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New SSD not mounting in Recovery Mode on 2012 MBP

I'm replacing the HD on a model 9,2 2012 MBP with an OWC 6G SSD. I ran a Time Machine backup on the original 500G HD and then swapped the drive. I cannot get the new SSD to appear in Recovery Mode to format it and install OS X. I have tried with the original drive attached in external enclosure, same with the Time Machine backup drive and I have tried with no external attached at all. (Following the drive upgrade instructions on the OWC website http://eshop.macsales.com/articles/how-to-transfer-your-data-from-your-old-drive -to-a-new-drive) I then removed the SSD from the MBP and attached it to my Mac Mini in an external enclosure. It mounted fine and I was able to format it. So, I ruled out a faulty SSD. Then I restarted the MBP with original HD installed and the SSD connected via external enclosure. Ran Disk Utility and formatted the SSD. Shut everything down again and put the SSD back into the MBP. Booted into Recovery Mode to install OS X and the drive will not appear.


Currently out of ideas. I've double checked all components and everything should be fully compatible.


Ideas??


-Scott

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012)

Posted on Feb 14, 2016 10:09 AM

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13 replies

Feb 14, 2016 10:29 AM in response to SymesS

Ok. So, if you boot off your old HDD from the enclosure and launch Disk Utility, do you see your SSD drive and any partition you may have created and formatted? Can you post a screenshot of Disk Utility after booting into your HDD?


When you formatted the SSD did you use Mac OS Extended - Journaled with the GUID Partition Table?

Open Terminal and do a diskutil list then post the results here.

Feb 14, 2016 10:55 AM in response to keg55

User uploaded file


Ok, booked form the original HD in external with SSD still in the MBP. Here is the Disk Utility image. Something is amiss because I renamed the SSD OWCSSD when I formatted it earlier and now it shows as disk1s1. Noticing the day/time are off in the iPhone photo as well but now appear correct on the MBP. Hmm...

Feb 14, 2016 11:32 AM in response to SymesS

Ok. Look at this image and the bottom right. Partition Map Scheme says Master Boot Record. It needs to be GUID.


So, stay on your HDD and select the SSD drive, not the partition (disk1s1) underneath. Next, click the Partitions tab. Select the Partition Layout dropdown and choose 1 partition and name it whatever you want. Then, click the Options button and select the GUID Partition Map radio button. Last, click Apply.


Your drive has always been there. It's just the partition map was formatted wrong which is why you couldn't see it from Internet Recovery. You need to have a GUID partition map for your partition so the Reinstall OS X option sees a GUID partition.

Feb 14, 2016 1:10 PM in response to keg55

With the SSD in the MBP and booting from the original HD in an external enclosure, Disk Utility hung when I was updating the SSD partition to GUID. Shut everything down, swapped the drive positions and then got the SSD correctly setup in the external. Shut everything down again, put the SSD back in the the MBP. Booted up with Internet Recovery and Disk Utility still does not see the drive.


Any further things I should be checking? Otherwise it's a tech call to OWC tomorrow and if all else fails, a Genius Bar appointment.

Feb 14, 2016 1:18 PM in response to SymesS

Hi SymesS:


Sounds like you may have a bad SATA cable. https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2012-Hard-Drive -Cable/IF163-041-1


Also see this video describing SATA cable problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amg5w0rlwDo


Another thing that makes the upgrade from HD to SSD is to clone your HD to SSD using either Carbon Copy Cloner https://bombich.com/ or Super Duper.

This will allow you to boot from the SSD externally for testing.


Kim

Feb 14, 2016 1:42 PM in response to SymesS

As long as the SSD is formatted as Mac OS Extended-Journaled with the Partition Map Scheme as GUID and if Disk Utility does not show your 240.06 GB OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSD Media at all in the left pane, then the only things I can think of is the SATA cable isn't plugged into the SSD all the way or the SATA cable itself is not compatible with the SSD or the OWC SSD is bad. The cable works fine with your HDD as you've already proven.


If you do see the drive (240.06 GB OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSD Media) but not the partition you created, then something else is wrong.

Feb 14, 2016 2:44 PM in response to keg55

I'd agree that the original HD worked better but it was having plenty of issues itself. Extremely slow performance and overheating. Both of those issues seem like they could be SATA cable issues based on some feedback online. Ran the Apple Hardware Diagnostics and everything checked out. SATA cable is fully inserted in the SSD and the SSD is fully compatible and functioning (tested with my Mac Mini). Replacing the SATA seems like the next logical choice.

New SSD not mounting in Recovery Mode on 2012 MBP

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