Is my Mac Irretrievably Dead? Time to Pull the plug?

[Sheryl]

2012 MacBook Pro

 

I already bought a new Mac for myself and was planning to give this old one to daughter of Cambodian worker. The keyboard needs repair (several keys don't work at al) and I was going to take it into Bkk to have that fixed

 

Then suddenly seems to have had hard drive failure.  Get only grey screen with a question mark.

 

Started it in recovery Mode but when tried to use Disk Utility, it does not sense the disk so can't do anything there.

 

Then tried the Reinstall OS option, I get connected to Apple OK but then run into same problem:  when I get to "select the disk where you want to install", no disk shows.

 

So I am thinking the hard drive is completely shot. if so, will would likely cost more than it is worth to fix (remembering that I also need to have the keyboard fixed)?

 

Is it time to just get rid of it? (And if so - anybody know of a place to donate old/broken laptops?)

[NCC1701A]

changing the hard drive on those old macs is really easy. 

 

open the bottom and remove the HD. plug in new one. don't forget to format the new disk before running backup restore. 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by NCC1701A

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

If you're coming to Bangkok, take your machine to Dr MacBook on soi 33 Suk. It's in the t-junction with soi 31, turn left and it's immediately on your left in the New Land condo, 3rd floor. I have had many Macs/iPhones fixed there and they are honest and skilled. Ask them to assess the cost of a fix, and they will tell you outright if it's worth it. Also, they have a few used machines in stock, including MacBooks. Might be a better deal. 

 

I've been going there for years and have been very pleased with the work and costs. I just got a new CPU in my 2012 iMac, in which they installed a real solid state drive about three years ago. Cost was 12k. Better than 40,000 baht for a new one. 

 

PS. They have a FB page with map reference and phone number, plus multiple positive reviews. It's Dutch/Thai shop.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Kaoboi Bebobp

[NCC1701A]

17 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Is it time to just get rid of it? (And if so - anybody know of a place to donate old/broken laptops?)

it is no where near end of life. i still use my old 2010 macbook pro. go to the forth floor of Fortune Town in BKK and ask about new keyboard and hard drive(cheap) or Solid State Drive (more baht).  

[balo]

Yes you can fix it by replacing the HD and install OS, and yes it is a lot cheaper than buying a new one. 
But it's a 2012 model , depends on how fast applications they want to run on it. 

[Eindhoven]

1 minute ago, NCC1701A said:

it is no where near end of life. i still use my old 2010 macbook pro. go to the forth floor of Fortune Town in BKK and ask about new keyboard and hard drive(cheap) or Solid State Drive (more baht).  

 

Really? https://www.advice.co.th/product/hard-disk-for-notebook

HDD are more expensive, you just get higher capacity for your money. Definitely should not go with an HDD.

 

SSD from a mere 500 baht. Biggest cost is a new backlit keyboard.

[Sheryl]

16 minutes ago, balo said:

Yes you can fix it by replacing the HD and install OS, and yes it is a lot cheaper than buying a new one. 
But it's a 2012 model , depends on how fast applications they want to run on it. 

The alternative is not buying a new one. I already have a new one and was just going to give this one away. So don't want to spend much money on it.

 

She's mainly going to use it to go online. I could buy her a tablet pretty cheaply so if repair would cost more than that, definitely not worth it.

[Eindhoven]

34 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The alternative is not buying a new one. I already have a new one and was just going to give this one away. So don't want to spend much money on it.

 

She's mainly going to use it to go online. I could buy her a tablet pretty cheaply so if repair would cost more than that, definitely not worth it.

 

New SSD you can fit for yourself. So that is from as little as 500 baht. Keyboard you can find online. Price dependent on model. Keyboard fitting likely too fiddly for you. So it's a matter of finding out how much someone would charge to fit the keyboard that you purchased. 

Maybe a hobbyist can do the work for free, if it is going to charity. If you plan to scrap it, remove the HDD to secure your private data and allow someone to refurbish it. Still a viable device if just issues with keyboard and HDD.

Costs of parts themselves as little as 1100 baht. It's the inflated labour costs that might be an issue.

 

[Sheryl]

Thanks. I'll try one of the places mentioned and see what they want to charge.

 

Already removed all my data and files from it before it crashed.

[Eindhoven]

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

Thanks. I'll try one of the places mentioned and see what they want to charge.

 

Already removed all my data and files from it before it crashed.

 

Let us know, if you plan to scrap it, I don't mind tinkering with it and then giving it to someone who needs it.

 

 

[2530Ubon]

If its a 17 incher, and want to sell - send me a message

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

2012 MacBook Pro

 

I already bought a new Mac for myself and was planning to give this old one to daughter of Cambodian worker. The keyboard needs repair (several keys don't work at al) and I was going to take it into Bkk to have that fixed

 

Then suddenly seems to have had hard drive failure.  Get only grey screen with a question mark.

 

Started it in recovery Mode but when tried to use Disk Utility, it does not sense the disk so can't do anything there.

 

Then tried the Reinstall OS option, I get connected to Apple OK but then run into same problem:  when I get to "select the disk where you want to install", no disk shows.

 

So I am thinking the hard drive is completely shot. if so, will would likely cost more than it is worth to fix (remembering that I also need to have the keyboard fixed)?

 

Is it time to just get rid of it? (And if so - anybody know of a place to donate old/broken laptops?)

For the keyboard there’s a very simple cheap workaround that is an external USB keyboard, 200 Baht and up. A Replacement internal keyboard is going to be expensive but it could possibly be repaired.

 

For the internal drive having disappeared, it could be a loose connection if you are lucky, though probably not. A replacement disk is a reasonably cheap easy fix. But if you swap it out for a moderate sized SSD it will be a fantastic jump in boot speed and performance. A 256 GB SSD is under 1,500 a 126 probably between 500 and 800.

 

The replacement disk drive is easy enough that I would do it in about 30 minutes and that is taking it slowly. 

[phetphet]

Did  you try resetting the PRAM? I was told to do this by Apple when I had the grey screen.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

Did  you try resetting the PRAM? I was told to do this by Apple when I had the grey screen.

 

Yes, tried. Did not work.

[Captain Monday]

Can you boot the drive in target disc mode? I had one with a broken screen I trashed last year  I got all my files out that way,

[tomazbodner]

Keyboard may cost a bit and you need to disassemble the whole notebook to change it. However repair shops might have spares taken out of other notebooks where something else failed so it wouldn't cost same as a brand new one. For the hard disk, it is unlikely to cost much. About 1000 baht for either a bit larger hard drive, or a little smaller SSD drive. Any SATA-II drive of 2.5" size should do in these models and it's easy to install - just a couple of screws to take it apart, swap drive, and put back in the reverse order. There's a DVD drive where OS could be installed from, and then upgraded to latest version in App Store. 2012 model probably won't support more than 10.12 or 10.13 version of MacOS X.

 

Honestly you could take it to a Mac repair shop at either Fortune (if you visit Bangkok) or any Mac specialised shops and they should be done in 2-2.5 hours for a couple of thousand baht in total. Unless something else is broken beyond HDD and keyboard.

[Eindhoven]

20 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Keyboard may cost a bit and you need to disassemble the whole notebook to change it. However repair shops might have spares taken out of other notebooks where something else failed so it wouldn't cost same as a brand new one. For the hard disk, it is unlikely to cost much. About 1000 baht for either a bit larger hard drive, or a little smaller SSD drive. Any SATA-II drive of 2.5" size should do in these models and it's easy to install - just a couple of screws to take it apart, swap drive, and put back in the reverse order. There's a DVD drive where OS could be installed from, and then upgraded to latest version in App Store. 2012 model probably won't support more than 10.12 or 10.13 version of MacOS X.

 

Honestly you could take it to a Mac repair shop at either Fortune (if you visit Bangkok) or any Mac specialised shops and they should be done in 2-2.5 hours for a couple of thousand baht in total. Unless something else is broken beyond HDD and keyboard.

 

 

You are contradicting yourself somewhat. You state the keyboard may cost a bit and an SSD around 1000; but yet you state that the whole thing in a Mac specialised shop will cost 2000 baht.

 

Cheapest SSD from around 500 baht.

 

Cheap keyboards from under 400 baht; so even cheaper than the cheapest SSD. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/keyboard-mac-a1278-a1278-th-en-i1314596431.html

 

Of course since Sheryl hasn't given an exact model, it might be the wrong keyboard.

 

Then it's just the labour cost on top of that. 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, tomazbodner said:

Any SATA-II drive of 2.5" size should do in these models and it's easy to install - just a couple of screws to take it apart, swap drive, and put back in the reverse order. There's a DVD drive where OS could be installed from, and then upgraded to latest version in App Store. 2012 model probably won't support more than 10.12 or 10.13 version of MacOS X.

Two points, you are almost certainly limited to a 7mm HDD, the bigger ones won’t fit. If it is a 2012 then it’s almost certainly a MacBook Pro and the version of Mac OS it shipped with is 10.7 the maximum is macOS 10.15.7. The MacBook didn’t have a revision from 2010 to 2015.

 

Also it’s a lot more than a couple of screws to take it apart, there are 10 to take the bottom case off 2 holding the drive then 4 more locating pins

 

It is a reasonably easy job though.

Edited February 4, 2021 by sometimewoodworker

[timendres]

An employee had a similar problem, and in his case it was a simple cable problem. Everything else was fine. I would get a proper diagnosis, with a proper estimate of repair, then decide.

[Eindhoven]

12 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Two points, you are almost certainly limited to a 7mm HDD, the bigger ones won’t fit. If it is a 2012 then it’s almost certainly a MacBook Pro and the version of Mac OS it shipped with is 10.7 the maximum is macOS 10.15.7. The MacBook didn’t have a revision from 2010 to 2015.

 

Also it’s a lot more than a couple of screws to take it apart, there are 10 to take the bottom case off 2 holding the drive then 4 more locating pins

 

It is a reasonably easy job though.

 

Actually you are wrong with regard to drive height; they can take a 2.5" SATA drive up to 9.5mm.

[allencraig]

6 hours ago, balo said:

But it's a 2012 model

My 2012 Macbook Pro is 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (Quad core). It's still pretty darn fast. With a new SSD drive I imagine Sheryl's laptop will be great.

[allencraig]

18 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Actually you are wrong with regard to drive height; they can take a 2.5" SATA drive up to 9.5mm.

I have two SSD drives in my 2012 Macbook Pro. Much better than SATA.

[Eindhoven]

7 minutes ago, allencraig said:

I have two SSD drives in my 2012 Macbook Pro. Much better than SATA.

 

Erm...your SSD drive are SATA drives.

 

You are confusing SATA for HDD.

[Eindhoven]

11 minutes ago, allencraig said:

My 2012 Macbook Pro is 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (Quad core). It's still pretty darn fast. With a new SSD drive I imagine Sheryl's laptop will be great.

 

Indeed, I just decided not to bother to comment on balo's statement.

 

I don't imagine the daughter will be doing anything more intensive than one would do on a Tablet; so the MacBook Pro with an SSD would be more than adequate.

[bubba]

Regarding your two keys that don't work: Several years ago, I had an old MacBook with a non-functional key. You do not need to replace the entire keyboard for older MacBooks. I found a replacement key and then swapped the old one out myself. I am no electrical engineer and it was simple enough to do even for me and it was also very cheap.

 

Here is an article on how to do it:

 

How to remove, move, swap and replace keys on a Mac

[Dazinoz]

13 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Thanks. I'll try one of the places mentioned and see what they want to charge.

 

Already removed all my data and files from it before it crashed.

Most people believe that when they delete a file via the normal operating system the file is gone - WRONG!!!

 

Files are stored on the HDD and where those files are located on the HDD is written onto a "directory" track so the HDD can find the files. When you delete a file all the HDD does is delete it from the directory track and the file remains on the HDD intact. As far as the HDD is concerned the deleted file is not there and will overnight the file. However until then the file is still there and can easily recovered by someone. To safely delete you need a "shredding" app that writes and deletes to the file.  The more times this is done the more secure the files is truely deleted.

 

If the HDD is dead best to physically open it and destroy the platters. Oh, and keep the magnets as they can be handy being very strong.

 

I am after dead HDDs just to get the magnets.

[Dazinoz]

8 hours ago, allencraig said:

My 2012 Macbook Pro is 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (Quad core). It's still pretty darn fast. With a new SSD drive I imagine Sheryl's laptop will be great.

I have a 2012 iMac which was getting a bit slow so I doubled the RAM from 8gb to 16bg. That made a big difference. Then I changed the HDD to an SSD. Like a new computer. Problem is a couple weeks later the power supply blew up. Sparkes came from base of computer. I replaced it myself and very happy with computer now.

 

Before upgrades I timed a small Excel spreadsheet and it took 3 minutes to open. After upgrade 30 seconds. But if Excel used in the current session only 3 seconds to open.

[KKr]

In General I am very pleased to have swapped to Mac in 2007.
Meanwhile, I swapped out the HDD's that failed for SSD and added a large HDD to the MacBook.

my mid 2010 MacBook is still working on High Sierra 10.13.6, however can no longer be upgraded.

the iMac Mid 2007 stopped being supported i.e. upgraded some time ago.
Currently stilll running on ElCapitan 10.11.6 and not upgradeable. 
So "essential" ???? "LINE"  software is not working any longer, and useful programs like wordprocessor are not updated any longer. (switched to OpenOffice that is so-far-so-good)

As the new OSX BigSur seems to be version OSX 10.16,  I am not sure how. much longer Apple will support the 2010 Macbook.

Question if someone here has the experience::
* will I be able to use say Linux on the Desktop,
* what does that mean for upgradeability of Apple applications, especially PHOTOS and iMovie ?
* will Linux allow for OpenOffice, Acrobat Reader.

[J Town]

19 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

19 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Is it time to just get rid of it? (And if so - anybody know of a place to donate old/broken laptops?)

it is no where near end of life. i still use my old 2010 macbook pro. go to the forth floor of Fortune Town in BKK and ask about new keyboard and hard drive(cheap) or Solid State Drive (more baht).  

Mac's live forever. I have both a Mac mini 2010 and a 13" Macbook older (not sure how old, but definitely older).

[redpill17]

Ditto for SSD upgrade. You'll be surprised how fast an old laptop can run. If possible, also add extra RAM sticks.

 

You're able to install newer macOS versions with a simple patch: https://bensova.gitbook.io/big-sur/supported-macs

 

Older Macs are well-built and can work for a long time, much longer than they were designed for.