with advice on what to do when your Mac won’t turn on, but we’re going to give you a little more detail and a few more things to check. So be sure to hold onto this article for when it inevitably happens again.

Before we start, let this be a lesson to keep a backup. Whether you use a cloud service, store important files on iCloud Drive, or use Time Machine with an external drive, you’ll want to make sure you’ve backed up your personal stuff that isn’t already in a cloud—local documents, files, movies, music, and so on. That way you won’t lose it even if you need to wipe your Mac and start over.

YOUR MAC WON’T POWER UP

Make sure it’s not actually on

If you press the power button and nothing happens, it might actually already be on. It sounds silly, but when