I have no idea what just happened to my macbook pro. I haven't updated it in foreverrrrrrrrrrr, so I went to update my leopard to version 10.5 (or something like that, it's Leopard). Eventually it said something like the update couldn't be installed because the "source" was bad and told me to restart. So I re-started, but now the screen keeps going gray! And it just keeps telling me to re-start it over and over. The screen says "Mac OS version: not yet set" and something about kernel versions and I have no idea what to do!
I got this in 2007 and don't have any of the software with me anymore. Am I totally screwed? Please help. 😟
No software? If you have your Leopard disk or could borrow a full retail disc from a friend, you could try booting from that to repair your boot disk and then try the software update again. Be sure there are no errors that Disk Utility cannot repair, and be sure that the SMART status is verified.
If you have access to an Apple Store, they could probably do this for you. They could repair the boot disk and then install the OS and bring it up to date.
It's possible that you hard drive is going south, especially if it is the original. The average useful life of a notebook drive is 3-5 years, and if you have the original drive, it is in this range. If so, you will need to replace it.
If you had your original system discs, I would advise you to run the extended version of the Apple Hardware Test, but it sounds like you can't do this. However, the Apple Store can boot from their store feed and run a very comprehensive hardware test on your Mac.
Have you thought about upgrading to Snow Leopard? You can buy the retail disc for $29. That would give you a disc to boot from. If you decide to do that, navigate to Disk Utility first and repair your boot disk and check to see that SMART is verified. If all is well, you can upgrade your OS and hopefully cure your current problems, which I am guessing are mostly due to the failed attempt at updating the OS. It almost sounds like the machine is somewhere between what it originally had and what it was trying to install. Are you getting the screen that says to restart your computer in several languages? If so, you are having repeated kernel panics, which could be caused by either hardware or software.
I think you will either need to make an appointment at the genius bar to get this resolved, or else obtain some sort of a disc to boot from so you can evaluate and repair your boot disk.
No software? If you have your Leopard disk or could borrow a full retail disc from a friend, you could try booting from that to repair your boot disk and then try the software update again. Be sure there are no errors that Disk Utility cannot repair, and be sure that the SMART status is verified.
If you have access to an Apple Store, they could probably do this for you. They could repair the boot disk and then install the OS and bring it up to date.
It's possible that you hard drive is going south, especially if it is the original. The average useful life of a notebook drive is 3-5 years, and if you have the original drive, it is in this range. If so, you will need to replace it.
If you had your original system discs, I would advise you to run the extended version of the Apple Hardware Test, but it sounds like you can't do this. However, the Apple Store can boot from their store feed and run a very comprehensive hardware test on your Mac.
Have you thought about upgrading to Snow Leopard? You can buy the retail disc for $29. That would give you a disc to boot from. If you decide to do that, navigate to Disk Utility first and repair your boot disk and check to see that SMART is verified. If all is well, you can upgrade your OS and hopefully cure your current problems, which I am guessing are mostly due to the failed attempt at updating the OS. It almost sounds like the machine is somewhere between what it originally had and what it was trying to install. Are you getting the screen that says to restart your computer in several languages? If so, you are having repeated kernel panics, which could be caused by either hardware or software.
I think you will either need to make an appointment at the genius bar to get this resolved, or else obtain some sort of a disc to boot from so you can evaluate and repair your boot disk.
