cant boot macbook pro, lines on screen and says to restart

[kevsmacpro]

today i was using my macbook pro, just surfing the web and then all these lines came across my screen (vertical). they were not solid but were thick and made of small grey boxes that did not completely obscure the picture behind it. I then restarted, being like whats going on? it booted up normally and made the lines again after a min or two, but will not even go that far any more. It just makes the start up sound, goes to the grey apple screen (which has a few short dark grey lines above the apple) andthen looks like the pic attached. I have a feeling its a virus but idk. does anyone know what this could be?

picture

 

[r.j.s]

It's not a virus.

You most likely have something wrong with the RAM, can you take it to the Apple Store?

 

[kevsmacpro]

It's not a virus.

You most likely have something wrong with the RAM, can you take it to the Apple Store?

yeah, i can get it there in couple of days, do u think there is any way to repair it sooner?

 

[Pax]

What model of computer do you have? (Year, CPU, graphics card etc)
Whatever you can tell us will help.
The bad news:- you might have a failed graphics chip (there is a known problem with one particular model graphics chip)
The good news:- Apple has extended the warranty, so if that is the problem, they will fix it for free.

If you tell us the model & year we'll know if you have the affected model.

 

[alphaod]

Well a GPU corruption would mean nothing should show up… so like r.j.s said it might be the RAM; the best way to check that is to run the Apple hardware test; to do that, you insert your original restore DVD in to the optical drive, and right after the tone (or if you have that muted, during the gray screen before the logo), you hold done the 'D' key to start the hardware test. Run that and post the results.

 

[kevsmacpro]

What model of computer do you have? (Year, CPU, graphics card etc)
Whatever you can tell us will help.
The bad news:- you might have a failed graphics chip (there is a known problem with one particular model graphics chip)
The good news:- Apple has extended the warranty, so if that is the problem, they will fix it for free.

If you tell us the model & year we'll know if you have the affected model.

its a macbook pro purchased in may 2008. idk what the model number is but its a 15 inch macbook pro. under the battery it says 2.4GHz/2x1G/250/SD.

thank you guys for your help, im not a computer dummy but im kinda lost when it comes to stuff like viruses...

 

[kevsmacpro]

Well a GPU corruption would mean nothing should show up… so like r.j.s said it might be the RAM; the best way to check that is to run the Apple hardware test; to do that, you insert your original restore DVD in to the optical drive, and right after the tone (or if you have that muted, during the gray screen before the logo), you hold done the 'D' key to start the hardware test. Run that and post the results.

i believe the resore DVD is at home with the box. right now I'm at college and we have no apple IT office. Im going to be able to go home on friday tho, would u suggest i do this before i go to the apple store?

 

[r.j.s]

i believe the resore DVD is at home with the box. right now I'm at college and we have no apple IT office. Im going to be able to go home on friday tho, would u suggest i do this before i go to the apple store?

You could, but they will do the same thing at the store. If it is the RAM, there isn't much you could do - except replace it. May as well take it in.

 

[Pax]

its a macbook pro purchased in may 2008. idk what the model number is but its a 15 inch macbook pro. under the battery it says 2.4GHz/2x1G/250/SD.

thank you guys for your help, im not a computer dummy but im kinda lost when it comes to stuff like viruses...

I think your graphics chip is dead, according to Apple your Mac has the NVIDIA 8600M graphics chip, it had a manufacturing fault, zillions of them are blowing up, Apple has extended the warranty to cover this.

Read this Apple article, then get in touch with them. They should give you a new logic board for free. You might need to double check the serial number of something. Best of luck

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377

 

[kevsmacpro]

I think your graphics chip is dead, according to Apple your Mac has the NVIDIA 8600M graphics chip, it had a manufacturing fault, zillions of them are blowing up, Apple has extended the warranty to cover this.

Read this Apple article, then get in touch with them. They should give you a new logic board for free. You might need to double check the serial number of something. Best of luck

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377

thanks, will do! made an appointment to take it in to the apple store

thanks for your help guys (and mayb girls)!

 

[MacModMachine]

Well a GPU corruption would mean nothing should show up… so like r.j.s said it might be the RAM; the best way to check that is to run the Apple hardware test; to do that, you insert your original restore DVD in to the optical drive, and right after the tone (or if you have that muted, during the gray screen before the logo), you hold done the 'D' key to start the hardware test. Run that and post the results.

actually , thats exactly what a gpu problem does....shows artifacts and display lines / issues.

 

[Relznuk]

today i was using my macbook pro, just surfing the web and then all these lines came across my screen (vertical). they were not solid but were thick and made of small grey boxes that did not completely obscure the picture behind it. I then restarted, being like whats going on? it booted up normally and made the lines again after a min or two, but will not even go that far any more. It just makes the start up sound, goes to the grey apple screen (which has a few short dark grey lines above the apple) andthen looks like the pic attached. I have a feeling its a virus but idk. does anyone know what this could be?

picture

It's called a kernel panic. They can be caused by a variety of things - both hardware problems and software problems can cause kernel panics. Try restoring your computer with the included DVD. If you continue to experience the problem, take it to an Apple store for testing.

 

[Hector2011]

I am having the exact same problem. I took it in and they said they will replace it for free. I brought my computer home so I could back up my files/photos while they order the logic board. Problem is, now my macbook pro wont even boot up. What can I do? How can I access my hd to save my files? I have an external usb HD, but dont know what to do next...?

 

[Pax]

I am having the exact same problem. I took it in and they said they will replace it for free. I brought my computer home so I could back up my files/photos while they order the logic board. Problem is, now my macbook pro wont even boot up. What can I do? How can I access my hd to save my files? I have an external usb HD, but dont know what to do next...?

There are various tricks to try to get it to boot. Check on the Apple site about how to do
- safe mode (I think it's hold down shift)
- boot from your install DVD (hold down option at boot and select DVD)

If those don't work it's a bit more hassle:
- get another Mac and a Firewire cable. Plug the two Macs together by Firewire. Boot your Mac (Mac 1) while holding down T. Your Mac's HDD should appear as an external drive on the other Mac (Mac 2), and you can copy files. This is called Target Disk Mode. If you plug your external HDD into Mac 2 as well, you can copy from Mac 1 straight to the external HDD just like you were copying from one disk to another.
or
- open the bottom of the Mac and take the HDD out and put it in an enclosure. Not particularly difficult, but you need to be good with your hands.

The Apple store should be able to help you with Target Disk Mode, they could set it up for you at the Genius Bar using one of their computers as Mac 2. You'd probably need to make an appointment and bring your external drive along.

Thinks: do you really need to copy your drive? Are they going to replace the logic board in house or send it away? I know backup is always desirable but if you really can't do it, does it matter?

 

[creative78]

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377

Just to note that I just got my Macbook Pro (late 2007) back from Apple today for this very same issue (except my screen went totally black). I had excellent service by sending the computer in to Apple, the turn-around time was 3 days (including shipping). If you have problems at the Apple store, I'd recommend calling apple and setting up a mail-in service request.

I did not have a chance to do a recent backup so was worried about losing data. The logic board replacement did not effect the contents of my hard-drive at all. The only change I noticed was the system clock was set to the year 2000 and they disabled the password on my screensaver.