My Macbook wont start up, some type of error?

[Walko83]

Good morning MR,

I have had my current Macbook for approximately 5 years with no issues and it still runs better than and PC I have had... that is until this morning.. I woke up to hear the fans roaring on the macbook, I go over and open it up to see a completely white screen and in the middle is a symbol of a folder with a question mark in the middle? I turned it of and on and repeated this step numerous times, all of which had the same result... can anyone help me out?

I know I will have to take it in to apple, but wanted an idea of what the possible problem could be, thanks in advance.

 

[Walko83]

This constitutes as accidental damage, and unless you paid extra for that, it is not covered under a standard warranty.

Accidental damage? Im trying to figure out what the damage is, is my hard drive fried?

if it is my hard drive how much will it cost to have apple repair?

 

[sab165]

Accidental damage? Im trying to figure out what the damage is, is my hard drive fried?

if it is my hard drive how much will it cost to have apple repair?

I'm not too sure about "accidental damage" since you didn't actually do anything to damage your MB. Generally the question mark on startup is a sign that your HDD is going out or gone altogether so hopefully you have been regularly backing up your machine. Hop over to Newegg or your preference site to purchase a new drive if this turns out to be the case.

 

[Walko83]

I'm not too sure about "accidental damage" since you didn't actually do anything to damage your MB. Generally the question mark on startup is a sign that your HDD is going out or gone altogether so hopefully you have been regularly backing up your machine. Hop over to Newegg or your preference site to purchase a new drive if this turns out to be the case.

Thank you, any suggestions on what type of hard drive to buy? I will use Newegg. this stinks... I had a ton of music on that device, will purchased songs from itunes remian in Itunes?

 

[darkcurse]

Have you tried the steps outlined in Apple's Support Knowledge Base?

 

[sab165]

To answer the iTunes question simply: No, your music does not stay on iTunes. If you have an iPod or iPhone with your purchased music from iTunes on it then you can just restore your music from either of those devices. It's possible, once you get your MB up and running again, to "Transfer Purchases from device" in iTunes or use a program called Senuti to get your music back.

Your hard drive question can be a bit more complex. I would start by determining the size drive you would like to replace your old one. If the drive size is 128GB or less I would suggest looking into getting a SSD. If it's over 128GB then go with a 7200RPM drive such as the WD Scorpio Black or a Seagate Momentus XT, both of these drives are well known, both with their own pros and cons. Drives (HDD and SSD) are all about your needs and how much you're willing to spend for performance.

 

[Walko83]

To answer the iTunes question simply: No, your music does not stay on iTunes. If you have an iPod or iPhone with your purchased music from iTunes on it then you can just restore your music from either of those devices. It's possible, once you get your MB up and running again, to "Transfer Purchases from device" in iTunes or use a program called Senuti to get your music back.

Your hard drive question can be a bit more complex. I would start by determining the size drive you would like to replace your old one. If the drive size is 128GB or less I would suggest looking into getting a SSD. If it's over 128GB then go with a 7200RPM drive such as the WD Scorpio Black or a Seagate Momentus XT, both of these drives are well known, both with their own pros and cons. Drives (HDD and SSD) are all about your needs and how much you're willing to spend for performance.

thanks alot for your help! I will get this hard drive issue checked tonight by using the info the previous poster posted (thanks for the support page.) Also if I cannot correct the issue myself, I will either 1 night air the new hard drive or take it to apple to have fixed, If I need a new HD. I need to chose whatever options is quickest, I will be leaving friday for Hawaii for 10 days and will need this old trusty laptop for my internet needs late night and early morning... I have a New MBP but will not subject it to the hazards of traveling just yet lol.

Thanks for all the help, I am oblivious when it comes to hardware/software issue's. I think 120GB for this device would be sufficient, I really dont know the pros and cons of SDD or HDD I would be looking to spend $150-$200

 

[sab165]

Here is a quote I picked up from another thread where a fellow was upgrading the RAM and HDD on his black MB:

Hey Guys !
Just wanted to add my contribution I also have a macbook black so this topic is very interesting if still up to date !
So here is what I found about upgrading my mb black:
- RAM needs to be DDR2 667MHz. The brand doesn't really matter but try to get the most popular. According to some people, we can put up to 6Go of RAM... But I'm definitely not sure of this information ! I would have said 4Go. I don't know if I'm gonna by more RAM, but if I do, I will definitely take Corsair, which is one of the best brand. Also, cheap (60€ for 4go).

- About the SSD, you need to know few things. First, SSD are currently SATA II (which means they will read at a speed of 300Mo/s). However, our mb blacks are only SATA I. An HDD SATA II is always compatible with SATA I, but will NOT provide a rate of 300 Mo/s, but of 150Mo/s. Which is still far more better than usual HDD. I read somewhere that the increase was of more than 200%. So, yes, speed increase will not be as great as on new macbooks, but it will still be better than old HDD 5400 rotate/minute. I do have an HDD 7200, which is faster than 5400, but I have not idea how much slower it is compare to an SSD.
If there is one thing you should remember about SSD is that it will still be better than an HDD (even 7200). It should bring the starting time to 20 seconds and should still launch an app instantly. Also, if you decide to change your macbook, you will still be able to transfer your SSD (but not your RAM).
About the brand, I think I will take an OCZ. I checked the different brands and I was hesitating between Intel and OCZ. However, it appears that OCZ Vertex 2 is better than Intel Postville.

Hope it helped !
H.

If you do end up having to replace the drive, go to Newegg and search for SSD, then narrow the results to the 120GB or 128GB drives. You should be able to find a few (for your situation) that are right at $200 or less. Also I believe Kingston sells a SSD that is 128GB and runs less than $200. Try searching through the MR Forums a bit to see what SSD other MB users are putting in their machines, and this should help you with making the best decision.

 

[Walko83]

Here is a quote I picked up from another thread where a fellow was upgrading the RAM and HDD on his black MB:



If you do end up having to replace the drive, go to Newegg and search for SSD, then narrow the results to the 120GB or 128GB drives. You should be able to find a few (for your situation) that are right at $200 or less. Also I believe Kingston sells a SSD that is 128GB and runs less than $200. Try searching through the MR Forums a bit to see what SSD other MB users are putting in their machines, and this should help you with making the best decision.

Thanks so much for your help, I am going to also go to the apple store tonight and find out the cost to have them repair it as well as they might have the Hd in stock and if its comparable I will take that route, if not I found a video on how to do it myself.... your information and advice has been most helpful, many thanks to you.

 

[sab165]

Glad to help. Good luck with everything

 

[Walko83]

Glad to help. Good luck with everything

everything went well, bought my HD last night 320gb WD blue something lol..... very easy to install partitioned the drive and installed the OS good to go!