2015 MacBook Pro Won't Start Up Fully

[Fishrrman]

A Hobo wrote:
"What’s happened to OP is that it likely has a third party m.2 SSD installed on a converter, which is now on the fritz. Which also explains why no drive gets mounted over target disk mode too.
That drive probably needs to be removed from the system and attached by way of a usb-m.2 adaptor.
The tiny Chinese converter boards sold cheap as chips on eBay fail a lot. Ask me why I know."

I've tried to explain this to the OP (he's posted other threads about this before), but cannot seem to "get through" to him.

The 3rd-party drive & adapter are probably failing (one or the other).

The ONLY way I can see getting that drive running again (IF it will "run again") is to erase it completely and try to start over.

The OP doesn't seem to get this, either.

It might be possible to:
1. Get an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD
2. Boot to INTERNET recovery (I don't believe the OP comprehends the difference between "recovery partition" and "internet recovery").
3. Install a clean copy of the OS onto the external drive, making it bootable
4. Now the MBP should boot from the external drive, and the OP can "attack" the internal drive problems that way.

But as it stands now, he might just as well put the MBP into the closet and forget about it.

 

[Christopher11]

I read a lot of the responses and most are good.

1. Reset the SMC
2. Reset the PRAM
3. Use target disc mode from Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3. You need a Thunderbolt 2 adapter to plug into a Thunderbolt 3 port. So you will need a Thunderbolt 2 cable as well. I did this often with older drives. You cannot use a TB3 into an adapter for TB2.
3. Sounds like a bad motherboard. The other option is to remove the drive and place it in an enclosure and get the files that way.

Thank you, tried resetting SMC. It didn't work. So I need a thunderbolt cable to make Target mode work? Firewire with adapters won't do it?

 

[Christopher11]

I had the same thing. I bought a hard drive enclosure for like $8 and took the drive out of the old machine, put it into the enclosure and plugged it in like an external drive. Worked fine for me

Thank you, can you link me to the drive you bought please?

 

[0339327]

Thank you, tried resetting SMC. It didn't work. So I need a thunderbolt cable to make Target mode work? Firewire with adapters won't do it?

if you have a thunderbolt 2 on there - use that.

If you have firewire, you will need a firewire adapter. The way Apple makes these, you have to use the older cable and connect with a dongle on the newer machine.

 

[Jamo12]

Thank you, can you link me to the drive you bought please?

This is what I bought. I assume your 2015 MacBook has a 2.5” drive in it? You would need to take the back off of your computer and take the drive out. I don’t remember if the 2015 MacBook do have these drives or if they are nvme drives :/

GiGimundo 2.5" USB C Hard Drive Enclosure, 6Gbps USB C 3.1 Gen 2 to SATA Adapter for 2.5inch 9.5mm 7mm SSD HDD with UASP, Compatible with WD Seagate Samsung PS4 Xbox (Black) https://www.amazon.com/GiGimundo-Enclosure-External-2-5inch-Compatible/dp/B0BPXKQJ92

It should show up like this when you plug it in:

I just clicked on the Users folder, then into my profile and everything was there.

 

[Christopher11]

This is what I bought. I assume your 2015 MacBook has a 2.5” drive in it? You would need to take the back off of your computer and take the drive out. I don’t remember if the 2015 MacBook do have these drives or if they are nvme drives :/
View attachment 2232168

GiGimundo 2.5" USB C Hard Drive Enclosure, 6Gbps USB C 3.1 Gen 2 to SATA Adapter for 2.5inch 9.5mm 7mm SSD HDD with UASP, Compatible with WD Seagate Samsung PS4 Xbox (Black) https://www.amazon.com/GiGimundo-Enclosure-External-2-5inch-Compatible/dp/B0BPXKQJ92

It should show up like this when you plug it in:
View attachment 2232166
I just clicked on the Users folder, then into my profile and everything was there.

Really good of you, thank you.

 

[Christopher11]

if you have a thunderbolt 2 on there - use that.

If you have firewire, you will need a firewire adapter. The way Apple makes these, you have to use the older cable and connect with a dongle on the newer machine.

Thank you, yes well i already use an adapter for my RME audio interface: it’s FW to thunderbolt. Then I have to use another to convert thunderbolt to usb-c for the newer 2019 machine. When I connected this cable to the 2015 laptop at issue here however, it didn’t show up on desktop of 2019. I tried opening disk utility too, and it didn’t show up as a drive. I wish it would.

 

[0339327]

Thank you, yes well i already use an adapter for my RME audio interface: it’s FW to thunderbolt. Then I have to use another to convert thunderbolt to usb-c for the newer 2019 machine. When I connected this cable to the 2015 laptop at issue here however, it didn’t show up on desktop of 2019. I tried opening disk utility too, and it didn’t show up as a drive. I wish it would.

You’re missing something here

Call Apple and have them walk you through it. It should be as simply as FireWire to Thunderbolt 2 cable and then Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 (not usb c) dongle.

 

[Christopher11]

You’re missing something here

Call Apple and have them walk you through it. It should be as simply as FireWire to Thunderbolt 2 cable and then Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 (not usb c) dongle.

Thank you. Why not Thunderbolt to usb c? Also, do you agree with the above poster that a USB cable should work, USB from the old laptop, to USB to USB-C adapter on the new one?

 

[ThailandToo]

Thank you. Why not Thunderbolt to usb c? Also, do you agree with the above poster that a USB cable should work, USB from the old laptop, to USB to USB-C adapter on the new one?

I agree. My understanding is target disk mode works on Thunderbolt not USB. Thunderbolt cables will allow the connection you want. But still you’re not quite getting what others have offered. If the drive isn’t original, it’s probably not going to work in the machine to connect. Several suggested you remove the drive from the MacBook and put that drive in a USBC enclosure. That would get you access from another Mac and ensure you don’t delete your data.

You’re making this far more complicated and then not even trusting the people who tell you that to do target disk mode you need Thunderbolt and the proper cable.

Make your life easier. Use the right or simple tools to achieve your objectives.

 

[Macdctr]

I need to retrieve some information from my 2015 MB Pro. It's never done this, but when I try to start it up it makes it to about 3/4 of the way done, then shuts down. If I press the mouse it starts trying again. I tried restarting with Command / R but it again just shuts down and restarts with the progress bar 3/4 of the way finished.

I also tried holding power button down for 10 seconds. All accessories are unplugged. Please help. Thank you.

I sent you a message . . .

 

[3166792]

I should clarify something regarding Target Disk Mode:

Apple explicitly states that: "If you have two Mac computers with USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt ports, you can connect them so that one of them appears as an external hard disk on the other. "

However, this only works if both machines are running Catalina or older. If either machine is on Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura, you can only use Thunderbolt. Why they changed it, I have no idea.

 

[Christopher11]

I agree. My understanding is target disk mode works on Thunderbolt not USB. Thunderbolt cables will allow the connection you want. But still you’re not quite getting what others have offered. If the drive isn’t original, it’s probably not going to work in the machine to connect. Several suggested you remove the drive from the MacBook and put that drive in a USBC enclosure. That would get you access from another Mac and ensure you don’t delete your data.

You’re making this far more complicated and then not even trusting the people who tell you that to do target disk mode you need Thunderbolt and the proper cable.

Make your life easier. Use the right or simple tools to achieve your objectives.

I should clarify something regarding Target Disk Mode:

Apple explicitly states that: "If you have two Mac computers with USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt ports, you can connect them so that one of them appears as an external hard disk on the other. "

However, this only works if both machines are running Catalina or older. If either machine is on Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura, you can only use Thunderbolt.

Thank you for this helpful message! Well, I run Mojave on each of them, so I believe I'm good on that, older than Catalina. The adapters all work, I know that, because I use them daily. I wonder why it won't show up via Target mode. The old machine shows it's in Target mode.

 

[3166792]

I think in your case it might be worth your while to get a Thunderbolt cable and try that. Clearly there's an issue with USB and it may well be that despite both machines being on Mojave, USB TDM is no longer supported despite what Apple says.

If it doesn't work with the Thunderbolt cable (it should have worked with the USB cable), you'll know that the issue is not related to Target Disk Mode and maybe more likely what @Fishrrman has been saying is the case.

I will add that Thunderbolt 2-to-Thunderbolt 3 cables don't really exist AFAIK, you need a dongle/adapter:

 

[0339327]

Thank you. Why not Thunderbolt to usb c? Also, do you agree with the above poster that a USB cable should work, USB from the old laptop, to USB to USB-C adapter on the new one?

1. Last I checked, target disc mode is limited to Thunderbolt. It may also work via network but only on newer OS.

2. You need a dongle from Thunderbolt 3 (male) to Thunderbolt 2 (female). Then you use a Thunderbolt 2 cable.

3. For FireWire, you would do the same but use a Thunderbolt 2 to FireWire cable; male both sides.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman predictions:

Target disk mode is not going to solve the OP's problems.

His "problem" is that he has a non-factory 3rd-party drive and drive adapter in the 2015 MBP, and something seems to have gone wrong with either drive or adapter.

The obvious solution is to remove the drive and adapter, and replace with an Apple factory OEM drive. Then, format and install a working system using internet recovery.

The OP seems to be concerned about getting data from the drive.
But again, this may be impossible so long as the drive cannot be mounted or accessed.

It MIGHT be possible to get the MBP booted from an EXTERNAL drive with a working version of the OS. I address how to do this in reply 26 above.

If the OP can get booted "externally", he might be able to mount the internal drive on the desktop, after which he can copy files from it (to somewhere else).

Until then, the OP is just going to continue to flop around like a fish out of water, trying the same thing over and over, and getting the same failures over and over...

 

[Christopher11]

Hey guys! I bought this SATA SSD enclosure, took it out of my MB Pro and put it in this, plugged it into my new 2019 MB Pro and it shows up! It says Mac HD, as it did in my old laptop. However, when I open it, it doesn't show anything. No files or folders. Is that an indexing issue? Is there something I can do to see my files? I would guess it'd gotten erased however, it says 2.05 TB, 63 GB free, which is how I'd left it, implying my data is intact. Any thoughts most appreciated, thank you.

M.2 NVMe SATA SSD Enclosure Adapter Tool-Free, USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps External NVMe to USB PCI-E 6Gbps SATA M-Key / B+M Key, NVMe Reader Support UASP Trim for SSDs 2230/2242/2260/2280

M.2 NVMe SATA SSD Enclosure Adapter Tool-Free, USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps External NVMe to USB PCI-E 6Gbps SATA M-Key / B+M Key, NVMe Reader Support UASP Trim for SSDs 2230/2242/2260/2280

www.amazon.com

 

[Christopher11]

Ah, okay, now it shows my files (just had to rebuild them I suppose, however, I have permissions issue. It won't let me access my own User folder. I did Command/I and clicked the lock, but it still won't let me in. Thoughts appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Christopher11]

I seem to have solved that too. This is apparently a good solution. Thank you guys.

 

[Fishrrman]

Get your data OFF OF that drive as soon as possible, and onto something else.

Once that's done, I would erase it.
Then, run disk utility's "first aid" feature on it.
Is the "report" good?
If so, then I'd REPEAT the first aid routine 5 times in succession.
If I got a good report EVERY time, I'd use the drive for non-critical data storage, or possibly a backup to your internal drive.

 

[Christopher11]

Yeah, going to use it as a backup, and a good, lightweight way to move around data. Why the urgency in your post? My issue with the 2015 MB Pro was the motherboard, not the hard drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Why the urgency in your post?"

When a drive has shown itself to be "untrustworthy" (as this one has, from all your posts above), it's best to save the data on it elsewhere, and then try a reformat to "clean it up".

I suggest repeated tests to [hopefully] re-establish "trustworthiness" before committing anything important to it again.

Just a "lesson learned from computer life"...

 

[Christopher11]

Agreed that access to it was... but since this seems to be a fried motherboard (and opening the laptop up supported that thesis), hopefully the SSD is fine. I'm pretty sold on this method for backup actually... do people ever buy an enclosure like this, and an SSD, and just carry it around to use for backup / retrieval of data? Or are there better lightweight solutions.