Bricked MacBook Pro 4,1

**zydler** · July 9th, 2021

MacBook 4,1 17inch screen vintage 2009. Sentimental value.

Symptoms - no screen, no chimes, no target mode, no means to boot and debug, also no dvd drive since a dvd got stuck.
Was ok run running macOS Maverick before I started trying out ubuntu 2020 which ran ok. Possibly zapped the hard drive while trying out usb grub.efi. Start can be heard running the hard drive, and trying for a dvd. The various starttup key combinations fail to help. A macos backup from last week on external usb ssd has no effect. Maybe this is a EFI firmware fault.

Suggestions welcome.

**scorp123** · July 9th, 2021

Originally Posted by zydler

also no dvd drive since a dvd got stuck

Have you tried pressing (and holding) the "Eject" key as suggested here?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3996208

**zydler** · July 10th, 2021

Originally Posted by scorp123

Have you tried pressing (and holding) the "Eject" key as suggested here?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3996208

Yes the Eject key and the Click bar and wired mouse all failed to eject. These are not enabled until the bootup.
So the only thing working initially is the Start button which is hardwired. The Apple support info on Startup keys is comprehensive and lists all the other options including PRAM NVRAM and SCM.
I have manually extracted the DVD now.
As there is no chime at start and after a lot of searching I conclude it needs a Firmware restore however the Firmware Restoration dmg is no longer supported that far back for MacBook Pro 4,1. unless I can find one somewhere.