jfromoregon
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Q: Can I use Snow leopard 10.6 install DVD to restart my early 2008 Macbook Pro?  I have a black screen.

My Macbook Pro is not starting up.  The screen is black.  I have tried unplugging it, taking out the battery and holding the on button for 5 seconds, followed by turning it back on while holding down at the same time the command, option, R and P.  Nothing is working. I can not find my original install DVD, but I did find the snow leopard one.  I want to know if I can use it to try and start my laptop.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 18, 2015 8:11 AM

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jfromoregon

Q: Can I use Snow leopard 10.6 install DVD to restart my early 2008 Macbook Pro?  I have a black screen.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Drew Reece,Helpful

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Aug 18, 2015 9:11 AM in response to jfromoregon
    Level 5 (7,547 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 18, 2015 9:11 AM in response to jfromoregon

    Early 2008 Macbook Pro's can boot from 10.5.2 & higher.

    If your Snow Leopard disk is grey it won't work, grey disks are model specific. Disks that are printed with the 'cat' or large 'X' support multiple models.

    Be careful what OS you use to repair a damaged Mac, older OS's can break new OS installations if you use the older version to repair the disk etc.

     

    HINT: Find you model on everymac.com or in mactracker.ca, they list the spec & supported OS's

  • by jfromoregon,

    jfromoregon jfromoregon Aug 18, 2015 12:11 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2015 12:11 PM in response to Drew Reece

    Thank you Drew.  My disk does have the cat on it.  Before the "Black Screen" I think the OS that was last updated on the laptop was Maverick, sometime ago.  Will it hurt the laptop if I use snow leopard, since it has been updated?

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 18, 2015 12:17 PM in response to jfromoregon
    Level 9 (52,323 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 18, 2015 12:17 PM in response to jfromoregon

    jfromoregon wrote:

     

    Will it hurt the laptop if I use snow leopard, since it has been updated?

    No.  But if you plan on installing Snow Leopard you would have to erase the disk first which will delete all of your data.  Do you have a backup/

     

    Ciao.

  • by jfromoregon,

    jfromoregon jfromoregon Aug 18, 2015 12:24 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2015 12:24 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Not a recent one, but I do have an iMac that I can transfer data from to get it close.  I would hate to loose some of the things on the laptop that are not on the iMac but at least if it helps me get my laptop back and running, I guess it's worth it.

     

    I really appreciate the help, thank you so much.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 18, 2015 12:31 PM in response to jfromoregon
    Level 9 (52,323 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 18, 2015 12:31 PM in response to jfromoregon

    As a reminder:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201462

     

    See if booting in target disk mode works.

     

    Ciao.

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Aug 18, 2015 12:40 PM in response to jfromoregon
    Level 5 (7,547 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 18, 2015 12:40 PM in response to jfromoregon

    I would be concerned by running Disk Utility's repair features on a different OS versions. In the past I had older disk tools damage a newer OS, they are not always backwards compatible.

     

    As OGELTHORPE said, if you have the correct leads you can try mounting the disk on the iMac. It may allow you to back it up.

    How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode - Apple Support

     

    Another option is to try single user mode to 'fsck' the disk.

    Mac OS X: How to start up in single-user or verbose mode - Apple Support

    It is the same as the repair feature in Disk Utility. The command is shown onscreen when you boot into that mode…

    fsck -fy

     

    If you can boot into recovery mode you may also be able to clone the dsk onto another external drive.

    OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

     

    Ask if you need more info about any of them. You can also try reinstalling the OS via recovery mode - that should fix any damaged system files, however you should try to make a backup before you begin incase it doesn't work.

  • by jfromoregon,

    jfromoregon jfromoregon Aug 18, 2015 3:09 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2015 3:09 PM in response to Drew Reece

    So I tried command S, Command V, command R and tried to install snow leopard.  And nothing.  I did notice when I tried to eject the DVD it wouldn't eject, also when I press on caps lock that the light doesn't come on either.  I'm guessing that my laptop is dead.

     

    Thanks you two for all the suggestions and help.  I appreciate your time and effort.

     

    Have a great week

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Aug 18, 2015 3:44 PM in response to jfromoregon
    Level 5 (7,547 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 18, 2015 3:44 PM in response to jfromoregon

    Try holding the trackpad button down or connect a mouse & hold down the button as you startup. It should cause the CD/DVD to eject.

     

    Sorry, if you can't get it to boot from the OS disk it seems quite dead. Try target disk mode to confirm if any pre startup commands are being accepted - that should light up the screen if the pre boot checks all pass.  The power button shuts it down safely if it gets into target disk mode.

     

    You probably want to make a genius bar appointment & get a second opinion. The initial consult is free, but repairs will be charged since it is out of warranty/ Applecare by now.

     

    The disk may still be working, if you can remove the disk I think you have a SATA disk that should easily fit into a disk case or drive dock. It may or may not be readable or corrupted etc.