White screen on MacBook pro

alison171 wrote:

I have a MacBook Pro mid 2012 and it failed leaving a white screen. I had previously fitted an SSD which has worked perfectly for a few years. I contacted Apple support and opened internet disc utility. I tried to erase disc but it failed. Tried other options but support advised An SSD hardware issue.

I refitted the original HDD and it still gave white screen with flashing folder icon with question mark.

I then removed HDD and connected to Sata to USB cable and plugged into another apple laptop and did a disc erase. I then connected theHDD to the faulty laptop and started internet disc utility. I then reloaded OSX Catalina which went fine.

I refitted the HDD to the laptop and tried to restart but still got white screen.

Do I need to load any other software to enable start or could the problem be a faulty internal sata cable which has been widely reported.

Fo info I erased the SDD on my other laptop and used it as a backup unit and it worked perfectly so points to SDD being OK.

MacBook Pro 13″, 10.15

Replace the SATA cable—this is a known weak link in upgrading HD to SSD, easily damaged in replacing drives...easy enough to do and hardly will break the bank. 😉

SATA replacement 13"MBP mid 2012

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

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen (white, black, gray, or blue)

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210905

alison171 wrote:

. Why does SATA cable fail if it is never moved?

It is a known issue as you already stated in the OP...

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.

SSD= faster I/O speed= more heat in the trace compared to HDD

 Just one of many reasons Apple went to the PCI-e and soldered-in storage to eliminate this fault.

Addendum— If the HDD/SSD is removable 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.

mid 2012 13" MBP was one of the worst in this regard/cases—some go one step further an insulate see red tape applied to minimize abrasion:

Replace the SATA cable—this is a known weak link in upgrading HD to SSD..

easy enough to do and hardly will break the bank.

alison171 wrote:

I bought a replacement SATA cable and laptop is now working.

Thanks for help.

Good computing alison171 ! Thanks for your update, glad to hear this solved your problem.