Password reset - computer now in trouble

Question

first of all, I am just a REAL happy user, never have been a techie...but I can follow instructions and do minor fixes.
I forgot my main password so for a few months I have not been able to do any udpates. After checking with Apple and in the discussions, found out I could only reset it by reverting my MacBook Pro back to factory settings and starting over.   Well, I did that...and started a whole new set of problems. 
System could not read any of my applications (Garage Band, iTunes, etc) because I had already updated with newer op system. AND I could not set my password, yet.
In trying to reinstall the OS X at the point of the system rebooting itself it FROZE and will not boot up now, even when I hold down the key.
oh yeah.... and I am waiting on a new battery - - my system is 4 years old and the darn battery warped on me in the midst of all this---new one on order.
I have no idea what to do first to get my MacBook Pro to boot up and accept the install of OS X, then reset the password so I can download updates.
Where do I start??

Answer 1

Sweet Willi wrote:
my computer will turn on but will not boot up, even with the original OS X install disk/s.
All is not lost yet.
You can force eject a stuck cd by holding the trackpad or wired left mouse button down while booting.
You can also hold the shift key down and that's Safe Mode, the machine might boot then. If you get in at anytime, grab your files off ASAP.
If you clean the bottom of the 10.5 install disk with a bit of rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth, polish to a shine you can stick it in and see if you can hold c and boot off the disk.
You might not be able too as I think Apple has issued a firmware update somewhere in 10.5-10.5.8 that makes it impossible to boot off the 10.5 disks. I know I can't do it on my older machine any longer.
If not then your going to have to buy the 10.6.3 Snow Leopard disk from Apple.
Also get yourself a blank, powered external drive. Not too large, 1TB is fine, don't go any larger really might have issues with 10.6.3.
Creating a Data Recovery external drive, attempt to repair internal drive
You hold c boot off the 10.6 (or 10.5) installer disk and then under one of the menus is Disk Utility, select that
On the far left select your physical internal drive, (example "500GB Toshiba 54957353M media") use this chance to Repair Disk, Repair Permisisons on the internal drive.
On the far left select your external physical drive (example "1000GB Seagate 7878787K media") and then click Erase > Security Option > Zero All Data and Erase, wait until finished.
Next you go to the Partition Tab and click the big box, 1 partition, Option: GUID, Format: OS X Extended (J) give it a name like MacIntosh HD 2 and click Apply.
Next you quit and install 10.5/10.6 onto the external drive. Once that's done reboot and hold the option key down, you can then select the external drive to boot off of.
Your next step is to go through the setup, use the same user name as on the internal drive, then log on and Software Update until your clear.
Next grab your files off the internal drive.
What you do now is your choice, you can erase the internal drive and install 10.6, your previous 10.5 programs should work under 10.6 using Rosetta, so make sure to install it.
If you can't see your internal drive, either in Disk Utility or while trying to get files off the internal drive, it could be dead.
But it also could be the Mac has a hardware or a loose cable issue.
Only by extracting the drive physically and using a IDE/SATA to USB adapter cable to another Mac can you tell if the internal drive is truly dead or not.
If you try to read a Mac drive from a PC, you need to install MacDrive first to read the HFS Mac format.