Resurrecting an old MacBook Pro
April 6, 2022 10:33 AM Subscribe
I have a long-neglected MacBook Pro 8 (purchased in 2011) that I recently rediscovered, but I can’t get past the prompt to install OS X. Is there any way to recover my data?
The last time I used the computer was probably 2016-2017. when I try to boot it up, I get a prompt asking me to install OS X.
When I try to install OS X, I get an error stating “no packages were eligible for install”
Since the computer is considered “vintage” (7+ years old), it’s not eligible for support from Apple.
I have some old Ableton files that I’d like to pull from the hard drive and some random *.txt files. Is it possible to recover those items?
The last time I used the computer was probably 2016-2017. when I try to boot it up, I get a prompt asking me to install OS X.
When I try to install OS X, I get an error stating “no packages were eligible for install”
Since the computer is considered “vintage” (7+ years old), it’s not eligible for support from Apple.
I have some old Ableton files that I’d like to pull from the hard drive and some random *.txt files. Is it possible to recover those items?
If you had hard drive encryption enabled, you might be out of luck, unless the target disk mode works. But otherwise the data is there. You might have to boot into a bootable Linux distribution but the files will be accessible.
posted by Candleman at 10:56 AM on April 6, 2022
posted by Candleman at 10:56 AM on April 6, 2022
You can always pull out the hard drive and get an adaptor cable that will allow you to connect it to a USB port on another computer.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:16 AM on April 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:16 AM on April 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
It's possible your drive is just dead. If you hold down Option while booting you should be able to see your hard disk listed. If you just get a question mark then it can't see a drive.
HOWEVER, it's also possible that it's just a bad ribbon cable or something. This happened on my Macbook of same vintage.
If you're just interested in recovering the files, you can remove the drive physically (it's pretty easy, look on ifixit) and connect it to another Mac, using a USB-SATA adapter. Target Disk Mode is maaaaaaaybe an option with the right FireWire cable but it's a pretty obsolete feature with the newer Macs.
posted by neckro23 at 11:45 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
HOWEVER, it's also possible that it's just a bad ribbon cable or something. This happened on my Macbook of same vintage.
If you're just interested in recovering the files, you can remove the drive physically (it's pretty easy, look on ifixit) and connect it to another Mac, using a USB-SATA adapter. Target Disk Mode is maaaaaaaybe an option with the right FireWire cable but it's a pretty obsolete feature with the newer Macs.
posted by neckro23 at 11:45 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I replaced more than a hundred hard drive ribbon cables in that laptop when I worked at an Apple Certified Shop.
I'd pull the hard drive out and connect it to another computer as jonathanhughes & neckro23 suggest. The drive is probably fine.
posted by gregr at 3:02 PM on April 6, 2022
I'd pull the hard drive out and connect it to another computer as jonathanhughes & neckro23 suggest. The drive is probably fine.
posted by gregr at 3:02 PM on April 6, 2022
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:40 AM on April 6, 2022 [4 favorites]