Late 2011 Macbook Pro Beeping

[embesk]

Hi all,

I'm no computer genius. My computer starts but consistently beeps like a fire alarm and after a min or two, the screen shows a file folder with a question mark on it. I don't care about what's on my HDD, but I just want to get the computer running again. I've already tried reseating the RAM. Thanks in advance

 

[Slydude]

The folder with a ? on it is an indication that the computer cannot find a valid copy of the OS on the hard drive. that's often a sign of a failing (or failed) hard drive. You could try booting with the Option key held down to see if you can boot from the recovery partition. If you can launch Disk Utility and let Disk First Aid try to repair the disk.

The beeping sound may be an indication that the memory is not seated correctly, is the wrong memory, or is failing. Has the machine been opened up recently?

BTW what version of the OS are you running?

 

[ferrarr]

Things to try;

Start up and hold "shift" down at startup, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support, or
After powering on the MBP, press & hold "option+command+P+R", Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support, or
Try the SMC reset, How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support.

If none of those work, try Recovery mode, About macOS Recovery - Apple Support and use Disk Utility to run First Aid on the drive.

If it is a 15", it may be bad GPU, as that size & model year was well known foe bad graphics.

 

[embesk]

The folder with a ? on it is an indication that the computer cannot find a valid copy of the OS on the hard drive. that's often a sign of a failing (or failed) hard drive. You could try booting with the Option key held down to see if you can boot from the recovery partition. If you can launch Disk Utility and let Disk First Aid try to repair the disk.

The beeping sound may be an indication that the memory is not seated correctly, is the wrong memory, or is failing. Has the machine been opened up recently?

BTW what version of the OS are you running?

The machine had been in storage for awhile. Does that affect HDD functionality/integrity? I was running Sierra and now for some reason when I start and hold command+R it's trying to boot Lion, which makes me think it's the HDD.

- - - Updated - - -

Things to try;

Start up and hold "shift" down at startup, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support, or
After powering on the MBP, press & hold "option+command+P+R", Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support, or
Try the SMC reset, How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support.

If none of those work, try Recovery mode, About macOS Recovery - Apple Support and use Disk Utility to run First Aid on the drive.

If it is a 15", it may be bad GPU, as that size & model year was well known foe bad graphics.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have to give these a try

 

[Slydude]

Having a machine sit in storage for a while doesn't always lead to hard drive failure but it can based in part on the age of the mechanism.

The attempt to install Lion probably came because recovery mode could not find a valid recovery partition.

The ? behavior you described can be as simple as relatively minor directory structure error (which can often be fixed) or an indication of drive failure. Personally, I'm starting to suspect a drive issue but we'll know more once you've had a chance to complete some of the steps above.

 

[ferrarr]

Since it is trying to boot Lion, I believe it is starting up into Internet Recovery, so, it could be the drive, or maybe even the cable.