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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > my macbook doesn't boot

my macbook doesn't boot
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Ham Sandwich
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Nov 23, 2006, 08:07 AM
 
My macbook doesn't boot into os x!
yesterday it was just working fine alright but this morning when I tried to open it the screen stays at the gray-boot-screen.. and the apple logo doesn't appear (which indicates the booting of osx, if i'm not mistaken).
Someone help my black macbook please!
     
romeosc
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Nov 23, 2006, 09:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by drqoo3512 View Post
My macbook doesn't boot into os x!
yesterday it was just working fine alright but this morning when I tried to open it the screen stays at the gray-boot-screen.. and the apple logo doesn't appear (which indicates the booting of osx, if i'm not mistaken).



Someone help my black macbook please!


Try booting from DVD
     
ghporter
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Nov 23, 2006, 04:05 PM
 
We'll start by moving this to the right forum....

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Photo678
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Nov 24, 2006, 05:26 PM
 
Here we go....
mine just did this....booting from dvd showed no drive..thus the drive died..in for repair now....seems that this is going to start happening more and more...

Did everything i could to try to get the drive working without luck. target mode didnt work, and as I said, booting to the dvd didnt show the hard drive...after calling applecare and trying everything, it was determined the drive was dead....yay for not backing anything up on a new computer and losing a few months of work.
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 25, 2006, 02:11 AM
 
Did you reset the PMU?
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Ham Sandwich
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Nov 25, 2006, 02:52 AM
 
What is PMU?
     
Photo678
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Nov 25, 2006, 03:13 AM
 
reset the pram...reset the pmu...tried booting into every mode possible.....booted to dvd....drive didn't show...applecare tech said, as I suspected dead drive.
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 25, 2006, 04:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by drqoo3512 View Post
What is PMU?
Power Management Unit.

Originally Posted by Photo678 View Post
reset the pram...reset the pmu...tried booting into every mode possible.....booted to dvd....drive didn't show...applecare tech said, as I suspected dead drive.
Good stuff. Did you try reseating your hard drive and cable?

I find it odd that you didn't get a flashing hard drive and question mark. Looks like the thing went belly up huh? When you booted into the install DVD you verified the lack of a hard drive with Disk Utility and not the installer, correct?

EDIT: Pardon me, I guess it's called an SMC now.
( Last edited by stefanicotine; Nov 25, 2006 at 04:48 AM. )
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Photo678
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Nov 25, 2006, 02:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by stefanicotine View Post
Power Management Unit.



Good stuff. Did you try reseating your hard drive and cable?

I find it odd that you didn't get a flashing hard drive and question mark. Looks like the thing went belly up huh? When you booted into the install DVD you verified the lack of a hard drive with Disk Utility and not the installer, correct?

EDIT: Pardon me, I guess it's called an SMC now.
I did try reseating the drive, and unplugged and replugged in the cable as well...and yes verified the lack of drive through disk utility on the dvd....there was a flashing folder with a question mark, it just took a good 10 minutes to show up.

weeeee...heheh
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 25, 2006, 04:43 PM
 
Dang, that really sucks. It's still under warranty though, so at least the fix is free.
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Photo678
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Nov 26, 2006, 12:22 AM
 
Originally Posted by stefanicotine View Post
Dang, that really sucks. It's still under warranty though, so at least the fix is free.
Yeah i was pretty ticked at first, mostly because of everything i lost...but a lesson learned. And all covered under warranty so its in getting fixed now as well as getting the top case replaced for the staining...so it will be like new when i get it back.
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 26, 2006, 05:28 AM
 
Speaking of staining... Do you know how badly the MacBooks stain, aside from the discoloration issue? My white MacBook should be here some time this week. I'm curious to know if it's something that will inevitably present itself.
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Photo678
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Nov 26, 2006, 03:57 PM
 
mine wasn't all that bad and it was a week 21 book and i used it everyday...it was only noticeable in certain light. Some that I have seen on the net were really bad, and some not so bad at all....i guess it just depends, and if yours is a newer one i would think it would be a nonissue.
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 26, 2006, 04:38 PM
 
I'll just have to keep those dang Cheetos away from my precious MacBook!
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Photo678
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Nov 30, 2006, 04:11 PM
 
so got my book back today.....they replaced the bezels, top case, keyboard, hard drive (upgraded me to an 80gb)...looks like the logic board and heat sink were replaced as well.....GO apple
     
Panz
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Nov 30, 2006, 06:35 PM
 
wow thats a nice little repair job they did for you, still i guess you had the inconvenience of being without it for few days though
     
frankthetank966
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Nov 30, 2006, 07:48 PM
 
wow that sucks... i had this problem too.
     
thenextstopwillbe
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Nov 30, 2006, 07:58 PM
 
my macbook doesn't like to boot when running from the battery sometimes. i press the power button, hear the dvd drive spin up, the light on the front of the case comes on(solid, not flashing) then nothing. it's only a couple weeks old and everything else seems to be working fine. once i plug in the adapter, it boots correctly. anyone have any thoughts?
( Last edited by thenextstopwillbe; Nov 30, 2006 at 07:59 PM. Reason: added more info)
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 30, 2006, 11:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by thenextstopwillbe View Post
my macbook doesn't like to boot when running from the battery sometimes. i press the power button, hear the dvd drive spin up, the light on the front of the case comes on(solid, not flashing) then nothing. it's only a couple weeks old and everything else seems to be working fine. once i plug in the adapter, it boots correctly. anyone have any thoughts?
Stupid question, I know, but your battery isn't dead is it?
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thenextstopwillbe
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Nov 30, 2006, 11:16 PM
 
yes, fully charged. the problem is sporadic. after posting earlier it's been working fine. i've restarted several times on battery power and it came up normally. it's strange.
     
stefanicotine
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Nov 30, 2006, 11:24 PM
 
First things first, reset the SMC (I called it a PMU earlier, but that's wrong. Since the release of the Intel processor, the name has changed):

-------------------------------------------
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.
-------------------------------------------

You'll have to reset your date and time preferences.

This may or may not fix the issue, but it is the first recommended step when a startup problem is present.
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kikkoman
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Dec 1, 2006, 11:40 AM
 
My hard drive died as well. Fortunately I did not loose anything. All my important data is on my Power Mac. Apple sent me a new hard drive overnight. I swapped it out myself. It's very easy to do.
     
thenextstopwillbe
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Dec 1, 2006, 03:42 PM
 
ok, i tried reseting the smc following your directions. however, when i started the macbook back up, the time and date preferences remained the same. does this mean the reset didn't work?
     
greggomer
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Dec 2, 2006, 03:24 AM
 
Try this

Start the MacBook while holding down the shift key. If this works, then it's probably a conflict with QuickTime 7.1, it is incompatible with some 3rd party start up items on the intel macs.

The first thing to do is to install the QuickTime 7.1.1 update, it's got a fix for this issue.
     
mangacool
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Dec 2, 2006, 12:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by thenextstopwillbe View Post
my macbook doesn't like to boot when running from the battery sometimes. i press the power button, hear the dvd drive spin up, the light on the front of the case comes on(solid, not flashing) then nothing. it's only a couple weeks old and everything else seems to be working fine. once i plug in the adapter, it boots correctly. anyone have any thoughts?
Try resetting the power management unit first. If that doesn't work request a replacement battery. If that doesn't work either then you need a new logic board.
     
   
 
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