Macbook pro 2009 won't accept disks.

Today I randomly try putting a disk into my drive for my printer and it wouldn't accept it. When I try putting it in it just spits it back out and does nothing. When I look at system profiler is says everything is okay. And when I tried restarting it the drive makes the sound like normally when it turns on. Does anyone know what kind of problem I'm having and how I could fix it? Thanks

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My MacBook Pro 2009 won't turn on. It suddenly won't charge and when it did I shut it down and now it won't turn back on. Charging shows green and the green little dots are showing on the side. I tried smc reset, command p r, what else?

My MacBook Pro 2009 won't turn on. It suddenly won't charge and when it did, I shut it down and now it won't turn back on. Charging shows green and the green little dots are showing on the side. I tried smc reset, command+p+r. Any other suggestions before i take it to apple service center?

A four year battery could be dead. I'd contact an Apple Service Center.

My MacBook pro 2009, won't turn on but the indicator light does.

Hey guys, I am computer illiterate as far as hardware goes, so I hope someone can help me. I have a 2009 MacBook pro, and today was the first day I have ever had a problem with it. It won't turn on, however the little power indicator light does come on and it stays on. The battery indicator is green. The keyboard isn't working because when I press on the caps lock button it doesnt turn green. I tried to charge my IPhone to it to see if it was getting enough power, and the IPhone didn't charge. So I'm guessing that my MacBook isn't getting enough power, could it be this simple or more severe.

It sounds like your MBP doesn't produce a startup chime that is an indication that the POST, Power On Self Test, has failed which means that it has hardware problems that are serious enough to prevent POST from completing successfully.
You are either going to have to do some serious troubleshooting to find out what part of the MBP has failed or take it to Apple and ask them to fix it for you. They will give you an estimate after they see it so that you can decide if you are going to have it fixed or not.
Allan

MacBook Pro (2009) won't reboot or restore

My MBPro recently greeted me at the grey startup screen w/ Apple logo and despite my efforts I cannot get past it. I can boot to recovery mode successfully. I seem to have exausted all options there. I do have Time Machine backups on an external drive but I've tried three times to restore and each time the result is the same grey start up screen. My first two restore efforts were on the internal HD, and the third was to another external HD. I'm getting no where. Open to suggestions please!

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

How can I erase the data on my 2009 macbook pro that won't turn on because of a faulty motherboard? Do I just remove the hard drive, install it in a working mac, and erase it that way?

How can I erase the data on my 2009 macbook pro that won't turn on because of a faulty motherboard? Do I just remove the hard drive, install it in a working mac, and erase it that way? Thanks.

You put the internal drive in an enclosure. If you choose to keep the drive, you don't need to erase it.
(110687)

Installing Photoshop CS4 from original Disk onto my new Macbook Pro. Serial number accepted but now asks for the serial number of a previous version e.g. CS3 which I no longer keep. How do I resolve ?

Installing Photoshop CS4 from original Disk onto my new Macbook Pro. Serial number accepted but now asks for the serial number of a previous version e.g. CS3 which I no longer keep. How do I resolve ?

Tina Hadley did you migrate/transfer your applications over to your new Macintosh? If so this could cause problems with your serial number being recognized. Please run the available uninstallers located in Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers folder. Once this is done you will also want to run the CC Cleaner Tool. Details on the use of the CC Cleaner Tool can be found at Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6 - http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/cs5-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html.

Macbook pro blue screen with spinning disk, won't start up. desperate!!!

macbook pro blue screen with spinning disk, won't start up. desperate!!! i'm a student and have a paper due tomorrow.
my macbook was really sluggish so i ran a hardware test. it said NO PROBLEMS. i did restart. my current login and password were REJECTED.
then the macbook went into blue screen and it just sits there and flashes to gray and back to blue and the white lines that make up the circle icon just spin and spin. i am DESPERATE to get this running so i can print my paper. please email me directly to my cell phone because i can't access computer. using someone else's computer to request help. DIRECT EMAIL PLEASE thank you.
<Email Edited by Host>

Hi ...
my current login and password were REJECTED
Try resetting your admin password > Mac OS X: Changing or resetting an account password

Macbook Pro 2009 has gray screen, safe mode won't work

I have a Macbook Pro 2009, with a new hard drive installed in August of 2013. I opened my computer a couple days ago to a gray screen with a prohibitory sign and a spinning gear that will not disappear. I have no backup and tried to backup my hard drive to an external drive in Recovery Mode, but I got an error message and the backup did not work: the image could not be created. So I decided to try Safe Mode, but the Macbook will not enter safe mode. Is there any way to get onto the computer just to backup a handful of files onto an external drive before I format my drive and start over? Am I doing something wrong by trying to enter safe mode? (I held down the Shift key after the chime and released it when the Apple logo and the gear appeared) Any help is appreciated. I've read all the topics in the forums I could find on this issue, but none of the directions seem to help. Thank you.

LisaLoParo,
no, you’re not doing anything wrong in trying to boot into Safe mode.
I can think of three possible alternatives to Safe mode to try:
If you have an external disk, you could boot from the grey Mac OS X Install DVD which came in the box with your MacBook Pro, and try copying files from your internal disk to the external disk;
If you have a bootable external disk, you could boot from it using Startup Manager, and try copying files from your internal disk to the external disk;
If you have access to a FireWire 800 cable and a second Mac with a FireWire 800 port, you could try booting your MacBook Pro into Target Disk mode so that it can be used as an external disk from the second Mac, and try copying files from your MacBook Pro to the second Mac.
You’d only need to try one of these three alternatives; if you try one of them and it doesn’t work, then you’d get the same result by trying either of the other two. Good luck.

If i dont have original install disks for my macbook pro 2009 can i create one?

if i dont have original install disks for my macbook pro 2009 can i create one?

No, but you might be able to purchase replacements:
Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
To contact product and tech support visit online support site.

Bought a Macbook pro 2009 2.8 ghz used, how do I make the most? (it was not formatted)

bought a Macbook pro 2009 2.8 ghz used, how do I make the most? (it was not formatted)

The first thing to do with a second-hand computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You—not the original owner—must do that. How you do it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter the serial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.
It is not safe to use a computer with software installed by a previous owner.
1a. If you don't own another Mac
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller—not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to the technical specifications.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for some MacBook Air models. For early MBA models, you may need a USB optical drive or Remote Disc. You should have received the media from the original owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.
To start up from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then restart the computer and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should start up in Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.
Some models shipped with OS X 10.6 and received a firmware update after 10.7 was released, enabling them to use Internet Recovery. If you have one of those models, you may not be able to reinstall 10.6 even from the original discs, and Internet Recovery may not work either without the original owner's Apple ID. In that case, contact Apple Support, or take the machine to an Apple Store or another authorized service provider to have the OS installed.
1b. If you do own another Mac
If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to prepare a USB device, then start up the new Mac from it by holding down the C key at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can start from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.
2. Partition and install OS X
If you see a lock screen when trying to start up from installation media or in Recovery mode, then a firmware password was set by the previous owner, or the machine was remotely locked via iCloud. You'll either have to contact the owner or take the machine to an Apple Store or another service provider to be unlocked. You may be asked for proof of ownership.
Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive—not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In thePartition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.
After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. If you're installing a version of OS X acquired from the App Store, you will need the Apple ID and password that you used. When the installation is done, the system will automatically restart into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.
Then run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the original owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed—you have to repurchase them.
3. Other issues
If the original owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're irrevocably linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.
If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.
When trying to create a new iCloud account, you might get a failure message: "Account limit reached." Apple imposes a lifetime limit of three iCloud account setups per device. Erasing the device does not reset the limit. You can still use an account that was created on another device, but you won't be able to create a new one. Contact iCloud Support for more information.

I have a 13 inch MacBook Pro (2009) & the "White Screen of Death" is present. Need help?

I have a 13 inch MacBook Pro (2009). Recently I bought an extended hard drive because I had used up the memory on my iDisk. As I was running the Time Machine back up on my new extended drive, the battery on my Pro ran out causing it to shut down. Once I hooked up my Pro to the power cord & logged in, the "White Screen of Death" appeared on the home display. Obviously the battery still works, my phone is able to charge along with the extended drive, I am able to adjust the lighting on my keyboard along with adjusting the brightness on my screen, but the "White Screen" remains. I need help in determining the cause of this issue & the steps I'll need to take in order to resolve this. I love my Pro, all my documents, photos & music are on it & the last thing I want to do is kill my wallet by buying a new Pro. So could someone on here please help me? It would be greatly appreciated & I thank you in advance!

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is damaged and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 7
Repeat step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 8
This step applies only to a Mac Pro tower, not to any other model. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.

My macbook pro suddenly won't send emails.

They sit in my outbox. Please can you help.
This suddenly happened this morning when I tried to send a video. I cancelled that message bit it froze the whole thing although one message seems to have got through.

krowl13 wrote:
My Macbook Pro suddenly won't read my 750GB WD Elements Hard drive.
If I'm not mistaken, this drive is bus-powered. MBPs seem to have frequent problems with bus-powered drives, probably because they don't provide enough power on the USB bus.
In disk utility though it says it is a 2.2TB hard drive
It is possible that the drive or USB interface are damaged. However, it is too early to decide. You need to connect the drive to a desktop machine (Mac or PC), or provide more power to the drive (with a power supply, if the drive accepts it, or a USB Y-cable and a USB power supply, rated 1A or more).

My Macbook Pro suddenly won't read my hard drive.

My Macbook Pro suddenly won't read my 750GB WD Elements Hard drive.
It was working earlier today but when I went to press play on my TV show in VLC it said the files couldn't be read. So i reopended them all and they still didn't work. I closed down all programs running that could possibly be using my hard drive but it said it was being used so I force ejected it and when I plugged it back in it didn't work.
It comes up with an error message "this disk can't be read by this computer" but it still shows up in disk utility. In disk utility though it says it is a 2.2TB hard drive which confuses me. also I the buttons for "verify disk" and "repair disk" are greyed out.
Is there something that I can do to try and get my hard drive working again?

krowl13 wrote:
My Macbook Pro suddenly won't read my 750GB WD Elements Hard drive.
If I'm not mistaken, this drive is bus-powered. MBPs seem to have frequent problems with bus-powered drives, probably because they don't provide enough power on the USB bus.
In disk utility though it says it is a 2.2TB hard drive
It is possible that the drive or USB interface are damaged. However, it is too early to decide. You need to connect the drive to a desktop machine (Mac or PC), or provide more power to the drive (with a power supply, if the drive accepts it, or a USB Y-cable and a USB power supply, rated 1A or more).

How do i updates itunes on a macbook pro 2009 10.5.8 to newer 10.6.8

Hey guys i hope someone can help me. I recenlty brought an older model macbook pro 2009 with itunes 10.5.8 on it. for a great low price of $ 300 dollars. How ever i cant update a newer version of itunes to replace the 10.5.8. So everytime I plug my new ipad into the older mac it says i need itunes 10.6.8 or higher. how do i update to a newer version for free???? youtube was not helpful or goole. So I am stuck.

Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.

MacBook Pro 2009 new hard drive install results in very slow function and freezing

I just wanted to post my resolution to a problem that I had trouble finding an answer to on these forums.
Short version:
I replaced the hard drive in my 2009 MacBook Pro because the computer froze and upon reboot the Disk Utility said it was corrupted, but with the new hard drive the computer ran very slowly and often showed the spinning rainbow wheel. I replaced the SATA cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard and it works perfectly once again.
Long version:
Recently my MacBook Pro (2009 running Snow Leopard) froze up and I performed a hard reset by holding down the power button. When I turned the computer back on it would not boot OS so I ran disk utility from the Snow Leopard install DVD. The test said the hard drive was corrupted, and since the computer is way past warranty I decided to change the drive out myself. I bought a 500GB Seagate Momentus 5400 Drive from Amazon, opened the computer and replaced the existing hard drive with the new one. When I first booted from the OS install DVD, my computer was not recognizing that any hard drive was present. I read somewhere on these forums that sometimes the formatting on new Seagate drives can't be read by MacBooks and they need to be reformatted using another computer, but I tried simply taking the hard drive out and putting it back in a couple of times thinking maybe I had just not plugged it in correctly. After the 4th attempt the hard drive magically showed up, and I was able to reformat the drive and install OS and even Windows XP on bootcamp.
Everything seemed to be okay but applications were running slowly considering this was a fresh drive and OS install. Over time, the computer started to hang more and more. In OS I would get the spinning rainbow wheel even when doing something as simple as opening a browser window in Chrome or trying to type into a text field. When I tried to use Windows it would simply freeze after only a short time and I'd have to do a hard reset.
I went to the Genius Bar at the Apple store which was unhelpful, so I continued searching through these forums to try to figure out the problem. I noticed a lot of people had trouble with the SATA cable that came with the computer because it's quite thin and delicate, and would get damaged when changing out the hard drive. However most of these people seemed to experience a question mark when starting up the computer, whereas mine would fully boot and be functional for a time. I thought it unlikely that a damaged cable could possibly leave the computer partially functional. Finally though I gave in a dropped the $26 for a new SATA cable on Amazon. As soon as I installed it the problem was fixed, and the computer runs as fast as when I first bought it. I don't know if I damaged the cable changing the hard drive (I was extremely careful) or if my original hard drive was not actually corrupted and the cable was already damaged. I mentioned the possibility of the cable being damaged at the Apple store and the representative said that often times they fail because people carry the laptop with one hand, and because of the way this model was designed this puts a lot of pressure right on that thin cable. Regardless, if you do plan on changing out your hard drive in your MacBook keep in mind that the SATA cable is sensitive, and that if you experience problems with a fresh hard drive and OS install the SATA cable is a likely culprit.

If you think you have either a hard drive or a cable problem, to the best of my knowledge the only product that can help isolate both of them is Scannerz. You can check it out at:
http://scsc-online.com/Scannerz.html
I think that's the correct link. If it isn't and you're interested and that's wrong, just google it. I'd also check out their downloads section, especially the sort of short document on using path isolation to detect and isolate problems.
Scannerz can detect both errors and irregularities. It uses the surface scan progress as a reference. Cable problems never show up at the same location because they're typically intermittent. Surface problems always show up at the exact same place. That's the only product (at least commercially available) that can do that.
I don't know if this information is of any value to you because it sort of sounds like you've already solved the problem, but it might be of use if you have problems in the future.
In any case, I've seen several posts on several different sites where people were reporting insulation break down on some of the SATA cables. Apparently the insulation breaks down and the cable starts shorting to the case.

Macbook pro 2009 won't accept disks.

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