View original (French)

SSD that won't boot

Solved
Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member -  
 Neokromer -
Hello everyone, here is my problem:

I cloned my hard drive onto an SSD to improve the performance of my Macbook Pro (mid-2012) running El Capitan.
The cloning went well, I can use the Mac without the original hard drive but with the SSD only connected via USB. The issue is that when I connect the SSD directly to the motherboard, the Mac does not recognize it and shows a question mark. I don’t understand because via USB (with no other HDD) the computer starts up just fine without any issues.

I would like to know how to use my SSD by connecting it directly to the motherboard so I don’t have to carry an external hard drive everywhere.

Thank you in advance for all your responses and, if needed, I will provide more details.

7 answers

  1. Anonymous user
     
    Hello,

    this issue is recurring especially with Crucial SSDs.

    Everyone has their own solution. Among them, one seems to come up often (aside from replacing the SATA cable), which is to install OS X or clone from an external disk to the installed internally SSD:
    The solution indicated by Carbon Copy Cloner, after the disk has been freshly formatted to GUID schema, still when installed internally: 

    No one here replied, but luckily the support of Bombich software (makers of Carbon Copy Cloner) provided me with this solution:

    We have received numerous reports of hardware compatibility issues when installing a cloned hard drive from an external enclosure into various Macs.

    1. Shut down your Mac

    2. Install the new disk inside your Mac and put the original disk in your external enclosure

    3. Boot your Mac from the original startup disk in the external enclosure -- hold down the Option key while booting your Mac to get to the startup disk selector screen

    4. Re-initialize the new disk (in the partition tab -- reapply the "1 partition" scheme to the disk)

    5. Clone your original source volume to the new disk

    6. Set the startup disk to the new disk in the Startup Disk preference pane and restart your Mac

    Note: Step 4 is very important -- be sure to apply a new partition scheme to the disk, don't just erase the volume. This video indicates how to repartition the disk: https://articulate.com/

    Source :
    https://fr.ifixit.com/R%C3%A9ponses/Afficher/220619/SSD+boots+over+USB,+doesn't+boot+connected+internally.

    See also:
    https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/56730/upgraded-my-hdd-to-sdd-can-boot-successfully-via-usb-but-will-not-boot-when-in

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5661626

    have a good continuation!

    --
    Have a great day :-) - Francis
    Always specify your exact system configuration and read the entire response given.
    1
    1. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      Hello,

      Thank you very much for your response, your proposed solution sounds good. I will try it right away, but it may take a lot of time since the first cloning took 16 hours due to my HDD being damaged.

      I will keep you updated once the cloning is complete.

      Have a nice day.
      0
    2. Anonymous user
       
      Before starting the cloning, you need to go through Disk Utility and reset the partition to GUID scheme. It's quick to do, and at least, if it still doesn't work afterwards, the doubt about it will be eliminated.
      0
    3. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      It's done, I successfully created a partition under GUID, the cloning is halfway through with 45 minutes elapsed.
      0
    4. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      Good evening, it's not working. Indeed, right from the start, on Carbon Copy Cloner, there's an error message "OS X reports read or write errors on 'Mac OS' (the name of my SSD partition). This error only occurs via SATA; via USB, the cloning starts directly without this error message. As for the HD, it works fine both via SATA and USB... I really can't find any logic in this situation.

      Thank you for your help, have a good evening.
      0
    5. Anonymous user
       
      Hello

      Bad luck,
      This ties in with the long discussions found in the Apple Discussions forum, where some have replaced the SATA cable with another brand than the original, successfully (sometimes with a cheap cable), while others have had their SSD exchanged for another under warranty, with successful results. It’s as if some SSDs, particularly from Crucial, suffer from a defect that makes them incompatible with the original SATA cable...
      0
  2. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
     
    Hello, the cable that your hard drive / SSD connects to is probably dead.
    Your Mac is a 13-inch mid 2012.
    Take your Mac to an authorized center or an Apple Store.

    --
    Sorry for my spelling :/
    Apple certified technician IOS/OSX
    0
    1. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      Hello, it's unlikely because when reconnecting the HDD as the boot disk directly to the motherboard, the computer starts up fine. It's only with the SSD that it doesn't want to start.
      0
    2. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
       
      Info not said I can't guess it ;)

      So you press ALT at startup, and tell me if you see your SSD. If you don't see it, your cloning failed and the MatchKernel is not available.
      0
    3. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      I can't, there's an EFI code and I can't remember ... I can't find it anywhere.
      But I don't think the cloning failed because I'm talking to you through my MacBook booted with the SSD via USB, so there shouldn't have been any problems!
      0
  3. astuces72 Posted messages 2146 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1 669
     
    Hi

    your cloning software has properly accounted for all the partitions, including the boot one?

    I don't know anything about cloning a Mac, so this is just speculation.

    --
    :-)
    0
    1. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      Yes, because the system boots without any problem via USB, but as soon as I change the connector, the system no longer recognizes the SSD.
      0
  4. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
     
    OKAY don't look for your problem, it comes from there... if you don't have control over the boot menu, it will do what? at startup because it doesn't recognize the SSD, it looks for the HDD.
    boot from USB and go to system preferences / startup disk and validate the SSD, put it inside afterwards and let us know what it gives
    If you have the receipt, Apple will remove the code for you; if you don't have it...
    sorry for my spelling :/
    certified Apple technician IOS/OSX
    0
    1. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      I did this, but unlike the USB, it shows a folder with a question mark instead of the Apple logo; the SSD was already set as the startup disk.

      The SSD was already set as the startup disk, and when I go to the disk manager, it indicates that it is a "generic" media and that it is not an SSD, but it is bootable and journaled.
      0
    2. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
       
      Do you know the EFI password? (From what I understand, you don't have it)
      If you have it, please give it to me or give me the password you think it might be. I want to try something but I need the password.

      Put the hard drive in the machine, boot from the SSD via USB, can you confirm that the SSD is indeed the boot disk even with this configuration?
      0
    3. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      I can't remember, it was the same as my administrator password for a while but I have changed it many times since. I've tried all sorts of passwords and none of them work.

      Yes, the SSD is indeed the boot disk, but for example, I just connected the HDD via USB, the SSD via SATA, and when booting from the HDD, I set the SSD as the boot disk even though it was already in SATA, but upon rebooting, it gives me the question mark again, it's a mystery that I believe has only happened to me.
      0
  6. dede74000 Posted messages 26996 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   5 370
     
    Hi,

    A silly question, although since El Capitan, with non-Apple disks, we don't have to enable TRIM, there is a procedure to follow. Did you do this, either with Trim Enabler or from the terminal?

    https://www.macg.co/os-x/2015/06/os-x-el-capitan-prend-en-charge-le-trim-sur-les-ssd-tiers-89465

    When it's urgent, it's already too late (Talleyrand)
    0
    1. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
       
      It's not false, but I've never encountered the problem ^^
      0
    2. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      Hi, it's impossible to do that because I no longer have the EFI password, I can't access the BIOS so I can't disable "System Integrity Protection".
      0
  7. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
     
    Drop it off at the Apple Store but you will need the invoice for the EFI password so they can change the cable in question.
    Isn't it what I said at the beginning, the SATA cable?
    They are sick by default lol

    --
    Sorry for my spelling :/
    Apple Certified Technician IOS/OSX
    0
    1. Neokromer Posted messages 42 Status Member 9
       
      I didn't expect that, I rarely opened the computer so I didn't think it could damage itself.
      I haven't had the invoice for a long time, I bought the Mac in 2012, I don't even have the packaging or the reinstallation disk. I'm going to have to buy the SATA cable in stores!
      0
  8. gab1 Posted messages 6366 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   713
     
    it might not work with another cable as mentioned above.
    If you really bought it from a store, ask them for a duplicate of the receipt.

    --
    sorry for my spelling :/
    certified Apple technician iOS/OSX
    0