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How to troubleshoot a Mac that won’t boot

A Mac with an Apple symbol against an illustrated background.
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

If your Mac suddenly refuses to boot up properly, it can be frustrating — but you don’t have to immediately head to an Apple Store. There are a number of simple tricks you can try to get everything up and running again. I’ll take you through them here.

First, I’ll cover what to do if your computer starts but you only get a blank screen. Later, I’ll talk about some possible actions to take if you see a symbol on the screen or if the Mac doesn’t start at all.

(Problems like this are a reminder to keep everything backed up on macOS at all times. You’ll be thankful for it if you eventually need to replace your system drive or your entire computer.)

Your computer starts but shows a blank screen

Try a restart

If your Mac is showing signs of…

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