Q: what does it mean when the sleep light flashes and the computer beeps?
Trying to test a newly created bootable system backup created on an external HDD. Running OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard on a mid 2011 13" MacBookPro. All seemed to be fine, then suddenly the computer started beeping and the sleep light started flashing. What does this indicate?
A different external HDD with OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard functioned as the boot drive with no issues on the same computer.
Both external HDDs were connected to the MacBookPro via firewire 800 cables.
MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), Cinema Display
Posted on Feb 4, 2015 11:15 AM
Update -- using Synchronize! X Pro, I re-did the create bootable system backup on that problematic 1TB HDD using the 2006 iMac booted from the external 500GB HDD. ~16GB data needed to be written to the 1TB HDD. I then was able to boot the 2006 iMac from the 1TB HDD with no issues -- no beeps or complaints from the computer. That was my original goal and plans for this 1TB HDD.
The 1TB external HDD was also able to function as the boot drive for my 2009 MacBookPro. The 2011 MacBookPro is busy doing something else so couldn't be tested right now.
I think the issue came about due to the set-up I used when making the bootable system backup in the first place. I was booted from the internal HDD of the 2011 MackBookPro with firewire 800 cable to the 500GB HDD and another firewire 800 cable to the 1TB HDD. I instructed Synchronize! X Pro to create a bootable system backup on the 1TB HDD using the 500GB HDD as source. It's likely that scenario resulted in an incomplete creation of a bootable system backup on the 1TB HDD.
Anyway -- there apparently is another reason than faulty RAM modules that will cause a MacBookPro to beep and flash its sleep indicator. Note that these signs of distress didn't appear upon start-up but only after I started mousing around and opening folders when booted from the faulty backup.
Thank you for all of your suggestions, but none of the support documents cited were appropriate for my issue.
Posted on Feb 5, 2015 11:25 AM