macbook won't boot past wheel of death

[buddyclm]

I came across a Macbook with OS X 10.5.4, when the laptop is turning on, it goes to a screen with a gray apple and spinning wheel under it and it will stay there for hours and not boot. I looked online and tried to boot it in safe mode, which it won't do. I have put in the OS X installation cd/dvd and after it goes in, about 10 seconds later it spits it back out. I have tried to put it in and hold down the c key while the laptop boots, but the cd/dvd won't stay in long enough for it to boot. On my previous internet search I found a post that said some people were having this problem and the power light always stayed amber and they took the battery out and turned the computer back on and it booted. I tried that and it didn't work either (fyi, the power light is always amber when the computer is on or off except when the battery was out, then it was green). I did get the laptop to boot into disk diagnostics and it did not find any problems. Any help as to what I need to do to fix this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[computeruler]

The only thing that I could possibly think of doing is to throw it out the window and buy a pc.  Im really not sure of what else to do.

[socrates]

The only thing that I could possibly think of doing is to throw it out the window and buy a pc.  Im really not sure of what else to do.

Really?  If you're not going to provide a solution, don't even bother posting.  My guess is you really don't know much about macs in the first place.

Now, onto buddy's question:
Buddy, my first suggestion is that you bring it into a nearby apple store.  They give you a free appointment, and, if the laptop's under warranty, they'll take care of the issue for you.  If it's not, they'll give you some advice and, if you don't want to fix it, will give you a price to fix it (you can sign up for a free appointment online at www.apple.com/retail)

Seeing as how you're getting an amber light when the computer is on or off, my suggestion is to take the battery out, plug in the power, and then try the first couple of things you've already tried (safe mode, booting from the OS X disc, etc.)

Let me know how things go.

[BC_Programmer]

@ComputeRuler: Not helpful at all. We're trying to help people here, not use the forum as a soapbox to project our own unjustified and Biased opinions.

I haven't use a Mac OS since 8.6; personally, I prefer windows machines, but I don't dislike mac machines, unlike yourself, who has absolutely no justifiable reason to dislike macintosh computers in the first place, something you have admitted at least once.


@buddyclm

Socrates is probably the most knowledgable member on the forum when it comes to Apple machines, I'm sure his advice will be useful to you.

[Quantos]

Amen, if you don't understand the problem, don't try and provide a solution.

[socrates]

@ComputeRuler: Not helpful at all. We're trying to help people here, not use the forum as a soapbox to project our own unjustified and Biased opinions.

I haven't use a Mac OS since 8.6; personally, I prefer windows machines, but I don't dislike mac machines, unlike yourself, who has absolutely no justifiable reason to dislike macintosh computers in the first place, something you have admitted at least once.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.  I've been a windows user since the original Windows came out, and recently switched to mac for OS 10.4.  While I prefer Mac for most of my work, I still work on Windows machines (and Linux) quite a bit and have great respect for their strengths.

@buddyclm

Socrates is probably the most knowledgable member on the forum when it comes to Apple machines, I'm sure his advice will be useful to you.

Thanks bc programmer, I appreciate that.