[PGTX27]

I don't actually know what caused the problem I'm having but I'm guessing it had to do with an update I loaded earlier today. I updated Safari to 3.1 around 1pm. No problems with the update and the MacBook ran just fine. I ran the security update later in the day. Maybe 4 or 5pm. Again, no problems. This evening while I was typing an email, my system froze. No response whatsoever. I tried to force quit mail.app, but I couldn't even bring up the menu using the shortcut keys. I had to hold the power button down to turn off the machine. (I waited about five minutes before manually powering down.) Here is where the real problem started.

I just get a gray screen after the start up tone. Nothing else, just the gray screen.

I have tried to boot up in "safe mode" by holding the shift key both before and after the start up tone.

I have tried holding down the "C" key before and after the tone with the Leopard install disks and the original Tiger disks that came with the machine. Again, nothing.

I have tried holding down "command-option-p-r" and it simply restarts and gives me the gray screen again. As noted in another thread, I let the machine do this three times before I let it start on it's own.

I have tried restarting holding down the "T" key, even though I have no other Mac to attach and boot from, but still nothing happens.

The only exception is when I hold down the "option" key to choose either the Mac or Windows boot disk. The only difference is that I get a cursor that I can move around on the gray screen. Nothing else happens.

Am I really screwed here? AppleCare is only open from 8-8 central time US. I need my computer tonight. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a 2.17 BLK MacBook with 2GB of Apple installed RAM. I also have the latest version of OSX and I have all of the latest firmware updates. If you need more info, please ask. Thanks in advance.

[Chuckit]

That is unfortunate. If it can't start up from a DVD or enter Target Disk Mode, that means the problem is further down than the OS. The computer should be able to boot from the DVD without a working OS or even a hard drive in it. It sounds like some kind of hardware failure. If so, you'll need to take it in for AppleCare. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I think that's the case. Sorry.

EDIT: There is one other thing. You might try removing a stick of RAM. A Google search reveals somebody with a similar problem who had a firmware password set. Changing the RAM configuration should reset the password, if I recall.

[PGTX27]

Thanks for the reply. I saw your screen name on the main post and I thought that your reply was "Chuck it". Well, my heart stopped a little. Is there some secret way to start up using the disk drive? I know that in my Windows days, the machines were very touchy and would require a very well timed key stroke when booting to get into safe mode or the bios. On Mac's, do you simply hold down the c key while you power up?

[Chuckit]

Yes, holding the C key while you power up tells it to boot from the DVD drive. And you should be able to select any drive when you hold in option. The fact that those aren't working makes it sound like something is wrong either at the firmware or hardware level, before anything on the hard disk (or any other disk) comes into play. I edited my first post with one thing you might try. It's kind of a longshot, but I guess it's worth a go.

[PGTX27]

I will try anything at this point. Thanks again, Chuck.

[Chuckit]

By the way, I'm moving this to Notebooks since I think it's not directly related to the OS.

[seanc]

Another thing you could try, is pulling the hard drive out (since it's so easy) to see if you can then boot from the optical drive. If that works then you can try putting the hard drive back in.

Can you hear any clicking or grinding from the machine (other than the optical drive)?

[PGTX27]

I spent the morning on the phone with Apple support to no avail. My machine finally recognized my optical drive but when I tried to verify the hard disk, it failed and no longer recognizes my hard drive. It seems the hard drive must have failed? The earliest appointment at the local Apple store is tomorrow. I guess I will have to wait and let them order a new drive so I don't void my warranty opening the machine myself. It's a disgusting feeling to know that I'll have to wait at least a week to get my machine back with no assurance at this point that my data will return using the Time Machine backup. I haven't had to use the backup yet, I can only hope that it lives up to Apple's hype.

[cms]

Originally Posted by PGTX27 

I haven't had to use the backup yet, I can only hope that it lives up to Apple's hype.

It does....

[PGTX27]

I spent an hour or so at the Apple store today and it turns out it was a dead hard drive just as a few of the forum members suspected. It died without warning, no sounds, no clicking, no data corruption. As for the Time Machine Backup, it does work as intended. It didn't restore all of my settings, but it did restore my files. It did not back up any of my boot camp files, even though the Apple rep I spoke with assured me it would, but it did back up the parallels settings. Unfortunately, to save disk space I used the boot camp partition to run parallels. The data loss was minimal as I try to keep my Windows work saved on my Mac partition whenever feasible. I guess I need to re-evaluate my setup and see if I can find a way to back up my Windows settings without adding additional steps to my back-up routine.

Thanks to everyone for your help. I may be a rookie member according to my post count, but I've been following the forums here since the first Titanium Powerbook came out and I knew I could rely on MacNN's users for quick and helpful replies. Have a great weekend everyone!

[longwood]

Glad everything worked out for the better for the most part.