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MacBook won't stay on unless a key is held down

Just bought a used MacBook late 2008 model (first Mac computer) now the problem I'm having is it won't stay on unless a key (any key) is held down the entire time from the moment it gets powered on, as soon as you let the key go 2-3 secs later it'll power off, seconds later it'll try to boot up on its own once it gets to the loading grey screen if I'm not holding a key down it'll reboot and do it over and over until batt dies, previous owner said he did spill some liquid on the keyboard, all keys and trackpad work, took it apart earlier and cleaned the logic board with alcohol, let it dry and re assembled same problem, anyone have any ideas as to things I can try to narrow down the problem or know what I need to replace?


Serial # W8*******1AQ



Any advice is greatly appreciated.


<Personal Information Edited by Host>

MacBook, null

Posted on May 12, 2015 8:56 PM

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4 replies

May 13, 2015 8:25 AM in response to Express88

Follow these steps:

- Shut down your Mac

- Wait until your computer turns off and after that press the Power button

- Right after you hear the startup tone, press and hold the Shift key

- Release the Shift key when you see a grey Apple sign and the progress bar below this sign

- Once you see Desktop, start a Disk Utility scan to detect and repair file system errors (don't forget to choose your main hard drive)

- Click on Verify Disc and then, if asked to fix problems, on Repair Disk

- After this, click on Verify Disk Permissions and then on Repair Disk Permissions

- After the process is finished, shut down your Mac and turn it back on after about 30 seconds

Apart from that, take a look at this Apple article and follow the instructions on Resetting NVRAM shown there:How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support


Try resetting the SMC controller: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

Hope this helps!

MacBook won't stay on unless a key is held down

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