Resolved Late 2012, 13 inch MBP. No HDD in Disk Utility.

[herr lofi]

Hi,

I want to begin this post with some info. My MBP is a 13 inch late 2012 model, running on Mavericks. I have no backups, and I'm not able to do any backups. Keep this in mind whilst reading the remainder of the post.

So I've had some issues with my hard drive. A couple of days back while I was in the kitchen, the MBP froze with a little wheel circling in the middle of the screen (not the colourful mouse wheel). First, I rebooted, and the MBP booted with a blinking question mark folder, then it switched to a stop sign. I proceeded to reboot whilst holding down command + r, and opened Disk Utility. The hard drive was there and I verified the disk. There was a problem and I repaired it. "Okidoke", Disk Utility said, "The disk is now fine". I then verified Disk Permissions, but not long after it was finished verifying had the hard drive completely disappeared.

I rebooted into safe mode a couple of times (command + r, I think that's called safe mode, right?), and happy was I to find that the hard drive had reappeared. I proceeded to repair Disk Permissions, and so it did. I repaired again, and the drive disappeared.

This time I rebooted into safe mode, booted directly from my hard drive once Disk Utility found it, and my MBP worked for a couple of days. Problem is, I'm a music producer, and I really want to produce music. So I opened Logic Pro X and had some fun for a while, but it didn't take long before my MBP completely froze (this time with a colourful circling mouse pointer wheel). It has now gone to the extent that I simply cannot find my hard drive in Disk Utility anymore.

Now, I don't know if it's actually a dead hard drive or a faulty SATA cable, because I've heard those can be rather rebellious. However, I've been looking for a new SSD (specifically the 500 GB Samsung 840 EVO as it's for sale right now). Problem is, I don't have any OSX discs. I never got them with my MBP when I bought it.

My ultimate question is; say I have the SSD installed on my MBP right now, and I've ordered the Snow Leopard Discs from Apple and they are also right here with me. How do I go about installing OSX on the SSD?

Sorry for the huge post. I just thought I'd keep it thorough. Please do ask if something is unclear.

Thanks for reading,
Sebastian

 

[alex0002]

It could be the SATA cable problem as you mentioned and you shouldn't need OS X discs on a late 2012 MBP.

Your MBP should support internet recovery.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery

Internet recovery will probably install Mountain Lion in your late 2012 MBP, but you can upgrade to Mavericks again.

 

[herr lofi]

It could be the SATA cable problem as you mentioned and you shouldn't need OS X discs on a late 2012 MBP.

You MBP should support internet recovery.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery

Internet recovery will probably install Mountain Lion in your late 2012 MBP, but you can upgrade to Mavericks again.

Alright, but how do I know it's the SATA cable and not a dead HDD?

Edit: I am sort of hoping the HDD is dead and the SATA cable is intact, as there's no way I know of to buy a new MBP SATA cable in my country. Even if I can order internationally from ifixit it's a bigger hassle than actually replacing a dead HDD. I also believe Apple will charge me leg and arm to replace just the cable.

Internet recovery sounds great. Do I just install the SSD and boot into Internet Recovery and install OSX? I've read a little about this and I've seen words like formatting, partition and journaling thrown around, and it's confusing me. Anyway, I've already ordered Snow Leopard as it wasn't really expensive.

Edit 2: So I install the SSD. Boot up whilst holding down command + option + r and install Mountain Lion? Or alternatively install the SSD, and inject the Snow Leopard CD and install that way?

Thanks,
Sebastian

 

[herr lofi]

I've just ordered a bunch of stuff from ifixit, including a new SATA cable, some tools, extra screws and some thermal remover+paste. At least now I'll know if it's the SATA cable or the HDD. If the old SATA cable is fine (which I kind of doubt) I'll have an extra cable!

Going to upgrade to an SSD in the near future too, but just wanna find out where the issue lies first.

 

[Bending Pixels]

Most likely it's the hard drive that's failed. Cables don't fail that often, unless you keep opening up the MBP and mess with the cable.

If the hard drive has failed, it will be very expensive to recover the data - requiring a data recovery service.

 

[herr lofi]

Most likely it's the hard drive that's failed. Cables don't fail that often, unless you keep opening up the MBP and mess with the cable.

If the hard drive has failed, it will be very expensive to recover the data - requiring a data recovery service.

Alright, feedback is pretty mixed. I just went to a Premium Seller shop here in Norway and he said the symptoms sounded like a faulty SATA cable. I will keep the SATA cable order, anyway. Doesn't hurt to have one lying on the shelf, ready to go.

I'm not looking to recover any data. I've come to terms with the loss of all my projects. I still have my good health, and I'm still an amateur producer (no clients, luckily).

What I'm wondering now is if I want to do a fresh install of OSX on my new SSD, do I just replace the old HDD with the SSD and boot whilst holding down command + option + r and install OSX that way? I've also got a package with Snow Leopard on the way, so an alternative would be CDs.

I'm asking because I'm reading all kinds of info about putting the SSD into a USB enclosure and formatting the SSD, bla bla bla. I'm just looking to install a completely fresh version of OSX, no backups, no clones, just a fresh start. How would you do that?

Edit: BTW, I'm currently writing this on my Macbook Pro with the dying HDD/faulty SATA cable. Does that change your mind about what it could be? If I relocate the MBP, however, I'm at risk of losing connection with the HDD.

Thanks,
Sebastian

 

[DeltaMac]

...
What I'm wondering now is if I want to do a fresh install of OSX on my new SSD, do I just replace the old HDD with the SSD and boot whilst holding down command + option + r and install OSX that way? I've also got a package with Snow Leopard on the way, so an alternative would be CDs.

I'm asking because I'm reading all kinds of info about putting the SSD into a USB enclosure and formatting the SSD, bla bla bla. I'm just looking to install a completely fresh version of OSX, no backups, just a fresh start. How would you do that?

Edit: BTW, I'm currently writing this on my Macbook Pro with the dying HDD/faulty SATA cable. Does that change your mind about what it could be? If I relocate the MBP, however, I'm at risk of losing connection with the HDD.
...

I'm not sure which MBPro you have. Does it have a built-in optical drive?
That would be a non-retina 13-inch, which is still sold.
You will soon find out that the Snow Leopard installer that you ordered will not be useful in any way.
The older model came with Lion originally (OS X 10.7.4 or newer), and the newer Retina MBPro shipped with some newer version. Snow Leopard will not run or install on either one.
Macs generally will not boot on OS X versions older than what it originally shipped.
The newer Macs have not shipped with a reinstall DVD for several years, because it's no longer used for installs. The internet restore should work, and you can also purchase newer versions through Apple's online web store. When you purchase Lion or Mountain Lion, Apple will email a redemption code so you can download either of those through the App Store. Or, you could forget the older systems, and download Mavericks, to which you should be entitled.

 

[herr lofi]

I'm not sure which MBPro you have. Does it have a built-in optical drive?
That would be a non-retina 13-inch, which is still sold.
You will soon find out that the Snow Leopard installer that you ordered will not be useful in any way.
The older model came with Lion originally (OS X 10.7.4 or newer), and the newer Retina MBPro shipped with some newer version. Snow Leopard will not run or install on either one.
Macs generally will not boot on OS X versions older than what it originally shipped.
The newer Macs have not shipped with a reinstall DVD for several years, because it's no longer used for installs. The internet restore should work, and you can also purchase newer versions through Apple's online web store. When you purchase Lion or Mountain Lion, Apple will email a redemption code so you can download either of those through the App Store. Or, you could forget the older systems, and download Mavericks, to which you should be entitled.

It's not the retina model. I did not know that about Snow Leopard, good to know, thanks. Snow Leopard has already been shipped, and I'll have to wait until I receive it to call Apple and see if I can return it.

I take it that's a yes regarding fresh install of OSX on a new SSD, then. Once I get my SSD, I replace the old HDD with it and boot into internet recovery, which is cmd + option +r. This will give me a completely fresh install of OSX. Am I right? No need for USB enclosures, formatting, partition, erasing etc. etc. (unless I actually do need all these things for a fresh install)? I simply want a step by step for a fresh install. I don't have backups, and I don't necessarily need to copy anything from my old HDD, unless I actually have to.

 

[herr lofi]

Alright, seems like I've misunderstood. I actually need to clone the OS from my old HDD to the new SSD. Looking more and more like I'll have to send it in for repair now.

Yesterday the dock disappeared too, and the screen started flashing white with slow intervals. I just thought what the hell and tries reinstalling OSX, but it froze overnight.
I guess the HDD is in fact dead. Wish they would just keep making OSX discs, so I could just replace the HDD myself and install from the discs, cause this is gonna be pricey.

Hopefully I'll be able to replace the HDD and cut the price off repairs as I'll only need them to install OSX on it. Anyone know if that's possible?

 

[DeltaMac]

Internet recovery should work for you…

When you boot to the recovery system, you can erase the hard drive (or an SSD if that's what you have now) using the Disk Utility. After that simple task is complete, continue on with installing OS X.

You can also create your own installer, on media such as a thumb drive. 8 GB is an ideal size, and quite cheap now. Just download the system you want, through the App Store. Create a bootable installer on your chosen media, which could also be a partition on an external hard drive. You can follow the steps that you can find on the 'net, or just download an app that is designed to do just that, such as DiskmakerX. http://liondiskmaker.com
And, you have the advantage of a much faster install, more reliable than a DVD, too. You CAN also use DiskmakerX to burn an installer DVD, although from 10.7 on, the installer is not optimized for a bootable DVD, so is (really) slow to install, and prone to disk errors. Thumb drive works great!

 

[herr lofi]

Internet recovery should work for you…

When you boot to the recovery system, you can erase the hard drive (or an SSD if that's what you have now) using the Disk Utility. After that simple task is complete, continue on with installing OS X.

You can also create your own installer, on media such as a thumb drive. 8 GB is an ideal size, and quite cheap now. Just download the system you want, through the App Store. Create a bootable installer on your chosen media, which could also be a partition on an external hard drive. You can follow the steps that you can find on the 'net, or just download an app that is designed to do just that, such as DiskmakerX. http://liondiskmaker.com
And, you have the advantage of a much faster install, more reliable than a DVD, too. You CAN also use DiskmakerX to burn an installer DVD, although from 10.7 on, the installer is not optimized for a bootable DVD, so is (really) slow to install, and prone to disk errors. Thumb drive works great!

Man, I am so relieved. Yesterday my screen started flashing white with slow intervalls and the dock disappeared. I just gave it a shot at reinstalling OSX as a last resort, but it has kept failing to reinstall and now I cannot boot from the HDD anymore.

I'm so glad I can just buy a new SSD, fix the problem while getting an upgrade. All by installing the SSD and getting a fresh OSX install through internet recovery. Happy I don't have to go to Apple with their ridiculous fees for something as easy as replacing a HDD.

Lesson learned - backups are essential.

One last question. Do you mean I have to erase a brand new SSD in DU? All the other things about creating partitions etc, I don't have to worry about right? Thumb drive and partition are both alien terms to me, but I guess if I could hook an OSX install onto a USB drive that would a nice thing to have.

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, a new SSD will NOT be ready for an OS X install. Erase it first with DU.
Here's the sequence that I follow:
Boot to the installer (or your recovery partition, or the internet recovery - each should give you much the same choices)
Run Disk Utility.
Select the SSD (the line with manufacturer info), then click the Partition tab.
Click the Partition layout button, then select "1 partition".
Click the Options button, and make sure that "GUID Partition Table" is selected.
Click OK, then make sure that the "Format" is Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Name it whatever you like, then click Apply. Wait a few seconds until that finishes.
Quit Disk Utility, and continue with installing OS X on your just created partition.
Simple!

 

[herr lofi]

Yes, a new SSD will NOT be ready for an OS X install. Erase it first with DU.
Here's the sequence that I follow:
Boot to the installer (or your recovery partition, or the internet recovery - each should give you much the same choices)
Run Disk Utility.
Select the SSD (the line with manufacturer info), then click the Partition tab.
Click the Partition layout button, then select "1 partition".
Click the Options button, and make sure that "GUID Partition Table" is selected.
Click OK, then make sure that the "Format" is Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Name it whatever you like, then click Apply. Wait a few seconds until that finishes.
Quit Disk Utility, and continue with installing OS X on your just created partition.
Simple!

You're the man! Thanks a lot, and you're right - that does sound simple!