can anyone help me please? my 2012 macbook air is giving three beeps when i try to switch it on, and a blank screen. i have a thunderbolt cable to join to a second 2012 macbook air. how can i boot up the faulty macbook air to retrieve files from it please? many thanks
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Three beeps indicates a memory issue, however, the memory is soldered to the Logic Board on a MBAir.
You can try putting the broken laptop into Target Disk Mode.
If this does not work, then you can see if OWC has an Envoy Pro Enclosure that is compatible with the SSD in a 2012 MBAir:
You may need to contact OWC sales support to see if they have a compatible enclosure since I don't currently see one for a 2012 MBAir listed. You can also search online to see if anyone is selling a used enclosure, but make sure it is compatible with your exact model laptop since Apple has changed the SSD connectors on their SSDs multiple times over the years. I'm not aware of any other adapters or enclosures, but maybe you can find something searching online. You can find out the exact model laptop you have by entering your serial number on this Apple web page:
https://checkcoverage.apple.com/
Another option if you cannot find a compatible enclosure is to purchase a used but working laptop for the same model year. However, this is risky since you have no idea if the used Mac is actually working or whether the used Mac contain a firmware password lock.
You can also try contacting a local Apple Authorized Service Provider or perhaps even an unauthorized local Mac repair shop in case they have access to a compatible model Mac or enclosure to assist you in recovering your files.
You may want to try contacting a professional data recovery service such as Drive Savers or Ontrack.
Make sure to always have frequent and regular backups. FYI, it is impossible to recover accidentally deleted data from an SSD after the Trash has been emptied plus an SSD can fail at any time without any warning signs even with a brand new SSD. Things get even worse with the USB-C model Macs since the SSDs are integrated into the Logic Board so if the Logic Board is not functional it is very difficult to impossible to recover any data from the SSD even using an expensive professional data recovery service.
Three beeps indicates a memory issue, however, the memory is soldered to the Logic Board on a MBAir.
You can try putting the broken laptop into Target Disk Mode.
If this does not work, then you can see if OWC has an Envoy Pro Enclosure that is compatible with the SSD in a 2012 MBAir:
You may need to contact OWC sales support to see if they have a compatible enclosure since I don't currently see one for a 2012 MBAir listed. You can also search online to see if anyone is selling a used enclosure, but make sure it is compatible with your exact model laptop since Apple has changed the SSD connectors on their SSDs multiple times over the years. I'm not aware of any other adapters or enclosures, but maybe you can find something searching online. You can find out the exact model laptop you have by entering your serial number on this Apple web page:
https://checkcoverage.apple.com/
Another option if you cannot find a compatible enclosure is to purchase a used but working laptop for the same model year. However, this is risky since you have no idea if the used Mac is actually working or whether the used Mac contain a firmware password lock.
You can also try contacting a local Apple Authorized Service Provider or perhaps even an unauthorized local Mac repair shop in case they have access to a compatible model Mac or enclosure to assist you in recovering your files.
You may want to try contacting a professional data recovery service such as Drive Savers or Ontrack.
Make sure to always have frequent and regular backups. FYI, it is impossible to recover accidentally deleted data from an SSD after the Trash has been emptied plus an SSD can fail at any time without any warning signs even with a brand new SSD. Things get even worse with the USB-C model Macs since the SSDs are integrated into the Logic Board so if the Logic Board is not functional it is very difficult to impossible to recover any data from the SSD even using an expensive professional data recovery service.
Are you trying to start them up connected? If so, decouple them and see if that's the cause of your startup issues.
Whatever you problem is, please supply full specs on both machines. Without the specs we'd just be swinging in the dark trying to help.
My 2012 MacBook Air is giving three beeps and blank screen when I turn it on
