2006 Macbook boot issue

[Markland556]

I have a 2006 Macbook that i received from a friend. It seems that it will not boot. When it is turned on you can hear the boot sound and it comes to a grey screen and just sits there. There is no apple logo or anything, just a blank grey screen. Have tried booting with no HDD and still the same issue. Also tried to switch RAM slots with no success. What can i do now to fix this laptop?
I have tried the Pram reset as well as anything else i could find online and nothing will get me past this blank grey screen. I dont care about the data on the drive either.

 

[Intell]

If you hold down Option as soon as you hear the startup chime, do you see any icons or a mouse cursor appear on your screen after a few seconds?

 

[Markland556]

Nope, nothing. Just sits there at the grey screen.

 

[eljanitor]

Try resetting the PRAM 3x but no more then 3x consecutively!!!!! If that fails you can reset the SMC/ PMU use the link I sent you to learn how to do this.


To Reset PRAM:

Resetting NVRAM / PRAM

1. Shut down your Mac.
2.Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3.Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
5.Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the start-up sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

**Note when resetting PRAM do not do it more then 3 times. If you do it more then 3 times you can damage the logic board.** ( Hearing the start up sound for 3x)

If that doesn't work go here and follow the steps to reset the PMU

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

Make sure you follow the steps outlined for intel macs with a removable battery.

If all this fails you have bigger problems.

 

[Intell]

One cannot damage a Mac's logicboard by resetting the PRAM more than three times. One could reset it as much as they want, but anything past the second chime is a waste of time and does nothing.

 

[Markland556]

Still no luck. Holding the buttons does nothing and just sits at the grey screen, no restarting, no nothing...

 

[Intell]

Do you know if it has a hard drive in it? You could try removing the hard drive and seeing if the screen will give you the flashing folder with a question mark. Removing the hard drive is easy in that Macbook. Remove the battery and the three screws, then pull out the hard drive.

 

[Markland556]

Already tried booting it with the drive removed. Still just the blank grey screen.

 

[DeltaMac]

Try resetting the PRAM 3x but no more then 3x consecutively!!!!!...
**Note when resetting PRAM do not do it more then 3 times. If you do it more then 3 times you can damage the logic board.** ( Hearing the start up sound for 3x)

….

There is no truth to that statement about damaging a logic board with a PRAM reset. Multiple PRAM resets are not in anyway hazardous to your logic board.
Well, other than sheer boredom if you were to continually reset for several dozen times. But, that would be your own head, and still won't damage your logic board.
You may have that confused with a problem when attempting multiple PMU resets on some older (PPC) Macs.
Matter of fact - Apple Service used to provide the tip, in certain situations, to reset PRAM 5 times consecutively, as a final step to reset the PRAM chip completely. I think most techs will simply tell you that more than 3 is not necessary (but also not in any way damaging)