Macbook Pro mid 2011 - question mark folder of death?!

[jdant1]

Hi, tried booting my macbook pro mid 2011 model this afternoon.. to my suprise I recieved the question mark folder indicating my OS cant be found. The hard disk was replaced last year with a sandisk SSD and the RAM was upgraded. I have tried trouble shooting to narrow things down. - I was able to boot OS X from an external hard drive, however I am unable to see my hard drive - when I removed my hard drive and plugged it into another macbook externally I could see all of the files

Would this suggest issues with the sata cable? or something worse such as the logic board? any inuput is greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[JTToft]

Would this suggest issues with the sata cable?

- I'm not going to say certainly. But it's overwhelmingly the most likely given what you describe.
Get a new one from iFixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro

(And a small note for reference: Your machine is either Early 2011 or Late 2011 as there is no Mid 2011. This is relevant when going to order the cable. )

 

[maflynn]

when I removed my hard drive and plugged it into another macbook externally I could see all of the files

If the drive is working in another computer then yeah, its probably not the drive but the SATA cable. At this point, it probably won't cost you much or hurt to replace the cable.

 

[jdant1]

- I'm not going to say certainly. But it's overwhelmingly the most likely given what you describe.
Get a new one from iFixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro

(And a small note for reference: Your machine is either Early 2011 or Late 2011 as there is no Mid 2011. This is relevant when going to order the cable. )

Cheers, oh I knew it was something like that.. I checked the serial, its a late 2011. The best situation would definitely be a failed sata cable. Otherwise guess ill just bite the bullet and buy a new computer. Thanks
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If the drive is working in another computer then yeah, its probably not the drive but the SATA cable. At this point, it probably won't cost you much or hurt to replace the cable.

Would this be suitable? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Appl...640390?hash=item210b211d86:g:F6cAAOSwv9hW2dSX\

Is the SATA cable a common issue with macbook pros around this age?

 

[JTToft]

Would this be suitable? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Appl...640390?hash=item210b211d86:g:F6cAAOSwv9hW2dSX\

Is the SATA cable a common issue with macbook pros around this age?

- Provided you have a 13", yes it would. But I would recommend against that specific one, for two reasons: (1) it doesn't come with the mounting bracket, which means you will have to carry over the bracket from your current cable to the new one - which is rather tricky to do, and (2) that seller lists that it's for Mid 2011, which again doesn't exist. Ebay sellers that provide inexact information is a warning sign to me.

Get it from iFixit with the bracket attached and save yourself a lot of trouble and risk:
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/Ma...y-2011-Late-2011-Hard-Drive-Cable/IF163-026-1

It's a common-ish issue not specific to your model. It's just a fragile component that can fail after some years.

EDIT: Just saw the with bracket options are sold out on iFixit. That's unfortunate.