How can a hardware fault fix itself?

[Barks]

2014 MBP. A few months ago it kept randomly crashing and then refused to turn on as it couldn't find the SSD. I would have to gently tap the case and keep turning it on/off until eventually it would just boot up as normal. I assumed there was a loose connection as the crashes seemed completely random and unrelated to time spent on it or what I was doing (moving files/CPU intensive tasks etc.)

Anyway, went to Asia for 3 weeks and left it at home and now it (touch wood) seems to be working absolutely fine. It has done a software update but it has been going strong since I got back. Hasn't crashed once whilst editing all my RAW photos in Lightroom etc.

Just thought this was all a bit odd. Could it have been software related? I'm over the moon as I didn't want to hand Apple any more money and I can't stand the lack of USB/SD card slots on the new MBP.

 

[Alpherah]

Could be software related for sure, or a random flex cable with a partial disconnect which has through cooling now become fully connected again although rare.

Failing SSD’s also can suddenly start working again after months of doing nothing -
Tends to be short lived though

 

[Barks]

Ran disk diagnostics and this doesn't sound good:

Checking the extent ref tree.
Checking the fsroot tree.
error: invalid dstream.default_crypto_id (0x4), given apfs_fs_flags (0x1)
error: xf : INO_EXT_TYPE_DSTREAM : invalid dstream
error: inode_val: object (oid 0x1b7972e): invalid xfields
fsroot tree is invalid.
The volume /dev/rdisk1s1 could not be verified completely.
File system check exit code is 0.

 

[Alpherah]

Get apple to run diags on the hdd, looks to be failing though

 

[Barks]

Yeah that's what I thought. Problem is it's completely out of warranty now. A quick Google seems to reveal this is a common problem on older MBP upgrading to Mojave.

I've been messing around in disk recovery and CMD+S and managed to get it to do this. I guess I'll just have to see how it behaves over the next few weeks.

warning: found orphan dstream id object (id 34987262, refcnt 1)
too many warnings generated; suppressing subsequent ones.
Verifying allocated space.
Performing deferred repairs.
The volume /dev/rdisk1s1 appears to be OK.
File system check exit code is 0.
Restoring the original state found as mounted.

Operation successful.

 

[Combat squirrel]

Get a time machine backup done right away and keep backing up if you continue to use the machine

 

[Barks]

Pretty much everything I do is cloud-based anyway with all photography/RAW files backed up onto external HD.

Assuming I don't really need to do a backup as signing in to a new laptop with my ID would restore important stuff like Safari passwords etc.

I'll basically keep using it until it dies with the expectation it's going to go any minute.

 

[Alpherah]

Wouldn’t advise changing the storage as it’s a pain on the post 2012 iMac .

You could use a SSD in a thunderbolt 2 enclosure and boot an OS from it though

 

[Barks]

Wouldn’t advise changing the storage as it’s a pain on the post 2012 iMac .

You could use a SSD in a thunderbolt 2 enclosure and boot an OS from it though

I'll have a look at this.

I really want to avoid the new MBP at all costs. The lack of USB/SD/functionality is just a royal pain and I've heard the keyboard is a shocker too.

 

[Alpherah]

Sorry it’s Mbp not iMac! It’s not too bad actually to replace the ssd in these , there are upgrade kits online

 

[Barks]

Sorry it’s Mbp not iMac! It’s not too bad actually to replace the ssd in these , there are upgrade kits online

I must not be looking hard enough as all the kits I can find are expired on various websites.

I'd honestly rather fix this one than give Apple another penny of my hard earned cash. I find modern MBP pricing quite offensive, they're embarrassingly overpriced for what you get.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

From a quick google, it appears you need the same adapter that I recently purchased for a Macbook Air.
Search for; Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card For Upgrade 2013-2015 MacBook
Its available on the famous site of the river for just under £10, then you can just get any NVME ssd you want.

See the product description for the steps on what to do. Some people report Kernel issues or being unable to hibernate etc but theres a lot of people who use it with no issues.

I believe a combo of that Sintech adapter and a Sabrent Rocket NVME drive is a known reliable setup.

 

[Invertigo]

As above, you can get adaptors that allow you to use nvme drives in the 2014 MBP. Much cheaper than sourcing a proprietary drive or replacement.