• Pull out the MacBook Pro magnetic power connector.
• Close the lid as if putting it away for the night.
• Reinsert the power connector
• Open the lid as if waking it up

The machine then should be ready to authenticate you to continue working.

The science behind this is wooly at best, but assumes that the MacBook Pro is in fact self aware, but lonely, and goes into a sulk if you leave it alone for too long. Pulling the plug and closing the lid puts it to sleep properly, and powering up and opening the lid again wakes it up again, as if it has had a good night’s sleep. So far it has worked every time!

For skeptical people who do not believe in anthropomorphism, try seeing the explanation as a metaphor; it does not matter if there is a poisonous snake by your foot, or if you just believe there is, your reaction is the same. Try the sequence and see if it fixes your MacBook Pro Dark Screen Problem, then let us know your explanation!

The unusual thing is, I could see that the machine was still running, as I had a second display plugged into the external graphics adaptor, and the screensaver had been showing there. Moving the mouse pointer to the second display stopped the screensaver, and I was able to successful log on, even though I could not see the main screen. This brought up the desktop on the external display, which showed that machine was still running.

After I Googled MacBook Pro Dark Screen, which showed lots of people have had the same problem, I concluded that there are a lot of expensive sounding fixes involving changing Screens, Inverters and Reed switches! I really want a simple, no cost, fix for the dark screen problem. I tried the recommended F5 keyboard backlit dim followed by F6 brighten sequence, but to no avail. I also tried a Command-Option-P-R sequence, as someone suggested that it might be a power management problem.

The idea that the MacBook Pro power management may have become confused gave me an idea. Yes I know that is anthropomorphism, but sometimes it helps to understand what is going at a higher level of abstraction, without bothering about details like facts. So having made that mental leap, I tried the following sequence:

• Repeatedly press F5 until the keyboard went dark
• Pull out the magnetic power connector.
• Close the lid as if putting the MacBook Pro away for the night.
• Open the lid and reinsert the power connector as if waking it up.

As if by magic, the machine sprang back to life and displayed the login box, and all was well. This was the first time I had experienced the dark screen without resorting to rebooting to fix it. Celebrations all round!

Now logic would suggest that pressing backlit buttons F5 and F6 could have no impact on the screen. Pulling out the magnetic power connector has never made a difference to the dreaded dark screen before, nor has closing the lid and reopening it. How about the sequence of steps, exactly as listed? Well I have never tried it before, in my recollection, so perhaps it is the sequence? We will see, next time the dark screen occurs.

In the meantime, if anybody actually knows what causes the dreaded MacBook Pro Dark Screen, or repeats my sequence and has it work for them, please let me know. You can click here to contact me via TechCo Support, or post a comment below.

Remember that all sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic! Have a Happy New Year!

1. Switch to the screen that you want to capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 3, then release all keys
3. Use your mouse to click on the screen

You will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the captured image file.

You can Print Screen (screen capture) just a portion of your screen, which is really useful if you are wanting to focus on a particular part, say an icon.

1. Switch to the application or screen where you want to screen capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 4, then release all keys
3. You will see the mouse cursor has changed to +
4. Use your mouse to select the portion you wish to capture.

You will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the screen capture image.

If you want to print screen for a particular application window you can

1. Switch to the screen that you want to screen capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 4, then release all keys
3. You will see the mouse cursor has changed to +
4. Press the space bar once
5. You will now see the mouse cursor has changed to a camera
6. Use the camera to select which application window to screen capture

As before, you will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the captured image file.

However as Windows users are used to the captured image going straight to the clipboard, you can mimic this behavior on a Mac as follows:

1. Switch to the screen that you want to capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Control + Shift + 3, then release all keys
3. Use your mouse to click on the screen

The captured image is now in the clipboard, ready to for you to paste into your chosen application.

The full list of built-in Mac Screenshot Commands are as follows: