Macbook A1181 no power on after SMC reset

[luminarycrush]

I have an older Macbook (A1181) which had a hard drive crash and no recovery disk so it sat on a shelf for a few years. When trying to boot from a DVD it was partially booting but showing errors (BootCacheControl playlist read only filesystem etc etc) in verbose mode (in hindsight, may have had wrong boot disk for Snow Leopard version). I reset the NVRAM and the Apple wake-up noise played at power on (it didn't before, seemed like progress) but still wouldn't fully boot. I reset the SMC next and now... nothing happens. The Macbook won't power on or show any signs of life, and the LED on the charger is off when plugged in.... well, in complete darkness you can see a very faint glow of a light but it's not the normal bright green or orange. What now?

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

If it's been on the shelf for a few years, the battery is likely dead. A model A1181 MacBook could be a 2006, 2007, or 2008 vintage model worth perhaps $50 when in working condtion. You already know it needs a hard drive and probably a new SATA cable. And a new battery. Unless you wish to get it back in working condition as a challenge, it may not be worth the effort.

 

[luminarycrush]

It's a 2007 core duo. The battery is OK, it shows all four green lights when pushing the charge test button and was charging fine right up prior to the SMC reset which seems to have rendered it inert at this time. I have a pile of drives so that's not an issue and it's a maxed-out 6G RAM machine so it would be fine for web browsing and IM etc.

It's not so much that it's worth little cash, it's the fact I want to get it going. I was going to e-waste it and decided not to when it (at first) powered right up and charged and is cosmetically in really nice condition. I gave it a stay of execution.

 

[pigoo3]

It's a 2007 core duo.

If it's truely a "core duo" MacBook...then it's a 2006 model. 2007 MacBook's were core 2 duo.

And if it's a "core duo" 2006 model...it's only upgradeable to 4gig of RAM (which only about 3.25 gig can be addressed).

If this computer has 6gig of RAM in it. The it's either newer than 2006...or the 6gig of RAM in a 2006 "core duo" MacBook is causing the problems.

The battery is OK, it shows all four green lights when pushing the charge test button...

4 green lights only means the battery is fully charged. If the battery is worn out...it may only run for 5 minutes. Or if the battery is in good shape...it could run for hours. 4 green lights only means it's fully charged...but really doesn't indicate how "healthy" the battery is.

- Have you replaced the bad HD yet?
- What disks (DVD's) are you using? A retail Snow Leopard install disk?...the original gray discs that came with it?...or gray discs from another computer?

* Nick

 

[luminarycrush]

Core 2 duo. It's a 2007 model - says so on the bottom of the case.

Well, regardless of battery status the problem is that it won't power on now *at all* - nothing happens - when I push the power button *after* I did SMC reset. It was booting the disk - partially - before. Now it's inert, does nothing, period. No activity. The LED charge light is unlit when connected.

Something in the SMC reset has put it into a state in which it won't do anything... not an LED light on, not a fan, not a flicker of the screen, nothing.

The SMC reset seems to have borked something. I'd like to un-bork it.

 

[pigoo3]

If it's a 2007 core 2 duo model...good deal. To be even more specific. If it has 6gig of RAM in it...then it should be a "Late 2007" MacBook. Since only Late 2007 MacBook's can have 6gig of RAM installed. Earlier 2007 Macbook models (there were two MacBook releases in 2007)...could only have 4gig of RAM installed. It might be good to verify exactly what MacBook model this is...just in case it's not supposed to have 6gig of RAM in it.

Some additional questions were asked (and not answered). It would help to have the answers to the other questions just in case it may help discover what this issue is.

- Nick

 

[luminarycrush]

If it's a 2007 core 2 duo model...good deal. To be even more specific. If it has 6gig of RAM in it...then it should be a "Late 2007" MacBook. Since only Late 2007 MacBook's can have 6gig of RAM installed. Earlier 2007 Macbook models (there were two MacBook releases in 2007)...could only have 4gig of RAM installed. It might be good to verify exactly what MacBook model this is...just in case it's not supposed to have 6gig of RAM in it.

Some additional questions were asked (and not answered). It would help to have the answers to the other questions just in case it may help discover what this issue is.

- Nick

My original post contains all the answers - original install disk lost, I used a disk which is not the original for this mac so may be the wrong one etc etc. It was fully functioning in the past with 6G of RAM - it's my girlfriend's old Mac so I know it was working fine in it's current hardware config in the past as I am the wone who upgraded it for her to 6G. It was some years ago so I forget the exact early/late/etc model numbers but I can't verify anything beyond what I've said at the moment because it won't turn on. At all.

This is all irrelevant unless I can get the thing to wake up and show some life. I did an SMC reset and now it won't do *anything*. Maybe I'm not understanding the questions you guys are asking and missing something here, but the hardware won't power on now. The LED won't light when connected to the magnetic connector. It a un-powered white brick at the moment. The SMC-reset (conducted per the Apple help forum procedure) whacked something. EG disconnect power, take out battery, hold power button for 10 seconds and that should reset the SMC. But now... it's dead Jim. The battery is still charged up but I place it in the Macbook and can not power it on; I connect the charger to the laptop and get no LED and it will not power on.

 

[luminarycrush]

UPDATE:

I removed the battery and power connector and had let it sit for three days, in the mean time posting this and checking daily if it would power on (eg reconnect power, reinstall battery, try to power it on, no go, remove battery/power cable). Today I checked and it powers on again.

IDK what the SMC reset did... but leaving the machine devoid of battery and wall power for some time seemed to clear it.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[ferrarr]

If it happens again, multiple SMC resets may be needed.