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Replacement Guides
MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009
Difficulty: Moderate
MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010
Difficulty: Moderate
Compatibility
| MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009 |
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| MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 |
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Stories
My Problem
The cable was damaged and needed to be replaced
My Fix
Easy, Remove back cover, remove HDD, replace cable, reverse order.
My Advice
Get the right screwdriver for the two tiny screws holding the HDD cable in.
My Problem
For the third time in a year in the hard drive cable in my 2010 MacBook Pro 13" failed. When I would try booting up, it would stop halfway and my mac would shut down. I could boot from an external hard drive just fine, but the computer had a hard time reading information of the internal hard drive. I could access information and files on the hard drive, but it was slow. I first figured it must be a hard drive issue, so I upgraded to an SSD and also upgraded RAM from 4GB to 8GB. When those didn't fix the problem, I knew it was the hard drive cable again.
My Fix
Learning from past mistakes, I decided to order my hard drive cable from ifixit this time around. The box came and it was packaged beautifully. The cable wasn't perfectly flat. I bought a new one that also had a bracket already attached. (Honestly the bracket is the hardest part of installation, so not having to worry about that was a huge stress reliever.) Following instructions shows how easy replacing this cable is. It took me about 6 minutes to take out the old one and install the new one. After installation and putting the cover back on, I turned on my mac and with the addition of the SSD and RAM, it booted up perfectly and faster than ever.
My Advice
1. You can do this fix by yourself. The first time my hard drive cable failed, I took it to an Apple Repair Store and it cost me about $170 to fix, and that cable only lasted about a year until it failed. After doing it myself, I have no idea why they charged me $170.
2. You'll find cheaper options through other online retailers. Don't be fooled. The second time my hard drive cable went out, I purchased one through Amazon, and it was sent to me in an envelope and the cable was bent and such. (This cable ended up only lasting about 4 months.)
3. Buy a hard drive cable that has the bracket already attached. It will make your life so much easier.
4. Purchase your hard drive cable from ifixit. It might be a few dollars more than other options, but the shipping was fast, it came properly packaged, and you'll feel more comfortable purchasing from a retailer that will be able to guide you through installation.
My Problem
had a bad sata cable in a macbook pro
My Fix
take out the screws, remove the battery, then the drive, unplug the cable and do steps in reverse. almost that fast!
My Advice
very easy & straight forward
My Problem
The cable broke
My Fix
It went fine. The cable came and looked a little warped out of the package. It seems to be working fine, but just something to note when filling orders in the future.
My Advice
I had the people at my university's library install it, that was really helpful because I had no idea what to do.
My Problem
because my original cable was not working properly
My Fix
The cable is very good I just had to bend it the way the original cable was bended and everything was perfect
My Advice
Explain how to bend the cable
My Problem
Client's hard drive wasn't showing up when booting the Mac.
My Fix
Very smoothly. Fairly simple repair.
My Advice
Be gentle when pressing the cables around the angles of it's path.
My Problem
Got a flashing question mark on my mid 2010 Mac Pro and did not start up. Googled “flashing question mark on Mac” and found the following link to Apple support:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204323
But the solution recommended, i.e., use Disk utility to repair disk, did not solve the problem.
My Fix
So took the SSD out and booted from the external USB port with a USB to SATA cable and was able to boot up the system! So having determined the SSD to be OK, the problem could be the SATA cable or the connection at the logic board. I was hoping it was not the latter and took a chance in ordering from IFIXIT, the MacBook Pro 13” Unibody Hard Drive Cable - with Bracket New.
I ordered it on a Friday and the part was delivered the following Monday via FedEx. Installed the cable following the instructions on IFIXIT site and voila, my Mac booted up beautifully!
My Advice
Thank you IFIXIT for the excellent experience (Excellent Web diagnostics, instructions, products and service)!
My Problem
The computer stopped reading the hard drive. Bought a new hard drive and the computer would not read that hard drive.
My Fix
Removed all the screws and replaced the cable. Easy.
My Advice
Check your hard drive with a enclosement before buying a new one since sometimes it is just the cable.
My Problem
Internal HDD no longer recognized.
My Fix
Easy repair. The purchased drive ribbon cable was about 1/4" too long, though. Was fixing this for a friend who didn't care and certainly didn't want to wait for a replacement. Just thought y'all should know... from the 2-screw-mount point to the motherboard connection, the length of the cable is off.
My Advice
Standard... be careful and take your time.
My Problem
My macbook (actually a late 2008) stopped booting up and would give me the blinking question mark like it couldn't find drive. I was !#^&@@ cause I just put a new SSD in it a couple months prior. I assumed it was the drive and went out and blew more money on a new one but it still wasn't recognized when booting to disk utility. After some research I figured all that was left to try (of easy repairs) was the hard drive cable. I ordered one from iFixit and it came 2 or 3 days later. I popped it in and was pleasantly suprised to see my old SSD working good as new! I was able to return the new SSD that I bought and only spend a fraction of the cost for the cable! Hallelujah!
My Fix
Pretty easy and self explanatory. The most difficult part is if you buy the cable without the bracket (they were all sold out) you have to peel off the old cable and replace it with the new one. Its pretty easy to do, and the new cable comes with adhesive on the back, so its as simple as peel and stick.
My Advice
Be easy when peeling off the cable from the bracket. There is a small bail that flips up that frees the orange ribbon cable from the black one. It should come out and go back in with ease when the bail is flipped up, so dont force it or you could end up tearing it!
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