When you start, hod down Command+S and then wait for the command prompt. The instructions are there in the text that scrolled by. First type: /sbin/fsck -y -f Press Return. When it finishes, it will say The system has been modified or that it appears to be okay. Then type: /sbin/mount -u -w / Wait for the prompt. Then type "reboot" and press Return. Hopefully it will be okay. Eric Sent from my iPad On Nov 19, 2010, at 8:25 PM, Dave <downsouthdave@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I was using my Macbook 13" laptop tonight when suddenly it froze in Safari > and the Force Quit didn't work. Neither did anything else. I held the power > button down, and it shut off. > > Now when I try to turn it on, it starts to boot, chimes, and the little > thermometer comes up. It's the one that shows when you have a long startup > sequence to go through. Then the whole thing powers off instead of booting. > If I hold down the power button until the long tone sounds, the same thing > happens. I inserted my OS disk hoping to do a restore, and it just ate that; > it won't eject no matter what, and there's no paper clip hole. > > Power on, progress thermometer moves to about 5% then restarts a couple of > times, then it powers off. I powered up and connected my firewire backup HD > but it's no help. > > This Macbook has been flawless since 12/06, and I just installed the latest > big OS and Safari updates last night. It worked perfectly all day, however. > > Any ideas, gang? > > Don't make me go to the Apple Store on Saturday! > >