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Hey guys , my macbook pro is a little old but its specced out and was working perfectly up until a week ago when it just started to randomly shutdown on the boot screen. In the middle of loading the OS the computer will just shut down unexpectedly without an error message. I can boot the computer in safe mode BUT I have to hold all the keys continuously and if I let go the computer shuts off. I tried resetting the SMC and PRAM but it’s still doing the same things – I was thinking maybe replacing the battery would help but the computer is doing the same thing off AC power so I’m not sure // is it time to hang it up? Any help is greatly appreciated!
It usually boils down to one or more of these things being the cause: A Bad Hard Drive CableFailing Hard Drive Usually it is a failing hard drive if it is the original drive from when the machine was bought. If it is indeed the drive failing I recommend getting the drive cable and hard drive replaced at the same time, this’ll fix the problem and load up the machine a lot faster if you replace it with a SSD (Solid State Drive) which is what phones similarly use. MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Cable Replacement MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Replacement MacBook and MacBook Pro (Non-Retina) SSD Upgrade Kit If you do happen to have a windows computer or laptop available you can plug the MacBook hard drive into a 2.5” enclosure / adapter so that you can check the health of the hard drive using a program called Hard Disk Sentinel. If the drive has any weak or bad sectors it’s time to replace the drive, if it’s still 100% health I still recommend replacing it because those 2011-2012 drives tend to fail after 5 years.
You have a lot of testing to do still before hanging this great little machine up. What drive is in it -HDD or SSD? Have you tried isolating the RAM one stick at a time? Have you formatted the drive and reinstalled the OS? You said “hold all keys down continuously” or it shuts down. Can you elaborate ? This for safe mode boot, just shift? Internet Recovery mode work?
