Q: MBP Freezing on Start Up (Spinning Gear) - tried Safe boot, boot from OS disc, etc.
Hi All -
I've been reading and reviewing as much information as possible about troubleshooting an issue on my MBP and I cannot figure out a solution. I am a fairly technical person so I've tried all the typical troubleshooting steps and again - no solution. It seems there have been lots of similar issues for people but I'm yet to find a good answer for my machine.
Computer:
Early 2008 Macbook Pro (15.4"); 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo; 4GB RAM; OSX 10.7.4 (Lion)
Problem:
On a typical reboot, my machine began freezing during the start up process. At the grey screen with the apple logo and spinning gear, it goes on for a few minutes as if starting normally and then always freezes. I've read that this appears to be a video card issue and while I agree I can't figure out how to fix it. Many people suggest that this is due to the "automatic" video switching with the video card, but my machine has no option to change a similar setting.
Troubleshooting:
- Tried booting off an OSX disc (Leopard and Snow Leopard) - still freezes at same spot with spinning gear
- Tried booting from Recovery HD - still freezes at same spot with spinning gear
- Tried booting in Safe boot - freezes on spinning gear at start up
- Tried resetting the PRAM and then booting normally
- Tried combinations of all the above with the power unplugged, the battery out, holding the power button to clear the RAM, etc.
I have ONLY been able to get my computer to boot by doing the following:
- Start up while resetting PRAM
- Upon second startup chime (after PRAM reset) hold Shift for Safeboot start up - this works though often times it boots with the display flickering and pink flourecent coloring
OR
- Starting the computer while holding CMD+S for a command line boot
Does anyone have any idea what I can try? Do I need to replace the video card? If so, should I just use a standard replacement video card? Is it better to try going back to an older version OSX such as Snow Leopard?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), Early 2008
Posted on May 28, 2012 5:25 PM