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Macbook won't turn on; sleep light flashes

L

let1gre

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 11, 2010
10
0
Hi all, this morning my Macbook (I believe a 2008 model wouldn't wake up from it's sleep like it does every time I open it (I usually set it to sleep rather than shut it down). I turned it off manually, but when I attempted reboot it does either one of two things:

a) When I simply press the power on button, the screen stays black and the sleep light fades on once, but then fades off and all mechanical sounds abruptly stop.

b) When I press and hold the power button, the sleep light fades on, but then flashes about 10 times rapidly before fading in and once again abruptly turning off.

I have tried this with the charger plugged in several different outlets, not plugged into the Macbook, waiting, removing and putting back the battery. A Google search said it might have something to do with the RAM and pushing it back in, but I have no idea how to do that. Any help at all is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Reid
 
Open up the bottom. You should easily be able to locate the 2 sticks of RAM. Undo the clips on the sides and remove the sticks at a 45 degree angle. Then just reinsert them.

If that doesn't work, it could be a logic board failure.
 
I can't find a screwdriver small enough. Can the guys at the Apple Store fix this? Will they charge me a ridiculous amount to do it?
 
It's a Macbook Pro 1st gen (Wikipedia calls it "Discrete"), not Unibody, so I doubt it's still under warranty. Does anyone have an idea on how much it could cost? Less then $100, more than $100?

By the way, thanks TheBritishBloke and R94N for your help. I really do appreciate it.
 
let1gre said:
It's a Macbook Pro 1st gen (Wikipedia calls it "Discrete"), not Unibody, so I doubt it's still under warranty.
Click to expand...

No, probably not in that case then, unless you bought another year of AppleCare (which you probably didn't, or you would remember ;))

let1gre said:
Does anyone have an idea on how much it could cost? Less then $100, more than $100?
Click to expand...

I have no idea, so I don't want to give you incorrect information.

let1gre said:
By the way, thanks TheBritishBloke and R94N for your help. I really do appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Well, we're all here to help each other out. It's great!
 
let1gre said:
It's a Macbook Pro 1st gen (Wikipedia calls it "Discrete"), not Unibody, so I doubt it's still under warranty. Does anyone have an idea on how much it could cost? Less then $100, more than $100?

By the way, thanks TheBritishBloke and R94N for your help. I really do appreciate it.
Click to expand...

You can check your AppleCare coverage here:
:apple: Check Your Service and Support Coverage

edit.gif
Just remembered something else, does your MBP have an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card? If so, take a look at this:

:apple: MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues
 
for something as simple as popping the RAM out/back in, I'd suggest going to a hardware store and getting a small enough screw driver. You may also need a torque one if one of the screws look different from the standard flat, square, or star bits.

It would probably be cheaper than taking it to the apple store for something that you may be able to fix at home. For actually opening up the laptop, then fine, but if the RAM is suppose to be accessible then it shouldn't be too hard. I know on my iMac I just have 2 screws at the bottom to remove, the RAM sits right behind the little metal plate, all 1GB of it.
 
I took it to the Apple Store yesterday and it did turn out to be a logic board failure. It's out of commission for 5-7 days. On the bright side, though, it was still under warranty so I don't have to pay a dime. My dad must have done that when I wasn't looking!

Once again, thanks everyone. I appreciate it.
 
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