MacBook help

Check if there are multiple accounts. You could have signed into one that had nothing?
How to switch users on a mac

The multiple accounts thing is all I could think of. Otherwise, the entire system wouldn’t boot. A Mac wouldn’t just factory reset itself just sitting u used for a long time

if it boots up then like others have stated check for user. if it doesn't start up you can probably take out the drive and try another Mac as at this time the hard drive is still removable. Also can try the rescue disks to check that the computer sees the drive. but if you haven't turned it on for years could you have wiped it prior to putting it away?

DeletedMemories wrote: ↑ if it boots up then like others have stated check for user. if it doesn't start up you can probably take out the drive and try another Mac as at this time the hard drive is still removable. Also can try the rescue disks to check that the computer sees the drive. but if you haven't turned it on for years could you have wiped it prior to putting it away?

i checked and there are no other users. plus when i look at the storage space, it says ~230gb is available of my 250gb storage (it's a REALLY old laptop)...so that wouldn't just be a profile issue? i definitely don't know enough about laptops/computers to have wiped the laptop myself, and my husband can barely turn on a mac (we're both not tech savvy)....but it's weird that the laptop would boot up normally if the disk/hard drive failed right?

It looks like there's not a lot of data on the machine.

I would recommend that if the data on it is important to you, and you are sure that this particular computer is exactly the computer you are thinking of, and that you cannot locate your files,

shut down the computer immediately, and send the computer/the hard drive to a data recovery firm who would be able to see if there are remnants of your information on it.
Continuing to use or run the computer may cause it to write new information and temporary files over the deleted ones.

Also check whether the computer was ever repaired or serviced at any point. A common issue can be that the hard drive failed, and was replaced at some point, though given it is still 250GB maybe not. Formatting and reinstalling the operating system may also have been done if at any point in time the computer was non-functional and an attempt was made to reset it.

tropicana wrote: ↑ i checked and there are no other users. plus when i look at the storage space, it says ~230gb is available of my 250gb storage (it's a REALLY old laptop)...so that wouldn't just be a profile issue? i definitely don't know enough about laptops/computers to have wiped the laptop myself, and my husband can barely turn on a mac (we're both not tech savvy)....but it's weird that the laptop would boot up normally if the disk/hard drive failed right?

There is zero chance that the disk failed if it is still booting. If the space is empty, then somebody had to have wiped it. As liminalsunset suggests above ^^, for the best chance for data recovery with a working disk, stop using the laptop and take it to someone for recovery

tropicana wrote: ↑ i checked and there are no other users. plus when i look at the storage space, it says ~230gb is available of my 250gb storage (it's a REALLY old laptop)...so that wouldn't just be a profile issue? i definitely don't know enough about laptops/computers to have wiped the laptop myself, and my husband can barely turn on a mac (we're both not tech savvy)....but it's weird that the laptop would boot up normally if the disk/hard drive failed right?

Any chance you were planning to sell it and had someone backup/wipe it for you?

Also check icloud to see if you backed up your photos there. Not sure if that was a thing in 2010, but worth checking.

Something similar happened to me a while back, and for whatever reason I was logged in as Admin, not USER. Double check this if you haven't? do any folders, etc, show up in Finder?