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A1708/EMC 3164 — Released June 2017, this entry-level MacBook Pro retains its traditional function keys (as opposed to the OLED Touch Bar).

SSD failed twice, possible power adapter issue?

Hi!

I bought a second-hand Macbook Pro for my partner a number of years ago. It's a 13" A1708 without a touchbar (I believe it's this model: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111951).

A few years ago my partner was using the computer when it suddenly crashed and shut down. When she tried to turn it on again it showed a flashing folder with a question mark on it, indicating that the startup disk couldn't be found (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102601). Starting with recovery showed that the disk couldn't be found, so I figured the disk must have been damaged somehow (see image).

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I bought a new 256GB SSD for it and replaced it myself, installing macOS on it. It worked, but then a few months later the exact same thing happened again.

I can obviously replace the SSD again, but it seems like there's something causing the SSD to get destroyed. I'm not an expert in these sorts of things but is it possible for the shielding for the power supply to be damaged, causing EM interference to damage the SSD, or something like that? Does anyone know how I can diagnose what's causing this? Or is it more likely that I bought a dodgy SSD and it happened to have the same issue at the SSD that it originally came with?

This may or may not be unrelated - after using the laptop for a decent amount of time (30-60 minutes) the screen starts to glitch. It's hard to describe but it's almost like the image doubles, to the point where reading text becomes difficult. I think it might be related to the heat of the laptop itself but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE 6/8/24: Here's a picture of the insides. You can see the SSD is seated directly on the motherboard (i.e. no flex cable). I can't see any damage anywhere else but I'm not sure if there's anywhere specifically I should look:

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Hi,

One way to start trouble shooting is remove SSD and boot up with a Linux usb to see if laptop is functioning properly.

Then put SSD in an USB enclosure connect to laptop and see if you can mount it and read it with Linux.

If there’s no issue doing this then I would start looking at SSD cable on mainboard being possibly faulty.

The only way to check this would be substituting the flex cable and testing.

Hope this helps

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@decadessen81812 - There really is no need to use Linux here. A bootable external drive running macOS or even using Internet recovery will allow one to access Mac’s Disk Utilities.


Depending on what type of SSD Marzzbar installed it may not be possible to install into an external case as Apple uses a custom drive interface which is unique to them.

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So I bought this exact SSD: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/334332859275 . From memory the MacBook could only take this particular kind, and it's not a standard type used in other computers. I don't currently have access to a USB enclosure for this, and I'm not actually sure if one exists.

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My apologies about the enclosure, I see from your link that it is the newer type SSD, I was thinking it was an earlier style 2.5” drive.

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@marzzbar - Can you give us a bit more on the replacement SSD you used. Did you buy another custom Apple unit or use an adapter to then install a M.2 SSD?

As to why the display image gets a bit mangled can be because of the CPU or RAM is having issues. I would restart the system and run the onboard diagnostics to see what it tells us by pressing the D key.

Reference: Mac startup key combinations

Let us know what the error messages are.

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So I bought this exact SSD: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/334332859275 . From memory the MacBook could only take this particular kind.

Thanks for the idea of running the diagnostics. All it says though is "There may be an issue with a storage device. Reference code VDH002". I kind of already knew that though.

I'll open it up again and see if there's any issue with the flex cable, though from memory I'm not even sure the SSD uses a flex cable.

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@marzzbar - I don’t know this vendors drive, it’s the correct one. So it might just be dirt. Using a fresh soft pencil eraser carefully wipe the contacts and then wipe with a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol to clean off the rubber traces.


It’s also possible the drive failed, what do you run on the system?

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I've wiped the contacts clean, still doesn't work. I imagine the drive's failed, just not sure what's causing it since this has happened before.

I just run macOS on it, nothing special.

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@marzzbar - I was asking if you run the system hard like online gaming or photo or video editing

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

Nah nothing too wild. I'm pretty sure we were just browsing the internet both times the drive failed.

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