System not booting, no boot chime, sleep light solid on

Try Resetting the PRAM Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

1. Shut down the computer.

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.

3. Turn on the computer.

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

5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.

6. Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

let me know if that works

Try a SMC reset. This could be any type of hardware failure....it doesn't necessarily mean it's the logic board. I would try disconnecting the Superdrive first, then try booting up that way. You can also try removing and reinserting the RAM sticks. This can also be cause by a faulty I/O Board, and being that you had issues with the USB ports this is most likely the cause.

I had the same issue. Tried everything here bar the teepee suggestion which i was intrigued by but went for a free diagnosis at a repairs shop before trying that one.

In my case it was a broken ram slot so it works with one piece of ram removed.

Regarding the teepee method the guys in this repairs shop have a machine that does the same thing. They call it floating it and i think were impressed at your idea of how you could do this yourself, thought it sounds like in my case it wouldn't have fixed it.

best of luck

Hi there, I assume that you had only replaced that I/O board only. Now, if you had replaced any other hardware items just prior to this problem then you may want to remove them and replace them with hardware that is compatible for Apple machines. If you obtained that I/O board from places like ebay, make sure it's NEW or at least guaranteed to work as intended. You can get bad parts back to back, just make very sure that you had connected that cable from the I/O board to your logic board correctly and fully inserted otherwise, you can develop issues. After doing this, if things do not improve then the likelihood of having a failing logic board is in the works. Call Apple and inquire about this "Depot" program that's going on. What this mean is that they can repair your laptop for $350.00, they will replace whatever is needed to restore it back to full operation and that cost includes everything.

Hi, I have a similar Issue. A1211, Power works fine, green light, charges battery fine (while orange). Solid Sleep light, No startup chime, A little disk access, a few clicks. What differs on mine to some on the forums is that i get power from both USB sockets but also there is a disk in the superdrive but no activity from that at all. Fans spin also.

Just wondering if the power to USB and the dead superdrive makes any difference in diagnosing the issue. I have tried all the resets known to man, key combinations, no memory, some memory, swapping it around with new memory, all sorts. I also attempted a reflow of the Logic board at 190-200c for 7-8 minutes, seemed to work fine but made no difference at all. Wanted to ask advice before I attempt that again.

Appreciate any pointers. Many thanks.

This time, the charger was the problem.

I guess it has an overheating protection, since it works again after being unplugged for about an hour.

Also, this seems to happen when the computer is asleep and the battery runs empty. Perhaps it somehow draws full power during sleep?

..last time it was nvidia chip overheating. Got them to replace the motherboard on the extended warranty.

I had similar problems with a black macbook 1,1 - MA472LL/A:

I bought the computer off ebay - the seller was a re-seller who thought it was water damaged - hooked to a charger there was a bright green light on the charger - when power button was pushed the mac's sleep light would come on and stay on (constant) I could hear the hard drive spinning - the dvd/cd had already been removed - because the case was in good shape I decided to change out the logic board - however when i removed all the ram and tried to start it the mac re-acted to that by flashing the sleep light (i think 5 times in a row)

that gave me hope for the logic board

I removed the airport card and tried the power button again. the computer was able to start with chime and fully boot to my login in screen.

On the apple support site - it said that the software for the airport card might need to be updated, and that i would need to get on the internet with the ethernet connection and update it -

i hope to post a positive update soon.

I've had the same problem. It was a faulty connection to my RAM. Taking the chips out and putting them back in solved the problem