SSD upgrade problems when physically installed in Mid-2012 MBP

[brianbunge]

I pulled a 500GB SSD from an old 2008 Unibody MacBook running El Capitan so I could install it in a Mid-2012 MBP. I installed the SSD in an external enclosure and formatted it with Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then installed Mojave on the SSD. Once the installation was done I rebooted from the external SSD and restored my data from a Time Capsule backup. At this point everything is working fine and I can boot from the external disc without any issue. That is until I physically install the SSD into the internal drive bay. When I do this and turn ont he 2012 MBP I get the flashing question mark folder. I’ve reformatted the disk multiple times and I just cannot get it to work when installed in the MBP, but it will boot with the older HDD installed or with the SSD connected to USB.

I’ve tried running disk utility and it appears that the drive is not mounted but cannot figure out how to get it to mount other than by reformatting it as an external. If anyone has any ideas how to get this working I’d greatly appreciate it.

 

[CoastalOR]

What you describe is a classic symptom of a degraded internal SATA cable. It works at the slower HDD data rates, but does not at the faster SSD speeds. I recommend replacing the SATA cable.

 

[brianbunge]

What you describe is a classic symptom of a degraded internal SATA cable. It works at the slower HDD data rates, but does not at the faster SSD speeds. I recommend replacing the SATA cable.

Thank you for the quick reply. So replacing the SATA should do the trick? Should this cable work for me?

MMOBIEL Replacement HDD Hard Drive Ir Sensor Sleep Detector Cable with Hard Drive Bracket Compatible with MacBook Pro A1278 13” Mid 2012 Part Nr 821-2049-A

All-in-one kit: 100% New MMOBIEL Replacement HDD Hard Drive Ir Sensor Sleep Detector Cable incl. Bracket Connects Hard Drive to Logic Board for Macbook Pro Easy installation: Replace your faulty cracked HDD Cable Includes Breacket and Ir Sensor Sleep Detector + Pre Installed Adhesive Stickers Com...

www.amazon.com

 

[CoastalOR]

Thank you for the quick reply. So replacing the SATA should do the trick? Should this cable work for me?

MMOBIEL Replacement HDD Hard Drive Ir Sensor Sleep Detector Cable with Hard Drive Bracket Compatible with MacBook Pro A1278 13” Mid 2012 Part Nr 821-2049-A

All-in-one kit: 100% New MMOBIEL Replacement HDD Hard Drive Ir Sensor Sleep Detector Cable incl. Bracket Connects Hard Drive to Logic Board for Macbook Pro Easy installation: Replace your faulty cracked HDD Cable Includes Breacket and Ir Sensor Sleep Detector + Pre Installed Adhesive Stickers Com...

www.amazon.com

That should work if your mid 2012 MBP is a 13".

 

[brianbunge]

That should work if your mid 2012 MBP is a 13".

It is! I’ll order a pair of them today just so I have a spare.

 

[brianbunge]

That should work if your mid 2012 MBP is a 13".

I got the replacement SATA cable installed tonight and the MacBook Pro is working! Thank you so much for your help with this!

 

[gedtighe]

Possibly the same problem for me. I have installed a Crucial BX500 (480Gb) drive. I have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro running Mojave. I stripped loads of documents, all the pictures and any bulky items to an external drive, then did a full Time Machine back up. The install deemed fine. Did a safe restart and did a reinstall OS X... I of course got Mountain Lion (misread and thought I was going to get Mojave).... but it worked. I couldn't find a way to re upgrade to Mojave so I went for plan B and started again doing an install from the TM backup. Baring in mind it's the OS plus about 100Gb of apps and data. After 4 hours it was stuck on what appeared to by the boot up progress bar... the bar looked complete. Gave it a few more hours then tried it again from scratch... same thing 10 hours later. Is this another 'replace the SATA cable' scenario.... why would Mountain Lion work in that case? Any suggestions gratefully received.