Question Mac Pro not powering on A1297 model

[King_justin]

Hey guys,
I have a Mac Pro A1297 that isn't turning on. The charger has a green light on it when it's plugged in, but it is very faint. I have to turn off the lights in the room to see the green glow. Not sure if that's normal or if the charger is going out? I used a multi meter on the charger and it seems to be getting some voltage.

From there, I went and did the key inputs "Shift+Option+Command and Power" for 4 seconds+ and then released and tried to power on. No luck. I opened up the Mac and unplugged the battery and some other cables around it, just in case (I believe one was the hard drive) and let it sit. Still nothing.

There is no lights that come on when I try and power the mac on. I have ordered another charger. I'm wondering if it isn't getting the sufficient voltage to the laptop. If the charger is not the fix then I am unsure on my next step would to be. A battery? Can Mac Pro's run without a battery? I did unplug the battery and plug the charger in and try to bypass the battery, but still nothing.


Thank you for any help!

 

[velocityg4]

They can run without a battery. They just drop processor speed until a new battery is installed.

It could be you need a new Magsafe port. Which is just a port and short internal cable. Hopefully it is just the charger. All else I could think is the motherboard if it isn't lighting up properly when charging. In which case it's time to dump it. Unless you want to install a used motherboard from eBay.

By the way. You have a Macbook Pro not a Mac Pro. A1297 also covers five generations of 17" MBP. You'll need to figure out exactly which one it is. You might have to find the part number or serial number on the motherboard. Note that removable components will have their own part numbers. Looking at pictures on iFixit. It looks like the serial number may be by the RAM slots.

 

[King_justin]

They can run without a battery. They just drop processor speed until a new battery is installed.

It could be you need a new Magsafe port. Which is just a port and short internal cable. Hopefully it is just the charger. All else I could think is the motherboard if it isn't lighting up properly when charging. In which case it's time to dump it. Unless you want to install a used motherboard from eBay.

By the way. You have a Macbook Pro not a Mac Pro. A1297 also covers five generations of 17" MBP. You'll need to figure out exactly which one it is. You might have to find the part number or serial number on the motherboard. Note that removable components will have their own part numbers. Looking at pictures on iFixit. It looks like the serial number may be by the RAM slots.

thank you so much for the detailed response! It said low battery last time it was working, so i plugged it up. Next time I looked, it was dead. So I am thinking that it might be the charger.

 

[King_justin]

Hey everyone,
I know i'm posting in the general laptop forums instead of the Mac one. I wasn't getting much help from that forum, and this one seems more active. If it needs to go to that one and isn't allowed here...I am sorry.

First, I will start with the back story and then into my questions.
Someone gave me this mac a1297 to work on. I don't usually deal with apple. I just haven't really gotten the chance too. The issue is the macbook will not turn on. The story is the person said the laptop was at 50% when they looked at it. They worked on it for a long time that night and it ended up dying on them (it did warn of a low battery). It was late that night, so they just went on to bed and was going to charge it the next day. The next day comes around and they try to charge it but nothing is working. They try again later that day, and still the same. They try different plug in's in the house, but still all the same. The charger has a VERY faint green light. I was told that orange meant charging and green meant fully charge. This light is dim, and when i mean dim, I mean I have to turn the lights off to see it glow. The person said that it isn't normally like that. It should be easily visible with the lights on. So, the first thing i think is...well maybe the charger is shot. The laptop/charger is around 10 years old after all. I ordered a new charger off Amazon (same wattage and everything). This charger has the spot for the LED, but no lights come on. I've also tried unplugging the battery inside the laptop and plugging the charger up and turning it on. No luck. I've tried clearing the power? I forgot what it was called, but it's a combination of buttons+power, and still no luck.

Anyways,
I have two issues. One is considered Mac Book specific (I guess?) and the other is not.

First: The charger. Should the new charger have a green LED on it? Is it normal for ones from Amazon to not? I'm afraid I got a dead charger, but I also don't know for sure because I don't have a mac myself. Since I don't have one myself, it's hard for me to determine if this charger is acting right or if it is. Should the light come on as soon as you plug it into the laptop, or does it take a little bit for the light to come on? Personally, I think I may need to send this charger back in and get another one.

Second; The laptop. Say the charger does work, and the laptop isn't turning on. What do I try next? I was thinking trying the dc plug in that inside the laptop and if that isn't it, then the battery. I don't think it's the battery, because from what I've read you can use the mac's without a battery. Therefore, the battery shouldn't be keeping it from turning on if the laptop is plugged into the wall.


thanks everyone for taking your time to read this and giving any suggestions you may have.

 

[LordVile]

Hey guys,
I have a Mac Pro A1297 that isn't turning on. The charger has a green light on it when it's plugged in, but it is very faint. I have to turn off the lights in the room to see the green glow. Not sure if that's normal or if the charger is going out? I used a multi meter on the charger and it seems to be getting some voltage.

From there, I went and did the key inputs "Shift+Option+Command and Power" for 4 seconds+ and then released and tried to power on. No luck. I opened up the Mac and unplugged the battery and some other cables around it, just in case (I believe one was the hard drive) and let it sit. Still nothing.

There is no lights that come on when I try and power the mac on. I have ordered another charger. I'm wondering if it isn't getting the sufficient voltage to the laptop. If the charger is not the fix then I am unsure on my next step would to be. A battery? Can Mac Pro's run without a battery? I did unplug the battery and plug the charger in and try to bypass the battery, but still nothing.


Thank you for any help!

take it to apple see what they say, if you don't wanna pay for it fixing there just take it somewhere else.