I’ve owned and used a Mac for about 6 years, and yesterday was the first time something really unexpected happened. There have been no failure of any kind, no windows like problems at all. It’s been like living in computer heaven, well, until yesterday.
When I hit the power button, I just received a white screen. Nothing happened, OSX didn’t boot at all. I tried several times, nothing happened, except for the white screen.
Since I was sort of in a hurry, I just had to do a quick search on Google, and found out that what I experienced had an interesting and sort of disturbing name: White Screen of Death. I also discovered that it could be fairly serious damages to my iMac.
It could be everything from just hitting a few keys while booting, to having to change the harddrive, the Ram and so on. I was actually sort of petrified just by the thought of what I had to go through when I got home.
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A few minutes later I was walking to visit a few of my friends, and since I just couldn’t get this white screen out of my head, I thought I’d send out a tweet. Just a few minutes later I received a possible and fairly easy solution (thanks Jeremiah Smith). He told me I should reset my memory by doing the following.
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
1. Shut down the computer (by holding the power button).
2. Turn on the computer. Wait until I hear the boot sound.
3. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys (simultenously).
4. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
5. Release the keys.
I did this, and it looked like it worked. Maybe it was because the computer actually restarted and I didn’t see a white screen at first. But then, seconds later, I was back to the white screen.
Now, I was more than frustrated. I started believing that I had to do some major upgrading on my iMac, and that it would not only be expensive, but take a lot of time (time I didn’t have). Luckily, I have several computers and Google. I did another search, and found another easy solution to the problem.
I read that I should try to reset the System Management Controller (SMC). I still don’t know what the SMC is, but I didn’t care. What I did was the following.
Reset the System Management Controller
1. Shut down the computer (well, it was already off)
2. Unplugged all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables.
3. Waited at least fifteen seconds. I waited several minutes.
4. Plugged the power cord back in, making sure the power button was not being pressed at the time.
5. Reconnected my keyboard and mouse to the computer.
6. Pressed the power button to start up your computer.
… and then, guess what happened next?
Everything was back to normal. It was like I never had a problem in the first place. I’m not sure if resetting the memory had any impact or not, or if I could just have unplugged all the cables and removed the power cord?
My frustration is finally over. I’m back on track, and hopefully it’s the last time I’ve seen the White Screen of Death.
I got the same problem that you did … When I did the second option at fist, nothing happened at all, altough,The first one was a lot helpfull, thaks bro
unplugged and reconnected ,phew! it worked
thank you very much
hi i had to get another keyboard and wa told tat logitech nk300 was compatiable but have no idea were comand key is now..plz help//ty
kim
i was downloading max os 10.7 and i went on my xbox to kill the time , then when i went bakc to my imac it was switched off , i turned it back on and a grey curcle with a line going through it popped upp , and it wont work , ive tried options , command r+p and that didnt work and it seemed to wokr until it went back to that screen and now i dont know what to do ? any tips ?
Thanks for saving the day. Your steps solved our problem. Thanks for sharing.
I got the white screen of Death this morning on my Imac. The instructions worked like a charm. Thank you very much.
Dear Jens,
Thanks so much! Solution 2 – Resetting the SMC – worked the first time I tried it. Whew!!
I am new to iMac and got the white screen – Thanks, it worked
Your method is not really exactly correct for resetting the SMC, although with accidental delays, you could have gotten it done by your details. For your elucidation, read from Apple how to really reset the SMC for an Intel iMac:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1543
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Unplug the computer’s power cord.
3. Wait fifteen seconds.
4. Attach the computer’s power cord.
5. Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
Disconnecting the keyboard and mouse are not part of the needed steps, but they did cause you to accidentally wait the required five seconds after plugging in power.
Twitter: berget
Hey Lance,
Thanks a lot for the help.
Jens
Hi Lance,
I have an iMac, 4.5 years old with new HD (about 6 months ago). In the last week I’ve had screen gone Black or screen gone White whilst I’ve been working. No sure of reason – someone suggested wireless mouse could be the reason.
Any ideas?
Regards
Twitter: Thaivisak
I Complete All and Work Thank you for help me
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The next thing I would have done is to buy a new one
) Which makes me think: isn’t it a superficial decision? Every time something wrecks, I go and buy myself a new one – especially if it’s older than 3 years. Should I try to fix things, like you did?
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Oh my god thank you! The second part totally worked for me.
Totally worked. Thank you!!!
We are on vacation, currently in Mexico. My daughter’s MacBook pro got this “white screen of death”. Used first option, worked just great. Thanks for just awesome tip.
I am so happy I found this page!!! I have had Macs for 16 yrs and never once had just a white screen come up with nothing else. My MacPro had been giving me some fits after it was dismantled and moved twice while having the office painted and recarpeted. I was worried about this, but it “seemed” okay. Then I had some weird happenings. Two drive bays “seemed” to stop working, drives gone from desktop and did not want to return. Drives were fine. I remember some Pram zapping, Photoshop going wonky, etc. I thought I had it running well again after unloading files….but then this morning….white screen. I panicked and ordered a new iMac and for some reason decided to Goggle White Screen AND YOU SAVED Me!!! New iMac is cancelled long with RAM order. Hopefully, my 4½ yr old desktop will serve me some more time. Thank you so much!!
Twitter: kusalaknits
JUST bought a new Mac and did a software upgrade and I got a white screen. Having been a PC user forever… I kinda started freaking out. Thank you SO much!!
thank u sooo much, u saved my lifeeeee!! i was scared i would loose everything.
omg the second one worked
Twitter: berget
That’s awesome
Thanks a lot for the feedback.
Thank you so much – this worked a treat. You’ve made my day
Tried both steps for an imac with the question-mark folder. Neither worked. Also tried to use another mac via firewire, still get nothing to pop up, although when a disk was inserted was able to read that from the 2nd mac. Going to the mac store to hopefully pull the files off which weren’t backed up.. (not my computer btw I have 1TB external on my pc)
meh. For what was paid for the computer not worth it at all. Could have just swapped out the HD if it were a pc, instead I forsee a timestaking difficult and expensive process.
Twitter: berget
That’s not good. I’m sorry that my description didn’t work. The fix I described work for me. And I was so happy when it did.
I hope the store will fix it for you, or at least pull the files.
I’m sitting here right now amazed my mac looks like it’s starting back up and i’m so happy that this worked cause i saved my self the trouble of going all the way to a mac store, thanks alot
Twitter: berget
That’s awesome. Thanks a lot for the feedback
Twitter: rebekahzjones
Thank you! Tried option #2 and everything’s booting up just fine… whew! Bookmarking this in case it ever happens again!
I tried the second step first & it didn’t work. So I did it exactly
Like you did and it worked! Thank you!!!
Hi,
My iMac just white screen’ed it was odd, I have had apps not responding before but nothing that could be considered equal to the BSOD on a windows pc. I was just browsing the web and bang white screen.
Being an ex windows user there was no panic, just a WTF moment then after trying all possible key combinations, I just flicked the wall switches off and then on again and all seemed to work….
Why did this happen and is it likely to happen again?
I got the white screen of death yesterday. I turned it off and on several times and didn’t help. But when I unplugged the power cord and replugged it, it started up just fine. BUT, to play it safe, I backed up all my files off my computer.
just wanted to say thanks! I was having a mini heart attack : )
Oh my lord! Thank you so much for sharing. Thought my iMac was a goner till I came across this post. I found restarting the Ram was all it needed. Many thanks!
Hannah
Thank you, thank you, thank you! It worked!! And I am SOOOO relieved.
Twitter: berget
Hi Maggie,
I’m so glad I could help. I remember the feeling I had when I experienced this
Uuuufffffff…….
Thanks sooooo much!!
Twitter: gencastelino
Your tips saved my life this morning. Thank you:)
Twitter: berget
That’s awesome Gen. Thanks a lot for the feedback
Twitter: aulloac
Thanks for your help!. I tried everything last night and did not work. Reseting the SMC solved everything and our imac is running smoothly!
pressed the option key it worked
Will i lose my files if i do this “Resetting PRAM and NVRAM” thingy?
I am a graphic designer and cannot lose my work.
Twitter: berget
As far as I know you won’t lose any files. But, it’s a long time since I did this on my iMac. It worked great, but again I can’t say that it works for everyone and this is just based upon my experience.
Good luck.
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Twitter: seojus1
Happy to hear that you got it fixed. I am very familiar with the blue screen of death, on the PC, but never heard of the white screen before. Just realized that this post is years old, sorry ‘-(. I do not have much experience with a mac, but have always thought that they were very very stable. Since installing Windows 7 Ultimate, I have had no issues at all with my PC.
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Twitter: berget
You don’t have to be sorry. I remember the day like it happened five minutes ago. I was certain that my (brand new) iMac was beyond fixing, and it was a terrible feeling. That’s the only time I’ve experienced it, and I hope I’ll never experience it again
Twitter: admirestudios
Second one works for my iMac! First white screen in four years!
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Twitter: berget
That’s great that it works, thank you for the feedback
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I have a 5 year old Imac with the white screen of death!! I had a new hard drive and extra ram installed not 5 months ago. All of a sudden my mouse freezes, then upon rebooting, the white screen of death! Ive tried all types of shut down procedures with no results, unplugged all night, unplugged for 1 minute, when I plug in then press on button the chime sounds but goes right to white screen. Help!!!
Twitter: berget
Hi Rob,
I am sorry to hear about your problems. I am not sure what to do, other than using the methods I tried to fix my iMac. Maybe someone else here can help you? You could contact support at a forum for Apple, have you done that?
I remember how frustrating it was to get the white screen, I was certain that I had to buy a new iMac. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you.
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I did the first step and second but and I also re install the cd and it got my computere working thank you, because I already call apple and I was advice to take to one of their repair shopts
Twitter: berget
That’s awesome Pete. Thanks a lot for the feedback
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Delighted to find this post. While installing a new driver we had a power cut. Later, pressing the power switch had no effect. Completely dead. Thought I’d change the power cord. Tried the power button again and heard the with some relief the boot sound – but then nothing more than a white screen. So after I got over the feeling that life’s not worth living, I searched for solutions and found your post.
Thanks for your advice. Life’s worth living again. You’re a star!
Twitter: berget
That’s awesome. Thank you so much for the feedback, I’m really glad I could help
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cheers mate saved my life
Delighted to find this post. While installing a new website we had a power cut. Later, pressing the power switch had no effect. Completely dead. Thought I’d change the power cord. Tried the power button again and heard the with some relief the boot sound. So after I got over the feeling that life’s not worth living, I searched for solutions and found your post.
Thanks for your advice. Life’s worth living again.
Thanks for your advice. Life’s worth living again. You’re a star!
Thank you! It worked…
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Twitter: PnkShop
Thank you for your solution. I had problem same you.
Thank a lot. Try option #2 and everything’s booting up just fineThe second part totally worked for me.
i think about that, it’scool.
Thank a lot
Thanks a lot.
Thanks for saving the day. Your steps solved our problem. Thanks for sharing.
I hope someone is still reading this post… I have the new MacBook Pro only 3 months old and I’ve tried both solutions to no avail… I’ve had problems booting up since day one–really–since day one. I do believe I have a lemon! Anyways, do anyone know of a third possible solution?
When trying the first solution, I do not get a second chime; it opens a window allowing me to restore from my time machine, startup disk, and two other options. I’m this close to restoring it but my time machine was in the process of backing up when it crapped out. It actually didn’t crap out, it locked up for the longest time so I turned it off–when I turned it back on, White Screen.
Thank you in advance…
I had problems with my iMac too, I was so anxious to sell it. It’s annoying to pay lots of money for something and then realize it has bugs.
Twitter: berget
I have only had one problem with my iMac, and that was a long time ago, but at the time, I was so frustrated and I remember it like it happened yesterday