Help diagnose errors on MacBook that will not boot
I have a MacBook which won't boot beyond the grey screen / Apple logo. With some key combo (can't remember what I did!) I managed to get a black screen with text output - see image. Can anyone offer an interpretation? I'm imagining the logic board is fried.
Solution 1:
Not necessarily a logic board issue (but it is possible!).
1) It may be a RAM Issue: easiest way to test is crack it open (if it's the old non-unibody one then that's not too bad) and try running it with either stick removed. If you get the same issue it's onto...
2) An issue with the installation: there's a chance it could be a weird problem at a very low level of the installation, if you've still got the install discs and don't have any data you can't afford to lose try reinstalling. If you're still stuck...
3) Try the hardware check tool: there's a pretty good guide on how to use it here: on the Mac OS X forums. That should show any issues in detail. However...
4) The processor/logic board is done: and either way if it's either then you're down to opening that puppy up and replacing it.
Solution 2:
If you have access to a FireWire cable and another Mac, consider booting your MacBook in target disk mode. If your computer responds and boots, you can then copy files off your machine and also attempt a permissions repair (not that I think this will cure your problem.
For this discussion, your problematic MacBook is Computer #2 and the other Mac is Computer #1.
- Boot Computer #1.
- Plug a FireWire cable into #1.
- Connect Computer #2 to power.
- Connect the FireWire cable to #2.
- Boot #2, holding down the T key until the FireWire logo appears.
At this point you should be able to see Computer #2 in the Finder on Computer #1. It will act as a regular hard drive as far as Computer #1 is concerned.
Retrieve your needed files, use Disk Utility to Repair the disk and Restore permissions. You can even check it with a program like Drive Genius for errors.
If the MacBook boots to Target disk mode, you know it's not the motherboard or RAM. At that point, I'd reboot into Repair mode by holding down Command-R at boot. From here, you can reformat the drive with Disk Utility and reinstall OS X.
Good luck!