Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

My MBP will not boot

MacBook Pro Mid/Late 2007, 2.2 Ghz, 6 GB RAM, 1 TB internal HD

MA895LL A1226

OSX El Capitan 10.11.4


I'm experiencing a problem where I cannot boot anymore. The symptoms are not always the same, I get 2 different scenarios:

  1. Sometimes I'll try to power on and the screen remains black, and the start-up chimes go every few seconds, as if it's continuously restarting itself.
  2. Sometimes I get varying degrees of progress, the Apple logo shows. Progress indicator gets about half way and then the graphics go berserk and the system freezes.
  3. Other times, the screen would be garbled with horizontal or vertical lines right from the start.


I've tried SMC resetting, NVRAM reset, booting into safe-mode, booting into recovery, booting to single-user mode. I also tried removing the RAM, re-seating them, trying one stick at a time in each slot but nothing works.


The only success I've had is booting into Target Disk Mode, which allows me to backup and run disk utility. Also ran Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory.


The laptop stays at work, never moves.


I've attached some pictures


User uploaded file User uploaded file

User uploaded file User uploaded file

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), Mid/Late 2007 2.2 GHz, MA895LL A122

Posted on May 3, 2016 1:44 AM

Reply
4 replies

May 3, 2016 4:17 AM in response to flat.evan

Connect the MBP to a monitor. If the monitor mirrors the display, the GPU is faulty. If the monitor is produces a good image, the display or thew connection to the display is faulty.


If you do noy have a monitor, make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar. They can define the problem for you. The evaluation will be FREE but they will not offer to repair your MBP due to its age.


Ciao.

May 4, 2016 1:29 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

When connecting to an external monitor, nothing is displayed, i.e. no signal, so I'm still not sure what this means. If I can just narrow down the symptoms to a specific part, I have the ability to open the machine and repair it myself.

I have no real way of knowing what is causing the problem. If there are any resources out there that may be of assistance, I would be happy to know about them.


Unfortunately being in Thailand, there are no Apple stores and thereby no Genius Bar.

May 4, 2016 3:00 AM in response to flat.evan

Your situation with the monitor compounds your problems. The monitor may be faulty, the cable to the monitor or the MBP monitor connection may be bad.


The only other advice I can offer is to run an Apple Hardware Test. Use the original installation disk that came with the MBP that has the AHT instructions written on it.


https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257


Note that an error free AHT is not conclusive.


Ciao.

May 8, 2016 11:44 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

After some research into this, it appears that this era of machine suffered from defective BGA connection on the GPU. There was even a class-action law suit settled to help people get their machines repaired, but that has been long since over.


So, my next step is to find someone who can reball or reflow my GPU, which has been reported to fix the problem. This may be tricky here in Thailand.

My MBP will not boot

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.