Macbook Pro Mid 2012 wont start.

So, i got this Macbook Pro Mid 2012 13 inch Non retina model with 4 gigs of ram and an ivybridge i5. The machine has been working fine without any issues except a failing harddrive cable (which i fixed). After i fixed it, i left the MacBook in my closet for quite a long time, until i needed it. So one day i turn my mac on and it turns on, (no os is installed) so i boot into internet recovery, everything goes fine with the spinning globe icon, and charging light was amber. After sometime, the spinning globe went solid when the progress bar for the download reached 100%. After sometime the fan on the computer went off, but the screen was still on with the frozen globe. Then it shut off with the charger light going from amber to very dim, when i removed the charger and plugged it again, still the very dim green light. I have to wait for the battery to loose all its charge for it to start again. I have tried SMC and PRAM resets several time, but to no avail.

another day, i tried to install a fresh copy of ubuntu off a usb stick, everything seemed to go fine until the install finished and it restarted. The computer did not turn on, and the amber charging light went from amber to very dim green again, the computer did not turn on.

Posted on Sep 12, 2024 11:29 AM

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Posted on Sep 12, 2024 1:05 PM

Try the steps in the following Apple article to address the charging issue & odd behavior of the Magsafe LED. First thing I would do since you have already performed an SMC Reset would be to unplug the power adapter from the electrical outlet for a minute to reset the power adapter's internal circuitry.

If your MagSafe cable or power adapter isn't working - Apple Support


You may also want to see how the laptop works if you leave the battery disconnected. If it has been sitting for a while, then the battery may have been left completely drained for too long & caused permanent damage to the battery. I doubt this is causing the boot issue after OS installation, but it may have an effect with the Magsafe LED.


I would also boot from a Knoppix Linux USB stick and check the health of the internal drive. You can use GSmartControl utility found on the "Start" menu --> "System Tools --> GSmartControl". Post the complete health report for the internal drive (use View Output or Save Report option).


You may also want to remove the internal drive and connect it externally using a USB to SATA Adapter, drive dock, or enclosure to see if it works properly when booting the drive externally. If the drive works fine when booting it externally, then either the internal SATA Cable is bad or the drive is not compatible (if using a third party SSD).


FYI, to confirm an SMC Reset is performed correctly & the system recognizes the SMC Reset, I personally like to Option Boot the laptop & let it sit at the Option Boot/Apple boot picker menu. Perform the SMC Reset at this screen. If performed correctly & the laptop recognizes the commands, then the laptop should power off immediately. If it does not, then maybe one of the keys is bad.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 12, 2024 1:05 PM in response to YouraverageAppleuser

Try the steps in the following Apple article to address the charging issue & odd behavior of the Magsafe LED. First thing I would do since you have already performed an SMC Reset would be to unplug the power adapter from the electrical outlet for a minute to reset the power adapter's internal circuitry.

If your MagSafe cable or power adapter isn't working - Apple Support


You may also want to see how the laptop works if you leave the battery disconnected. If it has been sitting for a while, then the battery may have been left completely drained for too long & caused permanent damage to the battery. I doubt this is causing the boot issue after OS installation, but it may have an effect with the Magsafe LED.


I would also boot from a Knoppix Linux USB stick and check the health of the internal drive. You can use GSmartControl utility found on the "Start" menu --> "System Tools --> GSmartControl". Post the complete health report for the internal drive (use View Output or Save Report option).


You may also want to remove the internal drive and connect it externally using a USB to SATA Adapter, drive dock, or enclosure to see if it works properly when booting the drive externally. If the drive works fine when booting it externally, then either the internal SATA Cable is bad or the drive is not compatible (if using a third party SSD).


FYI, to confirm an SMC Reset is performed correctly & the system recognizes the SMC Reset, I personally like to Option Boot the laptop & let it sit at the Option Boot/Apple boot picker menu. Perform the SMC Reset at this screen. If performed correctly & the laptop recognizes the commands, then the laptop should power off immediately. If it does not, then maybe one of the keys is bad.

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Macbook Pro Mid 2012 wont start.

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