Strange Macbook Pro Install Issue

[ac1]

Hi,

I have a client with a water-damaged macbook pro 13 inch (early 2011 i5). I have cleaned the motherboard and another technician said it should be fine, and the macbook pro seems to be ok. It powers on however I am unable to install lion on a new hard drive. It stops at the Apple Logo with the spinning gear going indefinitely.
I haved tried changing the disk, and using an external optical drive, but no luck and the same issue occurs. I put in a hard drive with lion already installed and same thing happens (apple logo spinning gear). I am debating whether it is a software issue or not.

I then decided to try and install Windows 7 and surprisingly it installed fine and works.

I was thinking that maybe I need the original Mac OSX disks that came with the laptop, as I do not have that. I was reading this and it seems that the disk is not an issuehttp://support.apple.com/kb/TS3676
With this being an early 2011 model I am guessing it shipped with lion.

I only have the Lion version, purchased from the app store. I have also tried a Snow Leopard disk but that did not work either however i did not expect it to.
Any ideas for getting Mac OSX Lion installed would be much appreciated? Anyone had experience with an issue like this.

Thanks in advance

[4ycr]

Is it able to boot from a live CD. I don't work on apples yet but I would think they should still be able to boot from a live Linux cd.

[ac1]

Originally Posted by 4ycr

Is it able to boot from a live CD. I don't work on apples yet but I would think they should still be able to boot from a live Linux cd.

I havent tried yet. However since it booted from the Windows 7 install disk, I am pretty sure.

[anonymous Mac Tech]

Originally Posted by ac1

I have a client with a water-damaged macbook pro 13 inch (early 2011 i5). I have cleaned the motherboard and another technician said it should be fine

Another tech? You don't have an opinion yourself or can't make the call? Honestly, with a liquid spill that you have confirmed hit the board, all bets are off. There are so many factors involved I'd have to see the machine myself before any cleanup was done and see how it is acting now to know anything for sure. And it still may be a goner. If the spill wasn't caught immediately and especially if corrosion/oxidization had already set in, Id say its already a goner.

Originally Posted by ac1

I put in a hard drive with lion already installed and same thing happens (apple logo spinning gear). I am debating whether it is a software issue or not.

This doesn't make much sense, but where is the other drive with Lion from? Did the other Lion drive come from a machine that shipped with Lion or not. It makes a difference.

Originally Posted by ac1

I was thinking that maybe I need the original Mac OSX disks that came with the laptop, as I do not have that. I was reading this and it seems that the disk is not an issuehttp://support.apple.com/kb/TS3676

What makes you think from that article the OSX build isn't an issue? Did you even try verbose mode to see if it stops at the screen the article described?

Originally Posted by ac1

With this being an early 2011 model I am guessing it shipped with lion.

It didn't. Pretty easy to find out for yourself.

Originally Posted by ac1

I only have the Lion version, purchased from the app store. I have also tried a Snow Leopard disk but that did not work either however i did not expect it to.
Any ideas for getting Mac OSX Lion installed would be much appreciated?

Theoretically the Lion version purchased from the app store should work. But if the installer was even created properly would be an issue. The thing that puzzles me is why are you trying to install an OS on a machine that had liquid on the board? Does liquid on the board equate to an OS reinstall? Hardly ever. What were the symptoms of the machine when it was brought in? Have you tried installing lion with the original drive out of the machine and in a usb enclosure/dock to bypass the possibility of a bad SATA cable. Furthermore, the fact it boots and loads Windows means absolutely nothing, so there is no use in bringing that point up again. But again, liquid on the board is what we need to keep in mind. Could very well be the machine is on its way to being a door stop. I hope you are informing the customer that there are no guarantees.

[PCX]

I have to agree with AMT. More information is needed including your diagnostic results.

[ac1]

What I meant earlier
I had a bootable copy of lion on an external hard drive lying around, which I tried, just for the sake of it, and no luck.

I don't think the issue is the OS build, as the screen did not stop at the particular screen stated when booted in verbose mode. So that is out of teh question.

Theoretically the Lion version purchased from the app store should work. But if the installer was even created properly would be an issue. The thing that puzzles me is why are you trying to install an OS on a machine that had liquid on the board? Does liquid on the board equate to an OS reinstall? Hardly ever. What were the symptoms of the machine when it was brought in? Have you tried installing lion with the original drive out of the machine and in a usb enclosure/dock to bypass the possibility of a bad SATA cable. Furthermore, the fact it boots and loads Windows means absolutely nothing, so there is no use in bringing that point up again. But again, liquid on the board is what we need to keep in mind. Could very well be the machine is on its way to being a door stop. I hope you are informing the customer that there are no guarantees.

I am trying to reinstall the OS, primarily because the client wanted a new larger hard drive. And the client is actually using the original drive as an external for their other computer. So sorry I can't really try the original hard drive in the machine.

I have bypassed the possibility of a bad sata cable by trying to boot lion of a - 16USB stick
- and tried to install lion on a drive in an external hard drive.

Symptoms
- minor corrosion on the board near the ethernet port and display data cable. Thee other tech informed me that a pin is slightly damaged in this place, however he says that that would only cause problems to the ethernet port.
- the customer apparently left the laptop at home for a while after taking it to another store, so we are unsure of the symptoms at the time. Not sure why this was the case. Just makes it harder. When it was brought it, it was powering up, however I decided it was better to check the board first. Answering your question before, I did inform the customer that there was no gurantee.

Please tell me if you need more info.
"

Could very well be the machine is on its way to being a door stop?

I definitely agree now. Probably a goner

[anonymous Mac Tech]

Originally Posted by ac1

The spil was actually worked by another tech. He said there was minor corrosion, however he said that after working on it the motherboard should be fine.

Symptoms
- minor corrosion on the board near the ethernet port and display data cable. Thee other tech informed me that a pin is slightly damaged in this place, however he says that that would only cause problems to the ethernet port.

I'm having a difficult time in choosing the appropriate reaction to where this thread has gone, but it's one of these two;

[ac1]

I think its a goner now based on your opinion. I was only thinking there could be another possibility since it was able to boot and install Windows, but maybe I was wrong.

[sal13]

If your client is going to write it off as unrepairable, I may be interested in buying it. How much would they sell it for?

[ac1]

The client was interested in selling it, and buying a new one. I already sold it to a friend who was interested in it. Sorry