Something Is Very Wrong With My MacBook Pro

[MadDoc]

I installed 2 x 2GB Kingston DDR2 667 RAM sticks into my C2D 2.2GHz SR MBP about a week ago. Everything seemed to be fine.

Today, I was ripping a DVD using Ripit (which, BTW, seems pretty good). I came back to the Mac to find it had gone to sleep. I couldn't wake it by pressing any keys so I turned it on (the DVD was still in the drive).

It now won't boot.

It turns on when I press the power button and the white light at the front comes on but the screen remains black. The disk drive spins a bit but then stops. This is as far as I get. I have tried holding down the mouse button to eject the disk but this does nothing. it definitely isn't booting to the desktop with a dead screen as there is no sound.

I'm not sure what's wrong.

Any ideas?

MadDoc,

 

[Catch Them]

thats very peculiar ...maybe the memory had a hickup or something...but seems kind of strange.

have your tried doing the whole reset SMC and PRAM then attempting to eject the disk?

or even holding option during boot up?


those the best i could think of off the top of my head.....

 

[MadDoc]

What's SMC and PRAM?

What happens when you hold down option? (I'll try it as soon as I get home)?

Thanks,

MadDoc

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Option + P + R for PRAM reset
Forgot the SMC reset keys lol Try googling it

 

[Catch Them]

SMC on the macbooks, remove the battery (and make sure the magsafe power cable is unplugged) and hold the power button for 5 seconds then put the battery back in and boot the system.

PRAM

COMMAND (the apple key) OPTION P R (all at the same time) right after the chime

 

[MadDoc]

Tried resetting SMC and PRAM with no luck.

I managed to get the disc out by jamming a credit card into the drive which forced an eject (I read this on someone's blog).

I'm really worried that something is seriously wrong - perhaps a frazzled logic board??

When I press the power button - I get a black screen, a slight fan noise, a static white sleep light and nothing else. No grey screen, no chime. Nothing.

Help!

 

[nick9191]

Put back in the old RAM?

 

[fwhh]

Have you tried to revert your memory upgrade (put the old memory modules back in)? Or try to start it up with only 1 module installed.

 

[lag1090]

Sounds like a fried GPU to me. I experienced a similar situation in the summer, but it was a seemingly-random occurrence.

I would suggest sending it to Apple for repair. It probably needs a logic board replacement. If the GPU is indeed at fault, Apple should cover it at no cost due to the recent NVIDIA quality control meltdown.

 

[MadDoc]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'll try swapping out the RAM one at a time. Unfortunately I don't have the old RAM :-(

I hope something isn't fried as I don't want to lose the data on my drive (no it isn't backed up).

Without AppleCare, and being 16 months old, would a frazzled logic board be costly? What's happened to NVIDIA's chips then? It's funny that it died having been ripping DVDs to my hard disk for a couple of days - perhaps the heat melted something?!

MadDoc

 

[fwhh]

If you check the ram, be sure to test each slot with each module.
A logic board would be too expensive, esp. if you have it repaired.

 

[MadDoc]

Good and bad news.

It's not the RAM (works in my wife's laptop and hers doesn't work in the dead MBP). Took it in to Apple today who reckon it's a fried logic board / NVIDIA chip.

Turns out that I am still under warranty though (educational warranty) and so Apple are going to have to shoulder the cost.

Hopefully my data is still OK.

MadDoc,

 

[lag1090]

Good and bad news.

It's not the RAM (works in my wife's laptop and hers doesn't work in the dead MBP). Took it in to Apple today who reckon it's a fried logic board / NVIDIA chip.

Turns out that I am still under warranty though (educational warranty) and so Apple are going to have to shoulder the cost.

Hopefully my data is still OK.

MadDoc,

Precisely as I expected. Just make sure you have the people at the service center note that your HD shouldn't be touched unless absolutely necessary and you should be fine.

 

[MadDoc]

Just an update,

My MBP is now alive again!

Turns out it was the logic board that was gone afterall. All my data is safe. Thank goodness for the extended warranty I guess!

Thanks for everyones advice.

MadDoc,