figgy_scott

Q: Three beeps booting from cd but not regular boot up?

I have a good number of bad sectors on the internal hd of my Macbook Pro, so I want to run disk ultilty/repair from the Snow Leopard boot cd.  Trying to boot from the cd (either by pressing "c" or pressing "alt" and choosing the cd on startup) shows the Apple logo but goes no farther, and produces a repetition of three beeps.  Looking at other posts it seems that three beeps are an indicator of bad memory, but why would I not get the beeps on regular startup (not booting from a cd)?  Does the three beeps mean something else in this situation?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 1, 2012 9:44 AM

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Q: Three beeps booting from cd but not regular boot up?

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  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 1, 2012 9:50 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 9 (53,773 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2012 9:50 AM in response to figgy_scott

    Three beeps indicates bad RAM. The problem with the RAM might not being showing up all the time. I have had RAM problems with only would show up part of the time.

     

    Allan

  • by figgy_scott,

    figgy_scott figgy_scott Sep 1, 2012 9:55 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 1, 2012 9:55 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    I really don't think it is a problem with the RAM.  I consistently get the beeps when trying to boot from cd but have never had the beeps booting normally.  I've tried going back and forth at least four times today alone with no beeps booting normally.

  • by Allan Eckert,Helpful

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 1, 2012 9:57 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 9 (53,773 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2012 9:57 AM in response to figgy_scott

    Is the CD the correct one for that Mac?

     

    Allan

  • by wjosten,Helpful

    wjosten wjosten Sep 1, 2012 10:11 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 10 (94,615 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2012 10:11 AM in response to figgy_scott

    What version of OS X did your computer ship with? Exactly, what Snow Leopard disk are you trying to use? If you have a 2011 model that shipped with Snow Leopard & are trying to boot using a retail Snow Leopard disk, that's most likely your problem.

  • by figgy_scott,

    figgy_scott figgy_scott Sep 1, 2012 10:19 AM in response to wjosten
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 1, 2012 10:19 AM in response to wjosten

    I bought my computer last year, so yes, the Snow Loepard disk might have been from my previous Macbook.  If I buy Mountain Lion (had already been planning on doing so), would I be able to boot from that cd to run the disk utility?

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 1, 2012 10:23 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 9 (53,773 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2012 10:23 AM in response to figgy_scott

    Mountain Lion doesn't come with a CD.

     

    You download it from the App Store.

     

    With Mountain Lion, the CD is now a Recovery Partition on your hard drive. To reach you boot with the command and R keys depressed.

     

    Allan

  • by wjosten,

    wjosten wjosten Sep 1, 2012 10:21 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 10 (94,615 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2012 10:21 AM in response to figgy_scott

    You can only boot from the disk that shipped with your computer, that's why you get the three beeps.

  • by Shootist007,

    Shootist007 Shootist007 Sep 1, 2012 10:52 AM in response to figgy_scott
    Level 6 (16,660 points)
    Sep 1, 2012 10:52 AM in response to figgy_scott

    If you are now running Lion boot the computer and hold down the Command+r keys. That will boot you directly to the Lion Recovery HD partition. That is IF that partition is still on your internal drive and it can be booted. As you say the drive is showing errors it may not boot properly.

     

    In the case that it doesn't boot to the Recovery HD you can use Internet Recovery. That is where your system is booted from over the internet.

    Hold down the Command+Option/Alt+r keys until you see a Spinning Globe in the center of the screen. Once that has loaded you can use Disk Utility to check the drive and repair it if it can be repaired. Or you may need a New drive if it can't be repaired.