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

[Sheryl]

15 minutes ago, J Town said:

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

 

This is what people keep saying but mine (the old one) has needed  constant repairs over the last few years

 

Had to replace battery twice but to little avail - still won't hold a charge

 

Replaced keyboard once already, just a couple of years ago, now needs it again

 

Power button also needs replacing

 

And now the hard drive

 

As I posted, I have already replaced it so do not need it for myself. Plan on giving it to an 11 year old who has no need of a Mac per se, just a simple computer or even a tablet.

 

My concern is not so much  what these repairs will cost but that it is just the tip of the iceberg and will keep having to  repair this thing. Which is not just a matter of money - it is a serious hassle as cannot get t repaired where I live, need to travel 6-7 hours roundtrip for it.

 

 

[digger70]

20 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?)

Maybe it's time to Update the 2012 Mac . I  just done mine myself . Mid 2012 Macbook Pro Cloned the Drive and Put a Samsung one in it , Upgraded it from Ram 4 Gig to Ram 16 Gig .Than I Replaced the  Screen (the whole Lid) and now it's a Road runner compared to a Snail  pace before . The Shop Quoted me THB 23000 

I done the lot myself for THB 12000 ... Happy as a Pig in  Mud. ????

[Sheryl]

1 minute ago, digger70 said:

Maybe it's time to Update the 2012 Mac . I  just done mine myself . Mid 2012 Macbook Pro Cloned the Drive and Put a Samsung one in it , Upgraded it from Ram 4 Gig to Ram 16 Gig .Than I Replaced the  Screen (the whole Lid) and now it's a Road runner compared to a Snail  pace before . The Shop Quoted me THB 23000 

I done the lot myself for THB 12000 ... Happy as a Pig in  Mud. ????

Why would I want to do all that when I have already bought a new Mac?

 

The child I would give this to certainly doesn't need it upgraded. And for 12,000 baht I could buy her a new tablet instead.

[sometimewoodworker]

14 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

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

Not wrong but not specific enough, the post I was replying to said “all/any 2.5”” drives will fit. There are 15mm drives that  absolutely will not fit as a direct replacement.

[Eindhoven]

Just now, sometimewoodworker said:

Not wrong but not specific enough, the post I was replying to said “all/any 2.5”” drives will fit. There are 15mm drives that  absolutely will not fit as a direct replacement.

 

 

What you wrote was:

 

Quote

Two points, you are almost certainly limited to a 7mm HDD,

 

That is wrong whichever way you look at it. 

 

Anyone taking that advice would splash out more unnecessarily, since 7mm HDD are relatively rare and more expensive.

It was also a mistake to write HDD, since the post to which you were replying made no mention of HDD. Replacing the storage drive with another HDD would almost be a backward step.

 

So, if conclusion; you can utilise any SATA III drive up to 9.5mm; preferably a solid state drive as they are more robust and efficient.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

As I posted, I have already replaced it so do not need it for myself. Plan on giving it to an 11 year old who has no need of a Mac per se, just a simple computer or even a tablet.

 

My concern is not so much  what these repairs will cost but that it is just the tip of the iceberg and will keep having to  repair this thing. Which is not just a matter of money - it is a serious hassle as cannot get t repaired where I live, need to travel 6-7 hours roundtrip for it.

Sorry for the delay in replying. The forum SW or HW is still badly screwed up so keeps on falling over.

 

With the current problems, if it’s not going to be mobile (the battery suggests that), an external keyboard and new 126 or 256 SSD will be less than 1,500. Replacing the disk requires tiny special screwdrivers but is not difficult. An alternative is an external SSD which would avoid any opening of the laptop, again total cost under 1,500
 

you still haven’t said which model it is but my guess is a MacBook Pro, as a desktop (because of the battery and keyboard and possibly disk) it’s a good machine.

[Eindhoven]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Why would I want to do all that when I have already bought a new Mac?

 

The child I would give this to certainly doesn't need it upgraded. And for 12,000 baht I could buy her a new tablet instead.

 

Some people simply did not pay attention. ???? Definitely worth bringing it back into service. It can be achieved inexpensively as I have illustrated. Especially if it is only a few keys that need replacing rather than the whole keyboard. Then you are looking at between 1000 -1500. Personally I would purchase a 256 GB SSD @ 900 baht and the parts needed; though you should find out the cost to fit the parts beforehand. If they fit their own parts, you will pay a premium for their parts.

[Eindhoven]

2 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Sorry for the delay in replying. The forum SW or HW is still badly screwed up so keeps on falling over.

 

With the current problems, if it’s not going to be mobile (the battery suggests that), an external keyboard and new 126 or 256 SSD will be less than 1,500. Replacing the disk requires tiny special screwdrivers but is not difficult. An alternative is an external SSD which would avoid any opening of the laptop, again total cost under 1,500
 

you still haven’t said which model it is but my guess is a MacBook Pro, as a desktop (because of the battery and keyboard and possibly disk) it’s a good machine.

 

She stated the model in the very first post. Though not the exact model.

[Eindhoven]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

This is what people keep saying but mine (the old one) has needed  constant repairs over the last few years

 

Had to replace battery twice but to little avail - still won't hold a charge

 

Replaced keyboard once already, just a couple of years ago, now needs it again

 

Power button also needs replacing

 

And now the hard drive

 

As I posted, I have already replaced it so do not need it for myself. Plan on giving it to an 11 year old who has no need of a Mac per se, just a simple computer or even a tablet.

 

My concern is not so much  what these repairs will cost but that it is just the tip of the iceberg and will keep having to  repair this thing. Which is not just a matter of money - it is a serious hassle as cannot get t repaired where I live, need to travel 6-7 hours roundtrip for it.

 

 

 

My advice would be to tackle the SSD job yourself. It's relatively simply and you have knowledgeable people here(if they can stay calm) who can guide you. I am not a Mac person, but can use common sense. But I'm sure that are at least a couple of people here who can guide you through the steps of installing the latest OS to it. But you can definitely do the SSD thing by yourself. No need to take a six to seven hour journey.

If the SSD thing goes to plan; then you can look at the keyboard/power button.

[unblocktheplanet]

1 hour ago, J Town said:

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

Macs used live forever! The new models are no longer insanely great and Apple is in the race to become the first trillion-dollar company.

 

Every component is now glued in. To replace the battery, the entire top-case must be replaced.

 

Worse still is customer support which used to be so sterling. Apple replaced my battery (& top-case) when it swelled. When the battery swelled again just a year later, no dice. The 'advisor' (trained to keep Apple's money in-house) called my 2015 MBP 'a legacy product'!

 

I've used Macs since 1984 & I have no plan to switch. But don't assume they care about the end-user, even at crazy prices. They're not the same outfit.

[Eindhoven]

 

16 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Macs used live forever! The new models are no longer insanely great and Apple is in the race to become the first trillion-dollar company.

 

Every component is now glued in. To replace the battery, the entire top-case must be replaced.

 

Worse still is customer support which used to be so sterling. Apple replaced my battery (& top-case) when it swelled. When the battery swelled again just a year later, no dice. The 'advisor' (trained to keep Apple's money in-house) called my 2015 MBP 'a legacy product'!

 

I've used Macs since 1984 & I have no plan to switch. But don't assume they care about the end-user, even at crazy prices. They're not the same outfit.

 

I bought a ACER laptop here in Thailand, in Feb 2007, for £300 equivalent. I am using it to type this message. They don't make 'em like they used to. ???? 

[Dazinoz]

35 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Macs used live forever! The new models are no longer insanely great and Apple is in the race to become the first trillion-dollar company.

 

Every component is now glued in. To replace the battery, the entire top-case must be replaced.

 

Worse still is customer support which used to be so sterling. Apple replaced my battery (& top-case) when it swelled. When the battery swelled again just a year later, no dice. The 'advisor' (trained to keep Apple's money in-house) called my 2015 MBP 'a legacy product'!

 

I've used Macs since 1984 & I have no plan to switch. But don't assume they care about the end-user, even at crazy prices. They're not the same outfit.

I am much the same, I have used since around 1988 and have had Macs all the time. Bought the odd "PC" but soon gets the boot.

 

One of the things that recently peed me off with Apple is with the iPhone 12. One of these "pull apart and look" groups did a Youtube video. He bought 2 identical iPhone 12s and dissembled the first. He then did the same with the second and started swapping parts. Parts from the second identical iPhone did not work in the other and weird things happened. He put all components back in the original phones and all worked ok. So now it appears parts are coded to a particular phone to stop buying aftermarket parts.

[Eindhoven]

16 hours 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.

 

Not sure as to why you are so angry and defensive. It's you who is making the mistakes.

 

So now you are angry at me and try to cover up for the fact that you did not notice that the OP already stated 2012 MacBook Pro at the top of her very first post.

 

So instead you try to move the goalposts again to suggest that actually meant something completely different.

Apparently you now mean you don't know if it is one of the Retina models. Them being MacBookPro10,1 and MacBookPro10,2 and not MacBookPro10,3 as you wrote earlier.

But I guess all of your mistakes are my fault for pointing them out.

 

 

[Rimmer]

An post with some abusive content has has been removed

[Deli]

On 2/4/2021 at 4:59 PM, 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?)

 

It's vintage in the eyes of Mac. Consider buying some good stuff, running on MS

[Sheryl]

On 2/4/2021 at 6:55 PM, 2530Ubon said:

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

No, 13 inch

[Sheryl]

Update: went to Fortune Town to someone recommended by a TV member (Pro Corner on 3rd floor)

 

It wasn't the hard drive, it was the cable, which actually costs more to replace.  2,500 including labor

 

And 3,000 to replace the keyborad

 

Working OK now

 

Thanks all!

[Eindhoven]

45 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Update: went to Fortune Town to someone recommended by a TV member (Pro Corner on 3rd floor)

 

It wasn't the hard drive, it was the cable, which actually costs more to replace.  2,500 including labor

 

And 3,000 to replace the keyborad

 

Working OK now

 

Thanks all!

 

You should have replaced the HDD with an SSD at the same time. From a mere 500 baht added to the cost and it would have been much faster.

 

Look: 

 

[Dazinoz]

39 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

You should have replaced the HDD with an SSD at the same time. From a mere 500 baht added to the cost and it would have been much faster.

 

Look: 

 

An SSD and a bit more RAM certainly sped my 2012 iMac up.

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

You should have replaced the HDD with an SSD at the same time. From a mere 500 baht added to the cost and it would have been much faster.

 

Look: 

 

He quoted me 2,000 for an SSD. Even fior a used hard drive, was more than 500

 

 

[Eindhoven]

53 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

He quoted me 2,000 for an SSD. Even fior a used hard drive, was more than 500

 

 

 

That's why I advised you to purchase your own. They could have fitted it for you regardless of whether the cable was the issue. He probably tried to flog you a 480 GB or 500 GB SSD. But who needs that? I'm sure the young girl doesn't.  128 GB would be more than fine. You could even have splashed out 900 baht for a 256 GB.

 

[Sheryl]

13 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

That's why I advised you to purchase your own. They could have fitted it for you regardless of whether the cable was the issue. He probably tried to flog you a 480 GB or 500 GB SSD. But who needs that? I'm sure the young girl doesn't.  128 GB would be more than fine. You could even have splashed out 900 baht for a 256 GB.

 

The young girl is fine with the speed as it is.

[Eindhoven]

43 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The young girl is fine with the speed as it is.

 

Of course she is...it's better than nothing.

[mike787]

Less headache, buy a new one, you will not have nay regrets. Forget that old <deleted>. 

[Eindhoven]

On 2/12/2021 at 5:52 AM, mike787 said:

Less headache, buy a new one, you will not have nay regrets. Forget that old <deleted>. 

 

Words fail....