Macbook Problems: Hard Drive Failure or Bad Ram?

I bought a used Black Macbook several months ago. Everything was fine until recently I ran into some problems. It wouldn't boot one day at all, so I wiped the drive clean and reinstalled Snow Leopard. Once again everything was fine for a while until the same thing happened and I once again wiped and reinstalled. The first time it happened I used diskwarrior and disk utility to try and repair the drive with no luck. The weird thing is that after reinstalling I can check the disk and it verifies as ok until one day it fails.
I know that the guy I bought the laptop from upgraded the RAM and the HDD. He didn't do such a good installing the HDD since the IR port and Sleep Indicator Light don't function properly anymore. I've read that happens a lot when installing a new HDD.
So, Here are the symptoms:
Disk Failures
Erratic boot times: Sometimes only 90 seconds, sometimes as long as 13 minutes
Hang ups, beach balls in normal every day tasks
Complete system freezes during normal use
I've never had a kernel panic.
Recently when the system wouldn't boot I ran in verbose mode and it said something about error reading kernel cache Error 0x80000020
Is this definitely my HDD, or could my RAM be causing this?

Thanks for the replies!
Yeah, I think it's the HDD. I was just worried that the RAM was bad and corrupted the HDD or something, but given the symptoms I think you guys are right. Ordered a 7200RPM 320GB HDD off Amazon Prime...will be here tomorrow
I'll post how it goes after I finish installing it. I'm backing up as I type.
I wonder if I can fix the ir port and the sleep indicator light when I install the hard-drive. The sleep indicator light never turns off. It stays on as long as my computer is on, only turns off when I shut it down.

Similar Messages

MacBook Pro hard drive failure- data recovery possible?

Hi everyone, I have a June 2009 MBP that stopped turning on the other day and it just sits on a gray screen when trying to boot up. I had it taken in to a small little authorized Apple repair shop since I am living out in BFE and they said it has a hard drive failure which is causing the problems. They said there is no way to recover the data. Is that right? I'd imagine there has to be someway to recover it. Is there somewhere I can send it in or something? At this point even if it were to cost a lot I'd like to get the data off of it if there is the possibility.
Inb4: should've backed it up!

You may be able to boot from an external hard drive and repair the disk enough to copy the data from it, even if it will no longer boot. There are a number of hard drive recovery services. Apple even lists a couple of them (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3974) that are authorized to recover data from hard drives without voiding the warranty. The warranty is not an issue with a machine from 2009, but those are high quality, reputable companies.
Most such companies have you send them the hard drive and they will give you an estimate of how much it will cost to recover the data, if possible. Some people have reported that Data Rescue 3 comes with a coupon for free diagnostics and $100 off data recovery from The Data Rescue Center. That was a couple of years ago. I don't know if the same deals are in place now.

MacBook (2007) Hard Drive failure?

Half an hour ago my MacBook started to have quite a large clicking noise, somewhat kind of like the optical disk checker that happens when you start up your Mac, but slightly different.
20 seconds later, everything started freezing. I forced-shutdown the Mac and when I opened it up again, it had a dimly lit screen and had the loud jingle noise that happens when you start it up.
Is this a hard drive failure or a logic board failure? There's no broken folder indicator-It's just a dimly lit white screen and that's it.
Please reply back.
Thanks,
JFWarr

Apple has a hard drive repair program for Macbooks sold in 2007. See information at http://www.apple.com/support/macbook/hd/repairextension/

HT201262 how do you confirm a Macbook Pro hard drive failure?

I have an older Macbook Pro that I want to bring back to life.
All indications point to full hard drive failure.
How do I confirm that the drive needs to be replaced?

Welcome dadzpony,
The simplest way is to start it up with the original disks. Go to Disk Utility and try to repair the original drive. If Disk Utility can't repair it then it's probably dead.
If you had a drive in an external enclosure with an appropriate OS you could boot with that also. Hold "option" down while booting and select the drive you want to boot from.
The HD in this machine is easy to replace. Go here for instructions:
www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro

New 15" Macbook Pro hard drive failure

It is common for a 15" Macbook Pro hard drive to crash after 3 months? How does Apple Support generally fix? Genuis bar seemed overwhelmed by holiday crowds and recommended an $8k 3rd party vendor.

"Any disk can fail at any time."
Over a large sample, the drives used are extremely reliable. You did not have a large sample, you had ONE drive.
Now you are much smarter than you were before this disaster. Apple will not pay for your data recovery. You (and everyone) need a backup solution.
Apple provides an excelent backup solution called Time Machine, that can do hourly backups to an external drive without disturbing your current work. Buy yourself an external drive at least twice as large as the built-in. Turn on Time machine, make sure it is working, plug it in at least daily, and then don't worry about it any more.

2012 Macbook Pro Hard drive failure

I have a 13" MBP purchased in September 2012 with a 750GB hard drive. A few weeks ago I noticed it running slower than usual and sometimes it wouldn't boot correctly, throwing up the folder question mark or the circle strike through symbol at the boot screen, so I went to the Apple Store. The genius ran some test on it to see if the drive was working properly and it wouldn't even complete the test. He told me it would be about $185 to replace the hard drive, including labor, but I've had this computer for barely a year and a half (my first mac) and I find it really hard to believe that just some basic student use and mild gaming (The Sims 3) would cause a hard drive to fail after just barely a year. I've read other posts about hard drive failure for the same year MBP's so my question is, how common is this and why isn't Apple doing something about it? I've also seen people who post about replacing the drive and finding out its the SATA cable or the PRAM or something else. How much should I trust this genius from Apple, and what should I do to find out if it really is the hard drive, because almost $200 is a little much for a struggling student to pay to replace this laptop that I spent $1700 buying a year and a half ago and the guy's explaination of "its like a tire, it happens" just doesn't fly with me. Help?

Thirty percent of HDDs fail within 3 years. Your case is not uncommon. Furthermore, Apple does not make hard drives. They purchase them from hard drive mfgrs. So, why would this be Apple's fault? Despite what you would prefer to believe, it does happen. Pay the money and replace the drive or just sit there and curse your computer for no longer working because you think someone is out for your money and lying to you.

Macbook problems, hard drive crash, random shutdown, freezes

I bought my macbook used a few months ago, and it worked flawlessly until about 3 weeks ago. The system started freezing and not booting (getting folder icon instead of apple at startup). I ran drive setup and tried to repair the drive, but this did not fix the problem. DiskWarrior also could not fix it. I pulled the drive and installed a new hard drive, as I wanted a larger capacity anyways. All my problems appeared fixed for about two weeks, then similar problems began occurring. I backed up all the files I needed to an external firewire drive and attempted to reformat the new internal drive. Drive Setup says it can not reformat the drive - can't mount it and if it does, the drive disappears while in the process of formatting. I pulled the new drive and am having it replaced under warranty. I am using the firewire drive to run my computer, and this seemed to work fine for a day or two until the computer just started shutting down with no warning. Everything goes black, including the little light on the front of the computer. I have to hold down the power button for 10 seconds before it lets me start the computer back up. I had read this may be a memory issue, so I ran memtest and it says the memory is fine (I need to do it in single user mode still, however). I also tried pulling both sticks of ram. They are both 1GB crucial memory. I put each stick in by itself and tried it in both slots and was able to reproduce the shutdown issue with any ram configuration of either stick.
After all this, I realized the firewire drive was only running 10.5, so I updated all the software through software update, and it is now running 10.5.2. It seems to be working better as I have not experienced a random shutdown yet, but I'm anticipating it may start back up soon. Today, however I experienced a different problem - the screen froze on me and the only way to get anything to happen was to force a shutdown with them power button. It's restarted and seems to be working fine again for now.
I've run some logs and here's some things I've found:
When the latest freeze happened, I got this repeated over 100 times:
Apr 29 11:04:31 jon-turners-macbook quicklookd[536]: CGContextClosePath: no current point.
I've also seen this:
Apr 29 11:18:19 jon-turners-macbook kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: 3
Apr 29 11:18:19 jon-turners-macbook kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Apr 25 19:19:50 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Should there be anything else I can check? I would run Apple Hardware Utilities, but I don't have the original disks, just the Leopard installer. I have Disk Warrior, but it seems strange this would happen with multiple systems and drives. I'd like to get Techtool Pro, but haven't had the money/time to order it yet.

Thanks for the replies!
Yeah, I think it's the HDD. I was just worried that the RAM was bad and corrupted the HDD or something, but given the symptoms I think you guys are right. Ordered a 7200RPM 320GB HDD off Amazon Prime...will be here tomorrow
I'll post how it goes after I finish installing it. I'm backing up as I type.
I wonder if I can fix the ir port and the sleep indicator light when I install the hard-drive. The sleep indicator light never turns off. It stays on as long as my computer is on, only turns off when I shut it down.

Macbook Pro Hard Drive Failure?

Ok so about 2 days ago my mid-2012 i5 macbook froze on me and I had to do a hard reboot. Only thing was that instead of the usual apple logo during bootup, it was a circle with a slash through it. tried rebooting it a few more times, no luck. booted into disk utilities and tried repairing permissions and such. still didnt fix the problem. eventually i took out the hard drive itself, plugged it into my pc to back everything up, and tried doing a fresh install. installation went seamlessly until bootup for the first time (when you set up your account info), then it starts flashing the apple logo, the circle with slash, and folder with question mark rapidly. is my hard drive failing or is it something else?

Try Clinton's suggestion first. If that didn't do it, see if the drive boots and works ok while in an external enclosure. If so, it's probably the SATA cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-TB4P/dp/B005EIGUD4/ ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392911918&sr=8-1&keywords=2.5+enclosure+usb+3.0

My Macbook's Hard Drive is going bad, does anyone know a reliable, and cheap replacement.

Hey, the computer still works, but it's in the process of going bad... it's been a little spoty, and I'd like to replace it.
Here are the statistics
Model Name:    MacBook
Model Identifier:    MacBook4,1
Processor Name:    Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:    2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors:    1
Total Number Of Cores:    2
L2 Cache:    3 MB
Memory:    2 GB
Bus Speed:    800 MHz
Boot ROM Version:    MB41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system):    1.31f1
Serial Number (system):    W88358WA0P2
Hardware UUID:    0A2F7E4B-23E2-5CA3-B336-D1EBE3BE595A
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State:    Enabled
VERSION 10.6.8
BUILD: 10K549
INTEL-ICH8-M AHCI:
Vendor:    Intel
Product:    ICH8-M AHCI
Link Speed:    1.5 Gigabit
Negotiated Link Speed:    1.5 Gigabit
Description:    AHCI Version 1.10 Supported
FUJITSU MHY2250BH:
Capacity:    250.06 GB (250,059,350,016 bytes)
Model:    FUJITSU MHY2250BH
Revision:    0081000D
Serial Number:            K43CT882P00N
Native Command Queuing:    Yes
Queue Depth:    32
Removable Media:    No
Detachable Drive:    No
BSD Name:    disk0
Medium Type:    Rotational
Partition Map Type:    GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:    Verified
Volumes:
Capacity:    209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
Writable:    Yes
BSD Name:    disk0s1
Macintosh HD:
Capacity:    249.72 GB (249,715,376,128 bytes)
Available:    50.31 GB (50,314,424,320 bytes)
Writable:    Yes
File System:    Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:    disk0s2
Mount Point:    /
Thanks for the suggestions.

For a new hard drive try Newegg.com
Regular SATA drives http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE Use the list at the left for larger and faster drives.
SSD drives
http://www.newegg.com/Internal-SSD/SubCategory/ID-636?Order=PRICE Use the list at the left for larger and faster drives.
Or OWC for regular hard drives and SSDs http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are step by step instructions with pictures on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
To transfer your current hard drive I like the applications Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper. They make a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive. http://www.bombich.com/index.html or http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B002JQNXZC/r ef=pd_cp_pc_0
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

Hard Drive Failure (Flashing folder with question mark!)

After reading some of the topics on the forum, I know that the flashing folder with the question mark that I get when I try to turn on my Macbook is hard drive failure. I know to fix it that I need to Boot with the Installer Disk in the Drive, holding down The C key. But, will doing this destroy all of my pictures and other content? My pictures are really important and I dont want to lose them and I never backed them up ( dumb move, I know!).
Thanks!!

There are two basic possibilities when you get the flashing ? : 1) the hard drive is physically damaged or dead and 2) the hard drive has data errors
When you attempt to boot up with the system disks and then switch to Disk Utilities, the first thing to look for is if the program sees your drive. If it doesn't the drive is almost certainly dead and getting data from it will be costly. If the program does see the drive you'll want to attempt to repair it - press the repair button. If the repair fails, another repair utility may be able to repair the damage, at least well enough to get your data off. That program is DiskWarrior. If the repair succeeds the computer probably will need to have the OS reinstalled - my experience is about 90% of the time the repair fixed the drive but left the OS damaged.
When you reinstall the OS select options on the first screen beyond the language selection screen. Here you can (hopefully) select Archive and Install. This option will install a new operating system but leave the programs and data unchanged.
<short lecture on>As you've learned, it isn't if your drive sill sometime fail, it is when. Hard drives are relatively inexpensive. Buy one and backup your drive at least weekly. At the very least purchase a flash drive large enough to copy your very very important data and burn a DVD every week or month.<short lecture off>

Macbook Pro 2011 extremely slow wondering if hard drive failure

Hello, I want to start off by saying I'm not a huge computer guru, so that is why I'm coming here first. My Macbook Pro worked very well for a year, and then it has slowed down drastically. I've always been a windows user so mac is kind of foreign to me, but I'm trying to learn.
Some problems I've encountered are 1. Extremely slow running whether internet related, or just an application. I have checked the activity monitor and nothing is hogging up my memory. 2. Spinning wait cursor (rainbow circle) when I try to do ANYTHING. It takes minutes to start computer once it makes it to home screen. The circle just spins for a few minutes. Even just web surfing it's there. 3. Battery drains from 100% to less than 20% in 30 minutes, which again is annoying. 4. When battery drains the fan turns on and seems to drain battery even faster. 5. I get a lot of random errors forcing shut down of programs. I have ignored this problem for two years by not using my laptop or using it very minimally, but I am going to be needing a laptop again for school and not just my iPad and phone so I was planning on taking my macbook to genius bar, but wanted to check here first since Apple is an hour away. Plus I want to be able to use the piece of equipment that I spent a decent chunk of change on. I used time machine to back up everything today. I know its not a space issue as I have 300+ free GB on hard drive. I have tried to read through similar posts, but its overwhelming so I came here to post my own question.
I ran disc utility and there were some errors, which were able to be corrected after a couple tries. Computer still slow though when trying to do anything and running rainbow circle.
In recovery mode I reinstalled OSX
I was finally able to install updates after completing the above that were not able to be installed before.
I ran etre check, this is the report that came up:
Problem description:
Extremely slow computer, possible hard drive failure
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 3, 2014 9:25:29 PM EST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1
1 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0:6:50
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HTS547550A9E384 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (357.49 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.0) Support
/Users/[redacted]/Downloads/LCC Installer.app
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.5.1 - SDK 10.0) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
[failed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist Support
[running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.savvyconnectmenu.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.scservice.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
SavvyConnect UNKNOWN (missing value)
Google Chrome Application (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Growl Support
Java Support
Logitech Control Center Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      11% Safari
      3% WindowServer
      0% fontd
      0% Google Chrome
      0% ps
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
245 MB WebProcess
206 MB System Preferences
168 MB Safari
99 MB mds
82 MB Google Chrome
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
1.37 GB Free RAM
1.57 GB Active RAM
318 MB Inactive RAM
1.03 GB Wired RAM
436 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Basically I'm wondering if anything sticks out in this report. I was thinking it could be a possible hard drive failure. I know my computer has been dropped on the floor at least a few times. Thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for your patience.

Eab, I feel your pain! I am replying simply to share my similar ongoing experience with my early 2011 17 inch MacBook Pro, running Mavericks with seeming ample hard drive space, [applications requiring less than 100GB, about 200GB data (total drive space of 500GB)] & 4GB RAM. (Disclaimer: I am not a wise or computer-savvy mac guru - simply a fellow traveler who has had a very similar set of problems - apps taking forever to load, rapid battery depletion & super overheated MacBook. While I am a Genius Bar groupie, getting to the Apple store is, for me, akin to an antarctic polar expedition (i.e. problematic). Having spent endless hours struggling with a similar issue, I offer you a synopsis of my struggle/experience.
STEPS TO DATE:
1.Installed several memory utility programs (Daisy Disk & MacCleanse) system
maintenance program to regularly and thoroughly empty application caches (Adobe apps & internet browsers being tremendous hogs), identify and remove language elements and other redundant space hogs, etc.   Result: Small, but real improvement when I forced myself to perform a "scan and delete" session every second major computer run (typically about 6-8 hours in length). However, this did nothing to help the problems regularly detected when I run the Disk Utility which almost invariably demonstrates disk permissions that need to be repaired and, with increasing frequency, has demonstrated actual disk errors that require restarting and walking through a disk repair protocol. I did bring it to the Genius Bar where they kindly reinstalled Mavericks which they could do in about an hour versus the several hours that doing this at home requires. This did identify that my RAM was, on fact, a limitation on the speed at which I could run certain apps.
2. My next move was to install an additional 4GB of RAM. I bought the new RAM on eBay for about $90 because, with 3 kids equipped with MacBooks & iPhones, I simply couldn't afford the official Apple RAM. I even installed it myself, with the help of a YouTube video. Result: Giant improvement in speed (starting up or switching apps. If I had realized how simple it turned out to be, I would have done it well over a year ago. Some minor improvement in the overheating problem, but persistent problems with disk permissions continually requiring repair and periodic disk repairs (using Disk Utility) required.
PLANNED FINAL INTERVENTION:
3. I am purchasing and installing a solid state drive (ssd) and simply chucking the original hard drive, after considerable discussion with my savvier mac friends. It has become clear to me that, sadly, every hard drive has a finite life affected by a variety of factors. I am, in fact, hard on my equipment - running multiple graphic apps simultaneously, transferring massive GBs of data between my laptop, time capsule and an array of hard drives. I will let you know how it goes, but can share that the decision to get a solid state drive followed many conversations with multiple Mac guru-types (in the hope of saving you similar painful tribulations). The cost varies according to the size of the drive, but $400-$500 would buy a reasonable starting size. I am waiting for Black Friday sales, myself. Amazon (where I will likely purchase the ssd) is already offering a number of pre-Black Friday deals. While I don't really feel like putting out that amount of cash, I reassure myself that a new drive will almost certainly solve the disk errors (with a solid state one offering more durability) & will help me prolong the life of my MacBook Pro by a couple of years hopefully. It beats buying a new Apple MacBook only three and a half years after investing close to $3k for this one!
I am certain that more experienced forum users could point you to software that could help defragment your drive or may be able to offer other solutions. I've simply had enough of struggling with burning thighs and head-banging behavior triggered by slow performance. I hope this is helpful to you in some small way. The war is not yet over, but I'm feeling good about the battle plan!

My MacBook Air chimes during startup but flashes a bar at the bottom then shuts down, is this a hard drive failure or a hard ware failure? Please help I miss my laptop

First generation MacBook Air running OSX 10.6.8

Hi,
From what you describe it's certainly a Hard Drive failure so you'll definetely need to contact HP. Personally, considering this is the 2nd HDD in under 2 months, I say it's either bad luck ( however unlikely ) or there is another issue at play - it may be worth suggesting this to HP when you contact them.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Macbook Pro Hard Drive Problem - Please Help

My macbook pro had a hard drive failure so I went out and bought a new hard drive and got it to work with the Mac OS, although 2 days later it crashed and now it is not being found when I use the disk utility (Cmd-R), I even ran a hardware test and showed no trouble found.
Should I return this hard drive and get another?
Or is there another problem that is occuring?
I have a Macbook Pro (mid 2012)
Thank You.

I just installed a new ribbon cable for the hard drive...Now I get a new error that is popping a message saying "2003-f", this happens when I try to go to the online recovery (CMD-R). I tried two different hard drives and still won't let me get to the utility.
Someone please help, my mini semester classes have started for my University, and I am stuck with no laptop.
Thank You.

My 13" black macbook keeps having hard drive failures -- I'm on my third hard drive

The first one lasted 2 years. It failed within the special warranty period that Apple offered because so many computers like mine were also having hard drive failures. I didn't know about the special warranty they were offering, even after contacting Apple and telling them about my problem and describing the exact symptoms of the problem they were fixing for free. Thank you for that. So I went to a local store and paid ~$130 to have it fixed. This time I was paranoid about not moving my computer, and if I did have to move it, make sure it was off. Then without warning, it happens again less than 2 years later. I would expect a computer hard drive, especially one that is taken care of as well as mine, to last more ~20 months (less than 2 years) TWICE. It seems that this is a problem not with the hard drive but with the computer. I'm pretty upset that hard drives are now basically disposable -- I'm afraid to use it now unless absolutely necessary, otherwise I'll feel like I'm making its clock tick closer and closer to the next time it fries the hard drive. For as much as I paid for this computer, I expect a bit more than that. Unless there is some magical fix to this, I can safely say my next computer will be a super cheap net book.
Does anyone have any more info on this, any ways to avoid frying more hard drives, or has any one had any luck resolving this issue with Apple? I greatly appreciate any help. Thank you!

Mechanical hard drives have moveable parts and they are going to fail eventually. Every drive has an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating in the thousands of hours, but that is an average (half will fail sooner, half will fail later) not an absolute longevity guarantee.
I've used an original (Apple-OEM Fujitsu 120Gb 5400rpm), a Hitachi 320Gb 7200rpm, and currently a Seagate 500Gb 7200rpm drive in my mid-2007 MacBook. I replaced the 120Gb because I was running out of room. I still use it as an external backup for certain files. The 320Gb Hitachi failed after less than two years, but had a three-year-warranty, so it was replaced at no charge. I'm using the Hitachi replacement externally to clone my current drive in order to test OS X and software updates before installing them 'for keeps' on my working system.
A solid-state (SSD) drive might be less prone to mechanical failure, but that is still no absolute guarantee that it won't EVER fail, and SSD's are still about double or more the cost of mechanical drives.
The best thing is to simply be prepared for the eventual failure with a strategy for frequent and reliable backups.

MacBook Pro Hard Drive Repair/Permissions Problems

My MacBook Pro (2.2GHz) wouldn't start. I was getting the grey screen with the Apple logo and the spinning wheel that never stops. Tried zapping the PRAM. Tried holding down the shift key. No luck.
So I finally booted from the Leopard Install CD. No problem. Figured I'd use the Disk Utility to repair the disk. I get the following two problems every time:
REPAIR DISK PERMISSIONS:
Repairing Permissions for "GROOVY"
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
REPAIR DISK:
Checking Catalog File
incorrect block count for file pcscd.pub
(it should be 16 instead of 17)
Every time I re-launch the computer, using the Leopard CD, I get the same two problems. Can't repair permissions at all. And I get the same "incorrect block count for file pcscd.pub" error when trying to Repair Disk. Even though Disk Utility appeared to repair that problem (and then recheck it) the last time.
Anyway I was able to use Firewire Target Disk Mode to copy all my files to my PowerMac G4. While I was connected I also used DiskWarrior. Seemed to repair the disk with no problems.
So at this point I've pretty much resigned myself to doing an Archive and Install. Unfortunately I've tried it twice and I keep getting this:
INSTALL FAILED
Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer
The installer could not install some files in "/Volumes/GROOVY". Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.
Click restart to restart your computer and try again.
Now I'm going to try wiping the disk and doing a fresh install. If that doesn't work I guess I'll have to call Apple. Anybody else having similar problems?
Thanks,
LT

As I understand it, you can't fix a failing SMART status. Believe me I tried on my iBook! I was originally under the impression that DiskWarrior and Tech Tool Pro could fix anything, but I now understand that they and Disk Utility can only repair the directory. As it was explained to me, SMART was set up to give warning of hard drive failure so that you could rescue your data before the hard drive dies altogether. You can disable it I think, but that's like putting black tape over the warning light in your car that lights up if you are running out of oil--possible to do, but not a good idea.
So if your SMART status is failing, then the only cure is to replace the hard drive. The hard drive can work for a while, but it's on its way out.
Here's a little background information on SMART status:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000184.htm
And I hope this was just a rhetorical question!

Macbook Problems: Hard Drive Failure or Bad Ram?

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