MacBook early 2008 problems! Please help!

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I just bought a MacBook from early 2008. We just bought it from a third party, and he had installed OS X v10.6. He did not include the original start-up disk(s) or any documentation (or the power cord, for that matter). Initially my husband booted it up, which took 17 minutes. He then shut it down to wait for me to arrive home. When I booted it up the next day, all I got was a white screen and the folder with question mark. I got my hands on a 10.5 disk and have been using that in various ways (C and D on start-up) and after several minutes the disk will eject spontaneously. A while ago this happened, and I just popped the disk back in, and after a few minutes I got a dark screen with a tiny line in the upper left corner of the screen. Nothing happened after that and I eventually shut it down.

I am able to get it into Target mode, but the G5 I have (on 10.5.8) doesn't mount it, so I can't even run disk utility.

I've taken the battery off and hit the power button for 5-10 seconds. I've taken out and put back in the RAM boards. I've switched their positions.

I've tried starting it up in single-user mode, but it won't do it. The power light won't come on, and the "caps lock" light doesn't come on. If I start it up with the option key pressed, the mouse pointer appears and responds to the track pad but then locks up after a few minutes. (This is the ONLY time the mouse pointer ever shows up).

It's looking like the guy who sold it to us is going to be a creep and not take it back. So if there's anything to be done, I would REALLY appreciate the help!!

Thanks ...
 

chscag

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
I hate to see you stuck with a "white elephant" but as you well know, it's a buyer beware world we live in.

First thing I would try to do is obtain the correct recovery startup DVD for the machine. Go to either a Best Buy or Apple store and purchase the Snow Leopard upgrade DVD. Cost = $29.99.

Once you have the disk, boot the machine with it by holding down the "Option" key after you hear the POST chime, then select the DVD icon. It may take a few minutes for it to boot that way. After that try running verify and repair on the hard drive. Let's see what happens. You could also run the Apple Hardware Test with the SL DVD.

Regards.
 

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