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Hi there,
Is there anything suspicious in this report?
I experienced a black screen, needed to remove SSD, battery and ram in order to get the machine on again.
Couldn't boot up, so needed to reinstall Mojave.
Issue kept happening, so I upgraded to Catalina- issue is still happening.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15
Both memory modules would be suspect. I've never heard of Ripjaws before which is not a good sign. Plus the other memory module is too slow for a 2012 MBPro which requires PC3-12,800 or 1600MHz RAM. The fist stick of RAM pictured is PC3-10600 (or 1333MHz) and is for a 2011 laptop.
Macs are very picky about the memory they use. Even if you purchased Crucial RAM you could still have issues unless you purchase the exact memory compatible with your Mac by using the tools on Crucial's website to identify the exact part numbers compatible with your laptop. Relying on technical specifications alone is not enough to get compatible memory because Apple does not provide enough technical specifications for compatible memory and Crucial (and most other memory vendors) do not publish the other technical specifications on their product pages these days anyway. Crucial actually prints "Mac Compatible" on the plastic packaging when shipping Apple compatible memory.
These non-Retina MBPros also tend to develop a bad memory slot (the one nearest the bottom case) due to cracked solder joints due to repeated pressure exerted on the memory slot/Logic Board through the Bottom Case.
OWC is another vendor supplying memory for Macs which should also be Ok, although I've heard reports their memory may not be as good today as it used to be. Our organization typically uses Crucial memory most of the time so I don't have any recent experience with OWC RAM.
Keep in mind a 2012 Mac can only run up to macOS 10.15 Catalina which will only be receiving security updates for about another six months (I have seen recent unconfirmed reports that Catalina may not be receiving all the security updates it should and not always in a timely manner). You can still use the laptop with Catalina even after Apple drops support. It is also possible to install and use non-Apple operating systems on the laptop as well to further extend its useful life (assuming the hardware is good which is hard to tell when purchasing a used computer with unknown history).
Only you can determine if it is worth spending more time & money on this computer with an unknown history. Keep in mind we already know that one memory module which came with this laptop is not correct and the other one is some unknown brand which is likely to be of poor quality. That is already two strikes against this laptop in my opinion and shows the previous owner did not know what they were doing. The Crucial MX series SSD pictured is the only promising thing I've seen so far.
The 2012 MBPro is generally a good model and the last really good Apple laptop. The Retina laptops up to 2015 are Ok, but due to glued in batteries is not nice in my opinion, plus they tend to have anti-reflective coating issues on the Display and speakers which seem to become severely weak & distorted with age). I absolutely despise the Apple USB-C laptops with a passion for the same reasons many others dislike them, plus a lot more reasons which very few people realize since I have to repair them.
Both memory modules would be suspect. I've never heard of Ripjaws before which is not a good sign. Plus the other memory module is too slow for a 2012 MBPro which requires PC3-12,800 or 1600MHz RAM. The fist stick of RAM pictured is PC3-10600 (or 1333MHz) and is for a 2011 laptop.
Macs are very picky about the memory they use. Even if you purchased Crucial RAM you could still have issues unless you purchase the exact memory compatible with your Mac by using the tools on Crucial's website to identify the exact part numbers compatible with your laptop. Relying on technical specifications alone is not enough to get compatible memory because Apple does not provide enough technical specifications for compatible memory and Crucial (and most other memory vendors) do not publish the other technical specifications on their product pages these days anyway. Crucial actually prints "Mac Compatible" on the plastic packaging when shipping Apple compatible memory.
These non-Retina MBPros also tend to develop a bad memory slot (the one nearest the bottom case) due to cracked solder joints due to repeated pressure exerted on the memory slot/Logic Board through the Bottom Case.
OWC is another vendor supplying memory for Macs which should also be Ok, although I've heard reports their memory may not be as good today as it used to be. Our organization typically uses Crucial memory most of the time so I don't have any recent experience with OWC RAM.
Keep in mind a 2012 Mac can only run up to macOS 10.15 Catalina which will only be receiving security updates for about another six months (I have seen recent unconfirmed reports that Catalina may not be receiving all the security updates it should and not always in a timely manner). You can still use the laptop with Catalina even after Apple drops support. It is also possible to install and use non-Apple operating systems on the laptop as well to further extend its useful life (assuming the hardware is good which is hard to tell when purchasing a used computer with unknown history).
Only you can determine if it is worth spending more time & money on this computer with an unknown history. Keep in mind we already know that one memory module which came with this laptop is not correct and the other one is some unknown brand which is likely to be of poor quality. That is already two strikes against this laptop in my opinion and shows the previous owner did not know what they were doing. The Crucial MX series SSD pictured is the only promising thing I've seen so far.
The 2012 MBPro is generally a good model and the last really good Apple laptop. The Retina laptops up to 2015 are Ok, but due to glued in batteries is not nice in my opinion, plus they tend to have anti-reflective coating issues on the Display and speakers which seem to become severely weak & distorted with age). I absolutely despise the Apple USB-C laptops with a passion for the same reasons many others dislike them, plus a lot more reasons which very few people realize since I have to repair them.
Hey Allen,
Thanks for the help and the warm welcome!
Okay so first shocker- I have no antivirus installed- so can you see what sort of software you see installed? I might need to format the SSD to remove it.
The screen is working now. Although most times I open up the MacBook, the screen freezes, it shuts off, restarts and then all I get is a black screen.
The Ram has been upgraded. I have
The SSD is a 500GB Crucial.
I actually bought this MacBook off someone else and that person had built it up to 10gb's of ram and fitted the SSD for me, so I have no idea if the cable was ever replaced. Thanks for letting me know- sounds like this needs a change.
O okay, thanks for the advice about upgrading being the worst thing to do- I hadn't thought about that- but definitely makes sense. I'll change the cable, format the SSD and install Mojave to see if that fixes the issue.
Quick question:
I spent R11'500 buying this last year. I find that overpriced after asking around, but I wanted the iconic 2012 MBP that "never dies"
I've needed to change the battery once already - even though it had a low cycle count, it started giving an error.
I'm now getting this crazy Kernal error, so:
I'm now needing to potentially change the ram to Crucial and change the cable for the SSD.
Is it worth doing these fixes and keeping the MBP, or getting an MacBook Air with an M1 chip instead? I realise this question can be open to opinion, but I'm wanting to hear other opinions. I like that the 2012 MBP is easily repaired, but this one seems to need to be repaired far more often than expected.
Welcome!
Panic logs are hard to read but you appear to have some third-party security or anti-virus software running. For most users they do far more harm than good, being sold using fear instead of facts.
Is the screen working now?
Some history will help us:
Have you upgraded RAM. Many kernel panics are hardware-related and too oftern due to incompatible RAM. If the RAM is upgraded, whose RAM is it? I have seen many cases here since Intel iMacs came out in 2006, where KPs proved to be due to low-quality RAM "claiming" to be compatible. Most senior contributors, all bruised graduates of the "School of Hard Knocks," now use and recommend only Crucial or OWC RAM in our Macs.
... needed to remove SSD,...
What make/model SSD? Was the SSD installed and working without issue well before the current trouble began?
Did you replace the drive CABLE at the same time you installed the SSD? In the 2012 non-Retina models, the drive cable is a wear point that can cause BUCKETS of oddball symptoms, some of which mimic a failing drive. The cable is cheap, available and an easy DIY install. We recommend you change the cable whenever you change out the drive, because rhe cable can start to wear and short after as few as 3-5 years of normal use and transport. Your Macbook Pro is much older than that and the original drive cable is far past its "best by" date!
Issue kept happening, so I upgraded to Catalina- issue is still happening.
FYI, that is about the worst thing you can do when troubleshooting. A major OS upgrade can add more factors to the problem than you can work through. Consider reinstalling Mojave if that is where the issues started, but replace the drive cable first if you have not already replaced it.
Drive cable source:
Apple Hard Drive / SSD Cable For 13-inch MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) main drive bay
Apple Hard Drive / SSD Cable For 15-inch MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) 'Main Drive Bay'
Drive cable install instructions. The 13 and 15 model are roughly the same process.
Kernal Panic: 2012 Macbok Pro
