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MBP HD Ribbon Cable damage SSD?

B

Bhang

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
72
1
Hello everyone,

I'm wanting to test the HD ribbon cable in my 13" 2010 MBP but I'm worried that it could actually damage the SSD I just purchased. The previous one was not that old and barely used yet it went bad after trying to install High Sierra onto it using this computer. How likely is it that it could damage the new one while trying to thoroughly test whether or not this really is the issue. I did install Sierra successfully on this new drive using the same MBP and I did not have any issues with it for the brief period I used it. It does, however, continually fail to load the Apple Diagnostics Test. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the ribbon cable and therefore wanted to do a more robust test.

Thanks
 
I wouldn't worry about it too much. I tend to find that file transfer over a 3rd party cable is fairly safe - just be careful using them to power your device!

Good luck (-:
 
iTarbuck said:
I wouldn't worry about it too much. I tend to find that file transfer over a 3rd party cable is fairly safe - just be careful using them to power your device!

Good luck (-:
Click to expand...
Its the original cable I'm referring to, not a replacement. I'm not 100% convinced its defective. There is a slight possibility that the SSD failed on its own BUT if a damaged ribbon cable can cause an SSD to fail I would rather not risk it.
 
Bhang said:
Its the original cable I'm referring to, not a replacement. I'm not 100% convinced its defective. There is a slight possibility that the SSD failed on its own BUT if a damaged ribbon cable can cause an SSD to fail I would rather not risk it.
Click to expand...

What type of SSD are we talking about?
 
Just get an external HDD enclosure they are a few bucks on amazon. If it works fine booting from the external then it’s your internal hdd cable that’s the issue.
 
I have never had a drive cable in a Win/Mac desktop or Win/Mac laptop damage an SSD unless the cable caused physical damage to the data or power connectors on the drive.
 
You have a new SSD?
You need to get it set up and running without using a possibly bad internal ribbon cable?

Then, do this:
Get one of these USB3/SATA adapter/dongles:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011M8YACM/ref=nosim/macintouchcom-20?&tag=macintouchcom-20

Connect it to a USB port (yes, I realize you have only USB2 on the 2010).
Then use Disk Utility to erase it (I suggest Mac OS extended with journaling enabled).
Then, install High Sierra (may get converted to APFS automatically).

Once the install is done, you can boot from it by:
- press power on button
- IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears
- select the external SSD with the pointer and hit return.

Does it boot up and run ok?
Then, it's time to open up the back and "do the drive swap".

I'd do a careful visual inspection of the ribbon cable -- use a magnifying glass.
If you see a portion where the insulation is worn, a piece of tape might keep it going for now (while you order a replacement).
If the tape works, that might be all you need to do.

One other thing:
Once the new SSD is installed inside, you have to go to the startup disk preference pane and "re-designate" it to be the new startup drive.
 
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Audit13 said:
I have never had a drive cable in a Win/Mac desktop or Win/Mac laptop damage an SSD unless the cable caused physical damage to the data or power connectors on the drive.
Click to expand...

Thanks Audit13.
That is exactly the answer I was waiting for!
 
UPDATE:
I have been using the 13" MBP on and off for about a week without any major problems. The battery is shot, so I had to order a new one, but I'm not convinced there's anything wrong with the ribbon connector. I'm only using Microsoft Word at the moment, but I do use it for several hours at a time and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

I recall some posters mentioning computer slow downs. I'm not experiencing anything noteworthy, but that may be because I'm not pushing my computer. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks for all the responses!
 
Audit13 said:
What minor problems have you had?
Click to expand...
The only real issue I have now is that I can not get it to boot the Apple Hardware Diagnostics tool. It fails every time, giving me an error code.
 
i have not tried running any benchmarks. Good Idea. i will give it a try.
I still have had zero issues with the new drive and new battery installed.
So far so good!
 
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