Macbook PRO....Hanging screen

I am new here and my Macbook PRO(3.5 years old) was absolutely without any problem until now.
I was traveling ..everything fine while I was away, and then came back and did not use the Macbook for
almost 3 weeks. Pulled it out the other day, and started it up...I was asked if I wanted to upgrade a software program...don't recall which one but it was one I use always....I was distracted, on the phone etc..and pressed YES.
Since then I have not been able to get to the desktop. The screen (grey with the twirling circle is just there...I tried all the instructions, Control, Command and Off etc. etc. and I did find my disks.
I inserted the 1st one as I was told to do in the Manual but it does nothing......thankfully eject did work to
get it out.
HELP...Any ideas what I can do?? Another discussion group said my hard disk may be gone.
Youch...any referrals to trustworthy Mac types in Toronto?
Fay

Tags: apple...??, hanging, macbook

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Permalink Reply by Fay Fuerst on November 15, 2009 at 6:25pm: P.S. If it is a hard disk, any idea of what is the cost to repair ..and can they save my contents on the computer??
Fay; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mad Max on November 15, 2009 at 6:33pm: If the hard drive is truely frazzled, then data recovery is VERY expensive. Personally, I'd book an appointment at your nearest Apple Store (if you have one close, I know not everybody does) with the Genius Bar and see what they say (Go to the Apple website and search for "Retail" to find your nerest store). At the very least you'll know what's wrong with it and they'll give you potential solutions. Come back here when you've found the problem before spending money though! We may be able to help you for free!

Also, pick up an external hard drive at least the same size as is in the MacBook Pro so you can use it as a Time Machine drive for backups, so if something happens in the future your data is all safe. Backing up is important! Most people don't bother because it costs them more money buying the drive, but they soon find out it's more worth it to buy than lose everything if it fails.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Fay Fuerst on November 15, 2009 at 6:45pm: I need a lot of counseling here and will take it. I have been too busy running around to take care of the stuff that is important. Thank God in heaven I don't have everything on this laptop...because I copied all of the contents onto my IMac some time ago...but of course there are things that are there I would like to have back. Where do I buy an external hard drive?? a Mac one..or any one??
Fay; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mad Max on November 15, 2009 at 7:16pm: Any old external hard drive should do, they're all the same. When you plug it into your Mac it will ask if you want to use it as a Time Machine drive, so hit yes and follow the instructions. It really can't get any more simple, that's why I love Macs. They're rediculously simple and LOGICAL in how they work (most of the time), yet also immensely powerful in their application.

They sell drives in the Apple Stores, I'm not sure where you live, but if it's the US then try somewhere like Best Buy, or PC World in the UK (I only know of places in the US and UK, so if you're from neither, I have no idea lol). There are a lot of websites too that sell stuff cheaper if you can wait for it to be delivered and are OK using your credit card online.

Try www.newegg.com for the US, or www.dabs.com for the UK.

There's a few kind of external drives, and it really depends where and when you'll be using them. If you just plan on using it in one spot all the time, then you can get the bigger (physically and how much space they have on them) ones that require them to be plugged in from a power outlet, then by USB or FireWire, some may use eSATA but seeing as you have an iMac and MacBook Pro the USB/FireWire option is best (Macs don't have eSATA).

Then you get the smaller ones, which use the same kind of drive you have in the laptop, which is much easier to move around and can be powered by the USB cable. Very handy if you travel quite a bit and still need the extra space or to back stuff up on the move.

The physically smaller ones cost more than the larger ones and tend to have less space on them for the same price point, but that con is offset by being very portable, so it's really up to you. Ask the staff at the Apple Store if you go to one. I can only speak from my own experience but the staff there tend to know more about what they're on about than other places, and don't tend to bug you into actually buying things or "upgrading to something better" to get more money from you. Apple Store staff don't work on comission so they won't push crap your way lol. The most I've known them push is Apple Care, which I HIGHLY recommend anybody to get when they buy a Mac.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nathanael on November 15, 2009 at 7:17pm: You can pick up an external drive at any place that sells electronics get one thats as big or bigger than your macbook's internal drive; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by rea S⃣ n555 on November 15, 2009 at 6:48pm: I had a 2007 15 inch mbp and i has issues like this,turned out to be the logic board because the nvidia gpu's in those mbp happen to be recalled. I took my macbook pro to the apple store and they shipped it out and within 3-4 working days i received my mbp with new internals for free. So if it isn't the hdd then i'm sure the logic board could be the issue.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mad Max on November 15, 2009 at 7:19pm: Ah there's a point!

IF it is this issue, then as far as I can remember, Apple have a support plan that covers this specific problem so they'll fix it for free even if it's out of warrenty or never even had one (as in Apple Care). In a way I hope this is the problem because you won't have to spend a penny! Other than getting a backup drive for when it's all up and running again.

When they check it tell them about it. Whilst the staff don't have the same incentives to push crap that bleeds your wallet sometimes they stay quiet about things like this to avoid the company having to pay out, which is understandable. Just say you've consulted a bunch of geeks and this came up as a potential cause!; ▶ Reply to This