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How would battery replacement kill a hard drive?

Re: MBA 11", late 2012 (mid?)

After installing a third party battery, I restarted, only to get "? Folder," indicating

no system found.

I got to Disk Utility through online recovery and found that my former HD is not showing.

After getting the same results when resetting the SMC I put the original battery back in and the same problem immediately repeated - no system, no hard drive.

Is it possible I somehow killed the HD [an upgraded OWC flash disk (and good memory); or is there some way to detect if it's still there?

FWIW, I was about to update aging batteries in 2 other MBA's (13") and an MBP (13" of similar vintage) that the wife and I use. However, before I have them all under water this Mac old timer (hobbyist+) sure would appreciate some direction. (I'm okay with some technical diy, but not coding.)

Thanks kindly in advance.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Your question is: "How could it happen?"

- Storage got unseated, and you just need to reseat it

- Storage got damaged by Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) or physically, would need to replace the storage

- SATA controller on the logic board got damaged by ESD or physically (unlikely), would need to replace the logic board.

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Sure enough, there's nothing there on the SSD - a surge must have been the culprit, as you correctly assessed.

(I'm usually very cautious about grounding. I still wonder if the then new battery brought the charge?)

I ordered another SSD (low storage, good speed) and will install at the same time I put in another new battery (different vendor). I did not see any other connections necessary which might make me taint the M-Board; only the SATA connect. Anything else you would suggest to be aware of/prep for other than static mat and wrist band? (FWIW, I have used the

MacFixit tool kit since introduced; it's the best, IMHO.)

I suppose if the new SSD goes awry then the M-board is faulty - and probably not worth ROI to repair (at 3 years).

Thanks for the spot-on diagnosis. Good eyes

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Stretched will be eternally grateful.
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