11-24-2010, 01:19 AM

So bare with me I want to be thorough so hopefully someone can help me out. My MBP (08) will not boot past the grey screen. The wheel just spins infinitely. I've read about it trying to figure it out.

1) I tried to boot from the install disc, when I do there are weird diagonal lines and the thing is unreadable.

2) I hooked it to my Mac Pro in target disc mode. I was able to get some of the information off, but it would eventually freeze up and freeze the finder on the Pro. It wouldn't verify the disc in disc utility. It would freeze if I tried to repair the disc.

3) It won't boot in safe mode or single user mode (CMD + S)

4) I tried removing the ram and switching it and using only one stick of ram (to make sure it wasn't a ram problem).

5) I tried to boot without the battery


Needless to say I am a bit frustrated. My applecare is long gone and there is no apple certified repair place anywhere near here. I've also noticed the thing is very hot. If nothing else I'd like to have an idea of what I should be expecting from the repair place.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!!

11-24-2010, 07:42 AM

That sounds bada
Seems there is a hardware problem, not detecting the HDD and not booting from it. However, the fact the it does not boot from the install DVD is a bad sign. Do you have access to DiskWarrior? If there's a problem with the hdd, DiskWarrior will probably find it.

Try removing the battery and reset the SMC. Also, reset your PRAM. It can't hurt.

To reset the SMC, remove the battery and press the power button for 5 seconds. Release and place the battery back. Start up.

To reset the PRAM, hold Command+Option+P+R before the grey screen appears. Keep holding it until it restarts and you hear two startup chimes.

Hope it helps.

11-24-2010, 08:56 AM

Doesn't sound like it's software related unfortunately. Keep in mind that there is a known issue with that vintage of MBP, related to the NVIDIA GPU (link). It doesn't sound like that's your issue, but with the graphical distortion you've noted, it could be.

You didn't mention your location, but I find it hard to believe that there's no AASP anywhere near. I'm sure we can help you find one.

11-24-2010, 11:25 AM

I tried resetting the PRAM and SMC, no luck.

There are AASPs somewhat near (I'm in Wilmington, NC) but they are all about 2 hours away. My car broke down last week too... FML

Thanks again for all your help!!

11-24-2010, 11:26 AM

Sounds like what happened to my friends.

His was a bad SATA cable going from the HD to the mobo. Could try that.

11-24-2010, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by aplanwithaman

I tried resetting the PRAM and SMC, no luck.

There are AASPs somewhat near (I'm in Wilmington, NC) but they are all about 2 hours away. My car broke down last week too... FML

Thanks again for all your help!!

Bummer. There's an Apple Store in Raleigh, but that's a pretty good haul from you as you mentioned. It might be worth it to call Apple support and let them know that you're experiencing graphical anomalies and that you think it might be related to the NVIDIA problem. Perhaps they'll do a good will repair (of course you'll need to send it in for that).

11-24-2010, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Bummer. There's an Apple Store in Raleigh, but that's a pretty good haul from you as you mentioned. It might be worth it to call Apple support and let them know that you're experiencing graphical anomalies and that you think it might be related to the NVIDIA problem. Perhaps they'll do a good will repair (of course you'll need to send it in for that).

The graphics are fine when it's in target disk mode, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Still may be worth a shot as they may repair everything?

11-24-2010, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by s2odin

Sounds like what happened to my friends.

His was a bad SATA cable going from the HD to the mobo. Could try that.

That's a little beyond the scope of my knowledge. Any info you could give me?

11-24-2010, 01:45 PM

So I was told to try Disk Warrior. It took two tries but it finished successfully. I tried to start the MBP and it had a progress bar at the bottom and then when the progress bar finished it just went back to the spinning wheel for a few minutes and finally started up!!!

Thanks again for all your help!

11-24-2010, 01:49 PM

Try this:

Completely remove the hard drive (open the machine and remove it, replace the cover) and then attempt to boot with your install DVD. Let us know the results.

Also, as cwa107 noted, your particular machine may have the infamous nVidia GPU defect. Might be worthwhile looking into if the above doesn't work.