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User profile for user: MattKiki
MattKiki Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Macbook Pro 17" mid 2009 shuts down on startup

Macbook Pro 17" start acting up few weeks ago. It shuts down at start up. I have to press power button many times to turn it on. I red few posts regarding this problem, and most of them are saying that its HD fault. I've just did fresh install of Mountain Lion with hope it will fix the HD, but I guess it didn't fix anything. Is it possible that SuperDrive is at fault? The reason is that SuperDrive stoped reading CD/DVDs since few months ago. What do I have to do before I replace 500 GB HDD?


Thanks in advance to everyone.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 17, 2012 1:31 PM

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46 replies
User profile for user: marcusalles
marcusalles
User level: Level 1
8 points

Sep 17, 2017 6:32 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I have the same issue as everyone here and have replaced the Hard Drive with an SD and also a new battery with no luck. Since Apple doesn't know how to fix its own machines for some reason and we are all experiencing this issue with the same machines, I can only conclude that Apple has somehow built in the "death" of these machines in hopes we buy new ones. It makes no sense and when the computer is up and running - it works great. It's ridiculous to throw away a perfectly good computer because of some strange power issue. I can't even sell this thing now because it's so unreliable.

What is also very strange is that when the issue starts, I'm forced to start up the machine in recovery mode which works perfectly. Then I do a disk repair with no issues found and a disk permissions repair then select the startup and restart. The machine works perfectly after all that.

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
126,949 points

Aug 17, 2012 2:13 PM in response to MattKiki

Ok, that is different. It is getting lost while starting up.


This WILL be fixed by replacing the Hard Drive and everything on it. But I liken that to fixing a flat tire by buying a new car.


What happens when you hold down the Option key at Startup? Does it drawn an Icon for each possibly-bootable Volume?


Do you have any Installer/Utilities DVD's, like the one that shipped with the computer?

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User profile for user: MattKiki
MattKiki Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Aug 18, 2012 1:46 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yes, it shows up icons for botable volumes when I hold Option key at start up. I've tried to lunch AHT by presing D on start up, but it didn't work.


I do have initial DVDs for 10.5.8 that came with Macbook Pro when I bough it. But I've downloaded Mountain Lion through Apple Store and I don't have any ML DVDs.


This morning it started up after third (3) try... that is good. I usually have to press Power buton for many times.

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
126,949 points

Aug 18, 2012 8:20 AM in response to MattKiki

You can also try to boot from an old Installer/Utilities DVD. (you demonstrated you can get option-boot to work)


Answer only the "what language" question and wait for the menuBar to be drawn.


Choose Disk Utility off the Utilities menu or the Installer menu (depending on version). Select your Hard drive and "Repair Disk". An old version cannot fully repair the newest features, but it may make enough improvements that you can make some progress.


"A Mac that cannot boot from an appropriate Installer/Utilities DVD has a Hardware problem."

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User profile for user: The hatter
The hatter
User level: Level 9
60,980 points

Aug 21, 2012 12:06 PM in response to MattKiki

Maybe if you had checked into how to use and repair your system, what to do to reset the system board, and the things that can and do go wrong - PCs are not immune they are different. Notebooks have more trouble with disk drive failures and heat they have to contend with.


Posting in the forum for MacBook Pro is a good start.


MacBook Prohttps://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro

https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro


Mac OS X Help

Isolating Issues in Mac OS

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388


https://www.apple.com/support/osx/

https://www.apple.com/support/quickassist/

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/tour/


Get Help with your Product

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304725


TimeMachine 101

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427


Mac OS X & Mountain Lion Community

https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os

https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/os_x_mountain_lion?view=discussio ns


Lion Recovery Mode


ExpressLane

https://expresslane.apple.com/


Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310


--------------------

Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on

https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367

---------------------

Symptoms

If your Macintosh computer won't turn on, here's how to troubleshoot it. Please keep in mind that although your computer may display similar symptoms that prevent it from showing video, this article discusses what to do if the computer won't turn on, meaning that when you press the power button:

  • You don't hear a startup chime.
  • You don't hear any fan or drive noise.
  • The power button or power indicator doesn't light up at all.
If your computer doesn't display any video, it may display one or more of these similar symptoms when you press the power button:
  • You may hear a startup chime.
  • You may hear fan or drive noise.
  • You may see the power button or power indicator light up.
If any of these conditions occurs, see Troubleshooting: My computer has no video instead.


Resolution

If your computer won't turn on, try each of these steps:
  1. Make sure that the power cord is plugged into a working wall outlet, and that it's properly connected to the power adapter. (To check if the wall socket is working, plug in a lamp or other electrical device.)
  2. Make sure that the power adapter is properly connected to the power port on the side or back of the computer.
  3. Disconnect all accessories that are plugged into the computer, such as a printer, hub, or other mobile device.
  4. Reset the computer's PMU, SMC, or PRAM. Refer to the instructions for your model:

reset SMC For "Mac wont' turn on or boot" and related

https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367

===============


General purpose Mac troubleshooting guide: Isolating issues in Mac OS X

Creating a temporary user to isolate user-specific problems: Isolating an issue by using another user account

Identifying resource hogs and other tips: Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used

Starting the computer in "safe mode": Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

To identify potential hardware problems: Apple Hardware Test

General Mac maintenance: Tips to keep your Mac in top form

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Macbook Pro 17" mid 2009 shuts down on startup

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