MacBook Pro S.M.A.R.T Failing

Fuggan · 17 Jun 2013 at 13:41

Hello all,

I just bought and downloaded OSX Mountain Lion for my 15" MBP which I bought brand new in the summer of 2010.

I went to install it and was unable to as I got an error message saying the disk had errors and was unable to be installed on. I ran disk utility and it says that the SMART status of the disk is failing, it has errors and it cannot be repaired.

I don't really know a great deal about Apple hardware so here are my questions:

1. I'm assuming I'll need a new drive! (Unless this is some sort of sneaky Apple bluff which infact can be repaired?) I'm ideally looking for a 500GB hard drive as I don't really have a lot of data on my MBP. Can anyone point out a good, reasonably priced one? Will any old hard drive fit or is it a specific kind I require?

2. Can you get SSDs for these MacBook Pros, with it being a 2010 edition, I'm not sure?

3. When I do get a new hard drive, how will I got about installing OX Mountain Lion? It's currently just downloaded onto my MacBook through the App store. Will I need to create a sort of USB boot drive before I install the new HDD? Has anyone done this before?

Replacing the HDD actually looks quite straightforward from the videos I have seen so plan on doing this myself.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Jonod2977 · 20 Jun 2013 at 13:55

Hi Fuggan,

Id suggest getting an SSD to replace your HDD. Unfortunately once its got to the smart stage you need to replace the drive. i currently have a Crucial M4 SSD in my MBP and works amazingly. Any 2.5" Sata HD will be fine.

The 2010 MBP has a Sata 3 connection on the HD so it will not limit the SSD and in order to install Mountain lion, install the new drive and when booting holding cmd and R and it will boot into the online reocvery partition. You will need to sign into your account when prompted and once confirmed it will download mountain lion for you. This can take a few hours due to the Apple Servers.

Thanks

Jono

deusexlumina · 20 Jun 2013 at 17:44

^^ what he said. Can also vouch for the m4 here.

Jonod2977 · 20 Jun 2013 at 19:38

I fancy boys said:
^^ what he said. Can also vouch for the m4 here.

Ive always gone for the M4's may not be the fastest read and write but from all the reviews they seem one of the most reliable which i think is the most important as when an SSD dies you can say bye to your data.

FreeStream · 21 Jun 2013 at 16:46

Jonod2977 said:
Ive always gone for the M4's may not be the fastest read and write but from all the reviews they seem one of the most reliable which i think is the most important as when an SSD dies you can say bye to your data.

As with any disk...

3 years using SSDs now, not lost a byte.

If you really have 500GB of data to store, look at the Momentus XT 750GB. 16GB of flash to give you some of the SSD benefits without the cost!

theheyes · 21 Jun 2013 at 19:16

I've had trouble with M4s personally, I don't rate them. Out of 10, 2 failed on me within 6 months.

Your mileage may vary of course.

Fuggan · 21 Jun 2013 at 23:04

Damn, saw this pretty late.

I've already gone and ordered a Western Digital Black 500GB replacement drive pretty cheap. I was thinking of buying a new MBP next year sometime anyway so I don't think I would have gone with an SSD in this one, definitely will do in my new one though. This is just to put me on.

Thanks for the help nonetheless.