ethereality
Level 1 (38 points)
Notebooks

Q: Mid-2010 Macbook Pro doesn't boot, only turns on sleep LED (16 GB RAM, 240 GB SSD)

A month or so after installing an SSD (I have previously upgraded my computer to 16 GB RAM), my mid-2010 MacBook Pro (7,1) no longer boots; the power button only turns on the sleep LED. The sleep LED remains on; it does not blink. There is no startup noise. Resetting the SMC worked one time, but now -- the problem returned the following day -- neither resetting the SMC nor resetting the NVRAM works. What causes this problem? How can I solve it? (Could I have made the problem worse by holding the keys to reset the SMC for multiple seconds?)

 

Resetting the NVRAM only appeared as if I had pressed the power button, turning on the sleep LED. Resetting the SMC appeared to do nothing, i.e. the problem remained after releasing the keys and pressing the power button to start the computer.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), 2.4GHzIntelCore2Duo;4GB 1067MHzDDR3

Posted on Sep 25, 2016 1:41 AM

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ethereality

Q: Mid-2010 Macbook Pro doesn't boot, only turns on sleep LED (16 GB RAM, 240 GB SSD)

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  • Helpful answers

  • by sarah_s1,

    sarah_s1 sarah_s1 Sep 26, 2016 11:04 AM in response to ethereality
    Community Specialists
    Sep 26, 2016 11:04 AM in response to ethereality
    Hi ethereality,


    Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.


    I see that your MacBook Pro doesn't start up but you see the Sleep LED turn on. You've tried some good troubleshooting so far and I'm happy to offer some additional steps.


    Since you don't hear a startup chime, start with the tips under "Power issues" in If your Mac won't turn on.


    Sincerely.

  • by ethereality,

    ethereality ethereality Sep 28, 2016 3:16 AM in response to sarah_s1
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 28, 2016 3:16 AM in response to sarah_s1

    Thank you for your response. I visited that page already a few days ago; because it said "If any of these things happen," referring to the light from the sleep LED, I proceeded to the hyperlinked 'Troubleshooting: My computer has no video" webpage, hence the SMC and NVRAM reset attempts.

    However, just now I tried booting my computer after plugging it in (perhaps 48 hours after my last attempt), and this time it successfully booted! It first showed the following message (paraphrasing the last bit as well as I could) in several languages on a screen with a background color something like Bw-T4 in this Bing image search result before restarting: "Your computer restarted because of a problem. [Press a key or wait a few moments to start back up.]" I sent the recommended report to Apple with an explanation after logging in.

     

    My problem seems to be an improper shut down which has happened twice now.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 28, 2016 4:40 AM in response to ethereality
    Level 9 (52,764 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 28, 2016 4:40 AM in response to ethereality

    Check to see if your MBP had a kernel panic.  If so, log and post it per these instructions:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201753

     

    Install the original RAM.  Any difference?

     

    Run an Apple Hardware Test:

     

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

     

    Note that an error free AHT is not conclusive.

     

    Ciao.