Macbook Pro (Late 2011) 15" - Hard Drive Replacement Problem

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Macbook Pro (Late 2011) 15" - Hard Drive Replacement Problem

Hi there guys,

My standard 750GB Hitachi Hard Drive failed on me last week and after speaking to AppleCare who told me that my laptop was out of warranty, I decided to try and fix the problem myself as I have a few friends that have had the same issue in the past and have switched the hard drives themselves.

I bought a 1TB Western Digital WD10JPVX which comes with SATA-III, which I was led to believe my computer could handle after reading the numerous threads on here confirming so.

I've fitted the new hard drive and sure enough the SATA connector attached fine, now the problem arises when I turn on my computer. On startup (with the OS X install disc inside the drive), the normal boot up chime sounds along with the Apple logo on screen, however, nothing else happens.

I've tried the following:

1. Holding down the Option Key to go into Startup Manager - After selecting the OS disc (with no hard drive listed alongside) nothing happens.

2. Pressed the C button to boot from DVD - Again, no response.

3. Tried to boot without the disc - Folder logo with a question mark in the middle flashes on screen, which I would imagine means no hard drive installed.

If anyone else has had similar problems then I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

Matt Bayley

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011)

Posted on Nov 25, 2013 3:28 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

LowLuster

Level 6

12,105 points

Nov 25, 2013 4:51 PM in response to MetallicaHead

Could be your DVD drive isn't working correctly or the reinstall disc you are using is dirty or has scratches on it.

Also you need the original OS X reinstall disc that came with your Mac. A retail Snow Leopard disc won't work. It is not the right version. The original is grey the retail is white.

I suggest you buy an external DVD drive that connects to a USB port, Do Not buy the Apple External Superdrive it Won't work with your Mac, and try booting from that install disc with the external DVD drive.

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Answer 2

Nov 25, 2013 6:54 PM in response to LowLuster

I am using the Grey version and it's not scratched or dirty as i've never used it before. I managed to get the OS X Base System installed onto an external HDD to have a look at Disk Utility.

The list on the left has my new hard drive connected with a new partition that I made to restore from the Base System and the OS X Install Disc is recognised in the SuperDrive.

I've also read that my Macbook Pro didn't come with Grey discs so i've been trying to use the iMac ones in a lame attempt at getting it to work! Any ideas on how to get hold of the version of OS X I need would also be welcome.

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Answer 3

Nov 25, 2013 7:12 PM in response to MetallicaHead

I own both the early and late 2011 15" MacBook Pro.

BOTH these Macs can RUN 10.6.8. Neither can Boot from the "Full Retail" 10.6 DVD, because it contains at best 10.6.3

MacBook Pro

Date introduced

Original Mac OS X included
(see Tips 1 and 3)

Later Mac OS X included
(see Tip 1)

Mac OS X Build(s)
(see Tip 2)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)	Oct 2011	10.7.2	10.7.3	11C74, 11C2002, 11D2001
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011)	Oct 2011	10.7.2	10.7.3	11C74, 11C2002, 11D2001
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)	Feb 2011	10.6.6	10.6.7,10.7, 10.7.2	10J3210, 10J3331a, 10J4139, 11A511a, 11C74
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)	Feb 2011	10.6.6	10.6.7,10.7, 10.7.2	10J3210, 10J3331a, 10J4139, 11A511a, 11C74

The table show that your Mac shipped with 10.7.2 but i have affirmed (from other sources) that it is mainly a "speed bump" of the early 2011 version, and could run 10.6.7 if there were such an Installer DVD.

Release Discs for a different model Mac will NOT work, because they only have the Drivers for that model. So forgetabout your iMac discs.

I had to start with a "full retail" 10.6.3, Install on another appropriate Mac, update to 10.6.8, then clone to the MacBook Pro. Works fine, but what a torturous path.

Were you running 10.6.8 or 10.7 or other when it stopped working?

.

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Answer 4

Nov 25, 2013 7:48 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

It was on 10.7 on the old drive but obviously that's irrelevant as it's a new drive with nothing installed on it.

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Answer 5

Nov 25, 2013 8:06 PM in response to MetallicaHead

Yes, but if you had a Recovery_HD you could start, then 10.7 would be waiting online to re-download.

Do you have a Time Machine backup (of anything) 10.7.4 or later? It has a Recovery_HD you could use.

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Answer 6

Nov 25, 2013 8:23 PM in response to MetallicaHead

the Late 2011 MBP uses the Internet Recovery option, and didn't ship with pressed DVD's. You should be able to boot to the Internet Recovery which will then use your active internet connection to download the full installer and re-install the base OS from there. When I purchased my Late 2011 17" MBP, I immediately replaced teh stock HDD with a Seagate 750GB SSHD (hybrid drive), and I used the Internet Recovery to re-install Lion on my system.

I wouldn't waste your time with the recovery discs from some other system as htey are probably too old to work properly. Just get yourself a good internet connection and allow 2-3 hours for the download installation process...

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Answer 7

Nov 25, 2013 8:34 PM in response to GeekBoy.from.Illinois

I spoke to somebody from Apple earlier and they pointed me in that direction, now i'm waiting for the Installer to download.

Thanks guys!

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Answer 8

Nov 25, 2013 8:42 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

When you say the old drive failed, was it a total failure, or do you think the Recovery_HD might start up if you had it in a USB enclosure? That is all you would need to Network Install your old 10.7.

Just hold down Option, and if Recovery_HD is still alive, it will show as a potentially-Bootable Volume. If it boots, Network Install is an option.

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Answer 9

Nov 25, 2013 8:53 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Then there's this list of computer that CAN have a firmware update to get Built-in Internet Recovery. It looks like yours can already do Internet Recovery:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)

Mac mini (Mid 2010)

MacBook Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, Mid 2010)

iMac (21.5-inch and 27-inch, Mid 2010)

MacBook Air (11-inch and 13-inch, Late 2010)

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery

OS X: About OS X Recovery

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Answer 10

LowLuster

Level 6

12,105 points

Nov 26, 2013 2:45 AM in response to MetallicaHead

Sorry I mis read your topic title and the body of your post.

At startup hold down the Command + Option/Alt + r key until you see a globe on the screen. That will boot the system from the Apple servers from over the internet so it is best to have the system wired to your internet router, Ethernet cable from computer to router.

Once the Mac OS X Utilities loads use disk utility to partition the new drive as one partition, formatted "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a partition table of GUID, click the Options button for that, and name the partition Macintosh HD.

Once that is completed exit disk utility and you can then either restore from your time machine backup (Have that drive connected to the system before you start this process) or you can then select "Reinstall Mac OS X" to reinstall Lion OS X clean and fresh if you like. Lion 10.7.5 will be downloaded from the internet and when the download finish the system will restart and the actual install will begin. Once that is finished the system will reboot again to Lion OS X.

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