Home Forums Hardware Mac Desktops & Notebooks problem with MacBook pro booting up?

I have a MacPro. when i turn on the computer it will not boot up. when fist turned on their is a small bar just under the appele logo, it seems to be loading something up but after a few min, without the being filled, the bar will then disapier. after the bar is gone it will still not boot up, the circle will just keep goin around like it wants too and thats it. sombody please tell me what it could posibly be and what i can do to correct it. im am no in an area where i can take it be looked at so feed back would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, and welcome to FineTunedMac.

It doesn't sound like you're trying to do a Safe Boot, so I'm not certain what your "bar" is about.

The first thing I'll suggest is that you try Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.

Regardless of whether or not that works, the next thing I think you ought to do is (try) boot(ing) from your restore/install disc and run(ning) "Repair Disk," which you'll find in Disk Utility. (Its precise location depends on which version of OS X you're running, but you should find it either in your menu bar or in one of the drop-downs after your Mac has booted from the disc.)

Good luck, and please post back with, hopefully, your success story or for additional assistance.

Edit: If you post back for additional assistance, please include your Mac's specs, including which version of OS X you're running.

hello and thanx for the help . ok so reseting of the PRAM did not work. the loading bar is still doin the same as before. i failed to mention some things i did to the computer before all the problems began.
1 i got some movies form a friends computer and put them on my harddrive(external)
2 i used canned air to blow out the dust in my computer as best i could. i incerted the straw into any hole i could find including the vents under the monitor and the dvd drive. i like to point out that i do not hear the fan kicking in and it seems to be gettin hot in the area around the 2,3,and 4 keys. im hopeing i didnt cause some major damage as a result of the canned air.

also i cant give u the comp specs becouse i cant get into the utility and i dont have the manuals that come with the computer. i cant use the restore dics becouse that too is at home and i am curently in a remote part of the world. haveing givein you this new info do you have any idea what might be the problem could be or if any of my actions may have caused them? i would hate to have to send the computer to apple or to geek sqwaud, i have had the computer a little over a year now and im sure the repair bill will be high.

edited by MacManiac to remove geo-specific information....

From your comment about a keyboard area getting hot, one might get the impression that you've got a MacBook Pro rather than a Mac Pro. Is that correct?

Anyway, your description of poking into holes and the observation of not hearing a fan kicking in, certainly suggests the possibility you dislodged, jammed or even damaged something. Either you yourself or someone else may have to access the rear area below to keyboard to see if there's anything obviously amiss. With luck, it's something you can fix yourself.

To figure how to get at that area (assuming it's possible for the end user without voiding a warranty), you might want to search iFixIt's or PowerBook Medic's web sites for the access/repair instructions for your model Mac. Of course, this requires you to have access to a working computer... Please let us know how you do!

MacMane81 is probably discussing hir problem with MacManiac right now.

There's always that (I too suspected as much), but you never know: coincidences do happen. Meanwhile & until things get clear it won't hurt to follow up on details and get the troubleshooting going.

> "coincidences do happen"

But two identical coincidences in one week?

Good point about the keyboard, but it made me shudder, 'cause I took a look at my MacBook to see which holes MacMane81 might have been referring to, and the possibilities are all horrifying.

Dust inside a laptop is not generally something I'd think of, but over there, the "dust" is likely sand, and forcing sand into the works with compressed air...well, I don't think it was a very good idea (if, in fact, that's what happened).

MacMane81,

Is there an operating system installed on or cloned to your external hard drive?

If so, you could:

1. try starting up from the external drive by holding down the Option key. See: Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume. Be patient when holding down the Option key; starting up from an external drive can take a bit of time.
2. use Disk Utility on the external drive to Repair Disk on the internal drive:
   1. select the name of the internal hard drive in the left column; for example Macintosh HD.
   2. select the First Aid button as necessary.
   3. click on the Repair Disk button.
   4. The best report you will get is "The volume . . . appears to be OK".
   5. If errors are reported, run Repair Disk two or three more times.
   6. If the errors cannot be repaired, write down the information reported by Disk Utility and post it here.
3. also check to see what Disk Utility reports for S.M.A.R.T. Status by selecting the device name of the internal drive in the left column; for example 200.05 GB FUJITSU . . .

I might have had a short discussion in passing with MacMane81 a few days ago, but we didn't get to look at his machine at the time.....or perhaps it was another user with a similar problem....can't really say for sure.