Weird gray screen/freeze boot issue with 2008 Macbook Pro

Early 2008 MBP. Gray boot screen with apple logo and spinning gear freezes. Now for the odd part. In the background I can hear iChat log in, and I can see the associated account as available via Bonjour so I know that behidn the scenes, the laptop is indeed logging in and launching the desktop. I also managed to remote in and can see the desktop normally. The screen remains frozen.
I was able to initially get it working by resetting PRAM and NVRAM but that is no longer working either. Also tried an SMC reset.
Can't boot from CD or recovery partition (same result..gray Apple Logo boot screen freeze).
Booting it in target disc mode allows full access to the HD without issue. HD was checked (no issues) as well as permissions the one time I did get a desktop.
Any ideas?

Was able to pull this info from the kernel log.
Feb 8 21:02:38 Username kernel[0]: NVDA: rmStart failed
Feb 8 21:02:38 Username kernel[0]: NVDA,Display-B: Not usable
Any suggestions? It appears that the video is not initializing properly. Not sure at this point if it's a hardware failure or not. I tried reinstalling when I managed to get to recovery console, but that doesn't seem to have helped either. That only overlayed the files on the partition though. Perhaps I should just try a complete reformat?

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GPU Issue with 2008 MacBook Pro - now what?

About a year ago, my MacBook Pro stopped working reliably after a few months of a flickering screen. I stopped using it, and switched to my iPad and iMac for everything. I'm now looking at things that would require a portable computer, so I got out the MacBook Pro and looked into getting it to work again.
I knew about the GPU issue before, but didn't realize that Apple had extended the repair options (mine would have been covered until May 2012). I'm fairly certain that the GPU is the cause of my problem, as it turns on but stops on the Apple boot screen.
Short of a logic board replacement, is there any solution? Has Apple been known to help anyone out past their repair period? Will baking the board fix the GPU, or is it done for?

Don't pay anyone to do this for you, there is a DIY way that works just as well. What most repairmen do is bake the logic board and melt the gpu back into place. There is a way that does this and all it requires is waiting:
1. Plug in your macbook pro (make sure that its off)
2. Turn on the computer, and hwen it chimes, close the lid and turn it updside down.
3. Wrap the macbook in a heavy quilt.
4. Let the computer sit for about an hour.
5. Take it out of the quilt, unplug it and let it cool for 20 minutes.
6. Turn on the computer.
I can say that this works as I had the same problem, and after this method, the computer is up and running, I'm typin this on it now!

Multiple Issues with my Macbook Pro

Jan 2011- Received my Macbook Pro 15 inch (late 2011 version)
Feb 2011- Overheating issue, laptop started running very slowly without any applications open
Feb 2011- Sent it to Apple US, test was run, no issue found by Apple, they re-installed the OS, piece returned back, seemed to be running normally
Early 2012- Major battery issue, battery would suddenly drop down from 90% to 25% in 5 minutes with hardly any applications open
From late 2012 to present- When the laptop is put to sleep (with screen closed) and is opened after half an hour or longer, the mouse cursor remains stuck on the screen after waking it up. The only way to continue using the laptop is to restart it so that the mouse starts moving again. Every time the laptop is woken up after sleep mode, the speed of all running applications comes down noticeably.
Mid 2013- Replaced the Battery for Rs. 8000/- After using it just for two years
Late 2013- Laptop fan runs at a high speed even though there are no applications open on the system, suspected Temperature sensor issue, Activity monitor shows a particular kernel that is taking up a huge amount of CPU load.
I have only faced issues with my macbook pro and it still doesn't end,Is there any way I can ask for an out of warranty replacement or atleast if there is a permanent solution at an affordable cost? Apple as a brand has set a benchmark , it is only fitting that as loyal apple customers we expect products to exceed expectations in terms of performance and longeivity and not pose as a problem at every turn.There isn't any sense in going on spending on a laptop that costs a bomb already!!!

While you were on the warranty or if you still have it, you should check out the Apple Store. When you had noticed these problems earlier, you should have immediatly reacted upon them, rather than waiting.

I do have a gray application DVD that came with my MacBook Pro by how to use it

I do have a gray application DVD that came with my MacBook Pro by how to use it.

You don't, your signature says you have 10.7.5 and the disk is either 10.5 or 10.6, has outdated software on it.
Keep it in case of emergency in a very safe place in case you need to reinstall on a new drive, then upgrade to 10.7.5 again.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

Has anyone else been having hard drive issues with 13" MacBook Pro barely a year old?

Has anyone else been having hard drive issues with 13" MacBook Pro barely a year old?

Yes, BUT...
... there are many problems that are really easy to eliminate by replacing the Hard drive, including ones that have nothing to do with actual Drive Hardware failure. These include corrupted install of Mac OS X, its EFI partition, clobbered partition tables, or the appearance of Bad Blocks in a critical area.
Any of these problems can sometimes be eliminated by re-initializing the entire drive and writing Zeroes, and re-installing from scratch. The trouble is, this process takes hours to complete, and is not guaranteed to be successful -- you may still need a new drive after all that effort.
I learned from my Plumber that consumers have no appetite for solutions that might work, and detest return visits for any related problems whatsoever. You or your friend may have had your drive replaced, not because it actually failed, but because the situation was troublesome, and the provider thought you would not tolerate anything less than a crisp, complete fix on the first attempt. And based on the cost of technician time, it may have even been cheaper that way.

Hey guys ive got issues with my macbook pro that i bought not a year ago, and for the last week its just randomly restarting especially when im watching a video or using finalcut pro x can someone help me?

hey guys ive got issues with my macbook pro that i bought not a year ago, and for the last week its just randomly restarting especially when im watching a video or using finalcut pro x can someone help me?

What do you mean "Leave them my laptop again"? do you mean you have had it worked on before? for the same problem or a different one?
You need to take it in to Apple ASAP. No matter how long they have it, you want it fixed and fixed correctly.
top_cheese_1 wrote:
i bought it june 2012.. still on the warranty. i just didnt wanted to leave them my laptop again, but ok if you think thats what i should do..

Having issues with 13" MacBook Pro. Running very slow and blank screen and sleep mode.

Bought my MBPro summer 2009. About a month / 6 weeks ago it began to run extremely slow at points. Now it is running poorly and getting very slow on a daily basis, to the point where it will not open applications, documents or even web pages for in excess of 5 minutes. I'm beginning to lose patience!
Also at the exact same time of these performance issues occuring, my MacBook Pro will not awaken from sleep mode when the lid is closed. Showing a blank dark screen and having to hard reset in order to boot up my system again and get it running.
What is the best solution in order to resolve these issues?
Your help is greatly appreciated.

Did you run Disk Utility>First Aid? If so what were the results? This is a copy of mine, note that the bottom line says: The partition map appears to be OK:
Ciao.

Gray Screen after I log in to MacBook Pro

Hello,
I have got MacBookPro 2009 Model.
It was running fine till yesterday. I was watching a youtube video and I paused it and went away. After I came back the screen froze so I did the restart.
Initially, there was some issues with booting up. I used Use Single-User Mode to check disk, and disk is working fine.
But now after I log in I only see gray screen. No icon no logo nothing.
Help Please...

riteshkadu,
which version of OS X is on your MacBook Pro? Do you still have the two grey installation DVDs that originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro?

Having trouble with kernal_task, fan, overheating, and lag issues with my Macbook Pro. What should I do?

I've had this problem with my Macbook Pro for the past few months. I am starting to become increasing dissatisfied with this product since it's less than even a year old and going through so many problems. I've taken at least 10 trips to the Apple Genius Bar in the past year.
I've had issues with
1) erratic trackpad
2) wifi connection timeouts
3) kernal_task taking up 300% of my CPU, my fan become crazy and just having my laptop lag to the point where I can't even use it.
I sent in my laptop for repairs last week again and they replaced my logic board and some other things. I recieved my laptop back yesterday, but I'm finding the same exact problem is happening again this morning. I still have warranty and set up another appointment for a few days... but the amount of trips I've taken is really starting to irritate me and my problem still isn't solved. What should I do? Is there another way to solve this or should I just keep going back to Genius Bar...
I regret buying this laptop. =\ It was so expensive but yet has so many problems. I've never had to deal with anything this cumbersome with my past few laptops.

If you've taken it back for the same problems over and over again, I suggest that you start asking for a replacement. Ensure that you've backed everything up to an ext HD and removed your personal data and information. IIRC, repeating problems warrant a replacement.

I have an issue with my Macbook Pro 2011 monitor

So recently my screen has doing and I can't seem to understand why.

Do you have a problem with the Macbook Pro display itself? Well from the screenshot, there isn't anything wrong with it.

Need help with 2008 macbook pro superdrive issue pleasee

hello,
I have this macbook pro
Model Family: MacBook Pro
Display: 15"
Processor Type: 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo
Model Number: A1260
Color: Aluminum
Factory: China
Production Year: 2008
Production Week: 22 (May)
Production Number: 774
200 gb hd
4gb of ram
also apple care til jun 11
OK so I bought the computer for 650 from my friend and soon after buying found a problem. The problem was the optical drive not reading all the disc that I put in the system. So I took the macbook pro to apple they installed a new super drive. I get home today and try to install snow leopard and have a issue. The way I went about was starting up holding the option button and waiting to boot from the disc for a fresh install. First time I tried I got a symbol that look like the restricted sign you see when you cant smoke in a area ect... So I restart and try again this time I get to the install screen click does the estimation ect.. 34 minutes than goes to 28 minutes pretty much has frozen there now, and after waiting all this time about 20 minutes I get the spinning beach ball. Also forgot to say that the super drive is now super dooper annoying loud and make odd sounds too with vibration. So I guess make another apple gen bar apt? And have them possible replace the super drive again?
update just got an error occured while installing mac os x still have spinning beach ball

I'm guessing Apple didn't do a good job. I think you need to make a return trip. And politely remind them that you're making a return trip.

Solved issues with my Macbook Pro freezing

My Macbook Pro would freeze from time to time. I could move the mouse and I could hit return with success but couldn't click the mouse at all. I would have to manually power down and restart to solve the issue. I tried all sorts of things to solve this. Thought it was iTunes, Outlook, videos. But there was nothing consistent.
It just happened again and of couse I was crazily clicking anything when I realized I could "right click" and see drop downs. I just couldn't use the mouse to make a selection. I could possibly arrow over and hit return but could not click. It made me wonder if it was my mouse or trackpad. (Be easy on me. I'm not a Mac expert by a long shot.)
During my crazy random right-clicking, I hovered over the bluetooth connections and noticed my mouse which made me think. I never had a problem while at home (aka no mouse) AND at work my wireless mouse was always there - a constant. So I removed the batteries and voila, my clicking issues were solved.
I am adding this to the forum in case there are others like myself searching for solutions. It's just one more thing to try before you lose it.

Just tried that and it didn't help. I actually was having so many issues with Safari that I downloaded Firefox. It ran a bit better but I still have issues with sluggishness...
I'm actually using Firefox right now.

ISight issues with new macbook pro Retina ?

Hi all, since I have my new MPB with Retina display I have been having some issues with the isight camera, when it first boots in photobooth of facetime sometimes the screen (from the camera) is all blue or green and with some weird line and then it stabilizes for a while but the image is all grainy and looks cheap. The guy at the apple hotline told me to reset the SMC and it seemed to have improved a bit but it's still not that good !
Any ideas on what could be happening ?
Thank you all

You're welcome - I Googled "Macintosh webcams" and came up with quite a few different units.
Good luck,
Clinton

Performance issues with unibody Macbook Pro 2009 purchased in October 2009

I have a 3.0Ghz Macbook Pro 15" which came installed with Snow Leopard.
I specified the machine with a 7200rpm 500GB drive although I had heard there were issues with these drives. I have installed Office 2008, CS/3, firefox, chronosync and fusion 3.0.
Since I have had the machine it has got slower and slower. Which surprises me given the configuration and the fact that I have 8GB of RAM. It should be quick.
I notice that it has become even slower since downloading a 'performance update' via software update which I installed when software update told me it was available yesterday, October 28th.
Has anyone else experienced the same problem? I also notice that these machines run very hot. I have read a lot of discussion which says that using Vista under fusion can make the machine run very hot. I have tried quitting fusion to see if the performance is any better and the machine still runs very hot and the performance is still awful.
To say that I am disappointed in such an expensive machine not performing properly is an understatement. I have a MacPro which apart from a graphics card replaced under warranty has never misbehaved itself.
I am not sure what all this 'Apple fanboy' nonsense is about - as far as I can see Apple with the notebook line seem to be releasing products which purport to be very advanced but in reading through the forums there seem to be nothing but problems with them.

Yeah, I was kinda worried since it is new. I thought maybe I could somehow adjust the brightness on the screen to make the bottom and corners brighter. And perhaps it was a software issue that was causing the keyboard to malfunction. And definitely have no clue about the headphone jack noises. And the bent display. Hmmm. I guess I will call AppleCare.

Slow boot up of 2008 macbook pro - Firewire port problem?

My 2008 15" macbook pro mostly works fine, but whenever I shut it down or restart it (as opposed to just sending it to sleep) it gets stuck trying to reboot. It usually takes several attempts, and so far, eventually starts if I leave it for a while, like a few hours.
I try all the basic things, resetting Pvram, trying safety mode, checking the disk for errors in disk utility, but they don't help at all.
It's been like this for about 6 months now, I mostly just never shut it down as it wakes up from sleep mode fine. But I'd like to find out what the problem is as every time I need to restart it I panic that it will never come back on again. Recently I booted it in verbose mode to see what the problem is and I'm getting a never ending error message saying something like this:
FIrewire (OHCI) TI ID 8025 built-in: handleUnrecoverableErrorInt
Seems like it's a problem wth my Firewire Port? I have never used Firewire, so wondered if I could just disable it somehow? my problem seems similar to this guy:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/9001641?searchText=Long%20boot%20up%20time s%202008%2015%22%20Macbook%20pro%20-%20firewire%20port%20problem?
But I'm a bit clueless so I'm not sure if his problem is the same... mine seems to be mostly related to boot up rather than kernal panic (I have no idea what that is to be honest!) and I don't want to just try his fix and break my computer!
My cd/dvd drive also stopped working around the same time, coincidentally the above post also says his drive is not working, I'm not sure if the two issues could be related?
Any thoughts advice much appreciated!
P.S. The machine has already had a new motherboard and graphics card put in by Apple as per the recall on this model

Ok, I copied the guy in the above thread and disabled my firewire by deleting this file:
/System/Library/Extensions/IOFireWireFamily.kext
Tested it a couple of times and it seems to have solved my slow boot up problem! I'm down from a 3 hour boot up to a minute or so!
Now, bizarrely, it won't shut down properly... I get stuck at a grey screen when I try to shut down, so I just have to press the dreaded power button. No idea why, but still, I'd rather it powered up properly, so I guess I'll just leave it as it is, I rarely shut it down fully anyway.

Weird gray screen/freeze boot issue with 2008 Macbook Pro

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