MacBook Pro does not boot

Try starting from a system installed on an external hard drive, if possible and then go from there. I can't tell you what to do after that as the action to take depends on what you find doing the above.

Just adding my few cents to the already exhaustive thread on this problem. Same symptoms, i.e., press the start-button, the cd-drive & harddisc spins up. Hear some fan sound but the screen remains unlit/black. No startup sound/chime and the white LED on the opening-button is steady on.

As many others have correctly mentioned, there are hordes of these posts all over this (and other) boards at this point. The biggest swedish IT/Tech site (Swedish language) brought the matter to light as well (ref: http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.157106). I originally posted in another thread on this board that is also cramped with the same problem (ref: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1478474&tstart=0).

*Please Apple, with sugar on top--address this problem and stop denying the fact that this IS an issue*. Yours truly just went down the local PC store this weekend and got myself a classic on-the-cheap AMD64 Quad rig for $700 running OpenSuse. The chassi looks gash but hey--it works.

Just forgot to mention in my post above; I did try to troubleshoot my RAM chips to no use like instructed early in this thread.

hi guys, Need your help today.
My MBP seemed to have been "hang up" after listening on the web. The screen saver was on, but after esc and so foth, it continued running. I pushed the power bottom and gave a grey screen... nothing happened for a while, I decided to pull the battery out in order to "hard boot" when I turned it on, a grey screen and a flashing folder with a ? mark appeared in the middle of the screen. I booted with its original... ran the D Utility, and the message is that error on exit. HD won't be mounted... can't read anything but the cd... run the repair disk... similar message! Any suggestions for the next step... Have I lost all my info? hope not! Someone, help me please!!!!

Dude,
My sister just got the new macbook pro with leopard and i have the mac os x 10.4 or something that came before mac was out. Anyway my sister's computer already had leopard on it and it came with the leopard installation CD's, so i wanted to put leopard on my older macbook pro. I put the first installation disc in and it said that i needed to restart the computer for the installation to begin, so i hit okay. My computer never started back up. I can get it to boot up, but all i get is that first bluish screen with the apple on it and the loading sign and it just shuts off. I tried to eject the disc but it wont come out. It would be so awesome if u could help me out because the nearest apple store to me is like 80 miles.

Walker Douglas

Here's a little update with regards to my problems.

I called Apple support despite the fact that my warranty (1 year) has run out. My machine is from mid-2006. Got in touch with a support agent and described my problems. After some discussion regarding what troubleshooting I had done myself along with the symptoms of my machine he matched my issue with "a know issue" with early MBP's. He wasn't able to spread any details about the problem, but I was given a support code and was told to leave the machine at the nearest convenient Apple Service center for free repair. Saved my day since I've been really depressed ever since my trusty MBP died on me. Feels like I have lost an arm and a leg. The repair will take around a week I am told. The Technician believed the problem to be the logic board/circuit whatever that is.

Start you computer while holding the mouse's button down. It should eject the DVD.

James Watkins-Harvey

Stock MacBook Pro 2.2Ghz (SantaRosa)

Harddrive spins up
CD spins up.
Sleep light comes on and stays on.
Screen doesn't come on.
No chime, then I zap the Pram, then it chimes, but everything else stays the same.

I can target disk mode into the drive, so that seems ok.
It won't boot from the CD when it acts like this.

I have been intermittently able to boot the machine. (After it cools?) or the battery drains completely or something like that, I haven't figured out what the voodoo combination is.

Resetting the SMC has no effect.

I resolved the problem myself. The only thing I hadn't tried was running my two RAM chips individually. I tried the first one by itself and got the same results. Removed it and tried the second one. Bingo! My system sprang to life. So, I ordered new RAM and am back in business. I hope this helps anyone with similar symptoms.

Same problem here.

turn the computer on.
blank screen (black).
stand by light comes on.
spinning sound.

but no chime, no boot.

This is now a serious problem. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

my post shows my previous model mac.
Sorted with this reply.

Our MBP is behaving slightly different than what has been mentioned here. We press the power button, the light on the front comes on, and 3 seconds latter the light turns off along with the typical short little shut down hum it does. Never does it get to the apple logo, nor does it even sound like the fan or hard drive are starting up. Was working fine last night. All the "tips" in the trouble shooting area concerning booting issues have been tried to no avail. Any help would be fantastic. This is a refurbished MBP, have had it about 3 months or so, maybe a bit less.

Ditto, sample problem. I can reset the PMU, but can't get it to boot either in safe mode or from the install DVD.

I had my logic board replaced only two weeks ago (for a nearly identical problem where the computer would not boot at all), and if I had to be I'm going to need this again.

I cannot tell you how unbelievably frustrated I am at this. I have had, prior to this MBP, two iBooks which gave me great service. Having my macbook pro (my work computer) go down twice in two weeks for what will, undoubtably, be a lengthy repair is absolutely unbelievable.

Scratch that, I forgot the topcase replacement this computer required eight weeks ago. That means, in under three months I will have lost my computer for a grand total of 15 business days (assuming this repair will take a week). 15 working days out of sixty, or 25% down time. This computer has been a lemon, and I will be officially registering a complaint.