17 MBP 2005 - I have tried everything to fix it.. or have i?

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and i hope that i can have my problem resolved.

I currently have 2 MBP, 1 x 13 inch 2010 MBP (this is working fine) however my 2005 17inch MBP is having a tough time.

Ny fans were making funny noises so i opened up the 17MBP and gave it a bit of a clean using a can of compressed air - i put it back together (as per videos on YouTube) and all seemed good - however when i turned it on i was greeted with the grey screen with the folder icon with a ? in the middle (flashing)

I automatically assumed this want good and after following many of the posts on here nothing changed.

One thing that doesn't help is that this laptop was a victim to the Superdrive failure a few years ago, so i cant just put in my SL Intall disk.

I have a new HDD and i have formatted it correctly using my other machine and put it in the broken MBP.

I also placed the SL Install Image on a USB Drive

But the 17MBP will not recognise it. When i boot while holding Option only a curser appears and that is it.

I am pretty sure i have tried everything but if you can help it would be great as i do love that MBP and the last thing i want to do is pay over the odds at an Apple Store for advise i could have got for free....

Thanks

AdamMay said:

I currently have 2 MBP, 1 x 13 inch 2010 MBP (this is working fine) however my 2005 17inch MBP is having a tough time.

One thing that doesn't help is that this laptop was a victim to the Superdrive failure a few years ago, so i cant just put in my SL Intall disk.

But the 17MBP will not recognise it. When i boot while holding Option only a curser appears and that is it.

Click to expand...

A little bit of confusion here. You said that your 17" MBP is from 2005. Apple didn't release 17" MBP's until 2006. If you truly do have a 2005 17" Macintosh laptop...then it has a PPC cpu & not an Intel cpu.

If you're trying to install Snow Leopard on a 2005 PPC based Macintosh laptop...it will not work. "SL" needs a Macintosh with a Intel processor.

HTH,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

A little bit of confusion here. You said that your 17" MBP is from 2005. Apple didn't release 17" MBP's until 2006. If you truly do have a 2005 17" Macintosh laptop...then it has a PPC cpu & not an Intel cpu.

If you're trying to install Snow Leopard on a 2005 PPC based Macintosh laptop...it will not work. "SL" needs a Macintosh with a Intel processor.

HTH,

- Nick

Click to expand...

Nick, Sorry this was purchased in 2007 - my mistake - all other details remain the same

thanks

AdamMay said:

Nick, Sorry this was purchased in 2007 - my mistake - all other details remain the same

thanks

Click to expand...

Ok...no problems. Just wanted to be sure that we are definitely talking about a MacBook Pro with an Intel cpu. Sometimes folks posting here get confused with the proper terminology...and call Powerbook's "MacBook's"...and are having trouble with Snow Leopard (which won't install on a Powerbook).

Sounds like you definitely have a MBP. So anyway...was your MBP working ok before you opened it to clean it (other than the optical drive not working as you mentioned)?

Also (I'm just curious)...when you opened up your 17" MBP...did you find much dirt or "fuzz" inside?

- Nick

Thank you for getting back in touch with me. When i open it up there was a fair bit if dust around the edges and in places where you would expect dust to be - i was pleased with how clean it was after i gave it a gentle spray.

But, yes it was working perfectly before (annoyingly so)

I am unsure what the Grey Screen Folder with ? means as it could be a few things i guess.

I have also looked at some of the main internal connectors to see if there is any damage, but i cant see anything.

The thing that i really want to do is put the SL disk in en external optical drive, but i have just done this and held Option but still all i get the grey screen with the cursor.

Any thoughts

AdamMay said:

I am unsure what the Grey Screen Folder with ? means as it could be a few things i guess.

Click to expand...

That means that your computer cannot find an OS or System Folder to boot from. If your MBP was working fine before you opened it to clean it...are you 100% sure something didn't happen to the hard drive while the computer was open? Such as any connectors getting disconnected or something.

Can you hear the hard drive spinning when you turn the MBP on?

- Nick

Well the after i closed the MBP and rebooted the HD was completely silent. I then took it out and plugged it into by other laptop to see if it could recognise it - it couldn't, so i assume it was dead.

I still have it here with me.

When i open up the MBP what should i be looking for?

Thank you.

AdamMay said:

Well the after i closed the MBP and rebooted the HD was completely silent. I then took it out and plugged it into by other laptop to see if it could recognise it - it couldn't, so i assume it was dead.

I still have it here with me.

When i open up the MBP what should i be looking for?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

If your MBP was working fine before you opened it up to clean it (including the hard drive)...and when you put it back together it wasn't working...then it would seem that something either got damaged...or something got disconnected.

Assuming nothing got damaged...I would recommend making 100% sure that everything is connected properly (wires, cables, etc.). If your hard drive isn't "spinning up" when you turn the MBP on...the hard drive is certainly the problem.

One very important thing to consider. Computer's can be very sensitive to static electricity...and one thing to always do before working on the inside of a computer is to discharge any static electricity you may have in or on you.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Thanks, i have put in the new HD and it is spinning in the 17 MBP so the HD is powering up, but the new HD is now blank.

Can i install SL on the new HD by using it is as a External HD on my new 13 MBP?

I have already prepared the HD in DU - GUID etc etc so it should be ready for the install, however last time i tried this my new MBP froze half way through installation.

Adam

AdamMay said:

Thanks, i have put in the new HD and it is spinning in the 17 MBP so the HD is powering up, but the new HD is now blank.

Can i install SL on the new HD by using it is as a External HD on my new 13 MBP?

I have already prepared the HD in DU - GUID etc etc so it should be ready for the install, however last time i tried this my new MBP froze half way through installation.

Adam

Click to expand...

Some links to read:

Install Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard With An External Hard Drive | Live Slick

Installing Mac OS X 10.4 without DVD - Mac Guides

Troubleshooting Mac OS X installation from CD or DVD

Install Snow Leopard from External Firewire or USB Hard Drive, or How to Upgrade to 10.6 Without a DVD Drive - OS X Daily


Some of the links mention "Tiger or Leopard"...but that doesn't mean the same instructions wouldn't work for 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

We should also note here that you can not just use your 13" MBP's Restore Discs as they are tailored to the 13" MBP. You'll need a separate, retail copy of 10.6 if that's the route you want to take.

Yes, I believe you can use target disk mode to attach the 17" to your 13" and run the install to the 17"'s hard drive.