Macbook Pro 2012 A1398 not turning on

[vgolfoz]

My Macbook Pro 2012 has been running fine as a secondary device just for some testing etc for ages...battery died a long time ago so it's just been running off the plugged in power cord...no major dramas. I do normally just leave it running or in sleep mode...I rarely turn it off.

This last weekend, I had it switched off from Friday afternoon. Tried turning it on last night – nothing. Tried a few key combinations online but still absolutely nothing. Used a different power cord...no good. I also resorted to taking the battery out and seeing if it would start while plugged in...all no good.

My question is, if I bought a new battery, what are the chances it would boot up or does it sound like something more serious? There is some data on there I'd like to recover, but it's not super critical.

If there's no chance of it ever booting up gain, is it likely all my data is gone, or is it possible to take out the SSD and put in an enclosure?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Audit13]

Try this: disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes, open MacBook, connect the charger, don't touch any keys, and wait too see if the MacBook boots on its own.

 

[vgolfoz]

Try this: disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes, open MacBook, connect the charger, don't touch any keys, and wait too see if the MacBook boots on its own.

Thanks. Just tried that...no luck.

 

[Audit13]

If your MacBook Pro is a non-retina, it would use a SATA drive which can be placed into a USB SATA enclosure so you can access your data.

 

[vgolfoz]

Looked up the specs for the A1398 and it appears it IS a retina.

Would one of the SSD enclosures be any good?

USB3.0 External Enclosure Case for 2012 2013 APPLE MacBook Air SSD 17+7pin, A1425 A1398, A1465, A1466 [ Aluminium case] – PTComputers

I'm just hoping if that did work, I could plug into a Windows machine and access the Bootcamp partition. I don't really have anything on the MacOS partition that I need.

 

[Audit13]

Look up the specs based on serial # to confirm the exact model.

 

[vgolfoz]

Look up the specs based on serial # to confirm the exact model.

Retina Early 2013 based on the serial number.

 

[Audit13]

If you want to use the MacBook as a Windows laptop, you would need to boot from an internal drive since Windows doesn't support booting from an external drive unless the drive is eSATA.

 

[vgolfoz]

No I don't want to boot from the data on the drive. I just want to be able to extract some of the data on it.

So if I remove the SSD from the dead machine...put it in an enclosure and then hook it up to a windows machine. And just read the files...not boot from it.

 

[Audit13]

You'll need software installed on the windows machine to read the drive if it's formatted as apfs or hfs. It becomes trickier if the drive is encrypted with file vault.

 

[vgolfoz]

Even if it's the bootcamp partition?

 

[Audit13]

Even if it's the bootcamp partition?

It should be readable.

 

[vgolfoz]

I know this is a cheap unit...but I only really need it to work once. Doesn't matter if it's slow. But would something like this be OK?

USB3.0 External Enclosure Case for 2012 2013 APPLE MacBook Air SSD 17+7pin, A1425 A1398, A1465, A1466 [ Aluminium case] – PTComputers

 

[Audit13]

I know this is a cheap unit...but I only really need it to work once. Doesn't matter if it's slow. But would something like this be OK?

USB3.0 External Enclosure Case for 2012 2013 APPLE MacBook Air SSD 17+7pin, A1425 A1398, A1465, A1466 [ Aluminium case] – PTComputers

It looks like the right model.

 

[vgolfoz]

I removed my SSD from the dead MBP...purchased the SSD enclosure (above) for $45...hooked it up to another machine and voila. Both the Mac and Bootcamp partitions were visible and I've successfully managed to extract all my data.

I did have backups but hadn't done one for a while and there was some stuff I was hoping I could salvage.

But at the end of the day, I've got a dead MBP which is a pain...but well overdue for a new one.