2010 unibody 15" Macbook Pro 3 beeps after reformat

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2010 unibody 15" Macbook Pro 3 beeps after reformat

I bought a 2010 Unibody 15" Macbook Pro from an office that was closing. They had not removed their software from the Macbook and did not provide the username and password. I tried to reboot from a purchased copy of Mountain Lion and I just get to the gray apple with the spinning wheel and a repeating 3 beeps. So I booted it as a taget drive and hooked it up to my 2008 17" Macbook Pro and used Disk Utility to erase the hard drive. Then I used a purchased copy of Snow Leopard to reformat the drive. In the Target mode, it showed the installation was successful. But upon unmounting and restarting, the 15" Macbook Pro returns to the gray apple and spinning wheel and 3 beeps. Undaunted, I again started it in Target mode and hooked it back up to the 17" Macbook Pro. Again I used Disk Utility to Erase the 15" hard drive. Then I unmounted the 15" and put the Mountain Lion disk in and tried to boot the 15" from the CD. No joy! Again the gray apple, spinning wheel and the repating set of 3 beeps.

When I first got the 15 Macbook Pro, it would boot to the Username and Password screen so it looked like it had been used on a regular basis before it was sold.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.0.x)

Posted on Jan 4, 2013 6:48 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 6:55 AM in response to Wander65

The 3 beeps is usually a RAM issuse, wrong ram, bad ram, chips not seated correctly...

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Answer 2

Wander65 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 7:03 AM in response to sanjampet

So unscrewing the case and reseating the RAM chip might be the solution then? I tried the whole process again and at present the drive has been erased with no system installed. If I boot as normal, I get the gray folder with the flashing question mark. If I try to boot from any OS X disc, (I've tried 10.6, 10.5 and 10.4) I get the gray apple and the spinning wheel and 3 beeps. Does it still make sense as a RAM issue that I only get the 3 beeps when I try to book from a CD?

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Answer 3

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 7:19 AM in response to Wander65

You need to boot from the original disk that came with your machine, or a retail Snow leopard disk. The flashing ? means no bootable disk.

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Answer 4

Wander65 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 9:36 AM in response to sanjampet

I don't have the original disk because I bought the computer from an office closing and they did not include it. I do however have a retail copy of Snow Leopard. Without it, I get the folder with the question mark. Booting from the retail Snow Leopard DVD, I get the gray apple and the 3 beeps which loop continuously.

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Answer 5

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:11 AM in response to Wander65

Try booting holding the C key till you get to the install or gray screen. If you get to the install screen follow the promts to install. Al the best

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:21 AM in response to Wander65

Three beebs indicates a problem with RAM. See Attached.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2538

Take it out, clean the contacts and replace it properly making certain that it is seated firmly. If still no success, get new RAM or take it to a genius bar for verification. The correct RAM specifications for a 2010 MBP are: 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM.

Ciao.

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Answer 7

Wander65 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:24 AM in response to sanjampet

Holding the C key reproduces the same phenomena. Gray apple and 3 beeps which loop forever. In addition, I have now tried removing the 2 - 2Gb RAM chips, reversing them and restarting while holding down the C Key with the Snow Leopard DVD inserted, and putting only 1 chip in and restarting while holding down the C Key with the Snow Leopard DVD inserted. Same result. Gray apple and 3 beeps continuous.

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Answer 8

Wander65 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:32 AM in response to Wander65

Note - when I first got the computer, it booted correctly up to the login screen. So obviously it was finding the RAM it needed to get that far. The only thing I changed was to erase the hard drive. If I start it without an OSX installation CD inserted, I get the folder with the question mark which is to be expected. If I either start up with an OSX Installation disk (I've tried 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6) inserted or try to boot by holding down the C Key, I get the gray apple and the 3 beeps.

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Answer 9

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:37 AM in response to Wander65

Run an Apple hardware test. With an Internet connection start the MBP holding down the D key. If that does not work, start the MBP holding down the ALT - D keys. See what it picks up.

Ciao.

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Answer 10

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:41 AM in response to Wander65

A thought just occurred to me. Reinstall the HDD and see if the connecting cable is properly attached. That may be faulty and that is why you may be getting the question mark/folder sign.

Ciao.

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Answer 11

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 11:17 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

maybe someting in one of the embedded links?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1394

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Answer 12

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 11:22 AM in response to sanjampet

If no joy here, a trip to the genius bar, where they have that magic cable that connects to the Mothership might be in order. Best of luck

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Answer 13

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 11:41 AM in response to sanjampet

will it safe boot? Just wondering if the disk format is gonzo? Hold shift and power up.

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Answer 14

sanjampet

Level 5

7,982 points

Jan 4, 2013 11:47 AM in response to sanjampet

Have you tried a SMC? Just throwing stones now, what the **** while throwing try a pram reset:)

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Answer 15

Wander65 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 12:18 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

OGELTHORPEI'm pretty sure I'm getting the flashing question mark/folder because I set it up as a Target drive and erased the hard drive so there is no bootable system on it now. I did try the Alt D key startup and I do get to the Internet Backup/ Apple Support screen. So I'll have to plug it into an ethernet cable off my router when I get home.

sanjampet - The nearest genius bar is about 100 miles away so yes while that would be the optimum solution, it's definitely not the easiest to accommodate. But I'll browse the links and see what I can find out.

Thanks all!

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