accessing files on an old broken MacBook pro

[Algarve]

I've tried googling this but not finding anything as a lot of Mac things seem to depend on model and I'm only finding articles from before the time mines would have been out.

I have a MacBook Pro with the retina bar thing on it, its about 4 years old I think. It stopped working ages ago, the display starting going weird then wouldn't turn on. I can't remember the exact details but at the time I was sure it was a screen problem so presumably the hard disk inside it still works fine. I'm 99% sure it'll be an SSD version I bought, but not 100%..

The laptop was chucked in storage and forgotten about and another one bought to replace it. Now I've realised there are some old work files on there that I could really do with recovering.

Can I take the drive out of the broken Mac, put it in some sort of external caddy and connect it to my iMac? The original laptop had a password to start up the operating system, not sure if this matters. I know the password, just wasn't sure if this would stop me putting it as a 2nd drive on another computer.

Or if I can't use it an external drive, what are the other options? Buying another 2nd hand MacBook of the same generation and swapping the drives over I would assume but it'd be an expensive solution...

Theres nothing of massive value on the busted one so if its gone forever then not a disaster but I could save myself a fair bit of work if I don't need to redo a lot of work I'd left on that one and stupidly not backed up anywhere!

Thanks

[Troubleatmill]

Yes you can. Just get a usb - SATA type cable - And you can even boot from it...

[Algarve]

Troubleatmill said:

Yes you can. Just get a usb - SATA type cable - And you can even boot from it...

Thanks, I'll get one of those 5 point screwdrivers from Amazon then I can open it up and hopefully work out what cable I need.

[xeny]

Troubleatmill said:

Yes you can. Just get a usb - SATA type cable - And you can even boot from it...

Is that true for the Touch Bar MBPs? I thought it was either NVMe or motherboard integrated. This

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+13-Inc...

suggests it is soldered to the motherboard?

[QuartzDad]

If it is just a screen problem could you try connecting it to an external display and accessing it that way?

[Troubleatmill]

xeny said:

Troubleatmill said:

Yes you can. Just get a usb - SATA type cable - And you can even boot from it...

Is that true for the Touch Bar MBPs? I thought it was either NVMe or motherboard integrated. This

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+13-Inc...

suggests it is soldered to the motherboard?

If he can get the SSD out.....

If he can't..... Toast.

[duff-man]

If its a MacPro with the touch bar the SSD will be soldered to the mainboard.

[Mgd_uk]

I think it will have an NVME, so the SATA converter won’t work.

You can get nvme to usb for the job however.

[Troubleatmill]

QuartzDad said:

If it is just a screen problem could you try connecting it to an external display and accessing it that way?

Also valid.

[Algarve]

Thanks for all the replies

If I'm assuming right that the MacBook will power up okay then the cheapest/easiest solution will be to connect it to the iMac I'm typing this one.

I'm not sure if that will work though, I read https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251514028 and that says to change settings on the laptop, which I can't do if I can't see it currently?

[mmm-five]

Algarve said:

Thanks for all the replies

If I'm assuming right that the MacBook will power up okay then the cheapest/easiest solution will be to connect it to the iMac I'm typing this one.

I'm not sure if that will work though, I read https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251514028 and that says to change settings on the laptop, which I can't do if I can't see it currently?

It depends on the age of the iMac. After about mid-2014 you couldn't use the iMac as a display for another machine.

[Algarve]

mmm-five said:

It depends on the age of the iMac. After about mid-2014 you couldn't use the iMac as a display for another machine.

Ah crap, thats that potentially easy solution gone then. My iMac is < 2 years old I think

[babelfish]

Algarve said:

Ah crap, thats that potentially easy solution gone then. My iMac is < 2 years old I think

Get a mini display port to hdmi connector/cable and plug itinto your TV if you don't have a monitor.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rankie-R1101-DisplayPort-...

or if you already have an HDMI cable:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DisplayPort-Adapter-Thund...

Edited by babelfish on Wednesday 3rd February 20:17

[sutoka]

duff-man said:

If its a MacPro with the touch bar the SSD will be soldered to the mainboard.

Mini soldering iron soon sorts that. I've upgraded my retina 15 MBP few times which everything is attached to the motherboard. Easy to upgrade parts with a steady hand, patience and a magnifier.

[xeny]

sutoka said:

Mini soldering iron soon sorts that. I've upgraded my retina 15 MBP few times which everything is attached to the motherboard. Easy to upgrade parts with a steady hand, patience and a magnifier.

Having unsoldered the separate chips, how would you propose the OP read what is probably striped across them?

[AJB88]

If its got the bar thing on it then surely its not that old? I'd be taking it back to Apple to find out whats up with it!

Or have MBP now become throwaway items?

[Algarve]

AJB88 said:

If its got the bar thing on it then surely its not that old? I'd be taking it back to Apple to find out whats up with it!

Or have MBP now become throwaway items?

The screen was physically cracked a little in the bottom corner before this, when my dog knocked it out of the car. I figured with it at the very least needing an entire screen replacement plus fix the other issue, it just wasn't worth the hassle and cost for a 12+ month old laptop.

Given its physically damaged casing I can't really put the blame on Apple so if it needs to go in anywhere I'll try one of the little independent shops who'll hopefully be cheaper.

I'll charge it up tonight and see if anything lights up at all then look at trying to plug it into a monitor first.