Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by phs318u 2254 days ago
Not sure myself though I’m sure books will in future be written about “the early signs of Apple’s demise”. My MacbookAir 6,2 (mid-2013) was screwed after the 10.15.4 update (not the supplemental). The SSD was totally not recognised. I’ve tried SMC and NVRAM resets numerous times and remote Recovery. The drive is now invisible. I opened it up to reseat it (cleaning pins and socket) to no avail.

Fortunately I’ve got a 256GB SDXC card which I’ve installed Pop!_OS on - which has convinced me that now’s as good a time as any to extricate myself from the Apple ecosystem (which I’m all in on - iCloud, Apple Music etc). My next laptop will be non-Apple. First non-Apple hardware in this house since 2003.

I’ll try swapping the drive with my daughter’s - she has the same model. At least I’ll know whether it’s the drive or the logic board. Then I can sell the bits.
2 comments
hpkuarg 2254 days ago
The screen on my MacbookPro13,1 (late 2016) recently gave out. I needed a replacement but I was not convinced by any of the current Apple offerings -- I can't stand the stupid touch bar on the Pros, and the new MBA didn't sufficiently excite me.

The usual build-to-order options like Dell or Lenovo being backordered due to the pandemic, I walked into a Costco and bought a LG Gram 17[0]. This is the first time I bought a laptop off the shelf, and the first time my primary laptop has not been a Mac, in over a decade. I installed Xubuntu 18.04 LTS on it with no fanfare and have been quite happy with it since.

The early signs of Apple's demise, indeed.

[0] https://www.lg.com/us/laptops/lg-17z90n-r.aac8u1-ultra-slim-...

link
throwlaplace 2253 days ago
what did you do with the dead macbook? i'd be interested in purchasing it
link
Wingy 2253 days ago
Please let me know if replacing the drive works, my friend has the same issue.
link
phs318u 2239 days ago
Hi Wingy. Sorry this is two weeks late. Life intervened. I swapped mine and my daughter’s SSD’s and it’s definitely the drive and not the logic board in my case. That’s no guarantee for your friend but you never know your luck.

I was kind of hoping it would be the logic board to self-justify a new laptop. Now I’m thinking I’ll get the cheapest 256 I can get and nurse the laptop along for as long as I can.

But I’m committed to switching to Linux. Still exploring distros.

link