MBP is dead: drive problem or computer problem?

I have a MBP Mid 2012, 2.9GHz i7
Seirra 10.12.6
Upgraded Crucial 750GB SSD
Upgraded Crucial RAM 8GB

1) Today I booted it up and got the circle with a line through it on the screen. Resetting PRAM did not help. It will not boot in single user mode or safe mode.

2) When booting from an external boot disk, the drive/volume does not appear anywhere but in disk utility. The drive is visible, but the "Macbook Pro" volume is grayed out. Disk utility says it has an error and can not be repaired.

3) I pulled the Crucial SSD out and installed the original HDD. With that drive in the computer it shows a folder with a question mark on it when trying to boot. Will not boot in safe mode or single user mode. This drive worked fine up until the day I pulled it out a few years ago, I haven't touched it since.

4) I put the Crucial SSD in an enclosure and plugged it into another MB I have...same thing, it only shows in disk utility. Error...can not be repaired.


Can anyone provide insight on this? Do I suddenly have an issue with BOTH the drive and the computer?

Welcome back.

I'm going to take a somewhat educated guess here.... You probably have two things that are causing this: 1. It appears the SSD is failing or has failed. 2. Possibly also a bad SATA cable which might be why the older HDD didn't work. Of course it could be the HDD is likewise bad.

It's always a good idea when replacing the HDD or SSD, to replace the SATA cable at the same time.

chscag said:

Welcome back.

I'm going to take a somewhat educated guess here.... You probably have two things that are causing this: 1. It appears the SSD is failing or has failed. 2. Possibly also a bad SATA cable which might be why the older HDD didn't work. Of course it could be the HDD is likewise bad.

It's always a good idea when replacing the HDD or SSD, to replace the SATA cable at the same time.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and the info. I ordered a new hard drive cable.

The SSD definitely has an error, as it was giving me issues plugged into another computer through an external enclosure. Could a bad cable have caused the problem with the SSD?

I have a time machine backup, but I suppose it's best to just try a clean install and migrate the data back over manually (and my god the time machine takes FOREVER to transfer data). Would you recommend moving to HS at this point?

I doubt a bad SATA cable could have caused the problem with the SSD. SSDs unlike a normal hard drive usually give no indication of an upcoming failure. You might want to wait until you get things going again before trying an update to High Sierra. Good to hear that you have a Time Machine backup. As far as migrating the data manually, that will be difficult to do using Time Machine. Best to just do a complete restore from Time Machine. And once everything is back to normal, you can attempt an update to High Sierra. But keep in mind that around October Apple will release Mojave to the public. You might want to wait for that instead.

chscag said:

I doubt a bad SATA cable could have caused the problem with the SSD. SSDs unlike a normal hard drive usually give no indication of an upcoming failure. You might want to wait until you get things going again before trying an update to High Sierra. Good to hear that you have a Time Machine backup. As far as migrating the data manually, that will be difficult to do using Time Machine. Best to just do a complete restore from Time Machine. And once everything is back to normal, you can attempt an update to High Sierra. But keep in mind that around October Apple will release Mojave to the public. You might want to wait for that instead.

Click to expand...

Thanks again. It seems like quite a coincidence to have 2 concurrent failures. Well, the SSD is under warranty and the cable was under $20, so I suppose it's just annoying downtime.

I'll skip High Sierra for now. Is there any way to force the time machine to perform a hard wired backup? I have close to 500GB of data on there and it will take eons over WiFi, i'm sure. It's also quite old and should be replaced at this point, so i'm apprehensive about the HDD in the Time Machine spinning for such a long period.

Speaking of old, I dusted off my 2005 Black Macbook (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, running 10.6) so I have something to use. I'm currently posting from that machine, and it actually runs the latest version of Chrome (no luck updating from Safari 5). How's that for longevity? Ha!

I'll skip High Sierra for now. Is there any way to force the time machine to perform a hard wired backup? I have close to 500GB of data on there and it will take eons over WiFi, i'm sure. It's also quite old and should be replaced at this point, so i'm apprehensive about the HDD in the Time Machine spinning for such a long period.

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Is your Time Machine backup loaded on a Time Capsule or ordinary USB external hard drive? If it's on a TC, I'm not sure you can attach the TC by USB and restore data that way. Someone else may know.

Hey Sly.... can you help out here?

If you plug the drive in to your Mac, then select it in Time Machine preferences as the backup drive. that should force it to compare and backup.

chscag said:

Is your Time Machine backup loaded on a Time Capsule or ordinary USB external hard drive? If it's on a TC, I'm not sure you can attach the TC by USB and restore data that way. Someone else may know.

Hey Sly.... can you help out here?

Click to expand...

It's on an older Time capsule.

ferrarr said:

If you plug the drive in to your Mac, then select it in Time Machine preferences as the backup drive. that should force it to compare and backup.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll basically be starting front scratch on a wiped drive. Can I force a wired transfer when backing up from the time machine backup this way?

I recall connecting the time machine to the computer via USB cable in the past, and it ignored the wire and just transferred via WiFi anyways. Is there a setting I need to alter? Thanks for the reply.

The challenge is going to be that the format of the backup on the TC and the format of the backup on a wired drive is different. The TC format is a sparcebundle, while the wired drive is a file/link arrangement. Not sure you can mix them. Nothing lost in trying, but I think you will just have to do the WiFi restore. Given your previous try, that would seem to verify that the TC is going to be WiFI only. One thought is to connect the TC to your internet service provider router directly, then connect your Mac to the same router directly and turn off the Mac WiFI to see if the wires will come into play that way. You may need to mount the TC with WiFi off, but it might work. What you will be doing is creating an Ethernet network instead of WiFi, with both the TC and your Mac in the same Ethernet.

MacInWin said:

The challenge is going to be that the format of the backup on the TC and the format of the backup on a wired drive is different. The TC format is a sparcebundle, while the wired drive is a file/link arrangement. Not sure you can mix them. Nothing lost in trying, but I think you will just have to do the WiFi restore. Given your previous try, that would seem to verify that the TC is going to be WiFI only. One thought is to connect the TC to your internet service provider router directly, then connect your Mac to the same router directly and turn off the Mac WiFI to see if the wires will come into play that way. You may need to mount the TC with WiFi off, but it might work. What you will be doing is creating an Ethernet network instead of WiFi, with both the TC and your Mac in the same Ethernet.

Click to expand...

Thanks, i'll try that. I'm waiting for the new hard drive cable to get here. I bought it on Amazon Prime Thursday with 2 day shipping. USPS routed it from New Jersey...to NC. (I'm in CT, so that's the wrong way, guys). "Exception/misrouted" package now, and tracking is saying it's going to be delivered NEXT Saturday (9 days). They got it pretty far in the wrong direction in a hurry, and it'll now take 3 times as long to get back up here.

Anyways, when the USPS decides to get their act together i'll let you guys know how it's looking. Thanks for the input.

Thanks, i'll try that. I'm waiting for the new hard drive cable to get here.

Click to expand...

BTW: Lots of hits with a websearch on using 'Time capsule hard wired' you can checkout while you wait:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Time+capsule+hard+wired&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

And yes, using Wi-Fi to restore from a Apple Time Capsule can be painfully slow sometimes — usually often!!

PS: I'm actually surprised its actually still running and operating. Most users I know had their TMs die some time ago, at least the older flat ones. And no, they didn't pile anything on top and yes, they did keep them supported on two pencils to help with their cooling.





- Patrick
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pm-r said:

BTW: Lots of hits with a websearch on using 'Time capsule hard wired' you can checkout while you wait:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Time+capsule+hard+wired&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

And yes, using Wi-Fi to restore from a Apple Time Capsule can be painfully slow sometimes — usually often!!

PS: I'm actually surprised its actually still running and operating. Most users I know had their TMs die some time ago, at least the older flat ones. And no, they didn't pile anything on top and yes, they did keep them supported on two pencils to help with their cooling.





- Patrick
======

Click to expand...

I'm impressed with the Time Capsule as well. It has to be over 10 years old at this point, probably older.

Anyways, as an update; the new hard drive cable arrived and it did the trick. I was able to get Time Machine to do a wired backup. I just turned off Wi-fi and plugged the MB into it directly with an Ethernet cable. Unfortunately though, the restore hiccuped both times I tried it. It restored the OS and a good amount of data, but my music, photos, and some other things aren't making it.

I found you can easily just open the "sparse bundle" and manually browse the backup files. So i'll just manually restore them when I have the time to sit there and babysit the transfer.

I think it's a sign that I should move on from the Time Capsule, as its days are numbered. Any suggestions for am updated backup drive?

I think it's a sign that I should move on from the Time Capsule, as its days are numbered. Any suggestions for am updated backup drive?

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but I have little knowledge of current replacements or recommendations.

I'm sure some other members will add their suggestion(s).





- Patrick
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