MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2009-Mid 2010) Hard Drive Cable

My Problem

It was the first week of October. Cal Poly's notoriously soul crushing quarter system was in full swing: lab report today, quiz tomorrow, lab report the next day. There was no time for a technological meltdown. But one fateful afternoon, my 2009 MacBook Pro that helped me write the book reports of middle school, the critical research papers of high school, and the never ending stream of lab reports I have to produce in college, decided enough was enough. He was done. I was destroyed. This anthropomorphism of my laptop may be very unscientific, but how can one not personify the piece of technology that submitted their first college applications?

As a wildlife biology major, technology is not a strength. In fact, my technology etiquette is borderline concerning. So when I restarted my MacBook and was greeted with a window informing me that all my data files had been misplaced and none of my applications could be booted, a wave of helplessness and desperation came over me.

So, I went to the Apple store in hopes that a "genius" could assist me, but was turned away. They obviously didn't understand that this was a life or death situation. Next, I set up a phone call with Apple Customer "Support," where they told me that my 2009 MacBook Pro running on Yosemite OS X was obsolete and my only option was to drop another 2K on a new MacBook.

No. I refused.

My Fix

After frustrating interactions with Apple employees and too many days spent waiting for a computer in Cal Poly's library, I consulted iFixit's website. A far more knowledgable friend suggested checking the hard drive cable; I hesitantly gave it a shot:

With the help of the iFixit tools (a.k.a. the handiest little screw driving, prying magic wands EVER), I unscrewed the back (ah scary), disconnected the battery (even scarier), removed the hard drive bracket, and pulled out the hard drive (I'm basically doing open-heart surgery), disconnected the cable, replaced the cable with a shiny new one from iFixit, and put it all back together. By the way, I didn't breathe the entire time.

Now the moment of truth: I turned on my laptop and ....there they were!!!! My files! My middle school book reports, my college applications, and MY LAB REPORTS. I took a long overdue exhale. That wasn't so bad....it was actually kind of really fun!

My Advice

Even if you think you don't know anything about technology, you are entirely capable of fixing your own computer. There is no need feel helpless and a slave to the vicious technology consuming cycle. You don't have to spend 2K on a new laptop every few years. You can have a laptop for 9 years and it can still function perfectly well, and you can announce that old age with pride. I do. I think it's awesome.

The feeling of accomplishment I felt from successfully fixing my own computer was right up there with climbing my first bigish wall in Yosemite, and it turns out, fixing your own laptop is way easier than climbing 1,100 feet. I certainly didn't believe that before my repair.

With an ifixit repair guide, you can be your own Apple genius, not to mention it is way less expensive, way more sustainable, and so much more gratifying.

My Problem

The Mac stopped booting when the storage drive was inside but worked fine with it connected by USB, so the HD data cable needed to be replaced.

My Fix

The repair was almost totally smooth. The one wrinkle was that one of the tiny screws holding the cable in place wouldn't come out and started stripping. Fortunately, I was replacing the part it held so I wasn't concerned about breaking the cable.

As soon as I tore the cable out from under the screw, the screw was happy to come out with ease. Getting the new part in place was easy.

My Advice

Be open to thinking outside the box. Sometimes a slightly more violent approach nets a nondestructive outcome.

My Problem

My son was moving from south Florida to Pittsburgh, PA and the week of the move, his 13" MacBook Pro mid 2009 showed the "Slashed Folder icon and would not boot. Also, the trackpad had become very difficult to depress. I really like that Apple products seem to last and last, so why not try to nurse it back to health?

My Fix

I had previously replaced the battery and swapped the HDD for an SSD,so I didn't anticipate any problems. After I removed the SSD, I used a USB SATA adapter and tested it using my Mac mini. This revealed that the SSD had started to develope non-writable blocks, indicating that it was approaching its end-of-life. I was able to clone the SSD to another SSD, and installed it back in the MacBook Pro, along with a new replacement battery. The MacBook did book, but the SSD still had issues - Disk Utility could not correct some catalog errors, and oils boot about 90% and then get stuck. A quick web search pointed to a bad hard drive interface cable. I ordered one from iFixit with the attached drive bracket and circuit board (I didn't want to mess with swapping the existing bracket, as it involved attaching a very small circuit board connector.) At the same time, I replaced the adhesive silicone feet on the bottom plate. I booted up the MacBook Pro, and this time, it worked perfectly.

My Advice

I saved at least $850 over replacing with a new MacBook. I spent $99 for a quality battery, $35 for the Cable/Circuit Board/Bracket, and about $14 for the silicone Feet, and well worth it. After all these years, the MacBook Pro still performs well with the SSD.

My Problem

Powerbook was acting as if the hard drive was crashing. Replacement drive was better but did not fix all read-write symptoms. Online searches revealed hard drive cable wears out over time (laptop is almost seven years old). Moving drive to external housing revealed that it was fine.

My Fix

Package was a little late arriving because of USPS, not iFixit. Once it arrived, I simply had to take off the back of the laptop, unplug battery, remove hard drive, remove cable and replace. Only needed a small Phillips screwdriver.

My Advice

This is a really simple repair. If your laptop is having hard drive issues, remove the drive and place it in an external drive housing to see if it works (boot off external drive). If it does, then perhaps the issue is the hard drive cable.

My Problem

My hard drive became corrupted due to a faulty hard drive cable, rendering my computer unusable.

My Fix

I had some experience taking my computer apart when I installed an SSD, but this was still a very easy and quick repair. I didn't buy the bracket, so reattaching the indicator light was like threading a needle, but nothing too difficult.

My Advice

Your system files may have been corrupted due to a faulty hard drive cable, so after you replace the cable, be sure to erase your hard drive and do a clean install of macOS from Recovery. And starting today, make sure you back up your computer every once in a while.

My Problem

A young friend's laptop stopped working. It wasn't too hard to figure out the hard drive cable had crapped out.

My Fix

So easy I made my young friend do most of it himself. Seven year old laptop still runs like a boss.

My Advice

This repair is so simple, that even if you don't watch the video, you're going to be able to sort it. Be gentle removing the old bits.