My mac book pro does not start but has error message with a question mark on screen. took it in and was told probably the hard drive as could not reconize it so bought new one but still not connecting.what do i do

My mac book pro does not connect but shows an error message with a question mark on the screen.I took it to a retailer that said it was not reconizing the hard drive.He said i needed a new hard drive but it may be something else as well but he was sure a new hard drive would fix it.So putting faith in someone who deals with them i purchased a new hard drive to find it was still not working although he said the computer did know reconize the hard drive and i may have to send it away to get it checked .After already paying 120 pounds for a new hard drive and they wanting another 80.00 pounds to diagnose it i am a little sceptical.
That's why i am interested on anyone's help.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
I think that your Mac detects your hard disk, but the problem is that your new hard disk doesn't contain any operating system, so your Mac doesn't find any bootable partition and you see a question mark.
If your Mac came with DVDs, insert the Mac OS X Install DVD and hold the C key while your Mac is starting. Then, just install Mac OS X. If the hard disk isn't prepared to install Mac OS X, you will have to erase it using "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". See > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html

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Dead On Arrival (DOA) Product: System Failure Out of the Box
An Apple-branded hardware product is considered DOA if it shows symptoms of a hardware failure, preventing basic operability, when you first use it after opening the box. If you believe that your product is DOA, please call AppleCare Technical Support at 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273) within 30 calendar days of the invoice date. AppleCare Technical Support will determine whether the product is DOA and offer you the following options:
Replacement: Apple, at its expense, will ship another of the same product. AppleCare Technical Support will put you in touch with an Apple Store Customer Service Representative who will arrange for replacement and the DOA product’s return.
Service: You may have the product repaired. However, once you choose that option, you may not request replacement of the product.
If AppleCare Technical Support determines that a returned product is not DOA, Apple will apply Apple’s standard product warranty to the product. Further, if AppleCare determines that you have misrepresented a returned product’s condition and that the product is not DOA, Apple may impose a $400 handling fee.
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Help My mac book pro does not start

i have a huge problem becauce i cannot start my mac book pro, i turn on and apear the gray screen with apple logo and round progresive bar, but just not have any change it cud be hours or days its the same, i already try to restore it by the comands (command+R) or (shift+caps lock) when i turn on my computher but alwais same logo screen, please i need help maby im doing someting wrong

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 on some models, 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 corrupt 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 older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. 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. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
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. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

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I am reading between the lines, but it sounds like you want to connect a camcorder and an external firewire hard drive to your MacBook Pro at the same time ... and capture your video in FCE using the external hard drive as your capture scratch disk. Is this correct?
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Solution may be found if you search in the "More Like This" section over in the right column.
First contact your ISP. You need to confirm that the issue is not on their end.
Change your router channel. Sometimes this is all you will have to do.
Power cycling the router. Read the router's user manual or contact their tech support for instructions.
System Preferences/Internet & Network/Network
Unlock the padlock
Locations: Automatic
Highlight Airport
Click the Assist Me button
In the popup window click the Diagnostic button.
System Preferences/Network- Unlock padlock. Highlight Airport. Network Name-select your name. Click on the Advanced button. Airport/Preferred Networks-delete all that is not your network.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1920 Mac OS: How to release and renew a DHCP lease
No internet connection (wireless)
Check to see if an extra entry is present in the DNS Tab for your wireless connection (System Preferences/Network/Airport/Advanced/DNS).
Delete all extra entries that you find.
Place a check mark next to "Remember networks this computer has joined."
Other resources to check into:
Troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues in OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6
Configuring 802.1X in Mac OS X Lion and Later
Non-responsive DNS server or invalid DNS configuration can cause long delay before webpages load
Netspot
How to diagnose and resolve Wi-Fi slow-downs
Pv6 troubleshooting
What Affects Wireless Internet?
Solutions for connecting to the Internet, setting up a small network, and troubleshooting
If using one of Apple's Airport routers, read its user manual or post in its forum area. If using a 3rd party router, read its user manual, contact their tech support department/website or post in its forum area. Another possible solution - read mammothsuziq response https://discussions.apple.com/message/22082360#22082360

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Cheers
James

I just found this link, seems to be working for me, for now. It will delete all of your login items to remember what they are so you can populate the list again..
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7295607&#7295607

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