Mid-2010 macbook will not boot

[FuzzyManPeach]

Hello, all, this is my first real foray into mac computers, needing some assistance with a used macbook I bought (A1342, 2.4ghz)

Was bought used, would not start up initially. After a few attempts, it booted once (High sierra installed) but was incredibly slow (30-40 minutes boot time, ~60 seconds just to switch between windows). tried to restart, and couldn't get it to boot again, was stuck on loading screen with progress bar full. I also had an SSD I had planned to upgrade to, so I just ignored it, made a bootable USB drive, and installed the blank SSD.

After this upgrade, I can't use any alternative boot method, startup utility will not appear when trying to boot from USB drive (option+power), just loads a blank white screen with the cursor, which I can move with the trackpad. Any other boot method results in the flashing question mark folder displayed on screen (single user mode, recovery mode, etc.)

I have reset NVRAM, which appears to work, but does not change results. Any ideas? I could clone the original boot drive, but didn't want to keep whatever may be slowing down the system, so I preferred the thought of a clean install.

 

[ferrarr]

After you power on the MB, hold Option down. This can be done with or without the bootable USB inserted. You will need to insert the drive once you see the boot options screen. You will then be able to boot from the bootable installer, and select Disk Utility to format and partition the new SSD drive for Mac.

 

[FuzzyManPeach]

I tried this: the boot options utility does not appear, whether or not the drive is inserted. All that shows is a blank white screen with the mouse cursor.

 

[FuzzyManPeach]

Bump

Does anyone know why I would not see a boot options screen when powering up with the options key held?

I'm inclined to think hardware failure, but it was working before, although slowly.

 

[chscag]

You're not going to see a boot options screen if there is no operating system installed on the SSD. A white screen or a flashing question mark folder means there is nothing to boot from. Did you install High Sierra on it? Also, it's apparent that the original hard drive that was in the MacBook has problems if it took that long to boot and was then very slow. Keep in mind that a Mac has no BIOS and will not boot unless there is something to boot from.

That particular MacBook came preinstalled with Snow Leopard 10.6.3. Do you have the original install media (DVD)?

Provide more details and we will try to help you get it going.

And, Welcome to our forums.

 

[rachalmers]

You say you installed the blank SSD?
So you can’t bring up the boot options, because there is no master boot. It doesn’t know you have a usb attached.
My suggestion.
Put the original drive back in. See if option -> boot options then works.
Of course, unless you have something then to boot from, like Safety or a usb stick, it still won’t boot.
The boot up problems in the first place sound like a failed HDD anyway.
If the logic board or ram chips are toast, it won’t even look like starting. It will be a dead parrot.
Try my suggestion before you start replacing expensive parts.



Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums

 

[FuzzyManPeach]

Ah that makes more sense, I didn't realize mac didn't have a version of BIOS, I thought I'd be able to boot to usb even with a blank drive. I do not have the original OSX install DVD, I bought the macbook used.

I reinstalled the original drive, and can bring up the boot options menu now, but the OS still won't load. It doesn't seem to recognize my bootable USB as an option, so I'm wiping and recreating it. In the meantime, I'm attempting to clone the original drive onto the blank one to rule out the original HDD, but I believe it's getting hung up somewhere in the middle, I've had to restart the clone twice, now. I'm using a windows machine to clone the boot drive and make the bootable usb, using Minitool's partition wizard and transmac, respectively.

Thanks for welcoming me and giving advice, I appreciate the help. Will update if anything works.

 

[ferrarr]

With the original drive installed, you should try Safe mode, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support. Also try to run Disk Utility > First Aid on the drive.

 

[Audit13]

The slow drive performance could be due to a faulty sata hard drive cable.

 

[FuzzyManPeach]

Managed to get everything up and running well!

USB boot drive still was not being recognized for some reason, and neither could I clone the boot drive with a windows machine, but it was able to boot into safe mode with the original drive, so I connected the new drive with a sata-USB cable and cloned the boot drive that way. It's even pretty snappy with the SSD despite being almost 10 years old.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, this would have taken me forever by myself.

 

[chscag]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, this would have taken me forever by myself.

That's great news. Keep us in mind if you have any other questions regarding your "new" Mac.