Issue installing Mac OS Catalina (Macbook Pro mid 2012 : NEW SSD)

Flecchi wrote:

Did you replace the SATA cable as well, when installing your SSD. This is advised on this model.

SATA replacement 13"MBP mid 2012

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

Puting the drive in an external enclosure and booting from there (external) bypasses the internal SATA as a test if in doubt.

No I didn't change it but I really have a doubt that it's a hardware problem because it worked with the current hardware for several months.

It is a known point of failure—

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.

it has always been the go to way to diagnose by putting it in an external enclosure bypassing the internal SATA cable. Nothing new here.

Has been recommended on your model to add one layer of padding for this exact reason.

Flecchi wrote:

Hello everyone, I'm going to take the liberty of summarizing the history of my problem.

I recently purchased a 13" pro macbook (mid 2012). In order to give it a second youth, I changed the hard disk by an SSD and I changed the two 4GB ram bars by two 8GB bars each.

The SSD hard drive is a Crucial BX500. The first installation of Mac Os catalina went well and I was able to enjoy my computer for 4-5 months without any worries.

A few days ago I had a "bug" that was, if my memory is good, related to xCode and Calendar (I have no idea what the link between the two is). The problem is that when rebooting, I came across a file with a question mark.

Not being used to making "Time Machine" backups but always backing up important data in cloud services, I decided to reinstall it as if it was a new computer.

The problems started... It is now impossible to install Mac Os Catalina on my SSD, even after deleting it in every possible way (Mac Os logged extended, APFS, ...).

Thinking that the SSD was defective, I have invoked the warranty in order to get a new one but the problem persists.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjKrPq0nK4OwioY1y3FN65iMSyB84w?e=dDUptv (The link expires on Friday, November 6, 2020).

In this link you will find the upload of photos showing the results of the "First AID" or "S.O.S." button function on the hard drives, screenshots that show the installation steps of Mac OS Catalina.

There will also be the cameras taken in order to display the logs: one where you can see the error logs or at the end, we can see that it talks about a "disk26s1 could not be put in APFS format..." and the other video where you can see all the logs.

Unfortunately, I had to film because I didn't know how to save the file on the usb key :(

Please, I really need help for this issue :(.

I don't have any backup and it doesn't matter because I agree to start from a new installation.

Best regards.

Did you replace the SATA cable as well, when installing your SSD. This is advised on this model.

SATA replacement 13"MBP mid 2012

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

Puting the drive in an external enclosure and booting from there (external) bypasses the internal SATA as a test if in doubt.

Consider the possibility the Crucial SSD simply isn't compatible with Catalina and / or APFS.

APFS is Apple's proprietary file system for which they provide almost no documentation. Besides, Apple doesn't consider that particular hardware modification "approved". For one reason, firmware updates are often incorporated in macOS upgrades that tend to break aftermarket SSDs, even if they worked in the past. Apple doesn't design or evaluate those firmware updates on anything other than equipment they build.

Faulty RAM is a possibility but if that were the case I doubt the Mac would boot and continue to run long enough to get to where you are.

If you want to be sure the SSD will work buy one from OWC / MacSales, and return the Crucial SSD for a refund.

To reiterate, it's just a thought for you to consider as you see fit.

Flecchi wrote:

First of all, a big thank you to all for your help.

I received the new SATA cable and once it was replaced, the computer rebooted again!

Many thanks again for your help and your time :)

Have a good evening and take care of yourself.

Good computing Flecchi !

Try switching the RAM back to the original.