Doing this now

Here's the error that comes up: 4MEM/9/40000000: 407cfa54

 

Ram problem. Try re-seating the sticks if you're comfortable with the procedure. (You never said which machine you have, post it up and I'll give you the process)

 

macbook pro. 15 inch, I think.

 

Okay, you'll need a very small philips screwdriver. If you don't have one that fits, or are uncomfortable with the procedure, take it to an Apple shop as you don't want to hurt anything.

1) Shut the machine off, disconnect it from power.

2) Flip it over and remove the battery.

3) Under the battery you'll see a small cover (between the battery retaining clips) with two small philips screws. Remove the cover.

4) Touch the metal chassis of the machine a few times to discharge any static.

5) Remove the RAM sticks by gently pressing the two white retaining clips away from the stick, then lifting it upwards slowly. It will then pull out of the socket. Remove the top one first, then the bottom.

6) Inspect both sticks and make sure they're free of dust, dirt or other contamination. If you like you can put some isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab and gently clean the contacts on the memory stick (gold part). MAKE SURE the alcohol is evaporated before reinstalling.

7) Reinstall the sticks, bottom first, by inserting the stick at a ~25 degree angle into the socket, then once seated, pressing down until the retainers click on each side. The sticks are keyed and will only fit in one way.

8) Replace cover, battery, and power up. Run the hardware diagnostic again and see if it comes back clean. If not, you may have a bad memory stick.

 

Thanks. Didn't work, Says on disk utility invalid node structure, volume check failed.

Hopefully they'll be able to save my music.

 

If you have two RAM sticks, remove one and try to boot. If it doesn't, remove the remaining one and reinsert the first (i.e test each by itself). I had an HP in here today do this exact same thing. It'll just have to get by on 1GB until the new stick shows up.

 

Update: We have an apple authorized repair guy not 3 miles away. Replaced the ram, replaced the hard drive, put all my crap, including music! onto new hard drive all under warranty notwithstanding this thing is like a year old!!

 

^ Glad it worked out mang.

But replacing your Village People collection wouldn't have been all that difficult. There are MP3s all over the internets . . .

 

Nah, it was the bootleg, live ABBA stuff that was truly irreplacable.

 

Now that you've got it back, back up your iTunes library to DVD. That will ensure that the new hard drive lasts longer than your average star.