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I'm in SERIOUS TROUBLE!! Macbook Pro Will Not Turn on

C

christina1700

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 5, 2009
5
0
Ok so here is the deal. I've had my MBP for a long time and have never had any issues. I couple weeks ago my AC adapter stopped working and the battery went completely dead.

I just went and bought a new adapter today and everything seemed to be working fine. But my airport wasn't working so I reset that (crtl+option+p,r power) and my airport was up and working again. Then my battery wasn't charging and there were no lights on the battery as well, I pressed the button a couple times and initially I could see the adapter light go from green to orange which indicated to me the battery was going on and off and then nothing. I then reset PRAM again and SMC. Once I did all of that the MBP started up again but only for a couple mins. Then it turned itself off and now I can't get it to turn on again. My adapter light is green and whenever I press the power button I can hear a clicking noise.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Someone help me fix this. I have all my babys pictures on the computer and need them!
 
Can't fix the issue but relax about the pictures. You can recover them even in extreme cases. No reason to think your data is ruined jut yet.

You have had power issues so common sense points to that. Sorry I can't offer tech advice and hope you get it sorted easily.
 
Sadly, I've heard this story far too many times.

1. I know it's kinda too late, but you should always have a backup. Especially using OSX, Time Machine runs the backups automatically for you when you have an external hard drive..

2. It's possible that the hard drive is dead with a clicking noise, but I honestly really doubt it. I can't hear the noise so I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet your data is safe. But I'm not sure.

3. Lastly, there is nothing physically you can do to fix it, other than to call Applecare or go to the Apple Store.

-- melman101
 
Wow... sounds like your computer is dead or dying. I think you're experiencing a logic board failure.

I can't offer much help to fix it but I just want to say don't worry about your baby pictures or the contents of your hard disk. They should still be intact and even if the computer is FUBARed the hard disk can be extracted with all the contents preserved and transplanted to a new computer.

EDIT: Erk! Missed the "clicking" noise you mentioned. If the "clicking" is coming from the hard disk, melman101's scenario is indeed possible.
 
Thanks for the input. I was really hoping that there was something I could do myself. I do normally back up my pictures, and thats exactly what I was beginning to do when it shut itself off! GRRRR And to top it off I just finished adding new pictures and erased them from my camera. DAMN!

Time to go and spend more money!!

Thanks again...
 
reset the PMU

you can reset the pmu by draining any power left in the machine. do this by taking out the battery and unplugging the power adapter, then press the power button for at least 30 seconds. then plugin the power adapter only and see if it starts. if it does, shut down and try again with the battery. if it doesn't, something is wrong with the battery.

if it doesn't start either way, its your PMU or logic board. not good. if you DO get it to start, back up your data ASAP!!!!

and never get stuck in this unfortunate position again (at least the worrying about data loss part) by always having a backup (or two) of your data.

best of luck.:apple:
 
If I were you, here are the steps I would take.

If you have still have a warranty or Applecare, take it into them and tell them that you only want them to remove the hard drive and get the data off.

If you have no warranty, I would consider the machine officially deceased. Then I would open it up and take out the Hard Drive and then put it into an enclosure. Then I would take it and plug it into another Mac and copy the data off of it immediately. If you have no other Mac available, try using a PC with at least Windows 7 (which has GUID Partition Table Support) with HFSexplorer.

IMO DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BOOT THE MACHINE ANY MORE
 
rootsmaneuver said:
you can reset the pmu by draining any power left in the machine. do this by taking out the battery and unplugging the power adapter, then press the power button for at least 30 seconds. then plugin the power adapter only and see if it starts. if it does, shut down and try again with the battery. if it doesn't, something is wrong with the battery.

if it doesn't start either way, its your PMU or logic board. not good. if you DO get it to start, back up your data ASAP!!!!

and never get stuck in this unfortunate position again (at least the worrying about data loss part) by always having a backup (or two) of your data.

best of luck.:apple:
Click to expand...

rootsmaneuver I did what you said and it worked by just using the adapter. so I hope this means that I'm just having a power issue. fingers crossed...

My battery is completely dead so I didn't try it with just the battery. Thanks a lot. I was able to get my pictures off. My son thanks you too LOL

I have an appointment at the apple store tomorrow. Wish me luck.

avihappy said:
If I were you, here are the steps I would take.

If you have still have a warranty or Applecare, take it into them and tell them that you only want them to remove the hard drive and get the data off.

If you have no warranty, I would consider the machine officially deceased. Then I would open it up and take out the Hard Drive and then put it into an enclosure. Then I would take it and plug it into another Mac and copy the data off of it immediately. If you have no other Mac available, try using a PC with at least Windows 7 (which has GUID Partition Table Support) with HFSexplorer.

IMO DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BOOT THE MACHINE ANY MORE
Click to expand...

It is not on warrenty anymore...I'm going to apple store tomorrow

Thanks for the input
 
Since it worked fine on power adapter power only, you may just need a new battery. That could run you up to $200 but thats a whole lot better than $2000. At least that will give you a few more months to hang on before spending more money.
 
Problem Solved!

For all of those interested and/or experiencing similar issues.

I went to an apple store today to have a diagnosis and we came to the conclusion that the left I/O board (Sound/DC-In Board) needed to be replaced.

So this explains why my battery wasn't charging and the MBP kept shutting off. Also I guess the light for the monitor is also part of this board so thats why the screen would go off but the computer remain on (which I observed sometime lastnight)

It's nice to know when you think your computer is "dying" that it may just need a new power outlet!!

So needless to say I'm very happy that my repair is very minimal both technically and monatarily...:):):):)

Cheers and thanks for all the input!!
 
christina1700 said:
For all of those interested and/or experiencing similar issues.

I went to an apple store today to have a diagnosis and we came to the conclusion that the left I/O board (Sound/DC-In Board) needed to be replaced.

So this explains why my battery wasn't charging and the MBP kept shutting off. Also I guess the light for the monitor is also part of this board so thats why the screen would go off but the computer remain on (which I observed sometime lastnight)

It's nice to know when you think your computer is "dying" that it may just need a new power outlet!!

So needless to say I'm very happy that my repair is very minimal both technically and monatarily...:):):):)

Cheers and thanks for all the input!!
Click to expand...

Hey thats great news, that it did not cost you a new computer, and you have your data. I thought I lost 15k pics of my kids and thought my wife would kill me after I did something stupid during migration to my new computer, luckily I had back up DVDs in my safe deposit box, so I ended up losing only about a dozen or so, not so great pics. So remember to keep backing up! :)
 
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