Easy Solution.

crwdns2853023:0crwdne2853023:0

Laptop was working fine, had put a new SSD in it so I new that the drive wasn't an issue, and I was able to boot when I ran the startup disk via a USB cable. I was worried I'd need a new logic board or something so I was on the verge of abandoning this laptop, I've have it for 3 years and it had served me well... but then I did some poking around online and decided to give this $50 solution a try as it really seemed that it was this connection between the drive and the logic board that was at fault.

crwdns2853024:0crwdne2853024:0

Honestly this was pretty easy... painless and quick. Probably spent about 15-minutes on this repair. Putting an SSD into the new MacMini was a complete nightmare, as opening up a lot of Apple's products can be, but this was a simple and affordable solution that completely made my week.

crwdns2853025:0crwdne2853025:0

These repairs are easier than they seem, just make sure you have the necessary tools... I'd recommend getting a little toolkit for this sort of thing.