Macbook Pro A1297 not turning on, AC adapter light off for 15-30 minutes

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Macbook Pro A1297 not turning on, AC adapter light off for 15-30 minutes

I have a Macbook Pro A1297 that will not power on. It originally had a bad hard drive, which I have replaced with a brand new one, and I am trying to install Snow Leopard with the official installation disk. The AC adapter light is off when plugged in, and the power button does not work...for about 15-30 minutes. After that time, the light will turn amber and the laptop will power on to an Apple logo and will not proceed from there. Once it gets to this point where it will power on, I have to hold down the power button to shut it down in order to try and boot from the DVD (holdinc C while it powers up), and each time I shut the laptop down I have to do the Shift-Control-Option-Power button command before it will power on and do the same thing again. If I unplug the AC adapter for more than a few seconds, it will go back to no light displayed and I will have to wait that 15-30 minutes before anything responds again.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jul 25, 2014 2:01 PM

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Answer 1

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 2:32 PM in response to shaitheatery

You may have need to to try a SMC reset:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Follow directions for a battery you should not remove yourself. There seems to be something else that may be going on here.

If you are in fact running 10.6.3, you should try to update to 10.6.8 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1

If no joy make an appointment at an Apple store Genius bar for a FREE evaluation . Bring both your MBP and your power adapter with you. There may be an issue with one or the other.

Best

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Answer 2

shaitheatery Author

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Jul 25, 2014 2:48 PM in response to sanjampet

The SMC reset is the only thing that would allow me to power the laptop on at all after doing a hard shutdown when it was stuck at the apple logo screen. And The hard drive that is in the laptop right now is completely blank, so I am trying to do a fresh install and therefore cannot upgrade. I'd like to find out what exactly is happening so that I can see what, if any part needs to be replaced inside of the laptop (i work in IT and am comfortable replacing motherboards and other such things in laptops, just not as much experience with Mac hardware).

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Answer 3

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 2:59 PM in response to shaitheatery

Have you tried booting to your install disc and clicking your language, then after the next screen, select utilities>disk utiltiy. Select your volume (default name Macintosh HD) then click repair disk. If it comes up in red font try again, if it comes up in green saying disk seems OK quit from the Apple menu restart and see if it behaves properly.

If not, or you continue to get a red font saying disk problem, your HD may have failed or be failing. Try to do a backup if possible.

Take it in to an Apple store Genius bar(make an appointment first) http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

Have them diagnosis/evaluate it it will be free.

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Answer 4

shaitheatery Author

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Jul 25, 2014 3:22 PM in response to sanjampet

It will not get to the point where I can select the language. The only thing I've been attempting to do is boot to the install disk as the hard drive is brand new with nothing on it yet. The times the computer does decide to power on, holding C or R when powering up does nothing, as it will continuously sit at the Apple logo on the screen. When it boots up, I do hear the disk spin up as if it's reading the disk, and eventually it will stop and won't progress past the Apple logo.

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Answer 5

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 3:48 PM in response to shaitheatery

When you get to the disk utility, select your disk from the left sidebar, then click the erase tab, make sure the Format window is set for Mac OS Extended (journal, click erase then you should have the correct format to install.

Quit out and try to the install again. You should be able to install then.

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Answer 6

shaitheatery Author

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Jul 25, 2014 3:51 PM in response to sanjampet

I can't get to the disk utility, as it is stuck at the Apple logo when it powers on. But just in case, how do you get to the disk utility? I've tried holding C while it powers on, and I've tried holding R when it powers on, neither of which are working.

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Answer 7

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 4:00 PM in response to shaitheatery

Hold the C key when booting to force it to boot from the install disk.

You can name it whatever you wish

Make sure that the data is what you see at the bottom,if not you may have a mis-connected, or a bad SATA cable

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Answer 8

shaitheatery Author

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Jul 25, 2014 4:05 PM in response to sanjampet

Holding C with the install disk does not work, it stays at the Apple logo and does not progress from there. If i could get to the disk utility then I would be set but it never gets past the apple logo.

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Answer 9

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 4:27 PM in response to shaitheatery

Are you using the original instal disk? Try the original install disc

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Answer 10

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jul 25, 2014 4:33 PM in response to sanjampet

The only thing I can think of is to hold OPTION key when booting which would offer you the install disk, or the HD. Select the install disk. unless the install disk is damaged or not compatible.

See the above post

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