Crucial SSD with High Sierra not working

[Rook83]

Hey y'all, long time lurker, first time poster...I've never had any issue with my Mid 2010 MacBook Pro until now...last year, I upgraded the RAM to 8GB, and installed a 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD drive...the computer has been working amazingly until I upgraded to High Sierra from Sierra...One morning the computer was so slow that I restarted it, and got the folder with the question mark logo...I've already lined the hard drive with electrical tape on the frame of the aluminum body (this was an issue with this model laptop)...I had to buy some software to retrieve priceless pictures because I'm a dope that never backed up his computer...lesson learned...anyways, I was able to retrieve all of my stuff...

Since then, I erased the SSD into macOS journaled, and APFS (had to erase multiple times) and couldn't get any OS to load on there...the old HDD (that came with this MacBook) was reinstalled into the system with High Sierra and works fine, albeit slower than the SSD I've been used to for more than a year...I've tried everything...I have an enclosure that I loaded the SSD in and installed HighSierra and it still doesn't work...I finally used CarbonCopy and got the SSD to load High Sierra, but when I restarted the computer, it froze on the boot screen...has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated...I now have the old HDD in there with High Sierra so I can have a functional laptop...I need to buy a new one for sure, but the wife got a new one and a new Jeep, so I gotta wait!! Thanks y'all!

 

[LarryJoe33]

It sounds like the SSD is failing. I am sure not what you want to hear. I have a Crucial MX300 512GB running High Sierra with no issues. If I were in your shoes, I would but another drive off Amazon, put it in the enclosure, clone the HDD over to it using CCC5 and swap them and see what happens. You can always wipe it and return it. Amazon is great like this.

 

[Matejh]

Check Firmware version of your SSD. You can download Firmware upgrade from Crucial website, but you will have to burn it to CD and boot your MacBook from it with SSD installed.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Just wondering.. do you have to be on High Sierra?
If the MBPro ran ok before (perhaps with Low Sierra), why not go back to it?

Why keep the frustration levels at 115%....?

 

[LarryJoe33]

OP:

Just wondering.. do you have to be on High Sierra?
If the MBPro ran ok before (perhaps with Low Sierra), why not go back to it?

Why keep the frustration levels at 115%....?

No sure that’s the right answer. It should run as well as it did before. High Sierra is pretty stable and pretty much Sierra with APFS and all the fixes. Just my opinion.

 

[Rook83]

It sounds like the SSD is failing. I am sure not what you want to hear. I have a Crucial MX300 512GB running High Sierra with no issues. If I were in your shoes, I would but another drive off Amazon, put it in the enclosure, clone the HDD over to it using CCC5 and swap them and see what happens. You can always wipe it and return it. Amazon is great like this.

I figured this may be the case...thanks so much for your quick response...the HDD is running pretty fast, but of course it is stripped of most of my files as I have not put all my stuff back on it hahaha...I may check out some new SSD drives...any recommendations or any I should stay away from? I see some Samsungs that are in a decent price range...
[doublepost=1508136643][/doublepost]

Check Firmware version of your SSD. You can download Firmware upgrade from Crucial website, but you will have to burn it to CD and boot your MacBook from it with SSD installed.

Thanks for the tip! I will try this in the morning, and I'll let you know if it worked!
[doublepost=1508136765][/doublepost]

OP:

Just wondering.. do you have to be on High Sierra?
If the MBPro ran ok before (perhaps with Low Sierra), why not go back to it?

Why keep the frustration levels at 115%....?

I actually just installed it like I've always done...I just assumed everything would be A-OK...I don't know how to downgrade back to "low Sierra" (that term made me laugh hahaha), as it is no longer on the App Store...

 

[fisherking]

i had a similar thing, some years back, with the crucial ssd i installed in my macbook pro. when i upgraded (to 10.11? i think), everything got sluggish. then beachballs. then nothing

the drive was failing. and writing over the OS brought out the issue. anyway, i got a new ssd, and went back to work (crucial replaced it, it was pretty new..!).

 

[LarryJoe33]

I figured this may be the case...thanks so much for your quick response...the HDD is running pretty fast, but of course it is stripped of most of my files as I have not put all my stuff back on it hahaha...I may check out some new SSD drives...any recommendations or any I should stay away from? I see some Samsungs that are in a decent price range...

It's probably not a bad idea to flash the firmware of your drive, but I doubt that's the problem. TIP, since you are not using the SSD at the moment, much easier to flash the firmware using a windows machine., no boot ISO CD necessary, just use the Crucial Software.

As for drives, I like my MX300, but I kind of stumbled on it when buying memory and didn't do much homework. It I would do it again, I would go with the Samsung EVO series because everyone here jumps up and down about it. Good luck!

 

[chrfr]

Hey y'all, long time lurker, first time poster...I've never had any issue with my Mid 2010 MacBook Pro until now...last year, I upgraded the RAM to 8GB, and installed a 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD drive...the computer has been working amazingly until I upgraded to High Sierra from Sierra...One morning the computer was so slow that I restarted it, and got the folder with the question mark logo...I've already lined the hard drive with electrical tape on the frame of the aluminum body (this was an issue with this model laptop)

Even with taping the drive cable, the cable can still fail, and that's the sort of symptom you'd see from a failing cable. You should check to see if your SSD's firmware is current. There have been a number of updates.

 

[ZapNZs]

You can use a SMART program to pull stats on the drive. Detailed metrics can be useful in determining whether the drive is most likely failing (ex: certain read/write errors), the cable is most likely failing (transfer/interface errors), or this is something else. The program I use is DriveDX, and while it is a paid program there is a trial. I like on Macs how it can now immediately determine if the firmware is up to date and update the firmware for some third party SSDs.

 

[simonsi]

Sounds like the drive cable to me...

 

[Rook83]

i had a similar thing, some years back, with the crucial ssd i installed in my macbook pro. when i upgraded (to 10.11? i think), everything got sluggish. then beachballs. then nothing

the drive was failing. and writing over the OS brought out the issue. anyway, i got a new ssd, and went back to work (crucial replaced it, it was pretty new..!).

Hmm...maybe I'll send a query to crucial...couldn't hurt...thanks!
[doublepost=1508217893][/doublepost]

It's probably not a bad idea to flash the firmware of your drive, but I doubt that's the problem. TIP, since you are not using the SSD at the moment, much easier to flash the firmware using a windows machine., no boot ISO CD necessary, just use the Crucial Software.

As for drives, I like my MX300, but I kind of stumbled on it when buying memory and didn't do much homework. It I would do it again, I would go with the Samsung EVO series because everyone here jumps up and down about it. Good luck!

Awesome, I saw a few of the Samsungs that weren't too pricey...thanks for all the help man!
[doublepost=1508217944][/doublepost]

Even with taping the drive cable, the cable can still fail, and that's the sort of symptom you'd see from a failing cable. You should check to see if your SSD's firmware is current. There have been a number of updates.

I will give that a shot...maybe I'll replace the cable also...thanks!
[doublepost=1508217986][/doublepost]

You can use a SMART program to pull stats on the drive. Detailed metrics can be useful in determining whether the drive is most likely failing (ex: certain read/write errors), the cable is most likely failing (transfer/interface errors), or this is something else. The program I use is DriveDX, and while it is a paid program there is a trial. I like on Macs how it can now immediately determine if the firmware is up to date and update the firmware for some third party SSDs.

Thanks for the tip...I'll have to download DriveDX...
[doublepost=1508218016][/doublepost]

Sounds like the drive cable to me...

I will replace it and see if that helps...thanks!

 

[fisherking]

when my macbook pro started to have these problems, i took it to the genius bar, and they determined that it was the drive failing. since i'd installed it myself, i went to crucial, who eventually replaced it (there's more to the story, but that's the gist of it)...

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
Maybe you just have a bad copy of the SSD.

What is your situation now?
You have the original HDD back inside, right?

I always suggest that BEFORE installing an SSD into a Macbook, that one should first "prep and test" it OUTSIDE by using either an external enclosure, dock, or USB3/SATA "dongle/adapter".

This can save A LOT of frustration if things don't go as planned.

Here's what I'd recommend:
1. Create a bootable USB flashdrive installer (of High Sierra). You need the installer (of course), a USB flashdrive 16gb or larger, and ONE of the following (free) apps:
a. Boot Buddy
b. DiskMaker X
c. Install Disk Creator

2. Either a USB3 2.5" enclosure, a USB3/SATA "adapter/dongle", or a USB3/SATA docking station.

Then...
Power the MacBook down
Put the SSD into the dock/adapter/enclosure and connect it to the MacBook
Put the bootable USB installer into the other USB port
Power up, hold down the option key immediately until the startup manager appears
Select the USB flashdrive and hit return
When you get to the install screen, I recommend that you go to disk utility first and erase the SSD. Re-initialize it to HFS+ with journaling enabled
NOW... close DU, go to the installer
When the appropriate screen comes up, "point it" at the SSD and let the installer do its thing.

Does this produce a bootable install for you?
If so, you have to decide whether you with to migrate your apps accounts and data from the internal HDD to the SSD, or.... "start from scratch" (this is your choice, can't make the decision for you)
When done, reboot the SSD, TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND, make sure that things are as you wish them to be, then...

NOW it's time to power down and swap out the SSD for the HDD.
Then, try to reboot with the SSD inside...

 

[LarryJoe33]

I would take a different approach, but no one approach is wrong:

Put the USB drive in an enclosure and plug it in
Erase and format the drive (HFS or APFS) using DU
(I believe you said you were running High Sierra on the internal HDD)
Download Carbon Copy Cloner 5 and Clone the HDD to the SDD
Reboot with Option Key Down and boot to the SSD
Check it out, is it running ok? (it will be slow given the USB).
If it's OK, open the case and swap them

PS - others have noted a bad cable, but I would think the HDD would be having problems if this were the case, same cable.

 

[Rook83]

OP:
Maybe you just have a bad copy of the SSD.

What is your situation now?
You have the original HDD back inside, right?

I always suggest that BEFORE installing an SSD into a Macbook, that one should first "prep and test" it OUTSIDE by using either an external enclosure, dock, or USB3/SATA "dongle/adapter".

This can save A LOT of frustration if things don't go as planned.

Here's what I'd recommend:
1. Create a bootable USB flashdrive installer (of High Sierra). You need the installer (of course), a USB flashdrive 16gb or larger, and ONE of the following (free) apps:
a. Boot Buddy
b. DiskMaker X
c. Install Disk Creator

2. Either a USB3 2.5" enclosure, a USB3/SATA "adapter/dongle", or a USB3/SATA docking station.

Then...
Power the MacBook down
Put the SSD into the dock/adapter/enclosure and connect it to the MacBook
Put the bootable USB installer into the other USB port
Power up, hold down the option key immediately until the startup manager appears
Select the USB flashdrive and hit return
When you get to the install screen, I recommend that you go to disk utility first and erase the SSD. Re-initialize it to HFS+ with journaling enabled
NOW... close DU, go to the installer
When the appropriate screen comes up, "point it" at the SSD and let the installer do its thing.

Does this produce a bootable install for you?
If so, you have to decide whether you with to migrate your apps accounts and data from the internal HDD to the SSD, or.... "start from scratch" (this is your choice, can't make the decision for you)
When done, reboot the SSD, TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND, make sure that things are as you wish them to be, then...

NOW it's time to power down and swap out the SSD for the HDD.
Then, try to reboot with the SSD inside...

I would take a different approach, but no one approach is wrong:

Put the USB drive in an enclosure and plug it in
Erase and format the drive (HFS or APFS) using DU
(I believe you said you were running High Sierra on the internal HDD)
Download Carbon Copy Cloner 5 and Clone the HDD to the SDD
Reboot with Option Key Down and boot to the SSD
Check it out, is it running ok? (it will be slow given the USB).
If it's OK, open the case and swap them

PS - others have noted a bad cable, but I would think the HDD would be having problems if this were the case, same cable.

Great suggestions and write ups...I have followed both methods (this past weekend). Its the weirdest thing, I was able to get High Sierra to boot externally, however, after the first restart, it asked for a password (I've never put a password in)...then after the second boot, the main user account was missing and I had to log in as guest...then the third reboot got stuck on the apple logo...right now I have the original HDD running High Sierra...I'm thinking @LarryJoe33's suggestion of getting a new SSD might be the route I take...although the HDD isn't THAT slow, my wife's MacBook is so much faster and smoother haha!

 

[fisherking]

or, life can be much simpler. buy an SSD. replace your internal hard drive. there's no reason to pre-suppose there will be issues (and you still have your original drive if there are). personally, i'd rather be using my mac then jumping thru hoops to eventually use my mac.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"right now I have the original HDD running High Sierra..."

Do you have a way to connect the SSD externally?
If so, do this:

1. Download CarbonCopyCloner (it's FREE to download and use it for 30 days)
2. Attach the SSD to the Macbook, then use Disk Utility to erase it. WIPE IT OUT! Give it a new name that you can recognize.
3. Next, use CCC to clone the contents of the HDD to the SSD. Clone over the recovery partition, too.
4. Once the clone is done, POWER OFF -- ALL THE WAY OFF
5. Press the power on button and IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears
6. Select the SSD, and hit return
7. Do you get "a good boot"? Do you get to the finder?
8. If so, go to the Apple menu and choose "about this Mac" to see if you're really booted from the SSD. (It will look EXACTLY like the HDD).

Does this work?

 

[LarryJoe33]

OP wrote:
"right now I have the original HDD running High Sierra..."

Do you have a way to connect the SSD externally?
If so, do this:

1. Download CarbonCopyCloner (it's FREE to download and use it for 30 days)
2. Attach the SSD to the Macbook, then use Disk Utility to erase it. WIPE IT OUT! Give it a new name that you can recognize.
3. Next, use CCC to clone the contents of the HDD to the SSD. Clone over the recovery partition, too.
4. Once the clone is done, POWER OFF -- ALL THE WAY OFF
5. Press the power on button and IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears
6. Select the SSD, and hit return
7. Do you get "a good boot"? Do you get to the finder?
8. If so, go to the Apple menu and choose "about this Mac" to see if you're really booted from the SSD. (It will look EXACTLY like the HDD).

Does this work?

Ummm...isn't this what I said above Fish? You could have cut and pasted it!

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/crucial-ssd-with-high-sierra-not-working.2077907/#post-25235191

 

[Fishrrman]

Can you just re-initialize the SSD (nothing on it), then do a "repair disk" function in Disk Utility?
The idea is to determine that there's nothing wrong with the SSD drive itself.
Have you tried this?

Again, I suggest another try using the USB flash drive installer method.
Hmmm... wondering if the recent "security update" Apple put out is causing trouble here?

 

[Rook83]

or, life can be much simpler. buy an SSD. replace your internal hard drive. there's no reason to pre-suppose there will be issues (and you still have your original drive if there are). personally, i'd rather be using my mac then jumping thru hoops to eventually use my mac.

Life is plenty simple...I AM using my MacBook...just with an HDD...I like to problem solve and not just buy things...I don't think an SSD should fail after about a year, hence, I am trying to solve this issue...
[doublepost=1508299617][/doublepost]

Can you just re-initialize the SSD (nothing on it), then do a "repair disk" function in Disk Utility?
The idea is to determine that there's nothing wrong with the SSD drive itself.
Have you tried this?

Again, I suggest another try using the USB flash drive installer method.
Hmmm... wondering if the recent "security update" Apple put out is causing trouble here?

Not sure...I did the above-mentioned method, and the error message I get is that there is a corrupt version of macOS on there...I have run diskutil and erased it multiple times...still no solution...I still haven't done the firmware update, but I will try that as soon as I can...

 

[LarryJoe33]

Life is plenty simple...I AM using my MacBook...just with an HDD...I like to problem solve and not just buy things...I don't think an SSD should fail after about a year, hence, I am trying to solve this issue...
[doublepost=1508299617][/doublepost]

Not sure...I did the above-mentioned method, and the error message I get is that there is a corrupt version of macOS on there...I have run diskutil and erased it multiple times...still no solution...I still haven't done the firmware update, but I will try that as soon as I can...

Try and give Carbon Copy Cloner a shot per my instructions above. Nothing to lose, you can grab a SATA/USB cable on amazon for cheap. Try to get a powered one. I too like to troubleshoot. It becomes somewhat of a mission. Try the firmware too, but as I said, I doubt it’s the issues. Good luck.

 

[fisherking]

Life is plenty simple...I AM using my MacBook...just with an HDD...I like to problem solve and not just buy things...I don't think an SSD should fail after about a year, hence, I am trying to solve this issue...
[doublepost=1508299617][/doublepost]

Not sure...I did the above-mentioned method, and the error message I get is that there is a corrupt version of macOS on there...I have run diskutil and erased it multiple times...still no solution...I still haven't done the firmware update, but I will try that as soon as I can...

my crucial ssd failed late in the first year... this is why i was able to get them to replace it. these things happen. and all i'm saying is... instead of chasing the 'why', you could be working ON your mac... but whatever works for you. good luck, for real.

 

[Rook83]

Try and give Carbon Copy Cloner a shot per my instructions above. Nothing to lose, you can grab a SATA/USB cable on amazon for cheap. Try to get a powered one. I too like to troubleshoot. It becomes somewhat of a mission. Try the firmware too, but as I said, I doubt it’s the issues. Good luck.

Thanks man! Carbon Copy Cloner is amazing and I've used it plenty with this drive...I'll for sure try the firmware update and see it that gets things moving...thanks again for all your suggestions...
[doublepost=1508353067][/doublepost]

my crucial ssd failed late in the first year... this is why i was able to get them to replace it. these things happen. and all i'm saying is... instead of chasing the 'why', you could be working ON your mac... but whatever works for you. good luck, for real.

Thanks! Hopefully I can resolve this soon!

 

[Rook83]

UPDATE: Contacted Crucial and apparently I had this drive for 2 years and 7 months! Time flies I guess...anyways they replaced free of charge due to their three year warranty and they gave me the MX300 275GB...the gentleman said the MX300 is faster than the MX100...I don't know about these things so I'll take his word for it...but after doing Carbon Copy Cloner from the HDD, the SSD works! No issues whatsoever so far...and DriveDX shows everything is 100% and OK...reboots are back to 10 seconds or less and I've rebooted multiple times with no issues...just wanted to send a thanks to all of y'all for helping me out! I'm not very computer savvy and buying a new MBP right now would've been tough...really appreciate everyone jumping in to help folks in need, y'all are Allstars! @LarryJoe33 I still wish I could salvage the existing SSD, but Crucial wants it back haha! Take care!

You can use a SMART program to pull stats on the drive. Detailed metrics can be useful in determining whether the drive is most likely failing (ex: certain read/write errors), the cable is most likely failing (transfer/interface errors), or this is something else. The program I use is DriveDX, and while it is a paid program there is a trial. I like on Macs how it can now immediately determine if the firmware is up to date and update the firmware for some third party SSDs.

Excellent program! Thanks for the reco...the HDD and SSD both had a ton of errors! I'm gonna format the HDD and use it a time machine thing...

when my macbook pro started to have these problems, i took it to the genius bar, and they determined that it was the drive failing. since i'd installed it myself, i went to crucial, who eventually replaced it (there's more to the story, but that's the gist of it)...

Thanks for suggesting getting in touch with Crucial!

Can you just re-initialize the SSD (nothing on it), then do a "repair disk" function in Disk Utility?
The idea is to determine that there's nothing wrong with the SSD drive itself.
Have you tried this?

Again, I suggest another try using the USB flash drive installer method.
Hmmm... wondering if the recent "security update" Apple put out is causing trouble here?

The previous SSD wouldn't even initialize, and I ran the program that ZapNZs suggested and there were multiple errors even after I formatted multiple times...Thanks for the help!

Try and give Carbon Copy Cloner a shot per my instructions above. Nothing to lose, you can grab a SATA/USB cable on amazon for cheap. Try to get a powered one. I too like to troubleshoot. It becomes somewhat of a mission. Try the firmware too, but as I said, I doubt it’s the issues. Good luck.

Thanks LarryJoe33 for all of your suggestions...you've been a huge help!