Stuck Disk in MacBook Pro (2009/10?)

Hi,
I have a MacBook Pro i think from 2009.. I put a scrathed disk in and it wont eject, or register it.. I have tried the Terminal trick as i do every time i do get a disk stuck... I know that when i went to the apple store he took the disk drive out with a screw driver, so im not sure wether to do that, any help appreciated.
cheers

Force eject a stuck cd/dvd
First try the normal methods to remove the disc. Drag its icon to the Trash can in the Dock or select 'Eject' from the File menu.
If you are running a virtual machine, e.g. VMFusion, ensure that the CD is disconnected from the virtual machine. This will sometimes allow the CD to now show up in Mac OS X.
Shut down the computer and start up whilst holding down the mouse button. This may take some time, but keep your finger on the mouse button right up until the disc comes out or the log-in screen has appeared.
If you have Toast Titanium installed on your computer, choose EJECT DISC from the menubar.
Sometimes you can successfully use the eject disc button in iTunes even if the disc is not visible to the Finder
Open Disc utility and choose the disc you wish to eject in the left-hand pane, then click on the Eject button.
Some Macintoshes have a paperclip hole that you can insert a straightened paperclip into, manually triggering the eject mechanism.
Open Terminal and type "drutil tray eject" to eject the disc/tray, and "drutil tray close" to close the tray.
If your computer has an eject button on the keyboard, restart the computer holding down the Option key. When the startup disk selection screen appears, let go of the option key and press the keyboard's eject button.
Source: http://guides.macrumors.com/Force_Eject_a_Stuck_CD_or_DVD

Similar Messages

Stuck disk in macbook pro. What now?

Disk is stuck or jammed. Any thoughts?

Restart and hold down the track pad while restarting. Should eject.

Help after using verify disk with MacBook Pro 2009

Hello, I was running verify disk and got this massage:
This disk needs to be repaired. Start up your computer with another disk (such as your Mac OS X installation disc), and then use Disk Utility to repair this disk.
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Missing thread record (id = 932391)
Missing thread record (id = 1020109)
Missing thread record (id = 2003740)
Missing thread record (id = 2587373)
Incorrect number of thread records
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 806588 instead of 806594)
Checking extended attributes file.
Checking multi-linked directories.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Start up your computer with another disk (such as your Mac OS X installation disc), and then use Disk Utility to repair this disk.
what dose it mean?
I don´t have my Mac OS X installation disc with me and it is also not possible to buy one here. what can i do?
thank you so much

Boot into single-user mode. After startup is completed you will be in command line mode and should see a prompt with a cursor positioned after it. At the prompt enter the following then press RETURN:
/sbin/fsck -fy
If you receive a message that says "***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****" then re-run the command until you receive a message that says "** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OK." If you re-run the command more than seven times and do not get the OK message, then the drive cannot be repaired this way. If you were successful then enter:
reboot
and press RETURN to restart the computer.
There is no guarantee this will fix the problem. Normally you must boot from another drive in order to repair the startup volume. If you can't use a Snow Leopard DVD then you would need to use some other bootable device like a backup drive or another Mac connected via Firewire - Target Disk Mode.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I have a Macbook Pro 2009, i upgraded from 10.5 to 10.8.2 and now when I put it to sleep it shuts down. Does anyone know how to fix this?

I have a Macbook Pro 2009, i upgraded from 10.5 to 10.8.2 and now when I put it to sleep it shuts down. Does anyone know how to fix this?

That disk from her computer is a machine specific version, you need this disk
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
and follow these instructions
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

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.

Macbook Pro 2009 runs slowly and freezes. Can someone look at this Etrecheck report and tell me what's wrong?

Macbook Pro 2009 runs slowly and freezes. Can someone look at this Etrecheck report and tell me what's wrong?
Hardware Information:
          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)
          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,5
          1 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
          4 GB RAM
Video Information:
          NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software:
          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 6 days 16:17:8
Disk Information:
          FUJITSU MJA2160BH FFS G1 disk0 : (160.04 GB)
                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
                    MacBook HD (disk0s2) /: 159.18 GB (29.38 GB free)
                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
          HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS23N
USB Information:
          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
          Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
          Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Kernel Extensions:
          com.spsys.driver.IOKitDriver          (1.0.0d1)
          com.parallels.kext.usbconnect          (8.0 18615.948847)
          com.parallels.kext.hypervisor          (8.0 18615.948847)
          com.parallels.kext.hidhook          (8.0 18615.948847)
          com.parallels.kext.netbridge          (8.0 18615.948847)
          com.parallels.kext.vnic          (8.0 18615.948847)
          com.parallels.filesystems.prlufs          (2010.12.28)
Startup Items:
          StartupComponent: Path: /Library/StartupItems/StartupComponent
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
          [System] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
          [System] com.fitbit.galileod.plist 3rd-Party support link
          [System] com.spsecure.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
          [System] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link
          [System] com.spsecure.useragent.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link
          [not loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link
          [not loaded] [email protected]
          [not loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Login Items:
          iTunesHelper
          AdobeResourceSynchronizer
          Dropbox
          EvernoteHelper
          Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper
          Google Chrome
Internet Plug-ins:
          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 3rd-Party support link
          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.06 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.06 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
          OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 3rd-Party support link
          AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin101750: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
Audio Plug-ins:
          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9
          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9
          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
          Move-Media-Player: Version: npmnqmp 071503000004 3rd-Party support link
          fbplugin_1_0_3: Version: (null) 3rd-Party support link
3rd Party Preference Panes:
          Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
          MacFUSE 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
          None
Old Applications:
          Microsoft AutoUpdate:          Version: 2.3.6 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app
          /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MERP2.0
                    Microsoft Error Reporting:          Version: 2.2.9 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
                    Microsoft Ship Asserts:          Version: 1.1.4 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
          SLLauncher:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app
          Amazon MP3 Downloader:          Version: INFO_PLIST_VERSION - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
Time Machine:
          Skip System Files: NO
          Auto backup: YES
          Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
              37%          prl_vm_app
              10%          WindowServer
               9%          Google Chrome
               1%          hidd
               1%          Agent
Top Processes by Memory:
          602 MB          prl_vm_app
          115 MB          Google Chrome
          82 MB          Google Chrome Helper
          82 MB          Mail
          70 MB          Microsoft Word
Virtual Memory Information:
          137 MB          Free RAM
          782 MB          Active RAM
          718 MB          Inactive RAM
          1.50 GB          Wired RAM
          23.02 GB          Page-ins
          1.21 GB          Page-outs

Hey greytdogs,
I would give some of the suggestions in this link a shot:
OS X Mavericks: If your Mac runs slowly
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13895
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Sincerely,
Delgadoh

How can I delete everything off of my MacBook Pro 2009?

How can I delete everything off of my MacBook Pro 2009? I am selling it. If I reset to factory settings I will lose all the updates and I don't have those disks anymore! need to do ASAP! Please help!
Best Rgards

Take a look at this:
http://www.thesafemac.com/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-sale/
Ciao.

HT201364 MacBook Pro 2009 will not down OS X Mavericks -cannot be installed on this computer

I have an MacBook Pro 2009 running 10.6.8 with 3 GB memory and plenty of disk space.
So why the error message:
OS X Mavericks cannot be installed on this computer??

Lanny,
The model identifier is as follows:
Hardware Overview:
Model Name:          MacBook Pro
Model Identifier:          MacBookPro2,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          4 MB
Memory:          3 GB
Bus Speed:          667 MHz
So it seems that this maybe a late 2007 model. Does exclude this model from an OS upgrade?
Thanks.

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.

Help, macbook pro 2009 model hung on yesterdays update

Yesterday I updated with the new system. My macbook pro 2009 model took a long time to download the system update, then did the restart and install but has hung on restarting again. It started up, got to my desktop but hasn't loaded icons or application bar. I have the spinning beachball of death! What can I do to fix it?
Lana

Applelover162000,
if the problem is unrepairable, then you’ll need to completely erase your internal disk, reïnstall the version of OS X that’s on your grey Mac OS X Install DVD, and run Software Update to get it up to date in that version. If that takes you to Snow Leopard 10.6.8, then you can redownload and reïnstall Mavericks. If that doesn’t take you to Snow Leopard 10.6.8, then you’ll need to reïnstall Snow Leopard from the white retail DVD and run Software Update to get you to 10.6.8, at which point Mavericks can be redownloaded and reïnstalled. Once you’ve run Software Update from Mavericks, you can restore from your internal disk’s latest backup..
If you don’t have a backup of your internal disk, and you’d like to try to save any files on it, there are two ways to try making one at this point: one is by booting from an external bootable disk, and the other is by starting your MacBook Pro in Target Disk mode so that another Mac can treat your MacBook Pro as an external disk. In either case, you’ll need to copy whatever files are salvageable from your internal disk to the system which you’re booting from. Once you’ve got Mavericks reïnstalled, I’d highly recommend purchasing an external disk to use as a Time Machine backup destination.

Using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter to connect Macbook Pro (2009) for a presentation via projector.

When I connect my Macbook Pro (2009 model) using a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter to display a presentation via projector, only the top-left portion of what is displayed on my Macbook Pro's screen is displayed on the projector, as though I zoomed in on that portion of my screen. The projector is on and the adapter and the cable that connects the adapter to the projector machine is correctly connected. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem?

Hi glraczon.support,
It sounds like the external display you are using (projector) operates at a smaller resolution than your MacBook Pro. You may want to configure the display preferences in System Preferences for the external projector.
Here is an article that may help you with that process:
OS X Mountain Lion: About the Display pane of System Preferences
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5369
Thanks,
Matt M.

Stuck Disk in MacBook Pro (2009/10?)

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