'06 MBP only boots into safe mode

[ITD]

no recovery mode (neither on board nor online) and it won't allow me to erase the HD in order to restore from a backup- which seems like my only option at this point.

when i start normally all I get are jagged white, blue and grey graphics
It's also unresponsive to a startup DVD. Any suggestions?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

It sounds like the graphics distortion you are seeing is a failing graphics chip/logic board. If so, that could be the reason for other issues. Also, if liquid was spilled, it could be a damaged keyboard, which would cause the Shift key to think it is stuck, and make it only startup in Safe Mode.

-Which exact model MBP?
-Which version of OS X?
-Any physical or liquid damage that you know of?
-Do you have another Mac to allow you to test Target Disk Mode?

C