Mac will not start

sophlowe45

I bought a second hand Mac in 2012, running snow leopard 10.6.8. the trackpad did not work so I used an external mouse. The battery life was also very poor so it always remained plugged in.

In the past few months the keyboard started to fail, with certain letters not working, this gradually extended to more and more of the keyboard not working.

I didnt care as I could use an external keyboard.

I went away for a week and my Mac was working fine when I left, but when I came back it wouldn't switch on, no sound at all. The battery is charged.

I even watched some YouTube videos about taking out the battery and putting it back in.

There are 8 screws, but I cannot unscrew two of them. Is it worth trying the option of taking out the battery?

Can I take out the hard drive and put it in a case and make it an external hard drive to recover my data?

macman

Which exact model is it?
Yes, as long as the drive hasn't failed then you can remove the drive and recover the data-but surely you have a backup?
However it doesn't sound like drive failure, as it would still attempt to boot up. 'Completely dead' implies a power supply issue or a motherboard fault.

sophlowe45

I don't know the model, it came with snow leopard.

It is one of the ones that come under the bottom case replacement program, when I bought it it didn't have a bottom case.

https://www.apple.com/uk/support/macbook-bottomcase/

And it won't start up so I can't check any details.

No I didn't back up anything, but important documents I had on Google drive or had emailed to myself in the past so I haven't lost anything important.

What would you recommend I try with this Mac to get it to start? The battery looks tricky to remove from the two YouTube videos I watched.

Moneymaker

So you don't know the model but then you suggest it's a MacBook. You can determine exactly what it is by typing the serial number here:
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

I'm concerned about the screws in that you "cannot unscrew two of them". That suggests that you don't have the correct screwdriver so you are likely to wreck the screw head, which then turns it into a more expensive repair.

I would strongly suggest you cut your losses and take or send it to an expert. Or auction it on eBay - with a full description of the model and the fault history and symptoms. You might be surprised by the amount people are willing to pay!

Armorica

If you are anywhere near hertfordshire I know a lovely local mac repair team

macman

There are seemingly too many faults on this to make it an economic repair unless you can do it yourself, which seems unlikely given the questions you've asked.
I agree with Moneymaker: put it on eBay for spares or repair 'as seen'. Get your data off first as previously advised.
PS: if it won't boot up, how do you know that the battery is charged?

sophlowe45

Thank you for all the replies.

When I plug the charger in, the light goes orange then goes green.

I was assuming green meant fully charged battery and orange meant charging.

I cannot find any serial number on the laptop.

almillar

sophlowe45 - I had a similar problem with a Mac I had to fix. Trackpad was acting strangely. When I took it apart (yes Apple like to invent new types of screw!) to get at the trackpad, I found that the battery (which sits under the trackpad) was bulging, and on its way out. You could have the same problem but further down the line.
If you're positive it's running Snow Leopard, 10.6 and not just Leopard, 10.5, then we can be sure this is an Intel Mac. The 'bottom replacement' (arf) programme was for October 2009- April 2011 MacBooks - the white ones. That mentions Phillips head screws, so you should be able to find a screwdriver OK.
Goto Maplin and take your laptop and buy a screwdriver, or set, that will definitely fit it.
Get that bottom off (arf) and check your battery. You'll end up buying a new one anyway since it seems to be dead, but if it's malformed it could have caused the other problems. eBay or Amazon for a replacement...

sophlowe45

Yes it's Snow leopard and a white MacBook.

I got the bottom off, it's a little dusty but everything looks fine. I took a photo but don't know how to upload.

What screwdriver did you use to remove the battery?

How do I know if the battery is dead? As with a charger the light goes orange and then green.

macman

sophlowe45 wrote: »

Thank you for all the replies.

When I plug the charger in, the light goes orange then goes green.

I was assuming green meant fully charged battery and orange meant charging.

I cannot find any serial number on the laptop.

So although you said it was completely dead, the green light comes on to indicate battery charge?
Any sounds, fan noise etc when you try to start it up?
Did you have the original software supplied on CD?

sophlowe45

I said that in my first post it won't switch on, no sound at all, battery is charged.

Then when you asked PS: if it won't boot up, how do you know that the battery is charged? I replied saying I have assumed it is charged as the light goes orange briefly before turning green with the charger plugged in. I also assume here that the charger works ok.

No original software I bought the Mac second hand in 2012.

I went away for a week and my Mac was working fine when I left, but when I came back it wouldn't switch on, no sound at all. The battery is charged.