Resolved Prohibitory sign

[wes0707]

Dear forum members,

Since a few weeks my macbook pro mid 2012 (non-retina) shows the prohibitory sign after loging in after booting up. This does not happen every time, but it does regularly. After around 3 times booting up again it works fine without any problems.
The things that I've already done so far:
NVRAM/NPRAM reset
Install MacOS Catalina 10.15.3 again via disk utility
Put back Time machine backup from the period the problems were not present
First Aid via disk utility (no problems)
ETRE check does not show major issues

Can this be something hardware related, like SATA cable failure or do you think it is something else? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Additional information
Third party 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
250 GB samsung SSD EVO 860 (TRIM enabled)
2,5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5

Kind regards

 

[chscag]

Can this be something hardware related, like SATA cable failure or do you think it is something else? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Two things come to mind: The SSD is getting temperamental possibly failing soon and the SATA cable as you stated above. If you decide to change out the SSD, go with a good quality SSD and at the same time replace the SATA cable. The MBP mid 2012 non retina is a good machine.

 

[DeltaMac]

Double-check that your System Preferences/Startup Disk pane has your boot drive selected!
(You have to un-lock that Startup Disk pane to make that selection)
An NVRAM reset will, well, reset that boot disk selection.

If that problem continues, I agree about the SATA cable - but if you have had the SSD for a year or more, makes me wonder why all of a sudden the cable might fail. That leaves me more suspicious of a possibly-failing SSD.

Do you still have an optical drive, or do you have another drive in that slot now?

 

[3SQ Machine]

Does it also do this after updating?

Also, did you run disk utility FIRST from recovery mode (before doing the re-install)?

I've had this issue with a '19 iMac running Mojave. It seems to happen only after updating and a reboot or two usually eliminates it (until the next update). I recall somewhere along the line doing research that APFS can be a real PITA and sometimes it just gets things "wrong" on the drive, causing all sorts of mischief. The solution was supposedly a disk fix first from recovery mode and then a re install. I'm waiting until I'm annoyed enough to go through that hassle. Definitely do some more searches and find some others who had fixed it, like this (admittedly dated) thread.

 

[RogerWilco6502]

See if there is some known problem with the SSD and a firmware fix. I know my Crucial 512GB SSD that I now use in my MacBook had an issue where it would randomly disconnect and seem to be dead. IIRC there was a firmware fix for the issue.

You might see if something similar is happening with your Samsung SSD.

 

[mbosse]

Two things come to mind: The SSD is getting temperamental possibly failing soon and the SATA cable as you stated above. If you decide to change out the SSD, go with a good quality SSD and at the same time replace the SATA cable. The MBP mid 2012 non retina is a good machine.

The Samsung 860 Evo is a quality SSD.
[automerge]1583646416[/automerge]

Dear forum members,

Since a few weeks my macbook pro mid 2012 (non-retina) shows the prohibitory sign after loging in after booting up. This does not happen every time, but it does regularly. After around 3 times booting up again it works fine without any problems.
The things that I've already done so far:
NVRAM/NPRAM reset
Install MacOS Catalina 10.15.3 again via disk utility
Put back Time machine backup from the period the problems were not present
First Aid via disk utility (no problems)
ETRE check does not show major issues

Can this be something hardware related, like SATA cable failure or do you think it is something else? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Additional information
Third party 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
250 GB samsung SSD EVO 860 (TRIM enabled)
2,5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5

Kind regards

I think this points to a SATA cable failure. Did this behaviour happen directly after you upgraded to the SSD?

Could you install a SMART data reading tool, such as Drive DX (this has a free 15 day trial period) and check for the 'UDMA CRC error' parameter? Counts for this parameter means that data got corrupted between the drive and the motherboard, as it would be typical for a failed cable (for instance). The counts also will go up quickly.

Also, it might be useful for the ones who can dive deeper to post the ETRE check report here.

Best,
Magnus

 

[wes0707]

Two things come to mind: The SSD is getting temperamental possibly failing soon and the SATA cable as you stated above. If you decide to change out the SSD, go with a good quality SSD and at the same time replace the SATA cable. The MBP mid 2012 non retina is a good machine.

I consider the Samsung 860 EVO to be a good SSD. I might let someone replace the SATA cable.
[automerge]1583655508[/automerge]

Double-check that your System Preferences/Startup Disk pane has your boot drive selected!
(You have to un-lock that Startup Disk pane to make that selection)
An NVRAM reset will, well, reset that boot disk selection.

If that problem continues, I agree about the SATA cable - but if you have had the SSD for a year or more, makes me wonder why all of a sudden the cable might fail. That leaves me more suspicious of a possibly-failing SSD.

Do you still have an optical drive, or do you have another drive in that slot now?

Thank you for your suggestions. I selected the drive again. I still don't have another drive in the optical drive slot.
[automerge]1583655613[/automerge]

Does it also do this after updating?

Also, did you run disk utility FIRST from recovery mode (before doing the re-install)?

I've had this issue with a '19 iMac running Mojave. It seems to happen only after updating and a reboot or two usually eliminates it (until the next update). I recall somewhere along the line doing research that APFS can be a real PITA and sometimes it just gets things "wrong" on the drive, causing all sorts of mischief. The solution was supposedly a disk fix first from recovery mode and then a re install. I'm waiting until I'm annoyed enough to go through that hassle. Definitely do some more searches and find some others who had fixed it, like this (admittedly dated) thread.

No it does not after updating and I ran disk utility before the clean install. It said that everything was oke.

 

[wes0707]

See if there is some known problem with the SSD and a firmware fix. I know my Crucial 512GB SSD that I now use in my MacBook had an issue where it would randomly disconnect and seem to be dead. IIRC there was a firmware fix for the issue.

You might see if something similar is happening with your Samsung SSD.

The installed firmware version was RVT01B6Q. I am now trying to install version RVT04B6Q via a USB bootable drive. I'll let you know if it worked.
[automerge]1583658337[/automerge]

The Samsung 860 Evo is a quality SSD.
[automerge]1583646416[/automerge]

I think this points to a SATA cable failure. Did this behaviour happen directly after you upgraded to the SSD?

Could you install a SMART data reading tool, such as Drive DX (this has a free 15 day trial period) and check for the 'UDMA CRC error' parameter? Counts for this parameter means that data got corrupted between the drive and the motherboard, as it would be typical for a failed cable (for instance). The counts also will go up quickly.

Also, it might be useful for the ones who can dive deeper to post the ETRE check report here.

Best,
Magnus

Dear Magnus,

Thank you for your reply. I downloaded Drive DX and indeed it shows an error in UDMA count (see attached screenshots). Many thanks for your suggestion. I will call somebody who will fix the cable for me.

You can find the complete ETRE report below:

EtreCheck version: 5.5.1 (5096)

Report generated: 2020-03-08 08:59:41

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 2:41

Performance: Excellent

Sandbox: Enabled

Full drive access: Disabled


Problem: Other problem

Description:

Prohibitory


Major Issues: None

Minor Issues:
These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.


Configuration profiles present - This machine has configuration profiles. These are sometimes used by adware and malware.

High battery cycle count - Your battery may be losing capacity.

Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access.


Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro9,2
1 2,5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-3210M) CPU: 2-core
8 GB RAM - At maximum
BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600
BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600
Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 1599

Video Information:
Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1536 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800

Drives:
disk0 - Samsung SSD 860 EVO 250GB 250.06 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA
disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB
disk0s2 [APFS Container] 249.85 GB
disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 249.85 GB (Shared by 5 volumes)
disk1s1 - S*******************B (APFS) (Shared - 10.83 GB used)
disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared)
disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 524 MB used)
disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 4.30 GB used)
disk1s5 - S********************* Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 90.38 GB used)
disk2 - WD Elements 1078 1.00 TB
External USB 5 Gbit/s USB
disk2s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB
disk2s2 [Core Storage Container] 999.83 GB
disk3 - E*****m (Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted)) 999.46 GB (922.91 GB used)
disk2s3 - Boot OS X (Journaled HFS+) 134 MB

Mounted Volumes:
disk1s1 - S*******************B
249.85 GB (Shared - 10.83 GB used, 144.97 GB available, 143.66 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /
Encrypted
Read-only: Yes
disk1s3 - Recovery [Recovery]
249.85 GB (Shared - 524 MB used, 143.66 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /Volumes/Recovery
disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]
249.85 GB (Shared - 4.30 GB used, 143.66 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /private/var/vm
disk1s5 - S********************* Data [APFS Virtual drive]
249.85 GB (Shared - 90.38 GB used, 144.97 GB available, 143.66 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data
Encrypted
disk3 - E*****m
999.46 GB (922.91 GB used, 76.55 GB free)
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted)
Mount point: /Volumes/E*****m
Encrypted

Network:
Interface en0: Ethernet
Interface en4: iPhone
Interface fw0: FireWire
Interface en1: Wi-Fi
802.11 a/b/g/n
Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN
Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

System Software:
macOS Catalina 10.15.2 (19C57)
Time since boot: About 10 hours

Configuration Profiles:
This computer has configuration profiles installed.

Notifications:
Notifications not available without Full Drive Access.

Security:
Gatekeeper: Enabled

System Integrity Protection: Enabled


Antivirus software: Apple


System Launch Agents:
[Not Loaded] 17 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 170 Apple tasks

[Running] 124 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:
[Not Loaded] 35 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 180 Apple tasks

[Running] 120 Apple tasks

[Other] One Apple task


Launch Daemons:
[Loaded] com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple - installed 2019-09-19)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-03-06)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2019-11-11)

[Loaded] com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist (Skype Communications S.a.r.l - installed 2017-11-29)


User Login Items:
[Not Loaded] ShazamHelper (App Store - installed 2020-03-07)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/Shazam.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/ShazamHelper.app
[Not Loaded] StartUpHelper (Spotify - installed 2019-12-18)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/StartUpHelper.app
[Not Loaded] HelperApp (App Store - installed 2019-09-18)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/WeTransfer.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/HelperApp.app
[Not Loaded] WhatsApp Login Helper (App Store - installed 2020-03-07)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/WhatsApp.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WhatsApp Login Helper.app

User Internet Plug-ins:
User Internet Plug-ins need Full Drive Access

User Audio Plug-ins:
User Audio Plug-ins need Full Drive Access

User iTunes Plug-ins:
User iTunes Plug-ins need Full Drive Access

Safari Extensions:
AdBlock Engine (App Store - installed 2019-11-06)

AdBlock Icon (App Store - installed 2019-11-06)

LibraryAccessSafari (App Store - installed 2020-03-07)


Time Machine:
Time Machine information not available without Full Drive Access.
One local snapshot
Oldest local snapshot: 2020-03-07 22:37:04
Last local snapshot: 2020-03-07 22:37:04

Performance:
System Load: 3.03 (1 min ago) 2.86 (5 min ago) 2.64 (15 min ago)
Nominal I/O speed: 3.25 MB/s
File system: 37.34 seconds
Write speed: 492 MB/s
Read speed: 397 MB/s

CPU Usage Snapshot:
Type Overall

System: 9 %

User: 16 %

Idle: 74 %


Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:
Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

Other processes 77.16 % (?)

trustd 16.44 % (Apple)

EtreCheck 7.87 % (App Store)

CoreServicesUIAgent 0.96 % (Apple)

CalendarAgent 0.03 % (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:
Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)

EtreCheck 522 MB (App Store)

suggestd 90 MB (Apple)

accountsd 80 MB (Apple)

CalendarAgent 76 MB (Apple)

Spotlight 71 MB (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use:
Process Input / Output (Source - Location)

Other processes 889 KB / 162 KB (?)

CalendarAgent 130 KB / 37 KB (Apple)

SystemUIServer 0 B / 192 B (Apple)

mdworker_shared 0 B / 0 B (Apple)

spindump_agent 0 B / 0 B (Apple)


Virtual Memory Information:
Physical RAM: 8 GB


Free RAM: 1.73 GB

Used RAM: 3.68 GB

Cached files: 2.59 GB


Available RAM: 4.32 GB

Swap Used: 0 B


Software Installs (past 30 days):
Install Date Name (Version)

2020-03-06 Microsoft AutoUpdate

2020-03-06 MRTConfigData (1.56)

2020-03-06 XProtectPlistConfigData (2115)

2020-03-06 Microsoft Word

2020-03-06 Microsoft Outlook

2020-03-06 Microsoft PowerPoint

2020-03-06 Microsoft Excel

2020-03-07 EtreCheck (5.5.1)

2020-03-07 WhatsApp (0.4.930)

2020-03-07 Library Access (2020.3)

2020-03-07 Shazam (2.10.0)


Diagnostics Information (past 7-30 days):
Directory /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is not accessible.
Enable Full Drive Access to see more information.

End of report

 

[wes0707]

The Samsung 860 Evo is a quality SSD.
[automerge]1583646416[/automerge]

I think this points to a SATA cable failure. Did this behaviour happen directly after you upgraded to the SSD?

Could you install a SMART data reading tool, such as Drive DX (this has a free 15 day trial period) and check for the 'UDMA CRC error' parameter? Counts for this parameter means that data got corrupted between the drive and the motherboard, as it would be typical for a failed cable (for instance). The counts also will go up quickly.

Also, it might be useful for the ones who can dive deeper to post the ETRE check report here.

Best,
Magnus

Meanwhile a new SATA cable has been installed. So far so good... Fingers crossed it will keep working.
[automerge]1583675115[/automerge]

See if there is some known problem with the SSD and a firmware fix. I know my Crucial 512GB SSD that I now use in my MacBook had an issue where it would randomly disconnect and seem to be dead. IIRC there was a firmware fix for the issue.

You might see if something similar is happening with your Samsung SSD.

In the meantime a new SATA cable has been installed. It's quite a hassle to perform a firmware update for my SSD. Do you think it is worth to do it, although it is not causing any problems anymore?

 

[mbosse]

The installed firmware version was RVT01B6Q. I am now trying to install version RVT04B6Q via a USB bootable drive. I'll let you know if it worked.

I honestly would not update the firmware on my own Samsung 860 Evos (currently on firmware RVT02B6Q myself) to RVT04B6Q which is said to impair write speed. Leave it!

Best,
Magnus

 

[wes0707]

I honestly would not update the firmware on my own Samsung 860 Evos (currently on firmware RVT02B6Q myself) to RVT04B6Q which is said to impair write speed. Leave it!

Best,
Magnus

I just updated the firmware of my SSD (RVT04B6Q) before I read your message. I used this instruction video:

. Everything went okay. I hope it won't affect the writing speed too much. Until now, it definitely does not feel slower. I think it might even feel a little faster, but I'm not sure of that.
BTW; is it normal that the UDMA count still shows an error in driveDX, even after the SATA replacement?

Kind regards.

 

[killerovsky]

BTW; is it normal that the UDMA count still shows an error in driveDX, even after the SATA replacement?

Yes, because both drive firmware and DriveDx are not aware that cable was replaced, check DriveDx online knowledge base - link.

 

[wes0707]

Yes, because both drive firmware and DriveDx are not aware that cable was replaced, check DriveDx online knowledge base - link.

Thank you. So far, my problem seems to have been fixed. I've rebooted a dozen times in the meantime.