MacBook Will Not Boot & Only Makes Noises
When you press its power button you expect your MacBook to chime, display the Apple logo, and boot up properly. When it doesn't, you can feel helpless: how can you figure out what's wrong if you can't even start it up? While you may have to take your laptop computer to a technician to get it working again, there are a few things you can try to figure out its problem.
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RAM Issues
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If there is a problem with your MacBook's physical memory, also called RAM, then it will not boot. Instead, it will make a diagnostic sound that will tell you the nature of the issue. A MacBook that alternates between making a single tone and being silent for five seconds is unable to detect any RAM installed on its system. If the laptop makes noises in this pattern, then the RAM failed the system's data integrity check.
Diagnostic Images
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Along with noises, your computer might display images on the screen if the problem that is preventing the MacBook from booting is related to its software. If the screen is only displaying a a circle with a slash through it, then there is a problem with the firmware that Apple uses to start up. If the image looks like blinking broken folder, then the firmware could not recognize a valid operating system on your hard drive.
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Display Problems
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If there is a problem with your MacBook's screen, then it could be booting up normally while only presenting you with a blank screen. One quick way of checking to see if the display is the problem is to try resetting the MacBook's System Management Controller (SMC). Turn off the computer by pressing down the power button. Press the "Option" key, "Control" key, "Shift" key and the power button at the same time. If the computer starts up normally, then a glitch in the hardware was preventing the screen from displaying.
Booting From Disk
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You can check to see if the MacBook is working normally, aside from firmware issues, by booting the MacBook from the install disk that came with the laptop. Do this by putting the install disk in the disk drive, then pressing the "C" key after your press the MacBook's power button. If the computer starts up into the disk's menu, then the problem lies with your startup disk. You can make the MacBook boot normally by reinstalling the system, but this will delete any files you have on your hard drive.
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References
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