Q: Replaced HD with SDD, back to flashing question mark.

fordsflyow wrote:

 

Just used the internet recovery to access Disk Utility and I'm now back to the same as what first happened originally to make me think it was the HD went bad.  My new 250 GB SSD shows up as disk0 with 1.19 GB and cannot erase it or nothing, with the sub directory as Mac OS X Base System showing the same 1.19 GB.  All I can use the utility for is to verify the Mac OS X Base System and shows it as okay after the run.  Same chit, different day.

 

Any suggestions?

Mac OS X Base System is on the booted recovery partition. It is normal to be 'locked', you can't edit the volume that you are running from. There is no point verifying it - it is not your OS X boot disk, it is the recovery partition.

If you cannot see the SSD at all in recovery mode via Disk Utility's then I'm afraid your disk may be dead or failed. Post a photo of Disk Utility in Recovery mode if you want a second opinion of what you are seeing. You may need to create a partition for the installer if the old one is damaged.

Do you have a spare external disk? You can install OS X onto an external disk & try inspecting the internal drive. Internet recovery mode should allow you to install the OS that shipped with the Mac, you can upgrade that to the OS you need & then migrate from Time Machine.

OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support (cmd+option+R at startup with an internet connection available).

Also post with info of any other Mac you can use, it may be possible to use target disk mode to examine the failing Macbook Pro.

Do you need data from the Macbook Pro or is it already backed up?

Thanks for your help.  I have a TB passport for all my backups and is up to date.  I'm now using the book that was down and out this AM.  I got another one for my wife.  This problem is a tough one to track down.  Seeing as it is randomly reoccurring I re-ordered a Crucial SSD and will send back this SSD.  I also ordered an upgrade in vram and a new battery.

I have some Mac's around having been a customer for 20 years.  I also have a 05 Powerbook G4 17".

Same thing this AM.  Wouldn't wake from sleep.  Ran the hardware diagnostics.  One thing different this time around, before putting it to sleep last night I shut off wifi and it dropped my router.  Went to sysprefs and reset it before putting to sleep.  When trying to wake today my wifi didn't show up, had to type in name of router.  Very strange.  I'm back up and running on this MBP mid 2012 for now.  I'll keep this thread alive until I solve this.

I'm having a hard time following what is happening & what steps you are taking to troubleshoot.

If you have backups you can erase & reinstall OS X. If you have no current backups & need any data on this Mac I would back it up immediately - ask if you need help with that.

You can also try installing & booting from other disks as I mentioned earlier, it will rule out the internal disk. Safe mode is a way to rule out third party apps on your system, some system features won't work in Safe mode. Safe mode is helpful when you have a specific error to test, but I don't think you have one yet, the symptoms seem too random?

Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

I'm not clear on the status of the boot disk, is it correct that you fitted a new one & then these issues began? Replace the disk again if that is the case. You should also check the connections if you fitted it yourself (or ask the the person who fitted it to do that).

Strange issues can happen with failing hardware - Apple hardware test doesn't reliably catch every issue first time. You can run AHT in 'loop mode' (hit cmd+L to enable) in an attempt to see errors that appear as a Mac warms up (some issues are temperature related). Loop the extended & normal test modes to see if an error appears. I would do that from a cold start – let it reach room temperature before beginning, run the test for a few hours at least.

Sorry there is no clear answer, I don't know what to suggest beyond doing a lot more diagnostics. Testing methodically should help you eliminate issues & lead you towards an answer.

If testing seems like too much work, seek help at an Apple store. If you have Apple Care you may get free help otherwise the first genius bar appointment is free & you can discuss the possibility to pay for service/ repair etc.

 

... about installing a SSD.  Went fine.  ... all was going great for a day or two.  Problems started from waking after long sleep.

...

SSD does not appear.  Any ideas?

a long sleep on a MacBook writes a HUGE sleep file onto your SSD, prompting the inevitable question:

Using a third party SSD? are you using TRIM?

If not, you should be, and that is likely to be the source of your issues.

It all started when my original 500 GB HD went bad, or at least that's what I think went bad.  Replaced with a Crucial 250 GB SSD partitioned with GUID.  I have a 1 TB external HD I use for backups using Time Machine.  Used my bootable thumb drive with OS X 10.11.3 to clean install after new SSD.  Worked flawlessly and much faster than the old HD for about a week.  Went to shut off wi-fi at roll down menu on my MBP prior to shutting down and it shaded out, and then my router did not show up as a network to access.  Restarted and the dreaded question mark showed up.  Chose the SSD as startup disk again and problem reoccurred only this time turned into circle with the slash.

Ran extended AHT diagnostics via internet recovery, showed no problems, restarted, and again back to flashing question mark.  Restarted Option>Power and SSD appeared above wireless roll down and after choosing it started up fine.  As long as I do not shut it down and restart or put to sleep for long periods everything works as expected.  If I do I have to go through the extended AHT again and restart 2x to get it to run, when it does not problems appear.

No I did not format with TRIM.  What is TRIM the acronym for and why should I use this for a 3rd party SSD?

I checked into the TRIM and enabled it.  We'll see how it flies.  I'll keep this thread updated.

That was it.  Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

Problem is not solved after all.  Worked great for a couple days, but now SOMETIMES when I let it sleep for extended time it wakes after a delay to the circle/slash.  SOMETIMES when I shut down then restart, flashing question mark.  For some unknown reason if I go through Apple diagnostics (startup holding the "D") and run the "extended" test it shows nothing wrong in results.  I restart holding command and my SSD shows up, then click it and it goes to my login and walla all seems well until the next sleep or restart, SOMETIMES.  Very odd.