How do I tell if my hard drive is broken?

Just yesterday we ran into another MBP with another bad Foxconn cable. I know you're probably not interested in opening/closing/opening/closing... the unit, but there really does seem to be some type of QC issue with some of these. I'm not sure if the insulation is too thin, they're not getting insulated properly when made, or if the insulation is wearing off from vibration (I personally doubt that one). Look for little "arc" marks on the HD outside or anywhere the cable runs near metal. They'll look almost like little specs of dirt but it can be where the cable is actually shorting against case ground. The lines in those cables, which are actually not just wires but what EE's call "Transmission Lines" because they're operating at RF rates and frequencies are also susceptible to cracking/breaking with intermttent contact.

Good luck.

Would placing one of those yellow Kapton tape strips delay the cable degradation?

I would think Kapton tape would help if the problem is limited to the outsides of the cable. If the problem exists between wires inside the cable it obviously won't help. I have no idea is this problem is widespread, was limited to just one production run, but I have seen it a few times.

How widespread is this cable failure problem, is it limited to just certain Mac models and years, and what proof is there really about how serious it is? I know I'm a little late to the discussion, but lots, and I mean LOTS of people visit this site. Odds are some people will just have problems, period. What makes you guys so sure this problem is "common?" I'm not trying to be a smart a** or anything, but on a site with thousands of posts a day, you're going to run into problems.

You see a lot of mention on it on this and other sites. I'm not saying the problem is rampant, just that it appears to exist. The only people that would know for sure would be Apple or a third party repair facility that could be tracking such data.

I would steer clear of making cable fault references without any real proof. Get a real source for that observation like data from a repair facility or some type of eviidence from Apple.

ZV137 wrote:

I would steer clear of making cable fault references without any real proof. Get a real source for that observation like data from a repair facility or some type of eviidence from Apple.

Would the memory of having had to deal with countless threads that ended up in having to require a SATA cable replacement count? Cause there are quite a few of the senior members here that have lots to tell

No, it wouldn't count. There are millions of Apple computers in the world and you're likely referencing at best a few dozen, if even that. Even if you were referencing hundreds it wouldn't count because you have no numerical base to compare the failure rate. If you said you had a sample of 300 units and 157 of them developed SATA cable problems, then you'd have a statistical base to which we could compare something. Attempting to draw conclusions from a sample population which is effectively every Apple computer ever made doesn't prove much.

By the way, it isn't wrong to say a cable problem is a possibilty, it's wrong to imply, as some have, that it's an epidemic or a well know QA problem.

As for the "senior members" of this site, I'm afraid I doesn't mean a thing to me, nor should it.

Emerging trends are detected in most cases initially by observation, then statistically, not the other way around. People don't just go out and say "Let's take some statistics on some random component," they do it for a reason. Thus I wouldn't dismiss the cable problem possibitlity at all.

That's partially true. The "observation" in this case would likely be the need by consumers for more and more cables.

I'm not going to argue whether or not the SATA cable problem is real or not, but to read some of the posts on this site a few people see a few computers with SATA cable problems, and voila - it's an epidemic

By the way I'm actually not pointing fingers at anyone in this post...it's just something that seems to be "going around" this site right now, almost like gossip.

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. ZV137:

It's nice of you to bring statistics into arguments, but in some cases statistics aren't necessarily applicable. Some of the drives installed in Apple units require that the cable be replaced when the drive is changed. I'm thinking in particular of some of the 'Airs out there. The cable either has a limited life span or, because of the high probability (note that word - probability) of damaging the cable during a re-installation, an new cable is required.

After perusing some of the posts on this site, the fact is the "problem" is related to internal units on laptop computers. Laptop computers aren't intended to be opened and closed on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis as one used to be able to do with a server. The reality is the cables weren't necessarily intended to be used over and over again. They have a limited lifespan, and it's quite possible some of the "hardware hackers" on this site are finding this out. It's also quite possible the limited lifespan isn't a problem, but may be normal.

i believe statistics are applicable in this case because they're talking about a specific model, the MacBook Pro, not every Apple laptop on the market.

Hello ZV137,

we have 187 13" MacBook Pros from 2012 and 2013. I can let you know that we have been charged for 10 broken SATA-cables. Cables replaced during warranty are not counted. - I hope this helps.

During the past nine months I think I've changed my mind with regard to some of my previous comments. I must agree that SATA cables, especially on MacBook Pro's seem to be a problem.

I paid for the original cable change at Apple store when it failed 6 months out of 1 year warranty.

12 months later, it failed again, and Apple wants me to pay again, since their hardware warranty is only 3 months long.

This is on a 2011 MacBook Pro, yes they call it Pro. Now for the doubters out there, how's that for a believable sample:

http://www.macworld.com/article/2030013/advice-from-an-apple-tech-three-common-m ac-fixes.html

or this: 3 times of replacement of Hard drive Cable within 2 years (see a repair shop comment at the end)

If they were a car company there would be a federally mandated recall on these.

At the very least they should be replacing them for free.