Startup problem: MomentusXT or OSX?

Hann · Nov 22, 2010

So I installed the Momentus XT and restored from my old mac via migration assistant. All find and dandy...

but I'm getting this screen on occasions where it just hangs here.

I've used disk utility to verify disk and it did state that my disk needed repair which I did and another verification thereafter stated that the disk is ok.

But i got this screen again after restarting the com. Sometimes it looks different with a different pattern, but doesn't look any better to me

Could this be a Momentus XT issue or some corruption on MacOSx?

I'm not getting some afore-mentioned issues like spin down and 'billion-hours' installation.

bobtomay · Nov 22, 2010

That would probably be a graphics card issue. If your machine has is from the '07 - '08 era with the nVidia 8600, the warranty has been extended to 4 years.

Apple article

In any case, it's time to call Apple.

Hann · Nov 22, 2010

it actually just came refurbished like a few days ago.. didn't think i'd be so unlucky to have such problems so soon but oh well..i'll think of it as making full use of my warranty ha.

So i should be safe to leave the momentus xt in there yeah? since it's not HD related. Troublesome to install/load the original HD again.

Hann · Nov 23, 2010

i called apple and they got me to press command-option-p-r.. not sure what that did but i'm gonna restart a few times to see if the screen comes back.

Could a reset of some sort just fixed the problem like that? the screen looked extreme!

iggibar · Nov 23, 2010

Hann said:
it actually just came refurbished like a few days ago.. didn't think i'd be so unlucky to have such problems so soon but oh well..i'll think of it as making full use of my warranty ha.

So i should be safe to leave the momentus xt in there yeah? since it's not HD related. Troublesome to install/load the original HD again.

Have you tried booting with your old drive(if you still have it)?
I still prefer a clean OS install when upgrading the hard-drives, and manually carrying over files/programs that I need. Prevents corrupted files that can happen with migration assistant and time machine.
But, it could be a GC problem. Did you mention anything about the specific pattern on the screen when talking to apple?

Hann · Nov 23, 2010

I haven't actually.. wanted to see if apple support could do anything for me first. cos i already reformatted that stock drive and ready to pass it on to a friend in need.

Yeah ideally i would've done clean install but i just found it so troublesome and i'm not some techy fella.. so like was wondering how to bring across passwords/settings/product codes etc etc haha.

what's GC? well i told them it was like a mosaic with grey and white squares. they don't always look like that.. sometimes there're pretty diagonal patterns haha

When I did peform disk utility it did say my volume needed repair and it did manage to repair it. All looks good on the utility now.

restarting in abit to see if the problem comes back.

iggibar · Nov 23, 2010

Hann said:
I haven't actually.. wanted to see if apple support could do anything for me first. cos i already reformatted that stock drive and ready to pass it on to a friend in need.

Yeah ideally i would've done clean install but i just found it so troublesome and i'm not some techy fella.. so like was wondering how to bring across passwords/settings/product codes etc etc haha.

what's GC? well i told them it was like a mosaic with grey and white squares. they don't always look like that.. sometimes there're pretty diagonal patterns haha

When I did peform disk utility it did say my volume needed repair and it did manage to repair it. All looks good on the utility now.

restarting in abit to see if the problem comes back.

GC=graphics card.
I understand if you might now want to try the previous hard-drive, but if it were me, I would do it just so I can lead the apple tech the right way, or at least catch him if he tries to claim something else as the cause.

Hann · Nov 23, 2010

oh I didn't tell her that I had switched out the hd. I only asked her hypothetically what it'd do to the warranty.

But she got me to do the commandoptionpr thingy and that seemed to work.. restarted quite a number of times and haven't had that thing come back yet.

Wheeljack · Nov 24, 2010

Hann said:
oh I didn't tell her that I had switched out the hd. I only asked her hypothetically what it'd do to the warranty.

But she got me to do the commandoptionpr thingy and that seemed to work.. restarted quite a number of times and haven't had that thing come back yet.

Yup, resetting the PRAM helps a lot with graphics issues. You should also reset both the PRAM and the SMC after a OS 10.x.x update, as several drivers (kexts) are updated.

I have the same HDD, but haven't experienced anything like this.

Hann · Nov 24, 2010

SMC too eh... thought that was more power issues.