Chosen Solution

I know this is a common problem, with many other questions on here pertaining to Macbook Pro’s that shut down while booting up. But in this situation, there is an interesting twist that seems a bit more uncommon. It seems if while booting up, I hold down any key continuously, the machine boots up and stays running. However, if I do not hold down a key, it will shut down after 10-30 seconds. Or if I release the key after a few minutes, then it shuts off. I’ve been trying to install OS X on a drive, but with it shutting down during install, it’s a challenge. Is it possible that something with the keyboard is causing the issue? Would replacing the keyboard potentially fix the boot up problem? Seems weird, as the keyboard is working (in that I can type, hit command key combos and such). But like I said, if I hold a key down it will boot and stay running, but with no key held down, the system will shut itself down. Hoping there’s some short or something being caused by the keyboard, and that the problem isn’t a faulty logic board. Anyone have any experience with this same kind of issue?

The problem of the MBP shutting down during boot was due to a faulty keyboard. I replaced the keyboard with a new one, and now it runs like new. Someone had previously spilled some liquid on it, because it was sticky and nasty when I ripped out the old KB. I’m guessing there was a short somewhere.

I think your over focused on the keyboard here. I suspect you really have a drive issue as the OS can’t load as it’s finding it is bad. So when you hold the keyboard you’re just interrupting the boot process. Lets diagnose the drive which is the first thing I would do here. Do you have access to a second Mac? If you do you can try connecting the two together via a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable and booting up your MacBook Pro in Target mode. If you don’t have the needed cable you could create a bootable USB thumb drive to boot your system up. Then run Disk Utility from the other system or via the USB thumb drive. I would recommend you download the OS installer and copy it over to the thumb drive as you may need to re-install it. Given the state of your drive I suspect recovery services (either) would help you here. Update (05/22/2016) Once you put the drive in and it still has problems you’ll need to swap out the SATA drive cable. Follow this IFIXIT guide: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive Cable Replacement and you’ll need this version of the cable: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable, Apple P/N: 923-0104

Facing a similar issue with a MBP, late 2012 retina. Replaced the battery the other night, and it booted up fine. Used laptop for a bit as normal, and charged it up to 100%, then shut it down. The next day, went to use it and it wouldn’t boot. Apple logo displays, and progress bar would start moving, but would shut down after 10-15 seconds. And fans were whirring louder than usual.

  • Holding down any key on the keyboard, I can get into a Safe Boot mode.
  • As soon as they keyboard key is released, the laptop will shut back down within a few seconds.
  • With the SSD removed, it will flash a file folder with ? on it…and it stays that way until I shut it down.
  • Holding down “T”, I can get into Target Disk mode, and access the drive from another Mac.