3 beeps, then two beeps, over and the computer won't start up

My computer froze and it said I needed to restart. I help the power button like told and when it restarted the macbook won't load. The power light continues to flash and I receive three beeps, then two beeps, then three again and the process just keeps repeating. If I hit the power button the computer shuts back off. I can hear the hard disk running but nothing will load. Anyone out there experience this problem before?

Sounds like RAM problems...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547

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Just tried installing an update to OS. Although the screen tells me that the installation will be completed in less than one minute, that was two hours ago, and the computer won't permit me to shut it down via the power button, as I get an error sound.

Just tried installing an update to OSX Snow Leopard. Prior to trying to update OS, I was running V 10.6.3. During installation, it locked up. Although the screen tells me that the installation will be completed in less than one minute, that was two hours ago, and the computer won't permit me to shut it down via the power button, as I get an error sound. What do I do now? Help!

Hold the power key till it shuts down, it may take a little while, try holding it thru the warning.
Then if it shuts down restart and open Safari/Preferences, General tab, and set "Save Downloaded Files to:"
Select desktop, if desktop is not available in the the drop down menu, click other, then select Desktop from the column from the on the left.
Then download this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
This will download the "stand alone installer"
Click on the installer pkg and follow the prompts.
Hope this helps

The CRT won't come on and the computer won't turn off. ???

Hi all,
I just got another free Rev. A iMac CRT today - it was in an old, abandoned school and the people who were moving everything out of the school thought it was dead, so they gave it to me. I tried starting it up, and it wouldn't turn on. When I took off the back to see if it had any good parts in it, it turned out everything was unplugged in the back, so I plugged it all back it. It worked great, I was deleting the school's files and apps so I could sell it, until a few minutes ago when I tried to wake it up from sleep. The display just wouldn't come on. I though it just wasn't waking up. I tried typing on the keyboard and clicking the mouse, and I finally pressed the power button on the keyboard, when I heard the normal beep it makes when you press the power button on the keyboard and it gives you the dialogue box "Do you wanna turn it off, restart it, etc?" I thought, "this is weird, why isn't the display on?" So I pressed the enter key, figuring that Turn Off was the option selected and that the display would come on when I turned it back on. Sure nuff, the computer turned off. I waited a few seconds and turned it back on. The display still wouldn't come on. I waited a few minutes til I was sure it was all the way booted up. It won't respond to the keyboard, the mouse, repeated jabs in the reset button on the side, or the power buttons on both the unit and the keyboard. I held down the power button for an entire minute and the display won't turn on and the computer won't turn off.
This is totally bizzare. Does anyone know how to a) turn on the display or b) turn off the computer? It's looking like I'm going to have to unplug it and try again later.
By the way, it's running 9.2.2, like the one in my signature line.

I finally pulled the plug and restarted and it's working fine now. Does anyone know what happened? I think it could've had something to do with the PRAM battery; every time I've started it up it's said the date is January 1956 and the time is 9:55. hmmm...
Edit: I just realized that in addition to the date being 1956, the hard drive was completely randomly renamed to "k hortdpc." ***???
Another edit: I just realized I probably renamed the hard drive in my frantic random clicking and typing - I probably accidentally clicked the hard drive name and randomly typed a new name in my attempts to wake up the computer. oops

I plugged in my brand new nano to my husbands desktop to get it registered, but had a problem mid way through when I tried to used an apple login that already existed. Now it's not registered and the computer won't recognize my device. How do I fix this

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iPod not recognized in 'My Computer' and in iTunes for Windows
Call U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273) to register your iPod Nano.

HT3964 the indicator light on my mac book pro does not come on and the computer will not start

what can i do if the indicator light on my mac book pro does not come on and the computer will not start?

Here are a couple of trouble shooting articles that may assist you:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1367
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3353
Ciao.

I Have a folder with an interrogation mark blinking and the computer does not start. Anybody?, I Have a folder with an interrogation mark blinking and the computer does not start. Anybody?

I Have a folder with an interrogation mark blinking and the computer does not start. Anybody?, I Have a folder with an interrogation mark blinking and the computer does not start. Anybody?

Here is some information and troubleshooting steps from Apple:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440

Mountain Lion update, and now computer won't start up?

Writing this for a friend, as his computer is inop at the moment. Hence this message.
He has a new 27" iMac. He upgraded to Mountain Lion a few weeks ago, and then had intermittent problems with apps unexpectantly shutting down.
Now he did a ML update this morning, and his computer won't start up. It gets to the point of the Apple logo coming up, a progress bar, and then the spinning wheel, but then shuts itself down right afterwards.
A safe boot yields the exact same result.
Any thoughts out there on what he could try to get it up and running again?
Thanks much for any and all help.

Thank you for the fast response.
He was able to get into Disk Utility with the Command and R keys, but when he tried verifying the disk, in red it said 'Invalid Node Structure, volume could not be verified completely'.
He went ahead and verified it anyway, then proceeded to repair it. Howver, it stopped repairing, said it cannot repair, and that he should back up files and reformat the disk.
How can he back up his files? He cannot see a way to do it. Is there anything else he can do besides having to reformat the disk?
This is his first Mac (after much prompting from me to go Mac), and he's afraid he's now lost everything on there.

What does a file folder with a question mark in it mean when the computer won't start?

What does a file folder with a question mark in it mean when the computer won't start?

There are four general causes of this issue:
1. The computer's PRAM no longer contains a valid startup disk setting when there aren't any problems with the disk itself. This can be checked for by pressing the Option key and seeing if the drive appears.
2. The internal drive's directory structure has become damaged. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to perform the repair.
3. Critical system files have been deleted. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to reinstall them.
4. The internal drive has died or become unplugged. This is the most likely case if the computer took a sharp impact or there are unusual sounds coming from the hard drive's location.
(68976)

My ipod has a blank screen and the computer won't see it

Ok, I have an ipod video that I just got from the apple repair shop about a week ago, and it's not working at all. I'm pretty sure I got a virus on it from a song, but I can't do anythign because the computer won't read it. It's had plenty of charge, I had it plugged into the wall for hours and then plugged it into my computer and it doesn't even read it, and when it's plugged in I can't even open iTunes. Anyone else having this problem?

hmmm. it might be worth checking through the following document:
Fifth Generation iPod has a blank backlit display and beeps 3 times

My Apps wont open, and the computer (Powerbook G4) starts super slowly.

Every time I boot up, my Powerbook boots very slowly, sometime taking up to five minutes. In addition to that, I can't open any apps, except for Finder, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and the basic functional things like settings. By they won't open, I mean the icons will bounce for a while, then a box pops up that says, for example;
The application Microsoft Office Setup Assistant Quit unexpectedly.
Mac OS X and other applications are not affected.
Click Relaunch to launch the applicationagain. Click Report to see more details, or send a report to Apple.
I really need to be able to use Microsoft word and stuff for school, and I can't afford a new computer. I'm running OS X 10.5.8
I've browsed several sites, and I tried all of the following things:
Restarting in SafeBoot mode,
Making a new admin account to see if it launched quicker/ let me open apps (It didnt),
Pressing Control + Option + P + R (it worked once, but it hasnt worked since)
Used OnyX, (which now won't open either)
I checked to see what login items I had, and there weren't any.
Please help!
Thanks,
Avery
Also, I don't have any disks for this computer on hand, as it used to be a family friends. /:
Message was edited by: Avery.Apple.Green

Hello Avery,
I received an email notification about this topic even though I have this forum set to not send them so I think perhaps you sent it to me deliberately hoping I might have some ideas?
First of all I think we should concentrate on your not being able run your essential apps and the crashes. The disk repaired buttons being greyed out is usually because the account trying to do it doesn't have admin privileges. It's a good idea to create a spare account that has admin privileges incase anything should ever go wrong with your default account. From your post I think you know how to create a spare account via System Prefs.
I'm not sure whether we can fix the problem but we can try to identify it at least. If you have any irreplacable data on your PowerBook I think you should back it up as a priority and if you don't have a backup drive or can't afford one at the moment then beg or borrow one.
I don't want to alarm you but if it turns out that your PowerBook is finally giving up the ghost your precious data will have at least have been backed up and ready to restore to a replacement machine. Not long ago and in good condition a 12" aluminium PB G4, which I believe was 1.33GHz, sold on eBay for £45 ($72). Early white MacBooks still pop up too and are inexpensive and faster and more RAM than PB G4 so all is not lost. If we end up having to go down that route it might come in useful to make a note of this link:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g4/index-powerbook-g4.html
Paste it into Stickies or Text Edit as they don't require a lot of system resourses so should be stable when launched. If it turns out you need to replace any components the site will have links to suppliers. Using that link you'll also be able to check the detailed specs of any second-hand Mac being sold on eBay before purchasing.
It would be useful to know exactly which PowerBook you have and how much RAM is installed. Click the Apple logo top right of screen\About this Mac\More info.
My first inclination is that it sounds like a possible RAM problem, either faulty or not enough. You have 10.5.8 installed which might be the most recent OSX that you can upgrade to which we won't know until you let me know the exact model. That the case was with my PB G4 874GHz on which I had 1Gb of RAM installed (512MB is the official maximum but 1Gb worked fine and has been stable). I should say at this point that with 1Gb of RAM it was quite spritely running OSX10.4s but started to struggle when I upgraded to 10.5s. Did you upgrade only to 10.5 only recently I wonder?
Let's try this: go to Applications\Utilities\Activity Monitor\Memory and launch a couple of an app and see how if Activity Monitor is spiking. Start with light app like Stickies. While still monitoring open and use another app, perhaps text edit. Keep them open and playback soundfile perhaps, through a little player rather than iTunes if possible. Is it overloading? Once you've checked the memory do the same for the processor and the harddrive.
I've enabled this thread to receive emails so take some notes, set to with the various things I suggested if you think they might help, and get back to me when you have something. I'm working this afternoon (it's 09.58 here in the UK) but will be around this morning, later this evening and for some of Saturday. I may of course have already given it my best shot but I'm happy to help if I can. If we don't make any progress it might be worth compiling your posts from this forum and posting in the MacBook Pro forum as there are plenty of experts in there that might be able to help more than I can.
Good luck,
K

My computer keeps needing to restart and the computer won't allow me to submit error report to apple

My IMAC keeps prompting me to restart after the screen turns grey. Essentially, after a few hours of use, the screen turns dark grey, filling in from the top to the bottom slowly. Once the screen has the dark grey hue, directions pop up in the middle of the screen for me to restart the computer. Once I restart it, the computer automatically generates an error box to report to apple. However, when I click the box to submit to apple, even if when the computer is connected and running well, it will not allow me to report it. It's been doing this for a few months. What do I do?

What you're getting are kernel panics. These are usually, but not always, caused by hardware, with memory the leading cause. I would go find your original OS X disks that came with the system, find the one that says in small print on the label 'AHT Version x.x', insert and reboot holding the D key down (if that doesn't work, hold that alt/option key and when prompted choose the Apple hardware test). When prompted, choose the extended test. Does that identify any hardware issues?
You can also run Rember from http://kelleycomputing.net:16080/rember/ if you want to thoroughly test your memory. Let it run overnight for a good test.
Also, see this FAQ: http://thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html

I have an older iMac G5 I updated the computer and itunes updated now it doesn't work because it needs a newer version of quicktime and the computer won't let me Can anyone help

I have an older iMac G5. I updated the computer and itunes updated also. Now it won't come up It wants a updated quicktime. The computer isn
't letting me do that. I need an older version of itunes. can anyone help?

iTunes 10 works with Leopard on a PPC Mac if you have Quicktime 7.7 available here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL761

I inadvertently deleted system files and my computer won't start up

I was cleaning up the hard disk and deleted what I thought were some redundant systems/library files. After restarting the computer, I realized I must have deleted required files because the computer will not restart. The disc is full and these files are sitting in the trash bin. When trying to use the Leopard install disk to reinstall/recover, the macbook doesn't have enough disk.
Not sure what to do now. Any suggestions?

My Mac has got 2 System Folders on it
That's impossible. Two folders cannot have the same name. Hence, you do not have 2 System Folders. You may have a folder with a different name but similar, but computers will not be confused.
Anyway, this isn't the reason your computer will not boot.
Try holding down the option key then power on. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your hd. Click on right arrow key. See if you can get this to work.
Shutdown your machine. Hold down the shift key. Poweron. Wait awhile Wait awhile while you harddrive
is being checked.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455
I suspect disk corruptions.
verify & repair your startup drive
To verify & repair you file system on the startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from you installation DVD.
This article will tell you how to get to disk utility. Once in a disk utility, you can go and attempt to recover the disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
To repair your startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Mac OS X 10.4: About the utilities available on the Mac OS X 10.4 Install DVD
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2055
How to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Insert your startup DVD into your reader. Power down your machine. Hold down to the c key. Power on your machine. This will bootup your startup DVD.
This will bring you to a panel asking you for your language. Pick your language.
You you come to the Install Mac OS panel. Do not install.
Click on Utilities menu item. This will give you a pulldown list of utilities.
Click on the disk utility.
You are now in disk utility. Pick your disk. Click on repair it should be on the lower right of the panel.
Once the repair completes successfully, you should update your permissions.

Updates failed and the laptop won't start up

I started to download the Apple updates today and half way through the laptop just close down. It now won't start up again.
It goes throught the Login window and sticks on the bluw screen with the cursor static in the top left corner.
Can anybody help with a suggestion?

Graham M.,
In order to resolve your problem, please provide additional info.
1) Were you on battery or AC power?
2) Are you using dial-up, DSL, or Cable broadband?
3) Are you connected to the Internet by Ethernet cable, Airpt. Extreme/Expr?
4) What version of Panther .... 10.3.9?
In the meantime, completely shut-down the PowerBook and disconnect the AC power and carefully remove the battery; unplug ALL power sources to any of the above (2) and (3).
Wait about 20 minutes, then reinstall the battery and plug-in the AC line to the PB.
a) Insert your Panther install disc #1
b) Press the power button, while holding down the C key until the Install window appears.
c) From the Apple Menu Bar select Disk Utility and run Repair Disk only. Do NOT Repair Permissions from the disc; it will be outdated.
d) If RED text is displayed, run the Repair Disk a second time even if the repair was completed.
e) After the second run, eject the Install disc and RESTART the PB from the Apple contextual menu.
f) Using Disk Utility (from Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility) run Repair Permissions.
If everything looks OK at this point and you have the above peripherals:
reconnect power to any external modem ... wait 5 minutes, reconnect power to the Airport ... wait 5 minutes, reconnect any Ethernet cable.
Assuming your good to go, update to 10.3.9 from the COMBO updater on the Apple Support Downloads web site and run Repair Permissions again.
Consider installing a very good maintenance program like Macaroni.
http://www.atomicbird.com/
I hope all this helps; let us know.

Bought a new ipod nano and the computer won't recognize it

I just purchased a new ipod nano and have my itunes on Windows 8. I've connected it with the supplied cable to USB 2 and 3 and every time I receive a message a new ipod has been connected but it is not recognized by itunes.
How can I make this ipod work so I can set it up and start using it?

Doublechecking. Have you also tried a complete uninstall of both iTunes and all the other related software components and then a reinstall? If not, try the instructions from the following document:
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8

3 beeps, then two beeps, over and the computer won't start up

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