Macbook won't start up

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Level 1

22 points

Macbook won't start up

Recently I manually shut down the computer by holding down the power button because it wasn't responding. I have done this before, but normally every time I start it up again afterwards it starts up fine. However, after this last time, the white screen comes up with the apple symbol, but after a minute a "not allowed"
sign appears in its place and nothing else happens. I switch it off and try again - same thing. Is this permanent? Am I able to get it fixed easily at an Apple Store? Thanks for any help.

Perhaps related to this, occasionally recently my computer has been running very slowly (as in, a minute to process a mouse click). Also, sometimes it shuts down with more than 10% battery power left (only if it's not plugged in), it seems particularly if I am doing some apparently high-consumption work (such as using Garageband or opening photos, etc.).

Intel Black MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), Black MacBook

Posted on Nov 3, 2008 12:52 PM

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Answer 1

funky_pat Author

Level 1

22 points

Nov 3, 2008 2:54 PM in response to funky_pat

PLEASE ANSWER ASAP. THANKS!!!

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Answer 2

Nov 3, 2008 5:15 PM in response to funky_pat

Boot up from your install DVD. As soon as it will allow you to, go to the Menubar at the top of the screen and select Disk Utility. Use it to check and repair your hard drive via "Repair Disk".

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Answer 3

funky_pat Author

Level 1

22 points

Nov 6, 2008 7:23 PM in response to funky_pat

Well, I went to a Genius Bar and they tried starting it up while simultaneously pressing Apple+V. Some black screen came up saying error reading file. They hooked some gizmo up to my computer to see what happened. They said the hard disc broke and all of my data was gone. They said that even if it's repaired, all of my data will still be gone.

I tried your recommendation after that. Put the CD in during the white screen, nothing happened. Can't even take the CD out now.

So, is the genius right? Is there really no way to restore my thousands and thousands of lost files? Is anyone here a super genius who can prove the genius wrong?

If not, then this is ********. Apple doesn't even have a System Restore like Windows does? How the **** to compensate for random crashes like what happened here? I have most of my important documents on USB discs, I believe, but still, tons and tons of my stuff is gone. I don't get how Apple can get away with this. Until Apple puts in a System Restore like any proper OS should have, I call this grade-F ****.

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Answer 4

Nov 6, 2008 7:59 PM in response to funky_pat

Apple has Time Machine build right into the operating system, which will back up your entire hard drive to an external hard drive automatically, so that in the event something like this happens, you can restore your entire system.

An added note, system restore in windows does absolutely for you if the hard drive fails. Just FYI.

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Answer 5

Nov 7, 2008 4:10 AM in response to funky_pat

If a computer user is not backing up his or her hard drive routinely, onto another hard drive, he or she is playing Russian roulette. Every hard drive will fail at some point and all data will be lost at some point if that drive is kept in use. I think the vast majority of home users are completely oblivious to this fact because it seems there are only a small minority of them that actually have a $100 external drive to back their computer up onto. In fact, it seems that most people will pay $200 or more for extended warranties which is very expensive insurance if you think about it. You pay 1/4 to 1/5 the cost of a new computer just to guarantee a mere two more years of computer service. But the extended warranty does nothing to guarantee you will not lose any data. An external (or internal) second hard drive does though and for only $100 or so.

Your data is unique. It cannot necessarily even be replaced, at any cost, once the only copy of it is lost. You need at least two copies if it has value to you. Having 'important stuff' backed up onto CDs is nice but is nowhere near as useful as having a clone of your regular hard drive, and one that is kept up to date.

I don't mean to sound so critical but I think maybe people perhaps need to be 'yelled at' once in a while for some things to sink in. Everybody, please BUY A SECOND HARD DRIVE AND USE IT TO ROUTINELY MAKE A CLONE OF YOUR MAIN HARD DRIVE! Remember, your hard drive is going to fail. Maybe not while you own it but then again maybe. The only way it will not fail is if its use is discontinued before it fails, i.e. you upgrade your drive at an earlier date than the date it was going to fail. And don't count on a drive's MTBF rate as having any applicable meaning at all.

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Answer 6

funky_pat Author

Level 1

22 points

Nov 8, 2008 6:01 PM in response to John.Kitzmiller

I think my OS version was too old for Time Machine. But still, I realize I should've kept a backup of my harddisk, but the only reason I didn't was because I really wasn't expecting it at all. On all my computers using Windows, when it had a major crash it was because SOMETHING OBSERVABLE ****** it up, such as deleting the System 32 folder. And it crashed usually after years of use. This MacBook I've only had for 1.5-2 yrs, and my experience with Macs has been fairly good until this one time, when it apparently crashed for NO APPARENT REASON - didn't delete any file that shouldn't've been deleted, didn't download a bunch of trojan viruses, etc. So I guess I'm just wondering why the **** it happened when it did. After a certain amount of usage, does it feel like having a stroke? Did I not turn it off enough (I usually put it to sleep as opposed to turning the power off). Just would like some ideas on this so I can prevent this from happening in the future, even though in the future I WILL keep a backup at all times due to my newly gained experience and wisdom.

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Answer 7

Nov 8, 2008 10:03 PM in response to funky_pat

Your computer didn't crash, your hard drive failed. There is a huge difference.

A hard drive actually has moving parts, and just like the engine in your car, it can (and most likely will) fail at some point. For you, that happened to be sooner than later. You can't keep your hard drive from failing, but there IS one major thing you can do to prolong it's life. Don't move the computer when it's powered on. For example, a lot of students will just close the lid, putting the computer to sleep, and go from class to class. This is BAD for your hard drive.

Other than that, keep regular backups, and next time you won't be out all of your data.

Oh, and one other thing, there IS a way to get your data back, but it won't be cheap: http://www.drivesavers.com/

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