MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) VERY VERY VERY Slow

[jmkalfut]

Hi Folks,

First, let me start to say I am an IT Professional by trade and know a thing or two about fixing PC/Macs, but this one is stumping me. A friend has a 13-inch Mid 2010 MacBook Pro that started to run very very very slow. I figured it was just a bad mechanical drive and figured swapping it out with a new SSD would be the fix. Well, that didn't work and I couldn't even partition the new drive. I figured maybe I had a DOA drive, so I connected the new drive via a SATA to USB adapter to another Mac and a PC and it runs great. I researched the error I got during formating and it was recommended to replace the SATA flex cable. The part took about a week to arrive, so the battery fully died. I couldn't get the Mac wouldn't power up after replacing the SATA cable and I didn't get a charge light either. I figured OK, maybe I have a bad power cord, so I tried another and didn't work either. I can only get it to power up with a 85w charger, but it doesn't seem the battery is charing either. OK, so we have power but it's acting weird... and now I could format the drive. Thought that was it and I could call this one done. I thought the install was running very slow (maybe 15 minutes to preload all the setup files) but I still let the setup routine run over night. Woke up the next day and the setup was still running! I am running out of ideas what is going on with this MacBook Pro. Any ideas??

 

[r0k]

Hi Folks,

First, let me start to say I am an IT Professional by trade and know a thing or two about fixing PC/Macs, but this one is stumping me. A friend has a 13-inch Mid 2010 MacBook Pro that started to run very very very slow. I figured it was just a bad mechanical drive and figured swapping it out with a new SSD would be the fix. Well, that didn't work and I couldn't even partition the new drive. I figured maybe I had a DOA drive, so I connected the new drive via a SATA to USB adapter to another Mac and a PC and it runs great. I researched the error I got during formating and it was recommended to replace the SATA flex cable. The part took about a week to arrive, so the battery fully died. I couldn't get the Mac wouldn't power up after replacing the SATA cable and I didn't get a charge light either. I figured OK, maybe I have a bad power cord, so I tried another and didn't work either. I can only get it to power up with a 85w charger, but it doesn't seem the battery is charing either. OK, so we have power but it's acting weird... and now I could format the drive. Thought that was it and I could call this one done. I thought the install was running very slow (maybe 15 minutes to preload all the setup files) but I still let the setup routine run over night. Woke up the next day and the setup was still running! I am running out of ideas what is going on with this MacBook Pro. Any ideas??

Wow. I'm sorry to hear this. One thing I found in a situation like this was when I took a MB I was having trouble with to an Apple Genius Bar, they plugged it in and booted it over the network. It ran fine from their "Apple Store OS Image" and I was able to narrow down the problems I was having to either software on the HDD or the HDD itself. I returned the "Agility 3" SSD and never considered buying one of those again. These days when I'm considering an HDD replacement or moving to an SSD, I use an SATA to USB cable to connect the new target drive. I often boot from the thing for several days to prove I like the way it's working before I open the case to put it in.

Since you have having trouble both with internal HDD/SSD and USB HDD/SSD, I'm inclined to think you might be facing a system board issue. Is it possible to get a free half hour genius bar appointment in your area? It doesn't cost anything and it might provide an answer. Of course you'll need to put the original HDD back in as well as original RAM. Even if it's not booting, they are pretty quick about rudemintary diagnosis and they probably have the ability to boot from an OS image over the network and run system board diagnostics.

 

[jmkalfut]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear this. One thing I found in a situation like this was when I took a MB I was having trouble with to an Apple Genius Bar, they plugged it in and booted it over the network. It ran fine from their "Apple Store OS Image" and I was able to narrow down the problems I was having to either software on the HDD or the HDD itself. I returned the "Agility 3" SSD and never considered buying one of those again. These days when I'm considering an HDD replacement or moving to an SSD, I use an SATA to USB cable to connect the new target drive. I often boot from the thing for several days to prove I like the way it's working before I open the case to put it in.

Since you have having trouble both with internal HDD/SSD and USB HDD/SSD, I'm inclined to think you might be facing a system board issue. Is it possible to get a free half hour genius bar appointment in your area? It doesn't cost anything and it might provide an answer. Of course you'll need to put the original HDD back in as well as original RAM. Even if it's not booting, they are pretty quick about rudemintary diagnosis and they probably have the ability to boot from an OS image over the network and run system board diagnostics.

What's the easiest way to find out? Just make a call to my local Apple store? Can I run the diagnostics at home via a boot CD or something?

 

[r0k]

What's the easiest way to find out? Just make a call to my local Apple store? Can I run the diagnostics at home via a boot CD or something?

I suggested the Apple store because they can probably do it in a matter of a few minutes. I do a certain amount of IT myself and if somebody is better prepared than I am to do something, especially if they are willing to do it for free, I let them do it rather than try to keep all the latest tools lying around my home office.

If you want to do it yourself, a good place to start is here.

 

[Fishrrman]

What happens if you connect an external bootable drive to the MBPro, and try booting it that way?

 

[jmkalfut]

What happens if you connect an external bootable drive to the MBPro, and try booting it that way?

I have the OS X install on a pretty fast USB stick. The boot process takes about 15 minutes to start and then once inside it crawls. Happens even if the SSD is disconnected, so I don't think it is a drive issue. I've also validated this happens with each stick of RAM (removed one, tested.. then removed the other and tested).

 

[r0k]

I have the OS X install on a pretty fast USB stick. The boot process takes about 15 minutes to start and then once inside it crawls. Happens even if the SSD is disconnected, so I don't think it is a drive issue. I've also validated this happens with each stick of RAM (removed one, tested.. then removed the other and tested).

Ouch. Just ouch. Do you have any different RAM available? Perhaps both sticks are somehow messed up (though I admit I doubt it).

I googled for slow OSX boot times and found something I had forgotten to mention earlier: Reset PRAM.

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

After resetting NVRAM or PRAM, you may need to reconfigure your settings for speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, and time zone information. If issues persist, your Mac's logic board battery (not a portable Mac's rechargeable battery) may need to be replaced. The logic board battery helps retain NVRAM/PRAM settings when your computer is shut down. You can take your Mac to a Mac Genius or Apple Authorized Service Provider to replace the battery on the logic board.

 

[jmkalfut]

Ouch. Just ouch. Do you have any different RAM available? Perhaps both sticks are somehow messed up (though I admit I doubt it).

I googled for slow OSX boot times and found something I had forgotten to mention earlier: Reset PRAM.

I have not tried that for this machine yet. I've read that when the battery is bad, it causes the CPU to go way down in performance (sets a 50% cap or so). So, I've ordered a new battery and it should arrive tomorrow or Thursday. So I guess we'll see if that works. If not, I'll give the PRAM reset a shot. The machine does keep time during setup and stuff, so I don't think it's that... but I'll give it a shot.

Anyone know if this was part of the recall for logic boards? I know Apple replaced lots of them on other MBPs.