Macbook Pro mid 2012 (no retina) slow

From the report:

Failing hard drive - This machine has a hard drive that appears to be failing.

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 500.11 GB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)

4 GB RAM - Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600

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

  Section: Remove a configuration profile from your Mac

      Profiles: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/configuration-profiles-standardize-settings-mh35561/mac

   Check for adware.

       Run the latest release of Malwarebytes for Mac to remove malware/adware, if installed on your Mac.

       For instructions: Install Malwarebytes for Mac v4      Uninstall Malwarebytes for Mac

       Click the “Scan Now” button. Once done, quit Malwarebytes for Mac.

       Restart the computer and relaunch Safari holding the shift key down.

       Scan for Malware again.

LucJean86 wrote:

I did follow your rec but no improvement...anything else to recommend?

It is a common scenario to upgrade from HD to SSD and the computer suffers.

The weak link is the SATA cable. A nominal expense to replace—

You can test this theory , by putting your SSD in an external enclosure and booting externally—this will bypass the internal SATA cable.

SATA replacement 13"MBP mid 2012

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/8211480/%20%2013%22%20MacBook%20Pro%20SATA

https://eshop.macsales.com/search/?q=OWCES2.5B USB 3 enclosure 


Internal SATA cables are actually not cables but flexible circuit boards, usually mylar, with printed circuit traces taking the place of wires. This type of cable can experience cracks in traces due to aging, heat, vibration, impact or abrasion. They can be damaged quite easily if the unit is mishandled during assembly or re-assembly.

In the case of an intermittent generic failure, the electrical continuity of a cracked trace on both sides of the crack is very often a function of the temperature of the unit at the point where the crack exists. As a unit heats up, it expands, and as it expands, the crack widens, eventually forcing a complete electrical separation to exist on both sides of the crack, hence a failure. As it cools down, electrical contact may once again be restored.

You need all three. Replacing the hard drive and the hard drive cable should be considered one upgrade in this model. You can't really test the cable so you replace it based on history and prudence. It's cheap, about US$15

I have upgraded my 2012 non-Retina MBP13 and it is still a very relevant computer today, Very fast and stable. Had I not done the upgrades, I would probably not be using it today.

What you add depends on what is "slow." If it is slow app launch and slow boot times, then adding RAM, although recommended for running Catalina, would not effect much change in the "user experience.". On the other hand, an SSD will produce very short boot and app launch times and you will be immediately aware that something amazing just happened.

Here are launch time data for the progression of upgrades to my MBP13:

Base system as shipped:

4GB RAM and slow factory SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.

First upgrade, RAM:

8GB RAM and slow factory SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.

Second upgrade, inexpensive solid-state drive

8GB RAM and fast SATA 6GBps SSD: Office and Photoshop Elements take under 4 seconds to be ready to use.

I used this kit:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/Y3SSD6E500/ (note that other capacities are available)

The "Kit" provides an inexpensive USB3 drive enclosure that I found indispensable in cloning the contents of the old hard drive to the new SSD.

I used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the HD to the SSD. I got the demo version for the conversion but liked the program so much I bought the full version. The demo version is good for 30 days.

1) replace he HDD with an SDD

2) replace the HDD cable

2) upgrade the RAM

That is an option as you stated.

IMHO, if budget permits, buy a new MacBook Pro 2019 or MacBook Air 2020.