APPLE MacBook-Pro - TROUBLESHOOTING

TROUBLESHOOTING
Resetting the Power Manager (SMC)

Power management is now handled by a chip called SMC. Previously, it was handled by the Power Management Unit (SMC). To reset the SMC:

• If the computer is on, turn it off.
• Disconnect the power adapter and remove the main battery.
• Hold the power button down for five seconds, then release.
• Install the main battery and connect the power adapter.
• Press the power button to restart the computer.

System powered test using Caps lock LED

There are situations when the system is giving indications that it is shut down (no sleep light, no hard drive access, screen is dark, no fan, and so on). However, the logic board may still be running. In this case, the logic board is drawing power and generating heat.

Warning: In this situation, if the computer is put in an enclosed environment like a carrying bag, the computer can overheat.

• Check this situation by pressing the caps lock key. If the LED glows, the power manager is running on the logic board. After pressing the caps lock key and perhaps other methods of waking it up fails, including closing the lid to go to sleep and try waking again, hold the power button down for six seconds to force a shut down of the computer. Restart the system to check if it boots up normally.
• Note: Previously when the keyboard was connected directly to the power manager this method worked under all conditions, however as a USB device, the OS may be hung and the keyboard cannot respond. So if the caps lock light does not come on, the computer may be drawing power. If in doubt, hold the power button down for six seconds to force a shut down of the computer.

Customer forgot password

If the customer forgot the password for the computer:

• Insert the MacBook Pro Mac OS X Install Disc 1 DVD.
• Restart the computer while holding down the C key on the keyboard.
• When the installer appears, chose Reset Password under the Installer Utilities menu.
• Follow the on-screen instructions.

Safe Mode

Safe Mode is the state Mac OS X is in after a Safe Boot. A Safe Boot is a special way to start Mac OS X when troubleshooting. Starting up into Safe Mode does three things to simplify the start up and operation of your computer:

• It forces a directory check of the startup (boot) volume. It is identical to using Disk Utility’s.
• Repair Disk or the fsck - fy terminal command.
• It loads only required kernel extensions (some of the items in /System/Library/Extensions).
• It disables all fonts other than those in /System/Library/Fonts.
• It moves to the Trash all font caches normally stored in /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/(uid)/ where (uid) is a user ID number such as 501.
• It disables all startup items and any Login Items.

To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), do this:

• Be sure the computer is shut down.
• Press the power button.
• Immediately after you hear the startup tone, press and hold the Shift key.
• Note: The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone but not before.
• Release the Shift key when you see the screen the gray Apple and progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear). During the startup, you will see “Safe Boot” on the Mac OS X startup screen. To leave Safe Mode, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.

Hardware Symptoms

Startup

Startup Sequence

The Intel-based MacBook Pro starts up very much like the previous professional Macintosh notebook computers. If power is available to the system, after pushing the power on button, the system will start to boot up.

• The screen will stay dark. The sleep LED will glow solid. This will last a few seconds.
• As the system boots, a Power-on test will be performed. See Error Codes listed below for failure results.
• If the system is not muted, you will hear a boot beep. The backlight will turn on and the sleep LED will turn off. 
• The screen is gray in color. The Apple logo will appear and then the turning gear will appear.
• The desktop pattern will show up, as well as the menu bar start populating.

No Power, No Video

The computer will not power on (no fan movement, hard drive spin up and display is not lit)

• Remove any connected peripherals and eject any ExpressCard.
• Check that the battery has enough charge to start the computer by pressing the button next to the LEDs on the battery. At least one LED must light solid (not flashing).
• Connect a known-good Apple 85W Portable Power Adapter and power cord or plug to a known-good power outlet; make sure the DC plug is properly inserted. The DC plug should light up, if not, replace left I/O board. If not go to the troubleshooting, MagSafe connector.
• Try powering up without the battery installed If it boots, replace battery connector cable.
• Reset the power manager. See new procedures under the “Resetting the Power Manager)”heading in the Hardware Troubleshooting Tools and Tips section.
• Warning: Resetting the power manager will permanently remove a RAM disk, if present, and all of its contents. You will also need to reset the date and time (using the Date & Time system preference pane).
• Boot up the system and check the sleep indicator. If it turns on solid and turns off, the main logic board is getting power and completing the boot cycle. If no video appears, there is an issue turning the video turn-on or system software is corrupted. Try booting off the Mac OS X Install DVD. If the light does not turn off, the boot cycle is not being complete. This may be cause by the hard drive not being seen by the system, system software corrupted or possibly a hardware issue.
• Press Caps Lock key to see if key light comes on. If it does, hold power button down for six seconds to shut down the computer and restart.
• If it still doesn’t start, verify power button cable is connected properly to top case flex cable assembly and that the flex cable is connected correctly to the logic board, if power button is not functioning correctly or damaged, replace the top case.
• Disconnect keyboard completely. Inspect connectors. Restart with keyboard disconnected.
• Remove any additional RAM.
• Try removing the AirPort Extreme card from its socket and start the computer. If it starts,shut it down and check the flex cable connector and the connector on the logic board and replace the damaged parts.
• Reseat these flex cables

1. Left I/O flex cable
2. Hard drive flex cable (will boot to flashing folder)
3. Optical drive flex cable
4. Trackpad flex cable

• If the computer starts up, inspect the flex cable connector and its connector on the logic board for damage and replace the damaged parts.
• Try known-good Left I/O board.
• Replace logic board.

Error Codes

The computer automatically performs a power-on self-test when it is turned on after being fully shut down (not a restart). This section describes what to do if beeps are heard during the start-up.

• When this occurs, the sleep LED will stay on-occasionally flashes.
• MacBook Pro relies on a combination of tones and blinking sleep LED to display Power On Self Test (POST) error codes.
• If the computer detects no SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) or the RAM installed does not meet the appropriate specifications, the screen will remain black but the power LED on the front of the computer will blink once per second to signal the error. This error condition may be due to physically damaged RAM, installing the incorrect type of RAM, or not having RAM installed.
• Some RAM may appear to pass the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) but still cannot be used by the operating system. In this case, the computer will display a gray screen, sound three tones and blink the power LED on the front of the computer three times, pause, and repeat the blinking until the computer is turned off.

Blue screen appears (a spinning disc cursor may also be visible), Prohibitory Sign appears, Restart dialog box appears (Mac OS X 10.2 kernel panic window), or Gray screen during start-up.

Kernel Panic dialog box

Make sure all external devices are disconnected and any ExpressCard ejected. If kernel panic goes away, troubleshoot the external device by reconnecting each device until the panic occurs.

• If there are two RAM cards installed in the expansion slots, remove the top card and restart.
• If symptom repeats, replace bottom card with known-good RAM card.
• If symptom does not repeat, replace top RAM card with known-good RAM card and restart.

Flashing question mark appears on the screen

Note:This system will only boot the Mac OS X system that shipped with this computer or later. It does not support booting into Mac OS 9.

• Start up from the MacBook Pro Mac OS X Install Disc 1 DVD that came with the computer (hold down the “C” key during restart).
• When the Installer opens, from the Installer menu under Utilities, select Disk Utility.
• When the Disk Utility opens, on the left hand side, all disk and volumes are listed. If you don’t see the internal hard drive, the system is not recognizing it. Skip to the next step. Otherwise, select the internal hard drive icon and follow the instructions under the First Aid tab to verify the hard disk, and repair if needed. Restart the computer.
• If the hard drive is not recognized, check the hard drive flex cable for damaged connectors (connector peeled off the flex cable, for example), and if bad replace the hard drive flex cable.
• Re-seat the hard drive flex cable. If still not recognized, replace the hard drive.

Implications, for important information.

Reinstall system software using the MacBook Pro Mac OS X Install 1 disc.

Note: Don’t forget to install both the Mac OS X and software.

Computer begins to power up, the fans and hard drive are spinning, pressing caps lock key and LED turns on, but there is no startup chime or video

• Reset the power manager. See new procedures under the “Resetting the Power Manager Unit.
• Warning: Resetting the power manager will permanently remove a RAM disk, if present, and all of its contents. You will also need to reset the date and time (using the Date & Time system preferences pane).
• Check all cable and flex connections to the logic board. Try restarting.
• Replace the logic board.

System shuts down intermittently

• Disconnect all external peripherals and eject any ExpressCard.
• Make sure a known-good fully charged battery is fully inserted. Check that the battery latch is fully engaged and is not broken or getting caught before fully catching. Check battery connection to logic board.
• Make a visual inspection of the battery connector in the battery bay. Make sure all blades are visible and not bend. If damaged replace the battery connector.
• Make sure system is not over heating, the air vents are clear and unit was not used on a soft surface.
• Check that the fan cables are connected and the fans are operational.
• Make sure all feet are still on the system bottom. If not, order foot replacement kit.
• Check that the thermal material between the heat exchanger and logic board is in contact with both by unscrewing the logic board screws and gently pulling up on the left side of the board to verify resistance caused by adhesion from the thermal material. If not, new thermal materials for the processor, control ASIC, and video chip must be reinstalled.
• Remove the battery and connect known-good 85W power adapter and power cord or plug to a known-good power outlet; make sure the DC plug is properly seated. The DC plug should light up, used the MagSafe troubleshooting section.
• Verify left I/O board cable is securely connected and cable shows no signs of wear.
• Try known-good left I/O board.
• Replace the logic board.

System shuts down almost immediately after start-up

• Disconnect all external peripherals and eject any ExpressCard.
• Make sure a known-good battery is fully inserted. Check battery charge and make sure that at least two LED charge indicators light, otherwise connect the adapter. The adapter should light when plugged in. If not, troubleshoot the MagSafe connection After charging for a while, if battery does not seem to charge, or if charged up but quickly discharges, replace the battery. Verify known-good battery.
• Check battery connection to logic board, and check wire attachment to connectors.
• Just before the system shuts down, the sleep LED briefly comes on, check the two thermocouple connections to the main logic board. They should be fully seated and no damage to the wiring. If the thermocouple is damaged replace the thermocouple.
• If known-good battery does not charge, replace left I/O board.
• Replace the logic board.

Application Quits, Kernel panic or other booting problems

If a specific application quits, replace the application. Verify the application is compatible with OS X.

• Clear parameter RAM. Hold down Command-Option-P-R during startup until you hear a second startup chime. 
• Run Disk Utility from the Software Install and Restore DVD.
• Perform a clean install of system software with the software install and restore disc that came with the computer. Note: Restore disc images are available at http://service.info.apple.com. Select “Disc Images.”
• Reboot system.
• Run Apple Service Diagnostic in loop mode (Control-L) for an extended time to test the memory. If the test finds bad memory, replace the DIMMs one at a time and test until all bad DIMMs are replaced with known-good modules.
• Replace the logic board.

AirPort Extreme

Note: The AirPort Extreme card is now separated from the Bluetooth module. In addition, the AirPort antenna is now in the clutch barrel behind the gray plastic window. The Bluetooth antenna is now separate from AirPort and mount just in front of the hard drive.  AirPort Extreme not recognized.

In Mac OS X, use Software Update in system preferences or see the Apple Software Updates web page to make sure the latest version of AirPort Extreme software is installed.

• Restart the computer.
• Open AirPort in system preferences and make sure AirPort is on and Base Station is selected.
• Reseat the AirPort Extreme card in its slot.
• Remove and reinstall the AirPort Extreme software.
• Replace with known-good AirPort Extreme card.
• Replace left I/O board.
• Replace the main logic board.

AirPort connection is slow

• Move computer closer to AirPort Base Station or other AirPort device.
• Check how many users are trying to use AirPort in the area. Too many users are accessing network at the same time causing heavy network traffic. To improve network connection speed, add additional AirPort Base Stations.
• Check for other changes in the environment that may cause interference with the AirPort signal.
• Use Software Update in system preferences or see the Apple Software Updates web page to make sure the latest version of AirPort Extreme software is installed.
• Restart the computer.
• Check the AirPort Extreme antenna connection to the AirPort Extreme Card.
• Reseat the AirPort Extreme card in its slot.
• Replace with known-good AirPort Extreme w/ Bluetooth card.
• Check AirPort Extreme antenna wire coming from clutch barrel for nicked insulator or crimped wire. If bad, replace the AirPort Extreme antenna in the clutch barrel.
• Replace left I/O board.
• Replace the main logic board.

Bluetooth

Note: Unlike the previous PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD), the AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 functions are on separate cards.

Bluetooth system preferences does not show up under Hardware system preferences

• Check for software/firmware updates on the web.
• Check the Bluetooth card flex cable. Make sure the cable is not damaged and fully seated.
• Check the hard drive flex to main logic board.
• Replace the Bluetooth card.
• Replace the hard drive flex.
• Replace the logic board.

Bluetooth Card not recognized by other devices

• Open Bluetooth in system preferences and make sure under the Settings tab that Discoverable is checked.
• Make sure the Bluetooth antenna is properly installed.
• Check the Bluetooth antenna is connected to Bluetooth card.
• Replace with known-good Bluetooth card.
• Replace logic board.