Did NVMe SSD kill my non NVMe MacBook Air SATA slot?

[philotas]

I wanted tu upgrade the SSD of a 11" MacBook Air but I accidentally put NVMe M-Key into the adapter which goes into the proprietary internal SSD slot.

When I bootet from internet recovery the disk was neither shown in Disk Utilty nor in Terminal running `diskutil list`.
This was when I rechecked and realises I did install an NVMe drive instead of SATA one so I got an Crucial MX 500 which should work.

However this one is not recognised either.

Even worse: now the original Apple SSD is not recognised neither (but is working and can be accessed with a USB enclosure which I got for the original Apple SSD).

So it looks like by installing an NVMe I might have broken the internal SSD slot? ?

I tried a NVRAM reset but it did not help.

Any idea what else I could try?

 

[Audit13]

Was the battery disconnected when you were changing drives?

Have you examined the board for signs of damage?

Sounds strange but sniff the board for any odour from burned/shorted circuits, capacitors, and resistors.

 

[philotas]

> Was the battery disconnected when you were changing drives?

Good point: I tried several times and at least once I remember I forgot to disconnect the battery

I sniffed, but I don't smell anything nor do I see something deformed because of heat...

Thanks for you reply!

 

[Audit13]

It's possible that not disconnecting the battery may have damaged both drives (Apple and non-Apple) and not the logic board.

Are you able to test the Apple drive in another machine?

 

[philotas]

Are you able to test the Apple drive in another machine?

Yes, see my initial post:

Even worse: now the original Apple SSD is not recognised neither (but is working and can be accessed with a USB enclosure which I got for the original Apple SSD).

 

[Audit13]

Yes, see my initial post:

I suggested testing with another Mac just in case an Apple SSD behaves differently when installed internally versus externally.

Based on your testing, I am inclined to conclude that there is an issue with the logic board.

I assume the drive is not detected internally with and with the battery connected.

 

[philotas]

I suggested testing with another Mac just in case an Apple SSD behaves differently when installed internally versus externally.

I don't have another Mac where that Apple SSD would fit.

Based on your testing, I am inclined to conclude that there is an issue with the logic board.

Me too. some short circuit or maybe the connector pins got damaged.

I assume the drive is not detected internally with and with the battery connected.

Just tried that. Correct. same result with battery and power cord only.

 

[Audit13]

Only thing you can do is get an estimate from a local repair shop that does board-level repairs.

Luckily, I'm in Toronto and have used a local repair tech many times over the years who gives me free estimates.

Does it boot macOS from an external drive? All ports work? If yes, it may be worth getting the estimate.