Chosen Solution
I have a really twisted and weird problem here! I replaced my HD with an SSD (Crucial MX300), and the laptop was running fine with this upgrade. At some point, the OS was having weird behaviors, eventually freezing without having the possibility to work. The last step of this regression has been the fleshing question mark when starting up the machine. I saw on different blogs the problem is related to the sata cable. Thus I ordered one compatible with my macbook pro (with brackets): https://eustore.ifixit.com/en/Parts/MacB… After few weeks of having a perfectly working machine, the same problems appeared, leading to the same flashing question mark when starting the laptop….. Please, help! Update (03/14/2017) Hi guys, thanks for your answers. @gigabit87898 to be more precise, below () are the hardware specs of my laptop: so it has a 6Gb/s interface. I also bought a compatible SSD from Crucial website: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/macbook-pr… @sherlock_holmes I have already tried a Samsung 850 EVO, unfortunately with the same outcome. @thethirdtwin I am using the SSD connected externally through USB to boot the machine, and it works just fine. I was thinking at some deeper problem, related to the interface itself or something related? () Hardware Overview: Model Name: MacBook Pro Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,1 Processor Name: Intel Core i5 Processor Speed: 2,3 GHz Number of Processors: 1 Total Number of Cores: 2 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB L3 Cache: 3 MB Memory: 4 GB Boot ROM Version: MBP81.0047.B2C SMC Version (system): 1.68f99 Serial Number (system): C02FD3R7DH2L Hardware UUID: 00954623-0239-5912-BFA7-C8A82231FDCA Intel 6 Series Chipset: Vendor: Intel Product: 6 Series Chipset Link Speed: 6 Gigabit Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported
Go to the 2012 HD/IR cable: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable
That SSD is not compatible with your system. You need a SATA II one (3.0Gb/s) but that is a SATA III one (6.0Gb/s). Now you will need a different SSD and cable. If you keep using that drive it will just keep killing hard drive cables. If this was helpful please click accept answer.
I have solved the problem! At least for my machine. I ended up ringing the local mac people and was told that when they install an SSD optical drive caddy - they put the SSD in the place that the original HD is and put the original in the caddy, because the original architecture can support 6Gb/s whereas the optical drive only supports 3Gb/s - But a standard HD can use the 3Gb/s speed of the optical drive. So I did all that, swapped them over, used the original HD externally to shift all my data etc to the new SSD, installed the original HD in the caddy and hey presto!! I have a new machine that is now FAST! It is running like a new mac. Very impressed. This seems to be the solution. Put the SSD in the original HD space and the original in the caddy. Hope it works for other people.
Try a different Hard drive
Your drive might be have been dead on arrival, I’d suggest contacting Crucial for troubleshooting and potential RMA.
