13" Macbook Pro Beeps Black Screen on Startup

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13" Macbook Pro Beeps Black Screen on Startup

Hi all,

My 2 month old 13" Macbook pro won't startup and I get a series of beeps and optical disc noise at start-up.

My only modification to the machine is the addition of an intel X25 SSD drive that I have had installed since day 2 and two 2GB sticks of ram with no problems whatsoever.

Yesterday, I ran the battery down all the way until the machine turned itself off (I guess it went to sleep or some hibernation mode).

I plugged the MPB in and charged it over night. Woke up this morning and the charge light showed green.

I tried turning it on and all I got were some beeps (longish) and the optical drive sounds like it is making some noise, but there is no disk in the drive. The beeps/optical drive noise seem to just cycle on and off and the machine never boots up.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

iMac 2.66 GHz 4GB; VMware Fusion 2.04; XP Pro, Vista; MBA RevA 2GB; MPB 13" TBA, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Sep 2, 2009 4:45 PM

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Answer 1

Mac-Medic

Level 6

17,301 points

Sep 2, 2009 5:44 PM in response to Big_D_PC

Sounds like you may have some bad RAM.

Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

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Answer 2

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Sep 2, 2009 5:48 PM in response to Big_D_PC

Remove and then reseat the RAM and see whether that makes any difference.

How many times in succession does the machine beep on startup?

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Answer 3

Big_D_PC Author

Level 1

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Sep 3, 2009 1:50 PM in response to eww

Thanks for the replies. I'm on vacation at the moment and don't have the proper tools to remove the aluminum cover to get at the RAM.

Upon startup I hear a beep folowed by the optical (DVD) drive making some noise as if it wants to read a DVD but there is nothing in the drive. Then I get another beep followed by the optical drive noise. This happens cyclically like this indefinitely. I am using the laptop to charge my iphone. While it's beeping/cd drive is making noise I can still charge my iphone, so I think the battery is ok.

Thanks again for you help!

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Answer 4

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Sep 3, 2009 2:42 PM in response to Big_D_PC

Does it do the same thing if you unplug the iPhone before trying to turn the MBP on?

A single beep at startup normally indicates that no RAM is installed.

Message was edited by: eww

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Answer 5

Big_D_PC Author

Level 1

0 points

Sep 4, 2009 12:39 PM in response to eww

Actually, yes it behaves the same way whether the iphone is plugged in or not. The cycle is beep/optical drive noise (like its trying to read a DVD or cd) and that repeats indefinitely.

Thanks for the response.

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