Resolved *URGENT :Help Needed New HD Issue Finally Fixed Maybe UPDATE

[whoknows87]

My original issue was the laptop not going further than the apple logo screen + wheel spinning forever, inserted the Mac OS X installation CD opened disk utility, cant repair the HD, can't unmount it, cant do anything, took it to apple I was told I need a new HD, the one installed is failing... they want 200 bucks I figured I can do it myself, I purchased a 320 Seagate installed it , laptop did not recognize it at all, replaced it with this one here http://http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+320GB+Internal+Hard+Drive+for+Laptops/8679762.p;jsessionid=742D3381AB06FF114FD32A23C88F05BE.bbolsp-app05-14?id=1200702542584&skuId=8679762&st=8679762&cp=1&lp=1

restarted the machine and still not showing up at all on the laptop no HD, took it out,inserted my old one back in there boom there it goes the old which is useless, any idea what is going wrong here? do I have a bigger issue than a HD? what could it be?

it's a 2009 MacBook Pro
2.53 Ghz Originally had 250GB
it had 4GB Ram I upgraded it to 8 while swapping the HD out thats the only thing that went well

 

[Orlandoech]

my HD appears to be corrupted I took it to apple they said 200 to intsall a 500 GB in blah bnstallah < i purchased my own HD installed it , was not showing up on my laptop when I booted up ( MAC OS X in laptop) I took it out put my old HD it shows up , I figured maybe the HD I bought was bad / compatibility issue returned it and got another one today a western digital 320 GB SATA 8MB the best buy rep said it should be compatible , installed it and the same issue persists , its not showing up at all, tried disk utility under SATA nothing what could be the issue?

You need to format and partition it and install os x. Do this via bootable USB flash drive with the os x on it.

 

[whoknows87]

You need to format and partition it and install os x. Do this via bootable USB flash drive with the os x on it.

excuse this qs, how can I format it when the MBP doesnt even recognize it, I opened up disk utility and nothing is there for me to erase .......

 

[Orlandoech]

How are you opening disk utility with the new hdd installed? There is no os on the new hdd.

 

[whoknows87]

How are you opening disk utility with the new hdd installed? There is no os on the new hdd.

my installation CD is in the MB

 

[mohsy90]

I'd like to add to this thread because I have been helping the OP.

He was informed by Apple that the HD needed to be replaced, I advised him to purchase one from Best Buy or amazon instead of paying the $200 Apple was asking.

He first purchased a seagate 320GB hard drive (5400 rpm, 8MB cache and up to 6gb/s transfer rate). After removing the old drive and plugging the new one in, he booted the computer using the restore CD that came with his mid-2009 MBP. The HD failed to show up in disk utility so he was not able to format it. It also did not show up under Serial-ATA in system profiler. To rule out a cable issue, he connected the old drive back up and it did show up in disk utility.

Thinking the new drive may also have been bad, he went back and bought this western digital one. Once again it did not show up in disk utility.

So does anyone have any idea what the problem could be????

 

[Orlandoech]

You mentioned the drive is 6gb/s which would mean its a SATA III drive and for some reason it isn't backwards compatible with SATA II.

I would return the drive and find a SATA II hdd and go from there as the 09 MBP isn't SATA III capable.

 

[skysailing]

Sounds like a general public issue. I have a MacBook Cloud (5 generations ahead of that whole retina nonsense). You might have to call Jonathan Ives. I can't be bothered chatting on the phone with him now, so you will have to make the call. You do have his number right?

 

[whoknows87]

You mentioned the drive is 6gb/s which would mean its a SATA III drive and for some reason it isn't backwards compatible with SATA II.

I would return the drive and find a SATA II hdd and go from there as the 09 MBP isn't SATA III capable.

I did return the Seagate 320 thinking it might be a compatibility issue, replaced it with the WD linked above in my post, Geek Squad said it should be compatible with the MBP thats all he said.... I brought up the whole 6GBits thing he was like hey u got 30 days if it doesnt work return it...

 

[mohsy90]

You mentioned the drive is 6gb/s which would mean its a SATA III drive and for some reason it isn't backwards compatible with SATA II.

I would return the drive and find a SATA II hdd and go from there as the 09 MBP isn't SATA III capable.

The second drive he purchased is 3gb/s Sata II, so it is compatible. Also the first seagate one that was 6gb/s was backwards compatible and should also have worked.

Anyone have any further input on what the problem could be?

 

[Orlandoech]

Two drives, same issue? User error.

 

[mohsy90]

Two drives, same issue? User error.

Any input on what the user could be doing wrong?

 

[whoknows87]

Two drives, same issue? User error.

I figured maybe I made an error so I took the new drive out and put the old corrupted one back in, the MBP recognizes that one.. took that one out put the new one back in nothing...

 

[Orlandoech]

Sounds very strange. You tried ordering a hdd online?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007605%20600003459%20600003340&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

 

[GGJstudios]

You might consider putting the original drive in an external enclosure, then connect the drive and boot up while holding the Option key. See if the drive appears as a boot drive selection. If so, boot up from the drive. If that works, your problem may not be with the drive itself, but rather something related to how the drive is connected to the logic board. If you have a problem with the logic board or are connecting drives improperly, it would likely affect any drive you install. At least this might help you further isolate the problem.

 

[whoknows87]

You might consider putting the original drive in an external enclosure, then connect the drive and boot up while holding the Option key. See if the drive appears as a boot drive selection. If so, boot up from the drive. If that works, your problem may not be with the drive itself, but rather something related to how the drive is connected to the logic board. If you have a problem with the logic board or are connecting drives improperly, it would likely affect any drive you install. At least this might help you further isolate the problem.

Thanks for your suggestion, will definitely do that , I've tried 3 different HD now and the MBP recognizes none of them 2 HD and one SSD so far, but when I connect the old HD it does detect but shows it as a corrupted HD with a yellow triangle, I ordered one more HD from OWC , figured maybe i picked the wrong HD's or something , will try the enclosure method before taking it back to apple
it just puzzles me when I do disk repair , verify disk it actually did say the HD appears to be OK, and according to apple the HD is failing

Thanks again

 

[T5BRICK]

Thanks for your suggestion, will definitely do that , I've tried 3 different HD now and the MBP recognizes none of them 2 HD and one SSD so far, but when I connect the old HD it does detect but shows it as a corrupted HD with a yellow triangle, I ordered one more HD from OWC , figured maybe i picked the wrong HD's or something , will try the enclosure method before taking it back to apple
it just puzzles me when I do disk repair , verify disk it actually did say the HD appears to be OK, and according to apple the HD is failing

Thanks again

If your drive is working in the enclosure, your HDD cable may have been damaged at some point.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2009-Hard-Drive-Cable/1340/1

It's possible that it just needs to be reseated on the logic board end. Just be careful when disconnecting it, I have seen connectors pulled off the board if done incorrectly. iFixit suggests using the plastic spudger.

On another note, I've got the same model mid-2009 13" 2.53GHz MacBook Pro as you. I can guarantee that it will work with a SATA III drive, just at SATA II link speed(I've got a Crucial M4 in mine right now). I'm fairly confident that part of the SATA III spec is backwards compatibility.

 

[mohsy90]

If your drive is working in the enclosure, your HDD cable may have been damaged at some point.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2009-Hard-Drive-Cable/1340/1

It's possible that it just needs to be reseated on the logic board end. Just be careful when disconnecting it, I have seen connectors pulled off the board if done incorrectly. iFixit suggests using the plastic spudger.

On another note, I've got the same model mid-2009 13" 2.53GHz MacBook Pro as you. I can guarantee that it will work with a SATA III drive, just at SATA II link speed(I've got a Crucial M4 in mine right now). I'm fairly confident that part of the SATA III spec is backwards compatibility.

I've been helping the OP and I find it odd that it could be a cable issue. Why would it not recognize 3 new HDs, but is still recognizing the old HD? Doesn't that basically rule out a cable issue?

 

[T5BRICK]

I've been helping the OP and I find it odd that it could be a cable issue. Why would it not recognize 3 new HDs, but is still recognizing the old HD? Doesn't that basically rule out a cable issue?

That's very true, but it still isn't working, so something is broken.

I had another thought, possibly the older version of Disk Utility on his OSX restore disc that came with his computer doesn't recognize the SATA III drive? I tested it on my computer, and it does see my Crucial M4. It is very possible he and I are using different versions of the restore disc.

OP: What version of OSX is on your restore disc? Mine laptop was a refurb so it came with 10.6, but according to MacTracker earlier versions of this laptop shipped with 10.5.7.

Do you have access to a Mac where you can create a 10.7 or 10.8 USB restore?

 

[whoknows87]

That's very true, but it still isn't working, so something is broken.

I had another thought, possibly the older version of Disk Utility on his OSX restore disc that came with his computer doesn't recognize the SATA III drive? I tested it on my computer, and it does see my Crucial M4. It is very possible he and I are using different versions of the restore disc.

OP: What version of OSX is on your restore disc? Mine laptop was a refurb so it came with 10.6, but according to MacTracker earlier versions of this laptop shipped with 10.5.7.

Do you have access to a Mac where you can create a 10.7 or 10.8 USB restore?

Snow Leopard
all these issues came after upgrading to ML worked fine for 2 years not a single problem, soon after ML 3 days to be exact this happened

I tried the USB method doesnt work, I have Lion installed on an external tried booting from it but again where would it load, no HD are being recognized by the MBP except the old corrupted one which doesnt allow any interaction with it at all

 

[mohsy90]

That's very true, but it still isn't working, so something is broken.

I had another thought, possibly the older version of Disk Utility on his OSX restore disc that came with his computer doesn't recognize the SATA III drive? I tested it on my computer, and it does see my Crucial M4. It is very possible he and I are using different versions of the restore disc.

OP: What version of OSX is on your restore disc? Mine laptop was a refurb so it came with 10.6, but according to MacTracker earlier versions of this laptop shipped with 10.5.7.

Do you have access to a Mac where you can create a 10.7 or 10.8 USB restore?

We assumed that the snow leopard restore CD also could have been the issue, so I helped the OP create a bootable external HD with Lion. He booted from it and in disk utility it was still able to recognize his old HD but none of the new ones, so we ruled out that.

 

[T5BRICK]

Snow Leopard
all these issues came after upgrading to ML worked fine for 2 years not a single problem, soon after ML 3 days to be exact this happened

I tried the USB method doesnt work, I have Lion installed on an external tried booting from it but again where would it load, no HD are being recognized by the MBP except the old corrupted one which doesnt allow any interaction with it at all

Do you happen to be located in the Northwest? Oregon maybe?

 

[whoknows87]

Do you happen to be located in the Northwest? Oregon maybe?

unfortunately no , all the way in South Florida

 

[T5BRICK]

unfortunately no , all the way in South Florida

Damn, I was going to suggest trying a known good HDD from the same model if you were closer.

 

[whoknows87]

Damn, I was going to suggest trying a known good HDD from the same model if you were closer.

Thanks, I went ahead and ordered one from OWC also ordered an enclosure case if they dont do it i guess apple it is