saurabhj-one
Level 1 (4 points)
Windows Software

Q: Primary hard disk not detected 50% of the times on boot up

I have a Macbook Pro Mid 2012 model with the following changes:

  • 16 GB Ram upgrade
  • DVD drive replaced with bay and old (existing) 500 GB hard disk for storage
  • Main hard drive replaced with 250 GB SSD (Samsung EVO 850)
  • Windows 10 via Bootcamp
  • Mac OS X Yosemite
  • Refind installed on bootup

 

Recently, my existing SSD hard disk was giving me lots of issues - so I got a new one and SuperDuper'ed the existing one onto it. Formatted the Windows partition and re-installed Windows 10.

I have 50 Gigs on the Mac drive and 200 Gigs on Windows.

 

The issue that I am facing is that on every other bootup, the Mac does not detect the primary hard disk.

If I press OPTION and hold it, I can see only the 500 Gig data drive (which is not bootable).

 

I then need to restart and hold COMMAND+R (or D) to get into internet recovery mode, wait till the network selection appears.

 

Then when I reboot, I am presented with the original hard disk and multiple boot options (Mac / Windows) on Refind.

 

I don't think it is a refind issue as this occurs even with Refind uninstalled.

This also does not happen when I plug in my old (failing) SSD.

 

What could be going wrong on the new Hard drive and what can I do to trouble shoot the issue?

 

Thanks.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.2.x) , Macbook Pro Mid 2012

Posted on Aug 24, 2016 9:22 PM

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saurabhj-one

Q: Primary hard disk not detected 50% of the times on boot up

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Aug 25, 2016 5:59 AM in response to saurabhj-one
    Level 7 (23,663 points)
    Safari
    Aug 25, 2016 5:59 AM in response to saurabhj-one

    What are the contents of drives in the Main bay and Optibay?

  • by saurabhj-one,

    saurabhj-one saurabhj-one Aug 25, 2016 9:32 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Windows Software
    Aug 25, 2016 9:32 AM in response to Loner T

    Thanks LonerT for your reply.

     

    The Main bay contains 2 partitions - Mac OS X (Yosemite) and Windows 10

    This is bootable and also has reFind.

     

    The Optibay has 2 partitions which contains Data mostly (documents, music, etc).

    Both of these are Fat partitions and are non-bootable.

  • by Loner T,Helpful

    Loner T Loner T Aug 25, 2016 9:43 AM in response to saurabhj-one
    Level 7 (23,663 points)
    Safari
    Aug 25, 2016 9:43 AM in response to saurabhj-one

    Do you have the latest firmware for the 850 EVO? I use 850 Pro in my 2012 and do not have a secondary disk, and W10 works fine. Please also check System Report -> SATA and the rate/negotiated rate for the 850 EVO. In past I have seen issues with an 850EVO on Macs.

  • by saurabhj-one,

    saurabhj-one saurabhj-one Aug 25, 2016 9:49 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Windows Software
    Aug 25, 2016 9:49 AM in response to Loner T

    Thanks. I will check that out and report.

     

    An update is that since I reset my NVRAM earlier today, once I am inside the system (i.e. booted into Windows / Mac) and I reboot normally, I am able to boot up again properly (the drive shows up 100%)

     

    However, I work primarily on Windows and have had that crash on me 3 times today (BSoD).

    And after every crash, the disk disappears and I have to do the entire process with recovery mode.

     

    I also happened to bump into this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amg5w0rlwDo

    Which talks about the hard disk cable possibly going bad and an easy hack is to add some tape to it.

     

    I have done that and will look at the situation and report in a day if things are working as expected.