Macbook Air Chimes but does not start

[davebelbear]

Here's the situation, my macbook air worked like a charm until recently when I allowed it's battery to drain completely dead while playing music. When I tried to start it the following happens:

1. the computer DOES respond to pressing the power button
2. the computer chimes and the screen flashes once
3. after the flash the computer does not respond. The screen is black and the computer is (by all indicators) totally off. BUT IT ISN'T. The computer is running as indicated by the fan continuing to run. I cannot seem to trick it into any other activity that would give me somewhere to start

Originally I believed the problem to be something in the power system.

Here are some things I've ruled out;
1.) the problem IS NOT the magsafe power connection (I've swapped it out)
2.) the problem IS NOT the battery (I've swapped it out)

So that is a bummer. Again I'm pretty much at square one.

Ok, so this kinda leaves me thinking that maybe the logicboard is the problem? literally I have no idea and am grasping at straws. Any help or clarification would be appreciated.

 

[rajivhifi]

Try this. It worked on my MBP when I had a similar issue. It's from the apple support site:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove
Note: Learn about removing the battery on MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Shut down the computer.
Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
Remove the battery.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.


Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own
Note: Portable computers that have a battery you should not remove on your own include MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and later, all models of MacBook Air, and MacBook (Late 2009).

Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

 

[davebelbear]

thanks for the reply

Thanks for the reply - I previously tried this without removing the battery and forgot to mention it. At your suggestion I did it by removing the battery as well. No luck

Here are things I have tried:

1. resetting PR/NVRAM (no effect)
2. resetting SMC (no effect)
3. safe boot
4. boot into single user mode / boot menu / install media