It chimes. It can reset PRAM. I have reset the SMC several times.
If I try to boot with an OS X Installer on DVD via the internal optical drive, an external optical drive, or a USB drive, I get a blank screen.
I will see the rotating gear icon and the Apple logo, but when they disappear, I will see a blank, white, screen for OS X Installers. I tried loading Bootable Utilities for Mac (2.2.0) and saw a sky-blue, but blank, screen after the Apple logo and rotating gear icon disappeared.
The only program I have been able to load and run is MemTest86 (6.3.0). No errors.
Looks like I have a variant of the bad BGA video chip that plagued the 15" siblings. I have yet to test this 17" Macbook Pro with external video.
Looking forward to the feedback.
crwdns2866306:0crwdne2866306:0:
MacBook Pro 17" Models A1151 A1212 A1229 and A1261