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It might also be worth working out a fix for anyone with their computer
out-of-warranty. To this end the following debug information might also
be useful

 * I could not run the latest firmware update utility because it told me 'my computer does not need the update'
 * This message persisted even after a complete re-install of OS X/redownload of the firmware utility
 * I could not find a firmware recovery CD for the macbook pro 5,5 (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2213) (could we modify one of these to use the latest firmware for 5,5?)

* More annoyingly, I couldn't get the computer in to the right mode to reflash anyway. The Apple manual says
"
# Turn on the computer and continue holding the Power button. The sleep LED will blink rapidly, then slowly, then rapidly (3 quick blinks, 3 slow blinks, 3 quick blinks).

On Macs that don't have a sleep LED, tones are used instead. Hold down
the power button until you hear 3 long tones, then 3 short tones, then 3
long tones.

On Macs that use a tray-load optical drive, the tray will open to allow the Restoration CD to be inserted.
# Insert the Firmware Restoration CD while the lights are blinking or tones sounding, then release the Power button. A long tone is played once the recovery process has started."

However I could not get the '3-quick, 3-long, 3-quick' pattern to occur.
I did not try this as many times as I should have done to be certain. I
was using the firmware restore cd 1.9, which doesn't list 5,5, but its
list is wrong anyway: it incorrectly lists 5,1 as a 2010 model when it
is really the mid 2009 17" (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4132 vs
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1320)

Here are some useful debug docs that don't jump out of Google as easily as I'd have liked:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2674 - bootup sequence and status lights. I can't correlate anything on their to our problem
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1533 - key combos at startup

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/774089

Title:
  Booting fails 3 times, works every fourth time after new install of
  Natty Narwhal amd64 on Macbook Pro

Status in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Dear all,

  I am experiencing a severe problem after a new install of Natty
  Narwhal on my Macbook Pro last night:

  The install worked fine, but after reboot nothing came up except fo a black screen.
  After forcing the machine off and on multiple times I was able to bring up the rEFIt boot menu by pressing and holding the 'Alt' (or Option) key and I can then boot into MacOSX or Ubuntu without a problem.

  After restarting / powering off I then have to turn the computer on /
  off the same number of times (3 or 4, I don't remember exactly) where
  nothing happens until it works again.

  I am using a MacbookPro 5,5 (13.3 Inch). My harddisk is setup as follows:
  200MB Partition for EFI
  20GB Partition for OSX
  18.6 GB Partition for / (ext4)
  108.49 GB Partition for /home (ext4)
  1.86 GB Partition for swap

  Other people also seem to experience the same issue:
  http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10743955&posted=1#post10743955

  This is a pretty big problem for me, so your help is very much
  appreciated.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
  Package: linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic 2.6.38-8.42
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
  Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
  NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia wl
  AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.23.
  Architecture: amd64
  ArecordDevices:
   **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
   card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 0: Cirrus Analog [Cirrus Analog]
     Subdevices: 1/1
     Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
  AudioDevicesInUse:
   USER        PID ACCESS COMMAND
   /dev/snd/controlC0:  paul       1487 F.... pulseaudio
  CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  Card0.Amixer.info:
   Card hw:0 'NVidia'/'HDA NVidia at 0xd3480000 irq 20'
     Mixer name	: 'Cirrus Logic CS4206'
     Components	: 'HDA:10134206,106b4d00,00100301'
     Controls      : 17
     Simple ctrls  : 10
  Date: Sat Apr 30 14:53:06 2011
  HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=55afdc53-85cf-4d37-98c6-fbdd4f1c8482
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
  MachineType: Apple Inc. MacBookPro5,5
  ProcEnviron:
   LANGUAGE=en_US:en
   PATH=(custom, user)
   LANG=en_US.UTF-8
   SHELL=/bin/bash
  ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic root=UUID=3aad2af7-44e6-4e93-8055-7e1818600eac ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
  RelatedPackageVersions:
   linux-restricted-modules-2.6.38-8-generic N/A
   linux-backports-modules-2.6.38-8-generic  N/A
   linux-firmware                            1.52
  SourcePackage: linux
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  dmi.bios.date: 06/15/09
  dmi.bios.vendor: Apple Inc.
  dmi.bios.version: MBP55.88Z.00AC.B03.0906151708
  dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag#
  dmi.board.name: Mac-F2268AC8
  dmi.board.vendor: Apple Inc.
  dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Asset Tag#
  dmi.chassis.type: 10
  dmi.chassis.vendor: Apple Inc.
  dmi.chassis.version: Mac-F2268AC8
  dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAppleInc.:bvrMBP55.88Z.00AC.B03.0906151708:bd06/15/09:svnAppleInc.:pnMacBookPro5,5:pvr1.0:rvnAppleInc.:rnMac-F2268AC8:rvr:cvnAppleInc.:ct10:cvrMac-F2268AC8:
  dmi.product.name: MacBookPro5,5
  dmi.product.version: 1.0
  dmi.sys.vendor: Apple Inc.