Macbook Pro late 2008 won't turn on

I had a well working Macbook Pro unibody late 2008 (15 inches) but wanted to upgrade it a bit so after changing the HD to 1TB (which worked with no issues) I ordered some RAM to get it to 8GB (from 4). I opened it, changed the RAM, cleaned up the Fans that were really full of dust, put everything back and surprise: The Power button does NOT respond. Battery is fully charged, MagSafe is green, everything seemd normal but it just won't turn on.
I tried to put the old RAM back in it => Same result.
I tried to reset the SMC following this http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 (removed the battery and power, pressed the button for 5 seconds, plug it back) but it didn't work either..
I checked every cable I could see under the hood but I really didn't touch much of the machine besides the fansm that I didn't even unplug..
What could cause this?? How do you troubleshoot a machine that won't even power.
Help please!
thanks

apassemard,
how did you clean the fans? The MacBook Pro’s internals are extremely sensitive to static electricity; if you did not take care to discharge any static electricity on your person before working with its internals, you might well have fried them through static electricity discharging into your MacBook Pro’s logic board.

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Macbook Pro (late) 2008 won't recognize HD and MAC OS X installed, but recognizes SAME HDD with Windows installed ... where is the problem !???D a

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Hello JashaCOLD,
Thank you for the details of the issue you are experiencing with your external hard drive. I found an article with steps you can take when an external device is not being recognized.
I recommend following the steps in the section titled "Top troubleshooting tips" in the following article:
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

MacBook Pro (Late 2008) won't start up

Since December 2012, my MacBook Pro (late 2008) refuses start up. After trying many, many things (from online forums - nothing worked), the solution I found by hit and miss is to heat up the back of the laptop in front of my fireplace (or with a hair dryer), to remove the battery, to wait a few seconds and then to put it back in; after doing this, it turns on without a fuss and remains in perfect running condition until I turn it off again. I now leave it on 24/7 when at home, and I don't dare taking it away with me again... Seems to me a contact got loose and the heat expands it just enough to make it work again. Manufacturing problem?
Has anybody else got the same or a similar problem? I hope to fix this without going to an Apple store if possible, as it's not under warranty any more...
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It coule be one of two things:
1) Your hard drive has become corrupted, and you'll have to reinstall the OS and cut your losses.
2) Your logic board is fried. I seriously hope that this isn't the problem, but if it is, then it's time for a new mac.
My macbook pro was stuck on a bootup loop, and I finally had to reinstall the OS. This fixed my problem. On the other hand, I had this same problem on my iMac, and an OS reinstall didn't do anything.
Before making any judgements, take it to the genius bar and get some expert advice.

MacBook Pro Late 2008 won't see my scanner

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My macbook pro (late 2008) won't recognize dvd or cd?

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Macbook pro late 2008 13 inch won't run 8 gb ram

Hello, I have a question that has been bothering me for a while now.
I bought a 4gb Ram Module at best buy, it is 1066GhZ DDR3 SODIM.H from PNY to upgrade my macbook pro to 8gb of RAM, everything was going well, I got home and opened up my macbook, inserted the module and turned on my mac.
Everything started working fine until I tried to open google chrome, my machine went into a kernel panic and restarted itself.
Being as I am, I decided to wipe my machine and re-install mountain lion (I run it because mavericks slows down my computer) but my machine wouldn't let me install it.
I opened my computer up again, re-installed the 1gb module from the fabric and the computer worked well.
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I really would like to know what is going on :/
My specs:
Macbook pro late 2008 unibody
Version 10.8.5
H2.4 GHZ Intel core 2 duo processor
5 gb 1067 MHz DDR3 memory
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Boot ROM Version: MB51.007D.B03

According to http://mactracker.ca database (free download) the MacBook Pro
13-inch model identifier5.1 you've stated that you have, is Not as you've said.
However, there was a 15-inch with the 5.1 model identifier.
•How to identify MacBook Pro models
Be sure to correctly identify the MacBook Pro model, and then get high quality
RAM of proper specification of known good brand for Apple portables.
Find an Example of correct spec RAM, by model & identifier; display size, build year:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade
The budget name brands seldom work well in Apple products; they do OK in some
models of old computers or loose-spec PCs. OWC/macsales and crucial.com are
two better known reputable suppliers of upgrade parts for Macs. Be sure to match
the correct part to the exact spec for your computer.
•How to identify MacBook models
•The MacBook 13-inch (Aluminum Late 2008) -- is not a MacBook Pro:
Model Identifier    MacBook5,1
Model Number    A1278
EMC    2254
As such the RAM spec according to MacTracker is as follows:
Maximum Memory    8.0 GB (Actual) 4.0 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots    2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM
OWC site points to this page for RAM. Double check detailed specs:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3
Good luck & happy computing!
edited 2x

Macbook Pro Late 2008 Boot Issue

Hello All!
So I have an issue i would like to throw into the ring and see if I get any responses I have not thought of yet. Let me give you a quick backstory to my recent macbook adventures.... I will start with a quick prelude story.
Chapter One:
Purchased a used Macbook Pro, Late 2008 2.53ghz, 4gb DDR3 ram with no charger off ebay. And yes, I should know better. But honestly, it only had a cracked screen but still worked perfectly connected to an external monitor and i could not pass on the price of it.
Chapter Two:
After recieving my purchase, I determined that it was just a cracked cover over the LCD screen which is easily replaced, but the backlight was out on the LCD. So i ordered a new LCD. The new LCD did not fix my issue, which then pointed me to a problem on the motherboard. I then sent it out and had it repaired.
Chapter Three:
Upon recieving my newly repaired macbook, I installed a new SSD drive, battery and replaced the screen cover for the newly installed LCD. It looks Fantastic if I do say so myself! I then proceded to install lion and I have a perfect running Macbook Pro for less than 700 bucks after all was said and done.
Chapter Four:
Now, at this point you should know why I bought it... I use it for djing. That is it. There is nothing else on this. No apps, programs, or scripts. It has an updated lion OS on it and my serato itch Djing software. There isnt even any music on it as i store that on an external 3T WD elements drive. (I only installed an 80gb SSD for the OS system). Unfortunately i have had some instances where the Mac Pro has just shut down completely while im spinning! Not good for business!
Chapter Five:
Over the course of the last year I have noticed some things happening. Longer than normal boot times (especially since it has an SSD in it this seems wierd to me) and crashing of the Itch software while trying to analyze music or just not closing itch at all when im done playing a show and having to press and hold the power button to turn off the mac. Now for the kicker... Unbeknowst to me, apparently you cant use a 65W charger on a macbook that requires an 85W charger, this i just recently learned. The charger i was using was a 65W from a white 13 inch macbook 2006. I just recently aquired the 85W charger.
This brings us to the present.....
Here is the issue. I was analyzing my music files using itch, when suddenly & randomly one of the 2 analyzing indicators would just stop analyzing the track it was on... This leaves only one analyzer bar going and the other just stuck where it is (16000 songs will take awhile with only one analyzer going). If i stop analyzing and restart it, it picks up where it left off and continues for a bit and stops again, but its never the same track or same length of time before it stops analyzing. Now I have tried this with both Lion and Snow Leopard (the white macbook 2006 has snow) and it appears to happen with either OS.
So I decided to install Snow on my Mac Pro 2008. For some reason, and I dont know why, it would not let me install snow to the partion I made on the drive. The disc would just keep rebooting the Mac pro over and over again. I know for a fact that snow works because I took the drive out of the white Macbook 2006 and put it into the Mac Pro 2008. Booted right up.
So, I have re-installed itch on lion... Still has the same problem with lion.
I have restored a copy of snow to the partioned hard drive of my Mac Pro 2008 from my white macbook 2006. This seems to be the only way to do this if i want snow on my Mac Pro 2008 since it won't boot Snow from disc or USB. Installed a new copy of itch, still the same problem.
So my question is this.... Is it hardware or software?
And to stop those from putting the obvious, I have done all the PVRAM, SMC etc resets!! I am not some 12yr old trying to make daddys computer work again because i used it like i shouldn't have. Im looking for something besides the obvious!
Sorry, but I felt the entire story needed to be told in order to get the responses I'm looking for....
And thanks for taking the time to read about my issues! Hopefully someone can point me in the direction I need to go to get this to stop doing what it's doing. I will be more than happy to answer any and all questions concerning this issue as best I can.

The heat generated may be a function of what you are doing on the Internet. Watching videos will stress the CPU/GPU and create heat and result in faster fan speeds.
First try a SMC and PRAM resets:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14222?viewlocale=en_US
If there is no change, post back.
Ciao

MacBook Pro Late 2008 (Unibody) doesn't boot

Hello,
my good old MacBook Pro Late 2008 running Mountain Lion won't boot anymore. The sleep light does not light on, the green battery status indicator light is showing that the battery is full. I had this problem two or three times, and usually my Macbook comes magically back to life after one or two days.
At the Apple store they said I'd have to make a SMC reset, and when they did it in the store, it worked. But it doesn't work for me (and I am sure I am doing the same thing, so maybe the Apple guy was just lucky – or is there another special trick?). What could be the solution to my problem?
Unfortunately, I can't really tell the exact specifications, but it is the standard model, and I didn't change anything since. I just had the problem that it was getting really hot like half a year ago, but then I cleaned the fans and since then it was running rather fine (just sometimes froze).
Any help greatly appreciated!
Julian

I've got the same, or almost the same problem on a MBP 2008 (late).
MBP 15.4/2.53/2X2GB/320/SD/512VRAM upgraded to 8 GB 1067 DDR3 (OWC memory)
In my case the computer works fine when I'm able to get it on. If it is turned off and the MagSafe charger disconnected then left that way for a few hours, and the MagSafe is re-connected, let it charge for a bit, it can often be turned on via the power button. HOWEVER, .....
If it is left OFF overnight (Apple > Shut Down .... ), and the backlit keyboard goes dark, then a little pause before closing the lid, and left overnight, it will usually not be able to be turned on. The battery is in reasonably good condition (~+3500 mAh) and the newer battery (~ guess +5000 or more mAh) it doesn't do any better, and it won't turn on. Cycle count 183.
Take the battery out, (disconnect the MagSafe first! Never have the MagSafe charging without a batter in the computer) wait half a minute, reinstall battery (I like the 5,1 because the back section can be easily removed to access the battery and the hard drive), attach the MagSafe charger then wait a bit (few minutes), and the computer can often be turned on the first time. If not the first time then repeat the process. Tried hitting the Power button with the battery off but that doesn't seem to change anything.
Erased the HD (Hard Drive) and reinstalled Yosemite, have Fire Vault turned off, did a Utilities (Cmd + r ) check of the hardware (no problems), also did a few other tests - no problems. PRAM reset. Investigated BONJOUR - haven't gone into the Terminal yet. Would be nice to disable Bonjour without disabling DNS. https://www.apple.com/support/bonjour/ and http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/151485/how-do-i-disable-bonjour-visibil ity-after-yosemite-install and http://forums.obdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6106
The Genius Bar tested it and couldn't find a problem. Suggested the Logic Board be replaced and that i$ expen$ive! I've investigated having the Logic Board repaired and that would cost around $150 + shipping. Won't do the oven trick. Other problem sources I've come across is the graphics chip (mainly on the 2008 (early) MBPs.
Since erasing and reinstalling OS X Yosemite the computer really screams but I've started to reinstall some of the applications (FCPX & Motion), Documents, and Movie files. Still screams though! Nothing like a real cleaning of the hard drive. Didn't do a Time Capsule-type backup because I wanted to minimize "junk". The CanoScan LiDE 90 scanner won't work because Canon won't come up with a driver to work with Yosemite. Won't buy a Canon scanner again and didn't want to buy it to begin with due to a previous Canon problem. Bought a new Canon camcorder, $1,600 + tax, back when they had mini-tapes, it at the Maxwell tape but just outside the warranty period and wanted something around $500 to fix it. Turned out that was a typical problem.
Really running out of options and ideas at this point. Hate to send it off to repair the Logic Board. Still looking for a software or setting fix.

Audio Issues with MacBook Pro (Late 2008)

I am seeing an occasional issue with my MacBook Pro (Late 2008). The Audio will go out... and instead you will just hear static-like clicking sounds when and audio even happens. For example... when you have the up/down volume notification on... and you change the audio volume.. you hear clicks. Or... when you open up a file that has audio.. you will hear the static-like click when the audio starts to try to play.
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I went to and Apple Support Center last week and I asked some questions about audio because my MBP was having troubles too. The tech told me audio issues are very frequent on these machines and sometimes you have to change a part of the soundcard. He also added you have to bring the MBP to a support center if you're having the problem several times - in my case I'm waiting the next "crash" since I had only 2 issues so far... If you're under warranty go for a check up and see if it really needs assistance. Goodbye

MacBook Pro (Late 2008) and Lion

Has anyone out there installed Lion on a MacBook Pro (Late 2008), 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM?
Want to know about performance issues if any?
Everything working okay?
No spinning balls?
Is the laptop usable?
Want to do my homework before making the leap to Lion.
Thanks!

Hi, i'm using the same machine as yours. This my specs:
MB470LL/A - Late 2008 MacbookPro 15"
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz
DDR3 1066 MHz PC3-8500 8GB RAM (2x4GB Corsair Chip)
EFI Firmware Update 1.8
No problem so far using OS X Lion 10.7.1
1. Time Machine problem: I'm never using time machine for backup so i don't have any experience regarding time machine compatibility.
2. Yes this OSX using a lot of RAM. So i suggest you upgrade your RAM to 8GB (our machine is old enough for only 2GB of RAM). Corsair or Crucial chip will be great.
3. Like John Kitchen said, somehow OS X Lion barely resting up the system. There are always task consuming CPU running on the shade. Kernel activity has up almost twice of Snow Leopard's. But it didn't give me any trouble so far.
And here a little word of suggestion:
I don't know if this is only me, but i felt happier when i'm using Snow Leopard. I know you won't understand and somehow saying to yourself: "It will be different for me...". You just have to try it yourself.
You better listen to John Kitchen advise about making a boot copy of your system and install Lion there. Had i know this before i will be happier now.
So have a happy install and godspeed.

Macbook pro late 2008 max hard drive size

I have a MacBook Pro Late 2008. I think the max RAM is 8GB but what is the max hard drive size. It is running Yosemite. It currently has a 1TB drive.

I solved the heat-issue in Windows Vist32 (tested and worked!)
This should also work in XP, XP64 and VISTA 64 although not tested.
Goto the Nvidia website and download the latest notebook drivers (http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html).
Uninstall your old notebook drivers through device-manager and restart.
Now install the Nvidia notebook drivers you just downloaded and restart.
*NOW THE IMPORTANT PART!!!*
After numerous hours of testing i found out that installing new Nvdia display drivers overwrite some Nvidia chipset drivers. This causes your fans not spinning at all under heavy GPU load.
*THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE BECAUSE TEMPERATURES CAN EASILY PASS 100 degrees celsius.*
Now for the fix in four easy steps!
1. Under Windows insert your MacOS original install-disc (the one with the bootcamp drivers)
2. Choose to explore the Bootcamp folder.
3. Now open the drivers folder and browse to the Nvidia folder.
4. Now install the package called nvidiachipset. These come in all flavors (XP, XP64, VISTA, VISTA64) choose the correct version for your OS.
After installation a reboot is not even necessary. Start your favorite game and notice the extreme humming of your speeding fans! Should sound like music!
*So remember. Every time you update your graphics drivers A REINSTALL OF THE CHIPSET DRIVERS FOR YOUR UNIBODY MBP MUST BE DONE!! If you don't the fans won't come up under heavy load which will result in a BUSTED GPU!!!*
Message was edited by: geethreeforce

Macbook Pro late 2008 goes black randomly

I purchased a macbook pro late 2008 model on December 30, 2008. Since recently, its screen goes black randomly when the built-in 9400m graphics chip is switched on. During the black screen process, the keyboard still keeps shining. I might wake it up by pressing CtrlShiftEject, but quite often I have to shut it down by holding the power button and restart. I have never encountered the problem when it is working with the 9600M chip, or when it is running window xp.
The screen can go black at any time, when it is booting (the gray screen with the Apple logo), or in the Apple hardware test. I have run Apple Hardware Test for several times, and no errors were found.
Desperately, I brought my laptop to the local apple store, and there I was unable to reproduce the black of death, and I left my computer there for check, after 3 days, they just called me, saying there was nothing wrong with it. But when I take it home, turn it on, only to find that the problem still remains the same.
Could it be the problem with a defected graphic chip? Or is it a problem with the firmware or the OS?
I really appreciate your assistance.
PS I tried to reset the SMC as it is instructed in Apple Support, but I did not see the led blinking at all, so I did not know whether it worked or not.

i am having the same problem!!! My description is pretty much exactly the same as the orgional posters. now mine have been less frequent, but i recently just expierenced two in a row in about a 3 minute time span. now, mine have never done it at boot up. i dont believe i had this problem with 10.5, and i definitly dont have this problem in windows. now, i have in MOST cases, been able to recover from it by, simply closing the screen for a moment, then reopening it. but i really would like this issue to be resolved. Thanks!

Macbook Pro Late 2008 External Microphone

Can anybody tell me if anybody get Apple headset (the one with microphone and earphone) working on Macbook Pro late 2008 under OS X? If you get it working can you post your EFI and SMC version? I used to get it working last time but now it won't get detected as 'External Microphone'

bump*

Instaling ML on Macbook pro late 2008 from dmg problem

Hello all
a friend of mine has a macbook pro late 2008 with snow leopard installed.
He wanted me to clean install the machine and install ML on it
i checked the requirements and i saw that this is possible
went on my mac mini and restored the image file to a usb stick and holding option key while booting i started the process
first erased the hard drive and then back to main screen press install ML
the next screen after confirming that i agree the dialog box was reading tyhe instalation files..it went throughh till the last bit and then just stuck there!
left it almost all night and nothing happened
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Maybe the installation image that i have used is only for my mac mini and that is the reason that this happens?
a possible solution is to install snow leopard again and inform him to buy the software so as to be machoine specific from the mac app store?
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Your friend has to purchase OS X Mountain Lion with his/her Apple ID. If you install OS X Mountain Lion without having purchased it with his/her Apple ID, he/she won't be able to reinstall OS X Mountain Lion if it gets damaged, so this is dangerous.
He/She must purchase OS X Mountain Lion, so he just have to open  > Software Update and install all available updates. Then, open App Store and purchase OS X Mountain Lion, so it will be downloaded into his/her MacBook and the Mountain Lion installer will show up when the download finishes, so just follow the steps to upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.
He/She should make a backup of his/her files with Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner before upgrading, and also, check if the applications are compatible > http://www.roaringapps.com
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Macbook Pro late 2008 won't turn on

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