Hey all,
Just warning you I'm a PC girl going into a Mac world. Please be patient!

Anyhoo, we had a CD stuck in our Macbook, and hubby tried over and over again to get it out. I know that if you reboot and leave it alone, it will eventually spit it out.

I'm not sure how hubby eventually got it out, but now it won't boot. All we get is the folder with the blinking question mark. We're bringing it to the Genius Bar this weekend, but if I can fix it myself, it would be so much more rewarding.

I get the feeling that either the Macbook is trying to boot from a CD that isn't there, or we wrecked the system files somehow. But, it's also making a clicking sound near the CD drive.

Is there any way to restore the system without losing our files? We have another Mac we can connect to to pull them off if the HD is still OK if we really have to, which leads me to another question...

We had FileVault on (yeah, I know) and that tanked on us, too. We saved the file in case we can get into it again someday, but is this Macbook a piece of junk? We just bought it last summer and it's died twice on us. Our other mac has gone for about 3 years without even crossing it's eyes at us. Has anyone had a problem exchanging items at the Mac store?

Like I said, we're bringing it in this weekend, but the more I can learn about this stuff on my own, the better off I'll be.

Sorry my questions are so general. Thanks in advance for any info.

Well, if you feel brave enough you could stick in the OS
install disk that came with the machine a try booting from
that. (hold the C key down when you hear the startup
bong).

When it gets to the install window, go to the menus at the
top and select "open disk utility". When that opens up,
select your hard drive then click on "repair disk". Disk
Utility may be able to repair the problem.

You could also run the Apple Hardware Test. With
IntelMacs, the AHT is also on the first install disc. To boot
up to the AHT, insert the disc and hold down the D key.

Awesome, I'll give it a try. Thanks!