White screen cannot boot up

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White screen cannot boot up

I have a 15 month old 13" mac book pro. It is bootcamped to also work with Windows 7. Upon starting I get the apple logo on a white screen.It will not boot. I've tried using the SMC reset, the PRAM reset but no joy. Holding down the control key does not reveal any drives other than the internet. When connected to the internet an error message come on. I've inserted the install DVD and tried to back up from time machine but it cannot find a destination drive. Also when tryinmg to install SL it cannot find a destination drive. I've even removed the hard disk to see if that makes any difference - it does not.

Does this mean my HD is fried? Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 23, 2012 4:51 AM

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Answer 1

Shootist007

Level 6

16,703 points

Aug 23, 2012 5:00 AM in response to Degsie

It is the Option key not the control key.

Try holding down the Option key and see if you get the screen that lists both the Macintosh HD and your Windows partition to select from.

Yes your drive could be bad. Drives last as long as they last. There is no Set Time to when they will fail, but they will always fail. That is the nature of the beast.

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Answer 2

Degsie Author

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Aug 23, 2012 5:23 AM in response to Shootist007

Thanks but the Option key does not show the HD drive.

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Answer 3

Shootist007

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Aug 23, 2012 5:30 AM in response to Degsie

Sorry what do you mean the Option key doesn't show the HD drive?

You should get a One Time Boot Menu screen like this one.

That lists all bootable volumes connected to your Mac.

If you don't see any drives then the drive is bad.

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Answer 4

Degsie Author

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Aug 23, 2012 5:32 AM in response to Shootist007

I only get the option of the internet, no drives.

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Answer 5

Degsie Author

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Aug 23, 2012 5:33 AM in response to Degsie

And I did mean the Option key and not the Control key earlier.

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Answer 6

Shootist007

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16,703 points

Aug 23, 2012 5:36 AM in response to Degsie

Then the internal drive is bad and the system can't read from it.

But it may not be the drive as there have been many reports of the cable that goes from the drive to the logic board going bad. The only way to tell if it is the drive or the cable is to remove the drive from the system and connect it to the system with a SATA to USB adapter and then do the same Option key boot and see if the drive is seen when connected to the system by USB port. If it isn't then the drive is bad and you need a new one.

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Answer 7

Shootist007

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Aug 23, 2012 5:39 AM in response to Degsie

Degsie wrote:

And I did mean the Option key and not the Control key earlier.

Ok but all I knew was what you typed. You typed Control key.

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Answer 8

Degsie Author

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Aug 23, 2012 5:50 AM in response to Shootist007

If I connect my 1TB external hard drive (contains time machine) to the USB port, should it also show up when I press the option key on start up?

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Answer 9

Shootist007

Level 6

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Aug 23, 2012 6:11 AM in response to Degsie

If the TM backup was created with Lion installed it should of copied the Recovery HD over to the backup drive then yes it would show up on that screen.

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Answer 10

Degsie Author

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Aug 23, 2012 6:24 AM in response to Shootist007

I do not see the TM drive, only internet and the DVD drive (install disk inside - won't eject), however the TM does show up when looking to back up when going through install.

I don't know if TM was created with Lion (I thought I was running leopard) or not. How can I tell? I have another mac book pro that is working fine. Can I create something on my external HD using the other mac book and then see if it registers?

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Answer 11

Shootist007

Level 6

16,703 points

Aug 23, 2012 6:29 AM in response to Degsie

If your Mac is 15 months old then it came with Snow Leopard and if you never upgraded to Lion then the TM backup does not contain any bootable system on it. That was included with Lion.

So your only option is to Remove the drive and check it like I discribed above or just replace it.

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