Did my MacBook die?

I have a late 2007 model MacBook Pro (15.4" screen, 2GB RAM, 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor). I have yet to make any modifications to it other than the Snow Leopard update a few months ago, and I'm fairly sure it is out of any warranty.
Now, my brother has been using the computer the last couple of days, and the only thing he uses it for is Hulu and facebook. He turned it off the other night (not in the middle of an update, and the laptop has not been dropped) and there didn't seem to be any issues at the time. However, he tried to turn it on yesterday and the screen did not turn on. When the power button is pressed, it sounds like the hard drive is attempting to turn on and the light on the latch turns on, but only for a second or two. Nothing pops on the screen, and the hard drive and light turn off. We attempted to reset the PRAM/SMC but neither of those steps helped.
I'm hoping the hard drive just crashed, which is easily replaceable. However, if it's the motherboard I'm pretty much screwed. I made an appointment to my local Apple Store, but I won't be able to see someone for a couple more days.
Any idea what the issue may be?
Message was edited by: cassandra.mong

It's possible that watching Hulu videos overheated the problematic vNidea 8600M GT video chipset in your MBP and caused it to fail. There are a fair number of reports here of Hulu making the MBP run hot.
If the nVidea chipset is the culprit, you can breathe a little easier. Although your MBP will have to go in for major surgery, it will cost you nothing. See this Apple Repair Extension Program (REP)for your model MBP:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
It covers the failure for up to four years from data of purchase at no cost. Final diagnosis is up to the Apple people who have a special test rig that spot the problem.
Before you take the computer end. Print off the REP document first--not all Apple employees seem up to speed on the issue. Also back up your data if possible. If the computer display will not turn on, you can connect it to another Mac with a FireWire cable and use FireWire Target Disk Mode (FWTDM) to see your hard drive on the other computer as if it were amounted external drive.
Info on FWTDM is here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

Similar Messages

  • HELP!!! my macbook died...

    I am seriously at a loss right now. I just purchased my Macbook in May (I have applecare), and I was told by every genius at the genius bar that Macs are amazing computers. In any case, this morning I woke up, the screen saver was on, i clicked to use my laptop, and the screensaver froze. I walked away, came back 10 minutes later, and it was still frozen. I restarted, but, now my macbook makes a very strange noise, and it wont load up! Instead, an image of a file folder with a question mark blinks in the middle of the screen. I have no idea what is going on. Did my macbook die? Did I lose EVERYTHING i had on it? I am so completely confused!! I am in Italy right now, and I may have to mail it home to the U.S. if i cant find a solution myself.
    It would be great if someone could offer me some advice.
    Thank you!!!
    macbook   Mac OS X (10.0.x)  

    See the troubleshooting steps here:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
    However, the fact that you hear a strange noise makes me suspect you have hard drive physical damage. See also:
    http://www.macworld.com/2006/11/secrets/decworkingmac/index.php

  • I have Time Machine that I used to back up my old computer. It was running snow leopard. My MacBook died, so I got a new one which is running Lion.  how can I restore the data from the time capsule to my new Mac?

    I have Time Machine that I used to back up my old computer. It was running snow leopard. My MacBook died, so I got a new one which is running Lion.  how can I restore the data from the time capsule to my new Mac?

    In technical support, sometimes you have to make educated guesses. I'm sorry that you were offended.
    iTunes does prompt when it is going to erase a device, and the message is clear.
    She said in her message that she was able to successfully sync the old ipad. This indicated to me that itunes wiping the data was not an issue, because either it had been setup at the apple store (in which case it doesn't actually wipe the ipad despite saying it will*) (*based on a single case I saw), or because the itunes media folder was migrated.
    Furthermore, my solution was to tell her how to backup her ipad (by either doing it manually, or as a last resort, by deleting the corrupt backup -- that she couldn't access anyway.)
    I got that last part of the instructions from the "Taking Control of your iphone" book which I found samples of when I did a google search for "corrupted backup itunes".
    She marked this as a solution, so it worked for her.

  • MacBook died. Went to plug it up and power it back on, and it made an odd beeping sound. It failed to power up, and the light stays constant and doesn't blink.

    MacBook died. Went to plug it up and power it back on, and it made an odd beeping sound. It failed to power up, and the light stays constant and doesn't blink. i unplugged it to wait for the light to turn off, which it did after a few minutes, but when I plug it back up to try again, the light comes on and stays on, but it won't power back up. I've also tried holding down the power button for up to 30 seconds and it doesn't do anything. Any tips or hopefully answers to this issue?

    Hi. You might have a memory problem. With one or more of your ram being bad. If this is so you can try removing the ram one at a time and try to restart . You can also switch ram slots to make sure ifs not the ram slot. Before you do this try a pram reset. Command/Option/P/R holding down these keys while starting up for three chimes. Also a SMC reset.http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202768

  • The battery of my macbook died in 2 years and when I call an inform them Mr ********** (sr advisor) gets outrightly rude and tells me sorry but don't think that you can be an exception to it. Extremely shocked at this approach by apple.

    The battery of my macbook died in 2 years and when I call the servise center to inform them cuse i personally am dissapointed but at the same time want to know the reason why something like this has happened ith a product of apple. Mr ****** (sr advisor) gets outrightly rude and tells me sorry but don't think that you can be an exception to it. Extremely shocked at this approach by apple. Then throughout the conversation he chose to mute me and wouldnt answer my queries. And when i asked him whos the serior I could talk to. He tells me "Im the seriormost that you can get upto..there is nobody above me you can talk to".
    Now what do i do???
    <Edited by Host>

    By doing so, you are violating the terms of use of this support forum
    "Post constructive comments and questions. Unless otherwise noted, your Submission should either be a technical support question or a technical support answer. Constructive feedback about product features is welcome as well. If your Submission contains the phrase “I’m sorry for the rant, but…” you are likely in violation of this policy."
    "Breach of the Agreement
    If you fail to abide by these terms Apple may remove your submission. Apple may also send an e-mail that informs you that your Submission has been deleted or edited. Repeated inappropriate Submissions may result in your relevant account or accounts being placed into temporary or permanent suspension of your ability to participate in any or all of the areas on the Site."
    https://discussions.apple.com/static/apple/tutorial/tou.html

  • The hard drive on my MacBook died and I had it replaced. I can't locate my website files and every time I try to open my idisk it looks for a name and password (even reset my apple id as prompted) I keep being told that it's the wrong name or password?

    The hard drive on my MacBook died and I had it replaced. Now I can't locate my website files and every time I try to open my finder/idisk it looks for a name and password (even reset my apple id as prompted) I keep being told that it's the wrong name or password? Any suggestions out there

    Arty ~ Welcome to the Support Communities. iWeb can't import/open published HTML/media files on your iDisk. iWeb can only open its key Domain file which contains your site data — it's usually located here:
    ...If you don't have a backup of your Domain file (e.g. via Time Machine), paragraph 2.3 of this FAQ page gives some tips on how to use published files, graphics, photos, etc., to help rebuild the site from scratch:
    http://iwebfaq.org/site/iWeb_Backup_retrieve.html
    Also this thread may help:
    Hard Drive replacement causes new/unknown user password?

  • My MacBook died and my hard drive was removed, are my existing files only compatible with Apple products?

    My MacBook died and my hard drive was removed, are my existing files only compatible with Apple products? Are the files encrypted with Apple OS or am I able to import my files to Microsoft programs?

    The drive as a whole can’t be read on a PC without installing software such as MacDrive on it.
    The answer varies for individual document files; some file formats can be read by Windows software, while others can't.
    (111559)

  • Why did my macbook bluetooth keep failing to pair with my parrot zik ?

    why did my macbook bluetooth keep failing to pair with my parrot zik ?

    Hi there Alexander_Lee1995,
    I would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
    Bluetooth Quick Assist
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1153
    -Griff W.

  • Did my macbook (May 2009) come with install discs?  I can't seem to find them. Thank you

    Did the Macbooks, May 2009, come with install disks?  I can't seem to find mine and I am going to have someone put in a larger hard drive.  Any ideas on where I could get the install disk/s for OS 10.5?  Thank you.

    Or you can clone your hard drive if you want. To clone your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then partition and format the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one.
    Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-5-SATA-HDD-HARD-DRIVE-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-BOX-/120 636286623?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item1c167ba69f

  • MacBook Died, Is there any way to recover pictures?

    To Whomever May Be of Help,
    Our Macbook died two weeks ago. It was the original MacBook with the Intel chip. It had the Seagate hard drive with the 7.01 firmware that causes the screen of death and catastrophically fails (so I found out). My question is has anyone had this hard drive and been able to get some files off from a recovery service and if so which company? We sent it OnTrack and they said it was unrecoverable. They said there was what looked like a few scratches from the needle hitting the platter which caused debris to spread on the platter. The weird thing is everyone talks about it clicking and I never heard any clicks. I even put my ear to it when it wouldn't start up and I didn't hear anything. How loud are these four clicks? Anyway really ***** because we lost 2 years of photos. Sadly I thought my mom had been backing up but turns out she never knew how. Anyways it's a shame I never read these forums before I had a problem.
    Message was edited by: Brandi ER

    Don't be concerned about hearing clicking. Clicking can mean problems but you don't have to have clicking to have problems.
    If they said that the read/write head had damaged the platter(s) beyond usability then I am sure that that is the case. They would make more money from you if it were still serviceable so if they say it is not then my guess is it is not.
    You should have had a backup of your entire hard drive while you were using it. Most people don't but I do not understand why. All hard drives are going to fail just like all car tires are going to wear out if you keep using them.

  • HELP! The hard drive on my Macbook died and i lost everything.

    A week ago my MacBook died apple were going to see if any data was still on the hard drive, they called today and said that i lost everything. Three years of work gone. I cant believe it.
    Just before the Mac died i had put all my music on Apple TV, does anyone know if you can pull all the songs and data back from apple tv.
    Does anyone know of a good but cheap company who might be able to recover the data.
    Pls let this be a lesson to everyone BACK UP!
    All music Gone!
    All Pictures Gone!
    All emails Gone!
    Everything Gone!
    A fresh hard drive, im totally gutted :-((

    If this was a warranty repair then you are out of luck. Under the terms of the warranty if they replaced your defective drive with a new one then the old one becomes their property. If you want it back you will have to pay them or attempt to work out some other arrangement with the but they are not going to just let you borrow it without some security. I would not take that chance either and if it was your business you would not either. Apple has to have the drive to send back to the vendor for credit. How do they know that you will return it?
    There are no "cheap recovery services" If you send it off be prepared to spend a lot of money. Drive Savers and the others can do it, but it isn't cheap. I have never checked but have heard that the prices run in to the many thousands of dollars even for small drives.
    I guess it depends on how valuable the data is to you.

  • Old Macbook Died, trying to put old SSD into new Macbook, not working.

    I had an old 07 model 17in Macbook pro with a 250g SSD in it. The old macbook finally died so I bought a used 2011 model 17in Macbook Pro that comes with a 500g spinning hard drive.
    I would like to move the SSD from my old Macbook(complete dead) into my new Macbook, but apparently it's not as simple as remove and install. The new Macbook will not boot from my old SSD drive once I put it in. The old SSD was running Mavericks and with data on it which I would like to keep. Any suggestions?

    Hello babyharpseal and welcome to Apple Support Communities,
    "move the SSD from my old Macbook(complete dead)"
    So you're sure that SSD is working properly? What happened to your '07? and did you keep your Mavericks Installer?
    If so:
    Update your 2011 to the latest version of Mavericks and place your SSD in an external and do this:
    Move your data to a new Mac - Apple Support
    Then insure that your internal is bootable and reinstall Mavericks on your SSD.
    http://macs.about.com/od/Mavericks/ss/How-To-Perform-A-Clean-Install-Of-Os-X-Mav ericks-On-A-Macs-Startup-Drive.htm
    This will be a clean install and all data will be erased.
    "The OS X Mavericks Installer, available from the (Apple Store)"
    No longer true.
    Apple will want you to update to Yosemite but I'm currently not recommending that.

  • My MacBook died. Again. Am I the only one SERIOUSLY regretting my purchase?

    Okay. Almost two weeks ago, I turned my MacBook off only to discover that, an hour later, it would not turn on any more. At all. I took it in. The man was suprised by my issue, saying that it was one he had not yet encountered. They kept my MacBook (which I had taken quite a liking to up till that point, so the separation was tough) for five days. I got it back last Saturday. They replaced the logic board. I took it home, and it powered up no problem. Then it told me to update the firmware. I did as it said. But when it restarted to complete the update, it started having the "vertical line" issue. So. At the advice of a few knowledgeable persons on this forum, I took to zapping my PRAM every time I needed to start up. Annoying, but tolerable. I gritted my teeth and prayed that Apple would release some sort of patch to fix this problem that, apparently, several other people are experiencing as well...
    Yesterday, I took my MacBook down to my Aunt & Uncles house, intending to show it off and convince them (as I quite nearly did with my cousin a couple weeks ago) that they should abandon the silly Windows machines in favour of the more sophisticated Apple (I am the lone black sheep in my family full of PC-people). When I arrived, however, much to my dismay, my MacBook (once again) showed zero signs of life when I pressed the power button. Full charge on the battery. I even tried plugging it in, to make sure. No response. I have only had it back for a week, and it's already screwed up beyond use again.
    I am not pleased. At all. The worst part? I leave for school in three weeks. What the **** do I do when it ceases functioning while I'm trying to do all my classwork on it? Argh.

    I'm going to see what they say when I take it in
    tomorrow morning, but I know that Apple generally
    doesn't just hand over a new machine past two
    weeks... And I've had mine for about eight now. If
    problems persist, though, I will have to start being
    assertive and make sure someone makes it right...
    The interesting thing is... both times it's stopped
    working have been immedeately before I show it off to
    someone of a more windowsy persuasion... so...
    really... it's already hurting apple from a PR
    perspective... perhaps if I explain it from this
    angle, they'll be cooperative...
    You need to call Customer Relations (1-800-APL-CARE #3), complain that you have the same problem and kindly ask them for a replacement. I called them about mine and they told me I had to give them a chance to repair it and they would go from there. They were really quite nice. So far mines working, but if it dies again, I have a feeling they would give me a new one. Apple has always resolved any issues I've had to my satisfaction. You just need to keep cool and be patient.
    -Bmer
    Mac Owners Support Group
    Join Us @ MacOSG.com
    ITMS: MacOSG Podcast
     An Apple User Group 

  • I let my Macbook die and now it doesn't recognize old wifi connections and doesn't trust internet.

    Hi-
    I have often let my Mac die, while going to sleep etc, this is the second time that when I charge it back up and turn it on it doesn't work the same.  It doesn't remember the passwords of old wifi networks that I have told to "remember this network."  Then when I do retype the password and connect there's a screen on the internet that says it cannot trust site like Facebook or Google and sometimes there's "add exception" sometimes there's not.  This is on Mozilla Firefox also.
    Last time this happened I can't remember what I did but it eventually started going back to normal....But now, I don't know, any suggestions??

    How much free space on the HD?  You should have 30 GB free for the system to do "temporary work", such as saving preferences and internet settings in browswers.

  • Macbook died for no reason at all

    I'm stumped. One minute my macbook (2008 model) was fine & the next it just wouldnt turn on. It's dead. I've checked the battery (full power), the power adapter...tried all the steps given in the apple pamphlet. Nothing. Oh, and it's one week out of warranty. ONE WEEK.
    Apparently it may be a logic board problem (according to man in apple shop)...but how could this possibly be when it's never given me any problems within the last one year (I bought it last July). It's never hung, i've never had to force quit the machine. It's just gone. poof. like black magic.
    Apparently the logic board is really expensive to replace? Is that true? What should I do? I've taken terribly good care of the macbook & there's no clear reason why this is happening Very upset. Please help.

    yup, one week after the warranty expired. Talk about bad luck.
    Oh yes, I definitely took out the battery to do this.
    The apple man did a few of the steps that I'd already done from the pamphlet & then told me I'd have to leave my macbook with them for an engineer to look at as he couldn't tell me for sure what was wrong. But that he said he suspected the logic board was spoilt.
    Not stupid at all...I tried doing that too, taking out the battery & powering it up with just the ac adapter plugged in. No luck
    I'm flummoxed!! I've taken really good care of this little machine & loved using it. Is it worth replacing the logic board? I can't afford a brand new laptop & even replacing the LB (it's really expensive, right?) is going to be difficult financially
    am just so bummed that what I saw as a worthwhile investment barely lasted a year.

Maybe you are looking for