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Remote diagnostics for 2012 MBP


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Remote diagnostics for 2012 MBP
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-19, 10:23

Is there a way I can get a diagnostic run on my wife's old MBP from remote? I really don't want to go to the store and won't be shipping this block of aluminum off. It should have some life left in it but I'm getting I/O errors when trying to access the disk. I can swap the disk out but assume the diagnostics can check the SATA controller specifically since my SSD in it is fairly young and not likely to have failed.

I was able to pull the SSD and get my wife's files off with a USB adapter. Hence my thought it is likely the controller.

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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-19, 11:07

Shut down the computer and reboot while holding down the "D" key. Age of the computer will determine which diagnostics tools you get. Some are built in, more advanced ones are not.

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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-19, 11:45

Cool. Thanks. It is running now. I was somewhat certain I could do this from home.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-19, 13:13

Well that didn't actually help me. Diagnostics passed and the SSD passed through Disk Utility's First Aid fine. I guess I'll wipe the drive and try a clean install with a flash drive 10.15 installer on the machine.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-19, 13:31

Which computer is it?
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-19, 13:41

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
C2D CPU IIRC

When I tried a remote restore via Internet it pulled up a Lion installer. I forgot how old this thing was.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-19, 13:55

That might actually be a bad drive cable. The 2012 models are known for that issue, and the built-in diagnostics will not detect that. In fact, if memory serves, neither will the more advanced diagnostics. We sort it out by changing the cable. It's a pretty cheap part, but it's one of those trial/error things.

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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-19, 13:59

Well that is a fun fact. Looks like that cable also connects the front IR port. I bet those are so easy to find on the internet too. I will look at that once I rule out the SSD itself I guess.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-20, 08:44

Um....should it take more than 8 hours for Disk Utility to "erase" an Evo 850 500GB SSD that is a known good?

Yeah, I didn't think so. This doesn't bode well for the machine. Maybe it is that cable. Clearly, there is an I/O issue some where though.

Any other ideas on things to check before searching for a cable on the web? I'd hate to condemn this machine though it is VERY long in the tooth.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.

Last edited by turtle : 2019-12-20 at 09:56.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-20, 10:32

Pull the drive and use the same external USB thing you used to recover the data and erase the disk from another computer. If it erases normally, then you can rule out the drive. Then you will know that it is likely the cable.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-20, 10:44

Yeah, that was just about instant. So either the logic board/controller or the cable that connects the logic board to the SSD.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-20, 11:57

I've tried to reseat the cable and blow out (canned air) the SATA end as well as the end that connects to the logic board. So far it seems to have done nothing. Actually, at first it seemed like maybe it helped. Then it stopped working again. I thought maybe it was a placebo effect but I'm still back at square one. The SSD is good, the logic board talking to it is bad. The MBP runs fine from the flash drive, though horribly slow through the USB 2 interface.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-20, 12:04

Sounds like a bad cable. Let me check on something.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-20, 14:42

Amazon has it and so does MacSales. While I want to trust the products from MacSales more than Amazon it is cheaper through them.

I called a local shop and they charge $19 for the part and $99 for the labor. One other guy said it's a $135 dollar charge after arguing with me about how I didn't know what I was talking about. I'm describing to him in details the guts of this MBP and the steps I've done but he says there is no cable. Needless to say I won't be supporting him. All the prices were in that range though. At least there are a number of places I can get the cable online.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-20, 15:08



"There is no cable!"

Yep, definitely don't go to that guy. On those systems (and the 2011 models) with a funky hard drive, that's one of the first things we check. Basically, put in a new drive and format it. If it takes 30 seconds, the cable is fine. If it takes 10 minutes or longer? The cable is bad (or it's a bad board, but that's rare).

And $135! Dang, that's a lot for a $20 part and ten minutes work.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
  quote
turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-20, 15:15

I know. What really rubs me raw is that I can do all the work myself but I'm having to fight to make it happen locally. I want to support locally, but I'm not going to pay $99 or even close for them to do that work.

So I just ordered 821-2049-A from Amazon since it's supposed to be the updated cable. Here's to hoping it's a good cable! Amazon said I won't get it until after Christmas since I'm not a Prime member.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-20, 16:09

No Prime Turtles!

Blame it on the plastic straws.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-12-28, 22:26

Cable wasn't that far behind schedule. I got it today and just finished installing it. So far Catalina is installing on the SSD connected to it just fine. Getting that indicator light connected was a pain but something I finally managed when I got the right pair of tweezers.

If I have issues over the next few days I'll share it but I'm expecting this to be the fix.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-12-29, 20:21

Very good. Hope that does the trick. Cheap fix.
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