[SOLVED] MacBook Pro Boot Issue

[Mike McCall]

In a more complete quote I said:

"Clearly the drive needs to be replaced, but I'm not sure it's the root cause. I won't suggest the client replace the drive unless I'm sure it's the problem. I'm conflicted because performing First Aid via Disk Utility has no effect, won't boot into safe mode but will into recovery mode. If It will properly display the screen in recovery mode it seems to rule out a GPU problem."

But you cut it down to the first 7 words (Clearly the drive needs to be replaced), when you quoted me and ignored everything else said both in the above paragraph and throughout this thread.

This:


And you're not wrong, but you need to figure out the cause of the fault before doing anything. I think we're actually agreed on this!

So, you find fault with my concluding that an 8-year old HDD should be replaced, tell me I'm not wrong about it, and then say we're actually agreed on this? Perfect. Got it.

What makes you think you need to remove the battery before replacing the RAM?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165

Ok, clearly I'm acting prematurely when I say that an 8-year old HDD should be replaced, but I'm now also wrong because I prefer err on the side of caution by removing the laptop battery? You don't like the way I look or something?

 

[Markverhyden]

I don't have the proper tool (Tri-point Y1 Screwdriver) to pull the battery so haven't swapped the memory. Never needed the tool before this.

Lowes has a great kit.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-51-Piece-Screwdriver-Bit-Set/1000035095

 

[Mike McCall]

Lowes has a great kit.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-51-Piece-Screwdriver-Bit-Set/1000035095

Thanks, Mark. I have a kit from iFixit that's been very good for me. It just doesn't have any tri-wing bits though.

 

[Krynn72]

Thanks, Mark. I have a kit from iFixit that's been very good for me. It just doesn't have any tri-wing bits though.

An iFixit kit without a tri-wing? How old is it?

 

[Mike McCall]

It's a couple of years old, but not ancient.

https://www.amazon.com/iFixit-Pro-Tech-Toolkit-pcs/dp/B007XGWQ2Y

 

[Mike McCall]

@Computer Bloke While I think you're making an inaccurate assumption about my being stuck on the hard drive, I also think I've over-reacted. For that I apologize. Your well-intentioned suggestions are valued and appreciated.

I have a few Macs in-house dating back to 2009 and have had a few issues with them to sort out over the years. It's also true that I don't see very many MacBooks and am therefore not very familiar with them, certainly not as familiar as I'm sure you are.

Am I being overly cautious regarding the battery? Probably. I learned early-on to remove them when working on laptops and consider it a basic precaution. Unnecessary perhaps, but a precaution I take nonetheless. Either way, I'll swap out the memory as suggested.

 

[cyabro]

No need to remove the battery just disconnect it.
The newer MacBooks don’t even have a removable battery.

 

[Krynn72]

It's a couple of years old, but not ancient.

https://www.amazon.com/iFixit-Pro-Tech-Toolkit-pcs/dp/B007XGWQ2Y

That kit has tri-wing. I think they're the ones labeled with a "Y" next to the Torx bits.

As far as I'm concerned I always remove the battery when working on a system. Its usually an easy precaution and prevents shenanigans that cost money.

 

[Mike McCall]

Well, like everything Apple related memory for these things isn't cheap. I didn't have any on-hand so I drove 35-miles each way to get the proper memory. Swapped it out and I get the same thing. No difference.

@Krynn72 I must have overlooked that yesterday as I checked through the various bits. Oh well, more tools is a good thing, right?

 

[Mike McCall]

The client said she updated the OS to 10.12 last June and it hasn't worked since. Apple says this should run Sierra, so perhaps something went wrong during the upgrade. Connected the drive to a Mac I have here to access the logs. Unfortunately I'm not seeing the obvious. No logs after 6/22/17 when she apparently performed the upgrade.

 

[Mike McCall]

@Krynn72 The one in the iFixit toolkit is too big.

 

[Krynn72]

@Krynn72 The one in the iFixit toolkit is too big.

What year is this MacBook? I never had a problem with the 2008 to 2012 models. And just to be clear, the kit has two sizes

 

[Mike McCall]

What year is this MacBook? I never had a problem with the 2008 to 2012 models. And just to be clear, the kit has two sizes

Breaking out the magnifying glass, I found both of the tri-wing bits which were cleverly hidden right in front of me. This project has kinda been like that.

 

[Mike McCall]

It turns out the issue wasn't hardware related at all. The customer had managed to corrupt the upgrade to Sierra during install, and reinstalling the OS fixed the problem.