MacBook pro 9,2 (mid-2012) SSD upgrade issues

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook pro 9,2 (mid-2012) SSD upgrade issues

I have a Macbook Pro 9,2. I've upgraded the RAM to 16GB without issues. I am trying to install a 1TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD but it will not recognize its existence. My goal was just a clean install of Mac OS as I need it for a separate work computer.

The internal SATA connection works because the old HDD boots up (Catalina) without issues other than slowness. I've re-tested this.

When I initially installed the drive I was unable to format using the MBP 9,2. Disk utility would not work (it does now from inside a running OS on an external SSD). So, I formatted the Samsung SSD drive using my MBP 14,1. It is in mac extended journaled, not in apfs. I re-installed the drive. I tried installing MacOS using a working bootable drive. My MBP 9,2 does not recognize the drive to install to (but recognizes the external SSD and all partitions).

I have bootable drives for Mountain Lion, Mavericks, El Cap, and Catalina currently available.

I have tried the carbon copy cloner to clone a running Mavericks system and when I install the SSD and power up, I get the flashing file with the question mark indicating it can't see/boot the HD. I have clean installed Catalina onto the Samsung drive using my MBP 14,1 and a SATA connection and it boots fine externally on the 14,1, but won't when I internally install on the 9,2. (I have not tried connecting to the 9,2 externally because I don't have a SATA to USB 2.0 connector).

Finally, I can alt-boot on the MBP 9,2 using an OS I have installed on a partition of an actual external SSD. The computer is "functional" this way.

So:

1) The SATA in the MBP 9,2 works and the computer is functional otherwise.

2) The MBP 9,2 will boot an external SSD.

3) The MBP 9,2 will boot an internal HD.

4) I have not touched the firmware but the computer was routinely updated until about 2-3 years ago.

I'm sure it's something simple. What am I missing? I haven't touched anything in Terminal that wasn't involved in creating the bootable drives or deleting disks/partitions. YouTube made this look so easy...

Posted on Dec 11, 2020 9:50 PM

Reply

Answer 1

jdown1 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2020 8:50 AM in response to jdown1

Update:

When I start the computer in Recovery mode, it recognizes the drive, tells me it's a Samsung 860 EVO SSD with 1TB capacity. I just wanted to see if it could detect it in recovery mode. But it won't format it. I can't perform first aid at all. I get the following message when I erase:

"Wiping Volume data to prevent future accidental probing failed."

I get the exact same message when I attempt the same inside Terminal.

If I exit terminal and Disk Utility and try to reinstall Lion (which was the original OS that recovery tries to install), then it does not recognize that an HD is present, which I assume means that it isn't formatted or it can't fully see it. Now, mind you, the drive was formatted via my other computer already, so I'm assuming it must be a compatibility issue.

I've heard that although MBP 9,2 (A1278) is SATA III compatible on the board, it ships with a SATA II cable? I get variable reports on whether this is the case with my model or just with older models (for sure in the 2011 models).

Given the higher speed of the Samsung 860 EVO, I've heard that HD cable replacement to something SATA III may be needed? Again, I don't know that my native cable *isn't* SATA III. Does anyone know anything about this or whether this will fix my problem?

Reply

Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

78,290 points

Dec 12, 2020 9:58 AM in response to jdown1

Oops! Missed some items in your second:

I've heard that although MBP 9,2 (A1278) is SATA III compatible on the board, it ships with a SATA II cable? I get variable reports on whether this is the case with my model or just with older models (for sure in the 2011 models).

Not quite true. The logic board drive bus is SATA III 6GB/sec, as is the cable. It was the entry-level factory hard drives that were a slow SATA II 3GB/sec That was a big cause for "slow" that, in addition, hobbled 21.5-inch iMacs made from Mid 2011 (first year of the 6GB/sec LB drive bus) through the end of 2019. System Information in Mojave and earlier will show you the speeds:

When new, my 9,2 looked the same as this, from our 2011 iMac:

My 9,2 after the SSD install:

"Link speed" covers the bus and cable; "Negotiated speed" is controlled by the installed drive.

So the SSD needs to be SATA 6GB/sec; the cable works with either.

Given the higher speed of the Samsung 860 EVO, I've heard that HD cable replacement to something SATA III may be needed? Again, I don't know that my native cable *isn't* SATA III. Does anyone know anything about this or whether this will fix my problem?

Cable replacement in this model is not about speed but proactivity. A fresh cable avoids shorting and other drive issues when the thin insulation wears off the old cable. This is like some car engines: best practice is to replace the old water pump at the same time you change the timing belt, so the new, stronger belt does not "finish off" the old bearings in the pump.

Reply

Answer 3

jdown1 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 13, 2020 11:52 AM in response to Allan Jones

Now you're speaking my language. Very practical regarding the cable. I'm trying to shop for a decent one that will arrive in a timely manner (Hello Amazon) and not run me $45 (ahem/cough ifixit). I assume I can get a decent one for less than $20?

Regarding updating. The old spinning HD is very slow. I updated it through Catalina (took 3 days), but did not try to clone that as I am concerned about whether it would make it (I don't see why not, but I've mistrusted spinning HDs ever since solid state got up to affordable capacity). This was before I updated the RAM though, so maybe that would speed things up.

I installed a clean version of Mavericks onto an external SSD partition using the MBP 9,2, then used my MBP 14,1 to clone to the new drive. This did not work. However, I think Mavericks was installed using JHFS+ format, not APFS. I thought maybe APFS had booting issues like when updating older macs. Also, doesn't it keep the formatting from older versions and hold JHPS+ when updating little by little to Catalina?

What is is about High Sierra that makes you think it might boot this? Firmware update that would allow booting an internal SSD when it is booting an external without issues?

Reply

Answer 4

Allan Jones

Level 9

78,290 points

Dec 12, 2020 9:25 AM in response to jdown1

I successfully SSDed my 9,2 over three years ago

What OS was the computer running when you started this? Best results are from, before doing anything else, upgrading the computer's OS to at least 10.13 High Sierra for APFS, the proper choice for SSD boot volumes. I think this:

It is in mac extended journaled, not in apfs.

may be the issue with working externally but not booting.

Mine was already at 10.13 when I started so I attached the SSD to an external enclosure that came with it and formatted it APFS using Disk Utility. Only then did I use CCC to clone the original HDD (still in the computer) to the SSD in the external enclosure.

Then I used System Preferences > Startup Disk to see if the SSD (still external) showed as a bootable volume. Then I removed the old HDD from the computer and installed the SSD in its place. Booted first try.

Best practice on this model is to change the hard drive CABLE when ever you replace the HDD in this model. The cables are fragile, and wear from vibration after 3-6 years of normal use and transport. US$15—cheap and easy to do...

...HOWEVER, these:

1) The SATA in the MBP 9,2 works and the computer is functional otherwise.

2) The MBP 9,2 will boot an external SSD.

3) The MBP 9,2 will boot an internal HD.

all suggest your cable is working OK.

The other thing I will throw in for your consideration is the brand of SSD. Once Samsung was the gold standard in SSDs. Today that rep is somewhat tarnished. I do not know if it was going from the 850 to the 860 or was something else, but we now see more issues with that brand. Most old-timers around here recommend either Crucial or Other World Computing (OWC) SSDs for Macs.

Do the APFS thing first, however.

Reply

Answer 5

HWTech

Level 9

69,338 points

Dec 13, 2020 6:14 PM in response to jdown1

OWC sells the hard drive SATA Cable:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/8211480/

The only reliable way to clone a macOS boot drive is by using a third party app such as Carbon Copy Cloner. macOS up to Mojave can use HFS+ for the boot drive. Catalina requires an APFS formatted drive.

Reply

MacBook pro 9,2 (mid-2012) SSD upgrade issues

Similar questions