Cannot boot up MacBook Pro

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I have a fairly old MBP that I am selling. I wanted to erase everything off of it so I zero'd it out seven times, or whatever. Without noticing, it died on about the fourth time. Now when I turn it on it just gives my a cancel sign around a folder. I have the Mac OS X install disk, but it says it will not work?
I have no clue what to do, can somebody please help me? Thanks.
 

chscag

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First, it sounds like your hard drive gave out. Next... make sure you have the right install DVD to boot your MBP. It has to be the original or a retail version.
 
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Yes, it is the retail install drive. How do I know if my HDD gave out? Or how do I fix it? When I open up the disk utility off the install disk I can make a new partition or other stuff...
 

chscag

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I thought you said previously that you could not access the hard drive using your DVD? If you can't access the drive you will be unable to do anything to it.
 
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The install disk won't work, like when i choose a language it says it won't work. I can then select restore from a back, which I do not have any of. When I click restore from backup I can choose utilities from the the overhead bar or whatever, then go to utilities, and then disk utility. I don't know what to do after that though.
 

chscag

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OK, I understand now. When in Disk Utilities, highlight the hard drive on the left side of the dialog. Then select the First Aid tab on the right and run the verify and repair routine. Let's see what it says about the hard drive.
 
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"The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK. Volume repair complete. Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required."
 

chscag

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That's good. If there's nothing mechanical wrong with the drive it should be OK to reinstall. Make frequent backups so that if something does give out again, your data will be safe.
 

chscag

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You mean changing the hard drive to a new one or just reinstalling OS X?
 

chscag

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Boot with your install DVD, select the language, and then follow the prompts to reinstall OS X. Assuming of course that the drive has been setup - formatted and so forth.
 
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My install DVD won't work. After I click language it just stops. How do I setup my drive?
 

chscag

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Are you sure it's the correct install DVD for your machine? Install DVDs are specific to the model they were included with in the packing box. If it's a retail install DVD it should work as they are not model specific.
 
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To be honest, I was using the install disk from my 2010 MBP for my 2007 MBP. I thought they would work? I guess not. What can I do now? Vist Apple?
 

chscag

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Yes, the best solution would be to purchase Snow Leopard direct from Apple on line for $29.99. That should take care of it. You might be able to find a copy of Snow Leopard at Best Buy if you're lucky.
 

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