ssd in macbook pro 2010

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ssd in macbook pro 2010

My old 2010 Macbook pro hit the dust and won't start up at all, despite SMC and PRAM resets. I guess the HDD has died - assumption there. I have installed an unformatted SSD, and am trying to boot-up from the original install CDs which I have, using option button and power. I can hear the CD drive whirring, but it stops. The monitor remains black throughout. I don't want to pay a repair centre and am ready to scrap what is still an excellent and beautifully assembled product. It could just be something simple I need to do, or indeed, maybe something is fried on the motherboard. Should I attempt to boot from an external formatted SDD? Even so, it should start from the inserted OS X system disk ? Perhaps something more fundamental is broken? Many thanks.

MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Feb 17, 2021 12:09 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

christalla288 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 18, 2021 2:58 PM in response to HWTech

Thanks. After a full charge and another SMC reset, somehow, the machine started to reboot from the OS X install disk from 2010, and the screen came on. Almost shocked! To cut a long story short I was able to format the new SSD, and with internet recovery, I was offered High Sierra, which installed successfully to the SSD. The old original 320 GB internal HDD is now an external drive. A very good outcome considering I thought it was going to be some serious logic board failure. Next I will go from 4GB to the max 8GB ram upgrade. A new lease of life for an A1286 2010 MacBook. Happy days! Thanks!

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

61,466 points

Feb 17, 2021 10:17 PM in response to christalla288

Try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R. It is best to connect the laptop directly to the router using an Ethernet cable for a faster more reliable connection and to avoid possible WiFi issues.

If you have access to another Mac that is compatible with macOS 10.11 or 10.13, then you can create a bootable macOS USB installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

Once you boot a macOS installer you will need to use Disk Utility to erase the new SSD as GUID partition and MacOS Extended (Journaled). If you boot the macOS 10.13 installer, then you need to click on "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility (Apple removed their article with these details):

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-wipe-a-mac

If you end up booting macOS 10.6 to 10.10, then use these instructions to properly erase the new SSD (aka partition & format):

https://www.owcdigital.com/assets/support/support-formatting-and-migration/Mac_Formatting_6-10.pdf

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Answer 3

Feb 18, 2021 1:33 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you for that. I tried booting-up into internet recovery mode as advised, but I have a black screen still. My googling leads me to think this might be a logic board failure, judging by a few articles. Not uncommon on these 2010 - 2012 MacBook Pros. Mine is an A1286. What I'd like to do, before scrapping it, is confirm it is the logic board (as it might still be something I can deal with - cost of fixing a logic board or replacing it with a new one is sadly not worth the expense, as good as this thing's constructions still is - real shame!). If you have any diagnostic tips on how I can confirm the issue, that would be great !

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Answer 4

HWTech

Level 9

61,466 points

Feb 18, 2021 8:15 AM in response to christalla288

If you have the 15" or 17" model you may have a GPU failure that was common with those models. You can try forcing the laptop to use the Intel GPU by using this article:

http://dosdude1.com/gpudisable/

FYI, a PRAM Reset will remove this custom setting.

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ssd in macbook pro 2010

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