zacster

I just installed Systm on my new to me M1 Macbook Air and all I get is a black screen when I open it. No login, no controls, nothing. This Macbook has a cracked screen so it is of course attached to a monitor, a Dell 27" UHD and that works with everything else, including Zwift. You can see my setup in the 2023/2024 Edition of Indoor setups post in this forum. I've also asked this question on the Wahoo forum but that doesn't get much traffic. I tried the support bot but that was useless. I'm just looking for an alternative to Zwift to use on occasion. I always liked The Sufferfest videos and found them more motivating than Zwift to work really hard.

Any ideas?

zacster

I tried downloading the version for Intel chips on a Mac and that worked. It may run slower than the Apple silicon version would on my M1, but it is only the startup of the app where I'd notice that, and it wasn't that slow. Once the video plays it is all in real time. The M1/M2/M3 computers are so fast that the overhead of running the emulation doesn't even matter until you start doing video editing.

I'll just use it this way unless a real solution comes up.

Alan K

Because your monitor on the computer does not work, I am assuming that your monitor is set in the mirror mode. If not, please do so. Some applications are designed to initially open on the native screen, which in your case isn’t functional.

Good luck!

zacster

I had it in mirror mode because it is the only way I could see everything. I brought the computer to Micro Center and the really knowledgeable sales guy knew right away what my problems would be. He said you have to have wired connections for a mouse, keyboard, monitor and power and start the computer in "clamshell" mode, with the lid closed. It will start this way with the monitor as the main screen. This is what you have when you use a docking station. With the wired mouse/kb you can then select mirror mode which is off by default. You can also set up a wireless kb/mouse at that point. Once you have it in mirror mode you can then use it with the lid open and use the trackpad/kb of the laptop. That was where I was when I tried Systm. I have now also tried Systm in clamshell mode and it still doesn't work.

With the Intel version I initially get a black screen, and then the sign on screen comes up, and then the full setup. With the Apple version I get the black screen but then nothing else comes up. It must be sending the rest somewhere else, likely the laptop screen even though it is closed. I'll have to look at what the displays are in the system report to see if it still has the laptop display as an option. The Rosetta2 interpreter knows what to do but the native code does not.

Alan K

Progress - I guess they don’t call their sales people Geniuses for nothing!

You should still be able to set your preferences for monitor in mirror mode even now, just the way you are using the computer currently… as far as I (a non-Apple genius) can recall.

Once set mirror mode, it should always reboot in mirror mode until you change it.

If you are handy with repairs (or adventurous), you might be able buy the monitor from another computer that has problem with the logic board and swap it out.

zacster

Ifixit has the steps needed and it is a lot of cables to move to get at the one for the monitor. Besides, I already bought the 27" 4k Dell monitor and it is a nice display. Micro Center quoted me $700 to replace the screen, I had another one done 6 months ago and it cost $500+. The monitor cost $300. For desktop use it was the cheapest option and bigger by a lot. From a display perspective it is almost as good as the 27" iMac I'm using right now but it is much faster. The thing is this MBA was my daughter's computer and now she wants one to replace it. I promised her I'd get a used one, and trying to find an M2 for a reasonable price.

zacster

I found something else to try. Apparently Apple implemented FreeSync in Monterey but the MBA had Big Sur, the prior release. I'm upgrading to Sonoma right now, the latest. Since it is technology for gaming with this monitor maybe it'll make it work. I'll find out later as the wifi isn't all that fast up where the computer is.

Worth a shot, and I always like to stay up to date. I liked when Apple named the OS after big cats, but they were running out. Pretty soon we'll be running macOS Pasadena.

Alan K

Or San Bernardino, but that would not go well with the PR department.
I personally preferred numbers so we knew exactly where a specific version stood in their lineup. After a while, I could never which cats and dogs correspond to what version.

TroyMeister

Hi! Did you manage to find out what was the problem? I'm a new Mac owner, and a lot of things are new to me, too. So now, when I see discussions related to it, I always try to ask for some info to know more in the future. And it's nice that nowadays, to find something, you can simply ask on a forum or look for some articles online. I found one good one by Setapp about uninstalling apps, and that info was so informative and useful. I added it to my saved pages just in case I need to check that info one more later. I also have a few more, so each day, I'm getting more and more familiar with my Mac.

PeteHski

I had this same issue with an M1 MacBook Air. The cracked screen in this thread is a red herring. I solved it simply by updating the OS. The earlier OS version was obviously incompatible with SYSTM and just gave a blank screen. Once I updated the Mac OS it worked fine.

zacster

Yes, that was what I did too and it worked. The older OS didn't support the FreeSync graphics acceleration built into the monitor was the one issue I identified. It may have been this or something else different in the OS. It was a series of issues that prevented me from doing the update immediately. Slower wifi, clearing the hard drive, getting my daughter her new computer since this one was hers, and taking "ownership" of it. I couldn't do anything as long as she was still the "owner" of the computer.

All is working great now, except that screen is still cracked. The Dell monitor is really nice though as a replacement.

And if you think the M1 MBA is a great computer, you should try the M2 version. I found one for my daughter and I didn't want to give it to her it was so nice. She noticed the difference immediately. They aren't that expensive either. And either the M1 or M2 makes my 27" iMac feel slow, and this iMac was blazing fast when I got it.

Polaris OBark

You can get a new M1 macbook air for $750 at Costco or Amazon.

zacster

Yea, the screen replacement quotes I got were ridiculous considering how much you can buy them for. I wouldn't buy another though. The screens on the M1 were way too fragile. You touch them the wrong way and they break. The aluminum shell doesn't protect them.

PeteHski

For clarity, the older MacOS gave a blank screen with SYSTM when using the Macbook's own display. It wasn't only external monitors.

Polaris OBark

I had a macbook air screen replacement done once, by Apple, and it cost more than $400 ten years ago. When I went to pick it up, they apologized for making me wait so long, and they gave me the repair for free.



I thought the M1 Macbook Air was essentially identical to the last-gen intel Macbook Air (which is what I currently have). I got it in 2020 weeks before the M1 version was introduced, and it has been quite good. Even the battery is still in good shape.

PeteHski

Identical on the outside, but a completely different and much more efficient processor.

zacster

It was the same form factor but not the same parts apparently. I have twins and bought each of them a MBA M1 and they both cracked their screens. They are not children either, they are in their mid 20s. Neither computer was dropped. These were way too fragile. When I looked at it online there were many complaints about them, and only with the M1 versions. The M2 MBA is a different form, more like a MacBook Pro and much beefier.

Polaris OBark

Context is everything.

I've got several other M1 and M2 computers.

He was referring to the external aluminum case and the screen.

Why do you insist on doing this all the time? Are you autistic, or just a Brithole?

PeteHski

Had a bad day? I see what you meant now and genuinely missed the context. But you can F off with your insults.

Polaris OBark

The first option was not meant to be an insult. There is a tendency, especially on the internet, not to attribute mental states to other people (or more generally, to give the other person the benefit of the doubt). The second option was meant to be a light-hearted insult; I swiped it from Greg Pallast.

Anyway, sorry!

Polaris OBark

Well, you just saved me $750 and a potential headache. I just assumed the screen was the same.

Although mine is still Intel, it works fine, and I might as well run it into the ground.

The last one I lost in August 2020 when we were fleeing a wildfire. I remember sticking it an envelope (just like Steve Jobs did, under less hectic circumstances), but I haven't seen it since.

I seem to recall mine would make a snapping noise, but I don't think it has, recently. I thought it was the hinge. Maybe it was the screen/case interface.

Polaris OBark

I just installed it on an M1 mac mini. If I try to open the binary directly from the command-line, I get a blank black screen, so I think this might be reproducing the issue. (It could also be a red herring, so apologies in advance.)

If I open it the usual way (double-clicking on the icon), in addition to the black screen, I get a popup that says "You have downloaded this from the internet. Do you really want to open it?" or whatever the warning Apple gives says. I said yes, and then it works.

If you don't have your system security set to allow installing third-party apps, try that. (Sometimes it times out and resets itself, so check.)

zacster

A new M2 MBA isn't that much more than the older M1 and it is a much better computer. I was surprised at how much faster it was, and I was already impressed by the M1's speed. Amazon had refurbs for $879 and MicroCenter had new for $989. Apple was selling refurbs for $929 if you wanted directly from Apple with their full warranty.

And let's get back to the reason we are talking about these. I'm using the MBA M1 with a cracked screen and a Dell 4K monitor to run Zwift and Wahoo Systm. It works beautifully. I'm going to use it in place of my iMac when the indoor cycling season is over, and figure out how to attach the computer to the back of the monitor so it doesn't even take up space, not that it takes that much. My one fear is that I won't want to go back to the iMac in either the cycling setup or as my primary computer when I'm ready to go back to Zwift in the fall.

zacster

I've had it working for over a month now. It worked after I upgraded the OS.

Polaris OBark

Oops. Sorry.

FWIW, this is working on M1 with MacOS 12.7.2