Late 2008 Macbook Pro Won't Boot

Hi,
I have a late 2008 MBP with an Intel chip that isn't booting. I quick run-through with my computer before it wouldn't boot:
my fans would spin really fast, even on non-CPU heavy tasks
my computer would lag (this was a huge issue)
the spinning beach ball would appear frequently
the computer would get really hot
the computer was used heavily since it was bought
and other things
The reasons listed above was why I had to completely shut off my computer.
Last night I completely shut off my laptop, it was frozen, and this morning I couldn't reboot. I went online (using another computer) and look into the solution. I have tried to troubleshoot using instructions online; like resetting the PRAM and SMC, booting in Safe Mode (it won't load), booting in Recovery Mode (it just doesn't work), holding "option" key upon startup chime (after I select a drive, I tried both my regular one and the recovery drive, it would just go to the white screen with the Apple logo and the spinning wheel, sometimes I see the prohibitory sign for a while), and other things. I don't quite think it is the Nvidia issue, because I don't have any graphic issues, so I guess it's not the Nvidia issue.
I do not want to reformat my computer, but if last resort I will, because I do not have my data backed up (yeah, not a smart move).
So any ideas? Do you think that a trip to the Apple store will fix it?

Unfortunately, you cannot use Internet Recovery with your model. Get out your original installer disc or the retail Snow Leopard DVD you have and see if you can:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.
If you cannot see your drive listed in the Disk Utility sidebar, then the drive is dead. If you aren't able to repartition and reformat the drive successfully, then the drive is defective. In both cases you must replace the drive.
But if you are able to complete the above successfully, then you can reinstall OS X then upgrade it eventually to Mavericks.

Similar Messages

Late 2008 MacBook Pro won't boot; only gray screen with Apple, spinning gear, and then the mouse pointer.

Thanks to all in advance! Okay, last night I was trying to encrypt a Time Machine BackUp disk (Seagate 500GB Back Up Plus) and a dialog box popped up and said "POSIX could not..." And then whatever was next. So I unplugged the drive, plugged it back in, and the files still showed up, so I was like "oh okay so it's not screwed up." The next I try and boot my MacBook Pro, and of course it doesn't. The gray screen comes up, the logo shows up, the gear is spinnin, the it goes away and the mouse shows up. But that's where it stops. And sits. And sits. And sits. So I force it to shut down. I run through this many more times, as well as attempting the Recovery Mode, Safe Boot, and to no surprise, it doesn't work. So I go grab my trusty Snow Leopard disc, pop it in, ctrl-C on start up and it loads. So I select the option of restoring from a Time Machine backup and plug in the external drive only to not see it in the list. So I go to Disk Utility, and find out that the entire external drive has been erased and renamed disk8s2. So I go to my internal drive, but it shows how much has been used and it matches to how much as of last night. So I tried repairing the disk and restarting and of course it doesn't work. So now I don't know what to do. Really I'll take any suggestions besides buying anything (I'm only a 16 year old guy haha). So yeah. Thanks!

The encryption never actually followed through.
You started it, though. That makes the volume inaccessible to any OS X version before 10.7.

Late 2008 Macbook Pro doesn't boot after installing Mavericks

I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro, dual core 2.53 GHZ, 4 GB Ram (2x2).
I've been tearing my hair out trying to get this computer to boot up. Many things have been tried here. So here's the history.
Before starting this, I was running 10.6.8 on this computer.
First time I tried to install Mavericks, the installation failed, and when the computer went to restart, it just went in a loop, never really booting up, just getting the to gray screen with the apple symbol, spinning the wheel, and then going black again, restarting, and repeat. So, I took it into the Apple Genius Bar, and they diagnosed a bad battery. I replaced the battery, and had them do a clean restore back to 10.6.8.
I got it home, and tried to do an install again. This time, I downloaded the installer, and put in on an external firewire drive, and attempted to do a clean install of Mavericks. I ended up with the same boot failure problem.
I went back to the apple genius bar, and even though the diagnotics said my harddrive was fine, they said in the troubleshooting list, that the harddrive with the first thing they suspected. So, I replaced the harddrive. I did the Mavericks install again from an external HD, and for a moment, everything was great. It booted up into Mavericks. But, after my first restart, the problem was boot failure was back.
After reading a few articles, I tried booting in Safe mode. That worked. I also ran disk repair on the HD and it looked great. Still, it won't boot up out of Safe mode.
After being very frustrated, I tried just installing snow leopard from the dvd, but the install keeps failing.
Not sure what to do next.

Micajah10,
rather than a hard drive problem, you might have a faulty internal SATA cable. Do you have an external disk enclosure, or a SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FireWire adapter? If you can boot from your hard drive without problems when it’s external, but it remains problematic internally, then that could point to the internal SATA cable as the culprit.

Early 2008 MacBook Pro won't boot after Lion 10.7.1 update

My 2.4 GHz 4GB RAM Early 2008 MacBook Pro wont boot after downloaded the Lion 10.7.1 upate. Upon restarting the screen went dead and now the system does not boot, as if the bootloader has been wiped out. Screen appears dead but was known to be working before hand. The hard drive spins up but doesn't sound like it is searching for data.
Can anyone help me?

Okay, I tried everything I can think of last night. I removed every startup process and every tool or programm that goes deeper into the system (GlimmerBlocker, LittleSnitch, Parallels). Cleaned Up every Cache I could find and refreshed every necessary Cache or Database possible. Took me a couple of hours. But still no luck - the machine doesn't boot, just in safe mode. Right now I copy all my personal stuff to a new external harddrive because TimeMachine doesn't work, after this I will do a clean install of Lion.
It's not hardware related, it's the 10.7.1 update that doesn't work properly. By the way, the only errors remaining are:
WindowServer - kCGErrorFailure
ManagedClient - kCGErrorFailure: CGSPackageGetWorkspaceType: couldn't get workspace type
SecurityAgent - kCGErrorFailure: CGSPackageGetWorkspaceType: couldn't get workspace type
and a lot of:
com.Apple.SecurityAgent.00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000186A7: CoreAnimation: rendering error 506
that's also the last one I get before the system hangs…

2008 MacBook Pro won't boot from Leopard DVD or Target Disk

Yesterday I was working on my MacBook Pro. I use FontExplorer to manage fonts. I ran the conflicts diagnostic looking for missing font files, which returned about 200 results (I was expecting this). I've moved the fonts installed by Adobe/Microsoft out of my fonts folder in my user library (user library, not system). For some reason the computer started to become very slow, to the point of beachballing. The freezing seemed to start and stop. I was able to close FontExplorer and Illustrator without force-quitting. I tried to shut it down gracefully at that point but it froze up again, so I hit the power button to force a restart. It started up but now it hangs on the gray screen right before the Apple logo. The logo doesn't come up, I can hear the drive spinning as normal but it doesn't do anything.
I've tried booting from a retail copy of the Snow Leopard, but it doesn't work. I can hear the disc spin up in the DVD drive as though the computer is about to read it, but nothing happens. It just stays on that same blue screen. I've tried booting my MBP in Target Disk mode from my iMac. The target disk icon appears, however it just sits in the middle of the screen and my drive doesn't mount on the iMac. I've noticed now that the white status light on the front of the MBP (on the latch) doesn't come on, and if I cover the speakers the backlight doesn't turn off.
What do I do now? I have an enclosure I could use to try and boot the MBP's drive from, but I'm running out of options. I'm really starting to worry about my data. I have a major school project that's already late which is on there, and I don't have a recent backup. If I don't hand it in... let's not go there. I don't understand how this could happen; I take very good care of my computer, I turn it off when it's not in use, and I run Cocktail on it once a day which does a SMART status check.
Help?

sig,
The first thing I tried was booting from the install disk. The 2008/2009 MBP's aren't able to boot from a retail DVD of Snow Leopard, which is why I ended up using the original hardware-specific install disk that shipped with my computer. That didn't boot either. I was able to view the drive in Disk Utility when it was in the enclosure, but the partition with my data on it would not mount. I attempted a repair disk on the drive but that failed. It wouldn't mount in Terminal either. I considered trying to rebuild the volume catalog using TechTool Pro but there's the possibility that could actually make things worse. So I've taken it to the repair shop. They're running it through DiskWarrior overnight, last I heard there were 60-something thread errors. Yesterday my SMART status was fine, today my drive is dead. What happened? Hoping for the best (but expecting the worst).

My Early 2008 MacBook Pro won't boot correctly

alright so I have always wanted a macbook and I finally bought an early 2008 model from my friend due to he lack of cash to buy a newer one, so after a while it started booting slowly, like it would work but it would boot slowly, I tried to format it but I'd always get and error that said "could not validate source - error 254" any help on how I can fix this ? Ive run fsck multiple times and it tells me everything is ok, is there any other way to format my drive ? Oh and booting from the cd just gives me a folder with a question mark soooo yea any help would be appreciated, it runs mavericks and has been fine up until now

The startup drive is failing, or there is some other internal hardware fault.
Back up all data on the drive immediately if you don't already have a current backup. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional—ask if you need guidance.
Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.
If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.
Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair
Apple also recommends that you deauthorize a device in the iTunes Store before having it serviced.
*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Macbook Pro won't boot with external HDD plugged

I have a weird problem. My late 2008 Macbook Pro won't start with external HDD plugged either FW or USB... The screen stays white until I unplug it and then the Apple logo is there.
Anyone know any solution for this? Or anyone have the same problem

yeah I had the exact same issue with one of my 750GB externals too. I just left it for a while (about an hour or so) and it was fine..
I believe its so slow because the system is indexing the drive, which can be a very slow process if the drive is big, has a complex folder-hierarchy, and/or is fragmented.
Does the hard-drive appear quite quickly in Finder once OS X has started up? if its slow it may confirm what I've just said.

Reinstal Mac OS X, iWork09, iLife09 on Late 2008 Macbook Pro unibody ques?!

Alright so I've got a quick question for you knowledgeable people, I've got a late 2008 macbook pro unibody and has unfortunately installed some crap on my hard drive since i got it, and i want to be just like i got it out of the box. I want to delete everything off my hard drive, like completely erase, do I do that using the disk utility application or could i erase it completely with the mac OS X install disk that came with my mac? That's the specs of my harddrive(Hitachi Media Total Capacity : 232.9 GB (250,059,350,016 Bytes). When I reinstall my mac OS X, I will be waiting for Snow leopard (because its only $30 bucks if an upgrade), since they say the footprint of that O.S. will be considerably smaller that os x. but before i install snow leopard i want to reinstall my iwork and iLife programs, which are both 09. This leads to the next question that i have, my mac shipped with iLife and iWork 08 and I bought versions 09 after. They are single licenses and I want to know if I will be able to reinstall iWork09 and iLife09 after my reinstall of OS X without buying them again.
Thanks for any help in advance.;)

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Here's an article on Installation options:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1545?viewlocale=en_US
It should give you clear instructions on how to proceed. You will boot from your install disc to do the Erase and Install. To erase the boot drive, you will use the Disk Utility that is on your install disc.
You have the iLife 09 and the iWork 09 discs? Then you should be able to reinstall them from the discs after installing the OS. The single license means that you are licensed to use them on only one computer at a time.
Be sure to make a good backup of anything you want to keep before erasing your drive and reinstalling the OS.
Incidentally, you can save a few GB's of space if you do a custom installation and eliminate any languages and printer drivers you won't ever use.
Good luck!

HT4718 I had a copy of Mountain Lion on my late 2008 MacBook Pro, having replaced Lion which it came with. But the drive,crashed, so I replaced the drive and reinstalled Lion from the original disks I had. How do I get another copy of Mountain Lion?

I had a copy of Mountain Lion on my late 2008 MacBook Pro, having replaced Lion which it came with. But the drive crashed, so I replaced the drive and reinstalled Lion from the original disks I had. How do I get another copy of Mountain Lion?

A 2008 Mac won't have originally shipped with Lion. You need to install 10.6.8 on the computer, log into the Mac App Store with the Apple ID you used to purchase Mountain Lion, click on the Purchases tab, and download it.
(121465)

How to transfer/migrate from Late 2008 MacBook Pro to MacBook Pro, with retina?

Is there anyway of directly connecting a Late 2008 MacBook Pro to a MacBook Pro, with retina, in a Target Disk Mode way without having to wait for the magical adapter in July?
Should I go to the Apple Store, buy a normal MacBook Pro, use it to do the transfer, and return it?
Thanks to anyone for taking the time to answer.

Erica M31 wrote:
Is there anyway of directly connecting a Late 2008 MacBook Pro to a MacBook Pro, with retina, in a Target Disk Mode way without having to wait for the magical adapter in July?
There is Setup Assistant when you first boot the new Mac, over wireless it's supposed to migrate for you, however I hear it can take hours and days to complete.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Pro_Retina_QuickStart.pdf
Another faster method would be to use the free/donations Carbon Copy Cloner the old Mac to a blank USB3, 2,1 drive, then hook it up to the new Mac and use Setup Assistant (or Migration Assistant) that way, it will think it's another Mac.
You can also simply drag and drop files into a same named account on the new machine manually from the clone.
It should take about a hour per 250GB to clone, about another hour for Setup Assistant.
Over wireless it could take a eternity.

Replacement hard drive for late 2008 Macbook Pro

I need to replace my drive in a late 2008 Macbook Pro 15". I can access the battery and what looks like the hard drive from the underside, if this helps. Would this be a good replacement choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136279
Finding exact specs for the drive has been tricky, or maybe I just need to have the physical size verified. What I know/have found is:
5400rpm       (would a 7200rpm improve performance, or am I limited by hardware?)
SATA II        (does this matter tese days?)
2.5" drive   (needs verification)
open drive? (do I need this or not?)
Any other options or advice? I'd like to spend a small amount since this is an older computer and won't be around a whole lot longer anyway. Thanks in advance!

The link you posted above is for a WD drive,....dont get it.   WD drives (some) have SMS sensor coflicts with Mac, and the consumer grade western digital HD are the worst you can buy.
Same as used by Apple below, best option, cheapest price.
best likewise replacement 1TB 9.5mm Toshiba
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-1TB-MQ01ABD100-HDKBB96A1A01-2-5-5400RPM-Laptop-N otebook-9-5mm-HDD-/171120091488?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item27d78d 6 160
$68
Stockdizzle
I will need to clone the current drive before it fails; is there an article in this forum on that?
Easy, 3 clicks and sit back and let Superduper CLONE your HD.....about 40 mins average.
Superduper is free and most of the pros use it (or carbon copy cloner)
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
See instruction and get software there<     very very easy to do

Late 2008 MacBook Pro - Bootcamp (Vista-32bit) issues

Hey all -
I have a couple issues with my late 2008 MacBook Pro when I use bootcamp to switch to its Vista (32 bit) side. I've never been able to solve these issues myself, so I was hoping I could get some help here.
When on the vista side, when I close the lid the computer display will shut off but the actualy computer will continue to run, and after some time I will no be able to wake it from its sleep.
When I try to turn the brightness down on my screen, it will turn down but then turn back to full brightness a few seconds later.
Scrollng with 2 fingers on the track pad is erratic (I read there was going to be a fix for this?)
The laptop gets so hot to the touch that it is almost painful (I imagine this can't be good for the computer)
It has also become sluggish to the point where even simple games and those on steam won't work without incredible lag. Are there anyways to stop some processes to speed up the vista side?
Like I said, this is all while in bootcamp, not experiencing any of the issues on the OSX side.
Thanks for any help

Would love some help if anyone knows

What Ram is compatible with the Late 2008 Macbook pro

hi iv had my 15" 2.66GHz intle dual core late 2008 Macbook pro since early 2009 and now i have decided to upgrade from 4GB to 8GB ram cause now its quite cheap now. so iv bought the 2 packs of 8GB DDR 3 1066MHz Corsair for €40 each off ebay 1 for me and one for a friend of mine he has a Macbook pro 13" late 2009 2.5GHz intel dual core and his MBP works with now problems and there was a noticeable FPS upgrade when he played starcraft 2 which he can play on medium settings before was low but anyway so when i finally got a chance to install the x2 4GB sticks they would freeze my Macbook after a few seconds of booting into osx Lion 64bit so at first i thought the ram was f**ked but my friend let me use his 8GB ram that he had working in his MBP and it still froze so right now im back the 4GB so my question is what have i done wrong here is there a certain type of ram i should use or is my machine capable for 8GB ram but it should because its using the same MOBO as the 2009 MBP would i need a kext of kernnel update any help would really appreciated.

Just updated from a late 2008 Macbook Pro and I am getting a blink on my external screen

I just upgraded from a late 2008 Macbook Pro with a AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1024 MB graphics card and I am now getting a blink (black screen) every few seconds.
Anyone know a fix.
Thanks

You could always give it a shot - the only problem that you might run into is that the the early 2011 might not boot when the hard drive is swapped from the 2008 hard drive. Some versions of OS X are simply not compatible between different models.
But it's worth a try...
Clinton

New macbook pro battery for late 2008 macbook pro dies fast.

I have a late 2008 macbook pro 2.4 HGz Intet Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of ram. I've had it since 2009 and just got a new battery, as the old one finally gave up. That being said, the new battery dies quite fast and I'm not sure why. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thank you

Only problem is that maybe the battery you were sold was manufactured around the same time as the Mac. And LiPo batteries die because of old age as well as use. Take it out and carefully examine all markings, especially anything that can date when it was made, like copyrights or such.
With that evidence you can go back and demand a refund.

Late 2008 Macbook Pro Won't Boot

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for