Chosen Solution
I have done the flashlight test. I shined a flashlight through the Apple logo and can see the login screen. I have reset the PRAM and the SMC to no avail. Not really sure what else to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :D
Since this model has a LED-backlit TFT active-matrix display the problem could be the controller or the display. Is there any history you’ve neglected to share (liquid spill or dropped). Neither repair is easy, no would I start either one unless I knew it was the correct one. I’d say take this to Apple, or an Apple Certified Repair shop to find out what is the true problem. If this answer is acceptable please remember to return and mark it.
EASIEST WAY TO FIX!!!! The screen isn’t black. Its just too dark to see. So grab a flashlight and aim it though the lid where the apple logo is. It will light up the LCD screen enough to see if its on. Click you user, password and VUALA. welcome back. And maybe next time don’t freak out when your Mac is going slow and stop mashing enter…you shut your Mac down by doing so. YOUR WELCOMES!
Can you see whats on the screen if you shine a flashlight on it when powered on? If so, you need to start with the inverter and/or the inverter cable if one or both look damaged (the cable frayed or cut, the inverter making noise, or burnt part etc), if those don’t fix it then you would need to replace the screen.
I just went through this. Took it to Apple Store genius they did all their tests and found that the hard drive was inoperable. They would not put a new hard drive in because I had taken it to an authorized Apple repair person and they had replaced the hard drive with a non-apple hard drive. They had me go to Best Buy and sent instructions for the geek squad to replace the hard drive with a 2.5" SATA drive. I then took my MacBook Pro back to Apple and they placed my operating system in at no charge (apparently apple must send the hard drives they replace back to the apple company for evaluation) since repair person put something else in about 15 months ago that was not the same as the original Apple would not replace it under terms of my apple protection plan). Lesson learned! Even though it was an authorized Apple repair shop make sure it follows the Apple protection plan and also records the repair work done where apple genius can access it. I went to authorized Apple repair shop because the nearest Apple Store was 100 miles away. I hope this helps!
other answers: Inverter Cable & Inverter Board Location My MacBook Pro turns on, but has a black screen.. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/402… https://discussions.apple.com/message/30… iBook screen switches off/goes black when opened more than 45 degrees screen backlight not working on MacBook Pro
I had same problem and i solved by doing this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GlETDBy…
Like others, I had the black screen out of the blue. I’d tried everything that was posted here, and when my MacBook Pro finally loaded, I got a screen asking me to reset the password. That was not my issue, so I restarted the Mac. Finally, I saw a post that suggested “enter your password “. So I entered my password on the black screen, and THAT WORKED! Thanks so much!
