My macbook is coming up with only a white screen and the startup noise. I powered it down using the power button, and the apple came up but didn't do anything for ten minutes so I powered it down again. I have gotten nothing but the white screen. I left the battery out all night, I also disconnected the AC power and took out the battery and held the power button for 5+ seconds. I also tried the apple, option p and some other key thing. None of this has worked, I'm snowed in and have a photoshop project due Monday afternoon! Someone please help!!!

If the Apple laptop (or desktop) doesn't shut down properly, try pressing and holding in the power button for 3-5 seconds. This will force a shut down. Good idea to wait a few minutes before attempting a restart again.

Does the Apple logo or the Pinwheel show on the screen?

There is a problem with you OSX installation. Please boot from the Recovery partition (hold Cmd+R during the startup chime), and use Startup Disk to choose the correct hard drive to boot from.
You can also restore from a backup, and not lose your data here as well.

You could be right. What to do is start it up and hold down the trakcpad button as soon as it starts up. Failing that try the F12 key or the eject key when starting it up, sometimes actually lifting the macbook up and pointing the DVD drive downwards i.e. using gravity to let the CD drop.

If the CD ejects and it isn't the problem causing the startup problems, what I would be tempted to do if the other troubleshooting solutions have not worked, if it still under warranty or if you have Applecare, contact apple and arrange to get it taken in for repair. Failing that take it to your local Apple Store and make an appointment at the genius bar, they usually are fairly good at diagnosing problems and solving them.

Try to reset your SMC (System Management Controller) p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #1a1a18}
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1. If computer is on, turn it off by choosing Shut Down from the Apple menu.

2. Connect power adapter to computer and to a working power source.

3. On built-in keyboard, press (left-side) Shift-Control-Option along with power button just once. Important: Use Shift-Control-Option keys on left side of keyboard.

Note: When the LED on the MagSafe connector is orange/amber, resetting the SMC will change it to green for a few seconds, indicating that SMC was correctly reset.

4. Wait 5 seconds and press power button to start computer.

If it starts without beeping errors reset the PRAM (Parameter RAM)

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1. If computer is on, turn it off by choosing Shut Down from Apple menu.

2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in Step

4. Note: If keyboard does not have an Option key, use Alt key instead.

3. Press power button.

4. Immediately press and hold Command-Option-P-R keys.

Important: You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

5. Hold down keys until computer restarts, and you hear startup chime a second time.

6. Release keys.

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Resolution

1. Disconnect any devices connected to the computer including printers, hubs, and third-party keyboards or mice, and test the computer again by trying to turn it on.
2. If you're using a MacBook or MacBook Pro, check the battery level. Press the small button on the battery or on the side of the computer. You should see lights indicating the battery's level of charge. If you see just one light blinking, the battery needs to be recharged. Use the computer with the adapter connected to recharge the battery.
3. Unplug the power adapter from the electrical outlet and from the MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. Wait one minute. Plug it back into the wall first, then to the computer. Make sure the electrical outlet is working by plugging in another device (such as a lamp). When you plug the adapter back into the computer, the power adapter LEDs should light up green or amber.
4. Inspect the MagSafe port on the computer for debris, such as metal stuck to the magnet in the port, which might prevent the connector from seating properly. On the adapter side, look at the DC connector for dust or other debris and check whether pins are missing, bent, or stuck down. If you find any of these to be true, see Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters for instructions on cleaning the adapter.
5. Make sure you are using the adapter that was designed for your computer. If you aren't sure or if you need a new adapter, learn which adapter is appropriate for your computer.
6. Press the control key, the command key, and the power button simultaneously and hold for three seconds to try to restart the computer.
7. Reset the PRAM. After pressing the power button, hold down these keys simultaneously: Command-Option-P-R, until you hear the startup chime at least one additional time after the initial startup chime.
8. Reset the SMC for the MacBook And MacBook Pro by removing the AC power, removing the battery and then holding down the power button for five seconds. On the MacBook Air, press (left) Shift-Control-Option along with the power button once. Note: You must use the keys on the left side of the MacBook Air keyboard.
9. If you recently installed additional memory, make sure it is correctly installed and is compatible with your computer. Remove the new memory to see if the computer starts up properly without it.

Also:
The MacBook SMC Firmware Update v1.1 improves the MacBook's internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns. This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, including those that received warranty repair.
You can use the Software Update feature of System Preferences, or download the MacBook SMC Firmware Update v1.1 from Apple Software Downloads.
Note: If your MacBook is running Mac OS X 10.4.6, you won't be able to see the SMC Update until you update to Mac OS X 10.4.8. Once you have updated your system software, the SMC Update will appear as an option in Software Updates.
MacBooks running Mac OS X 10.4.7 will be able to download and install the SMC Update, so it is not essential that you update your system software, although Apple always recommends updating to the latest version of the system software.
If your MacBook is in a state where it will not remain on long enough to install the update, wait for the issue to reproduce itself. Once the MacBook has turned itself off, turn the computer on by holding the power button down. Keep the button down until you hear a single long tone. Once you hear the tone you can release the button, install the recommended updates, and restart normally.

If you have your Mac OS X Install disc, insert it into the drive.
Restart the computer and hold down "C" while booting.
Choose your language.
Select "Disk Utility" from the "Utilities" in the menu bar.
Select your Macbook's hard drive in the left sidebar.
Click the "First Aid" tab thats along the top of the viewer window.
Click "Verify Disk" (not verify disk permissions)
If this shows errors click "Repair Disk"
Once completed close the Disk Utility window.
Restart the computer.
If this fails to fix it as well then your next option would most likely be recovering your files from the macbook either by booting into target disk mode (hold down T at startup) and transferring them via a firewire cable, or removing the hard drive and hooking it up to another Mac to get the files. Then do a clean install of Mac OS X using your installation discs.

Make sure the MagSafe adapter is securely attached to the Macbook and free of debris.

There are two procedures that are advised by Apple to assist in resolving issues where the Macbook chimes at start up, but displays no video.

Here is the first procedure:
Here are some steps you can try to resolve the issue:

• First, hold in your power button for approximately 10 seconds to do a hard shutdown, if you have not already turned your Mac off.

• Once your Mac is shutdown, you will need to perform what is called a PRAM reset (Parameter RAM)

• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously .

• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

• Now, hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time.

• Release the keys and allow the Macbook to start up.

Observe to see if your Macbook will boot to the Desk top normally. If it does not, here is the second procedure:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-SMC RESET-
The System Management Controller is an integrated circuit (computer chip) that is usually on the logic board of your Mac computer.

It is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some charging aspects, trackpad control, and some input/output as it relates to the computer sleeping.

• If the computer is on, turn it off.
• Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the computer's battery.
• Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds
and then release the button.
• Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
• Press the power button to restart the computer

Update me if you require further assistance.

Regards,

-Mactechtrainer

If your MacBook is only four months old, it is under warranty. You can call Apple at 1-800-SOS-APPL and explain your problem, and they will walk you through a solution for free.

Plug the power adapter in. Then hold down the startup button for 15 seconds. The light should go off and then after a few seconds. restart normally. The macbooks have a safety device that will lock up the drive if it detects sudden movements to protect the drive...
Let me know if you're back up and running. KEN

Hello, sorry to hear you are having problems,
Why exactly do you want to reset your MacBook ?
well, whatever the reason, you simply press the power on button for 5 seconds or a little more and the mac will shut down.
If you want to reset the Parameter Ram, it's kind of acrobatic, you must power on the mac and then very very quickly press the following 4 keys :
cmd + alt + P + R
and HOLD them all down until you hear the startup sound over and over again at about a 30 second interval. Let it reset for 4 startup chims, then let go and let the mac boot....
YOU ARE RESET...