I need help using Voiceover to access my dead-screen MacBook Pro

August 20, 2008 4:47 PM

Anybody out there proficient with Apple OS X Voiceover, the interface for sight-impaired users? My MacBook Pro screen is completely dead but the computer is alive. I want to use Voiceover to navigate to the Sharing Preferences and turn on screen sharing so I can access the screenless computer across the network.

This is not an exercise to retrieve the data - I've got that already through regular backups and mounting the computer in target mode as well.

I've read about a few terminal commands that might help clear up my dead screen (assuming there's a software cause - this happened two weeks ago as well, but it came back after several restarts. This time, not). Also, I want to deauthorize the computer in iTunes.

I've tried connecting an external monitor - but apparently it's the entire video subsystem that's acting up, as no external monitor displays anything as well.

I know this is an obscure one, but, I'm lost having never used Voiceover before. I'm looking for step-by-step or at least a decent online tutorial to using Voiceover to click buttons etc.

posted by timwindsor to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

I can't help you with a tutorial, but voiceover can be turned out with command-F5. Good luck!
posted by nathan_teske at 4:57 PM on August 20, 2008

Best answer: The easiest way I can think of is to use VoiceOver to open Terminal, then type the following command:

echo -n enabled > /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd

That should enable Screen Sharing.
posted by Xuff at 5:04 PM on August 20, 2008

Best answer: If you can mount the computer in target mode, you can already do what Xuff suggested. (Just write to /Volumes/YourOtherMachine/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd instead.)

That's likely to be a lot easier than messing with the voice controls.
posted by xil at 5:12 PM on August 20, 2008

Or use Spotlight to access Termincal - cmd-space is the default. Type terminal, wait, press down arrow once, then hit return. Give it a couple of seconds, then type the command suggested.
posted by djgh at 5:23 PM on August 20, 2008

If you suspect that it's software, can you boot from the DVD and verify that the screen still works, say from an install disk? You wouldn't be running the installed OS then.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 5:33 PM on August 20, 2008

Response by poster: 5MeoCMP - I think it could be something a bit deeper than OS, but not quite hardware. Otherwise, why would it have come back from the dead previously? Of course, it could have been a video card doing a dead-cat bounce, but, given that I'm out of warranty on the only laptop I've ever *not* gotten the AppleCare on (ARGHH), I'm hoping this is something which can be saved without the usual Apple solution of a motherboard swap.
posted by timwindsor at 5:57 PM on August 20, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks Xuff and xii! Running that command in terminal on the mounted volume did the trick.

Now, if I can hijack my own thread, is there any way to un-flash this Mac back to its factory state? I doubt it's going to be the cause, but just to follow all paths, I wanted to see if removing firmware updates might do some good...

Thanks again everyone.
posted by timwindsor at 6:00 PM on August 20, 2008

It looks like the firmware restoration CD might be what you need.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 7:04 PM on August 20, 2008

Oh, hold on. Further reading shows that you can't use that to downgrade the firmware after a previous successful update.

Um. Your route might now look like:

- find old version of firmware
- find method of flashing old firmware without using Apple tools (that presumably verify versions and only allow upgrades)
- use Alternate Method, see if it works

or

- pay money to have someone else fix it

Sorry :-(
posted by 5MeoCMP at 7:06 PM on August 20, 2008