cdharris
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: MacBook Pro will not boot up, stops at Apple logo

My daughter's 3 year old MacBook Pro will not boot up. The grey screen with Apple logo comes up and it looks and sounds like it is going to boot up but after 30 seconds it goes black and turns off.  Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Aug 20, 2014 4:09 PM

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cdharris

Q: MacBook Pro will not boot up, stops at Apple logo

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  • Helpful answers

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 20, 2014 4:22 PM in response to cdharris
    Level 9 (52,776 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 20, 2014 4:22 PM in response to cdharris

    Use the original installation disk and start up the MBP as if you were installing the OSX.

     

    When you see a menu bar on the display, click on UTILITIES.

     

    From the drop down menu, select Disk Utility.

     

    Run Disk Utility>First Aid, verify and Repair.

     

    What are the results?

     

    Ciao.

  • by cdharris,

    cdharris cdharris Aug 20, 2014 4:37 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 20, 2014 4:37 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    I found the box, but the installation disk is  nowhere to be found.  Is there a way to download the necessary files to another PC and burn them to a disk m

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 20, 2014 4:42 PM in response to cdharris
    Level 9 (52,776 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 20, 2014 4:42 PM in response to cdharris

    If you have Lion (10.7) or newer installed, boot into the recovery partition (OPTION key on start) and select Disk Utility.  Again, run Disk Utility>First Aid, Verify and Repair.  If not, then you have to get a replacement disk from Apple customer service for which there is a charge.

     

    Usually the HDD turns out to be the problem.

     

    Ciao.

  • by cdharris,

    cdharris cdharris Aug 20, 2014 5:11 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 20, 2014 5:11 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    This worked until I got a message saying "Disk Utility cannot repair this disk....  backup and restore.  How do I backup from here?  Thanks.

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 21, 2014 2:56 AM in response to cdharris
    Level 9 (52,776 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 21, 2014 2:56 AM in response to cdharris

    The internal HDD will have to be replaced.  Since you cannot get the MBP to acces the internal HDD, you will have either use Target Disk Mode:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

     

    Or take out the HDD and place it in an enclosure and then connect it to the MBP via USB.  (After you have installed the new HDD and the OSX)

     

    You may or may not be able to get information off of the HDD.

     

    Ciao.

  • by cdharris,

    cdharris cdharris Aug 21, 2014 7:01 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 21, 2014 7:01 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    We took it to Best Buy.  No Apple Store within 150 miles of here. The guy there thinks he may be able to get at least some of the files off the hard drive.  Then we will decide whether to put in a new hard drive or just buy a new Mac.  Thanks for the help.