Strange Problem (please help)

[averyironicgoos]

I went on to my macbook air, and I saw that there was a computer in my 'shared' thing. I didn't know what that was, so i thought maybe it'd go away if I restarted the computer. So I turn it off, then try to turn it back on. It makes the tone, the logo shows up, the little spiny thing appears, it spins for about 30 seconds, then it makes a click noise, then the screen goes black and it's shut down again.
The internet had been slow all day, and I really need to know what happened. I have plenty of important stuff, and I can't really afford a new computer.

 

[pfjellman]

I went on to my macbook air, and I saw that there was a computer in my 'shared' thing. I didn't know what that was, so i thought maybe it'd go away if I restarted the computer. So I turn it off, then try to turn it back on. It makes the tone, the logo shows up, the little spiny thing appears, it spins for about 30 seconds, then it makes a click noise, then the screen goes black and it's shut down again.
The internet had been slow all day, and I really need to know what happened. I have plenty of important stuff, and I can't really afford a new computer.

have you tried booting in safe mode? boot up, and the second you hear the chime (or the screen turns on) press and hold shift on your keyboard until it boots.

let me know if it boots this way.

 

[averyironicgoos]

No, I can't get it to boot up in safe mode.
Also, it seems like every time i try, there is a bigger delay before the logo and before the spiny thing.
Any ideas?

 

[spinnerlys]

Is it one of the older MBAs or the new 2010 model? If it is the 2010 model, you could boot from the Restore USB drive and look if you can see the SSD in Disk Utility.

If it is one of the pre 2010 models, do you have another Mac and external USB HDD? Or an external USB ODD?

 

[averyironicgoos]

It's pre 2010
And yes, i have another mac and I'm fairly sure i have an external USB HDD.

 

[spinnerlys]

It's pre 2010
And yes, i have another mac and I'm fairly sure i have an external USB HDD.

Okay then, if this external HDD is formatted for Mac OS X use only, meaning it uses Mac OS Extended (HFS+) as a file system or format *, you could connect the HDD to your other Mac, insert the Restore DVD for that MacBook Air (or a Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD), use Disk Utility to make a .dmg file out of it **, then use CarbonCopyCloner to use "Restore from Disk Image" as source *** and use the external USB HDD as target.
After that is done, you can connect the USB HDD to your MBA, restart the Mac, hold down the Option/Alt key and select the Mac OS X Installation saved on the external HDD. Then use Disk Utility **** to Verify and Repair Disk and Permissions.

If that helped, okay.
If not, we'll do further steps.

* - Either check via Get Info in Finder or Disk Utility.

** - How to make copies of DVDs and CDs using Disk Utility.

***

**** - Guide on how to use Disk Utility from the restore / installation DVD.
​

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