skrib14
Level 1 (4 points)
Notebooks

Q: Macbook Pro logic board failure? Possibly?

Hi there, I will give you a breakdown of my symptoms on my Mid 2012 Macbook pro 2.5 GHz A1278

 

1) Computer gradually started to freeze for ~5minutes with the beachball spinning, then let me work for a few minutes, then freeze again

2) Computer would boot up really really slow off of any hard drive

3) Suddenly one day the computer would not see my internal hard drive but could see it via the USB port (I replaced the flex cable so I am pretty sure thats not the problem)

4) I ran a hardware test on it using the service you get by holding down "d" on startup (the extended version) and everything came back okay

5) I bought a new hard drive so I know that is not the issue

 

Can anyone provide any insight? Thank you everyone for your time

 

-Kieran

Posted on Aug 29, 2016 8:22 AM

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skrib14

Q: Macbook Pro logic board failure? Possibly?

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  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 29, 2016 8:27 AM in response to skrib14
    Level 9 (52,318 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 29, 2016 8:27 AM in response to skrib14

    You currently have a MBP with a new internal SATA cable and a new HDD and still are experiencing slow performance.

     

    Reset the SMC and the NVRAM:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

     

    Then try a safe boot:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

     

    Any change?

     

    Ciao.

  • by skrib14,

    skrib14 skrib14 Aug 29, 2016 8:27 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 29, 2016 8:27 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    I appreciate your incredibly quick response, unfortunately it did not change anything, I should note that I have my hard drive hooked up via USB right now as this is the only way my computer will see a hard drive (I don't know if this changes anything). After doing what you just suggested, I did try and connect my hard drive internally and boot up however it still did not see anything.

     

    -Kieran

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 30, 2016 2:55 AM in response to skrib14
    Level 9 (52,318 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 30, 2016 2:55 AM in response to skrib14

    If the HDD functions externally and not when installed internally, that points to an internal connection problem.  My speculation is that the replacement SATA cable may be faulty.

     

    If you still have the old HDD, test to see if it will boot the MBP when connected via USB.  If that is the case, that will definitely confirm an internal connection problem.  Before replacing the internal SATA cable again, I would make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar and dee if they can pin point where the problem is.  The evaluation will be FREE.

     

    Ciao.

  • by skrib14,

    skrib14 skrib14 Aug 30, 2016 11:21 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 30, 2016 11:21 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Hi there! Thanks for your response, I should note that the issue is different than a normal SATA cable issue. I will outline the three cases/results:

     

    1) boot up with NO hard drives attached anywhere: the folder+question mark shows up (as expected)

    2) boot up off of a hard drive attached via USB: computer boots up but takes a very long time to boot up (~90 seconds)

    3) boot up off of the internal SATA cable: nothing happens, the computer just stays on a white screen until I force power down (I left it for 10 minutes and it still was on the white screen)

     

    Maybe this will help narrow it down further... Thanks for your time!

     

    -Kieran

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Aug 31, 2016 3:15 AM in response to skrib14
    Level 9 (52,318 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 31, 2016 3:15 AM in response to skrib14

    I am not surprised that it takes a longer time to boot from an external HDD, but that it will boot indicates that there is an internal problem.  May I repeat my prior suggestion of a Genius bar Appointment.  They may have the tools that will isolate where the problem is located.

     

    Ciao.