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- Feb 27, 2018
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Hello Everyone,
I don't often visit because I'm mainly a Linux user, but I do have several Macs (one desktop and two MacBook Pros that my wife and daughter use).
A little while back I was able to acquire a 2012 MacBook Pro for my daughter to use for school. I got it cheap and it was in great shape (i5, 16GB ram). The only issue was that the DVD drive no longer worked, which she would have never used anyway. After using it for a while she complained that it had gotten so slow she couldn't use it. In addition, there were times when the screen would just go black and it had to be restarted. I determined that the old spinning 5400rpm hard drive was probably the problem (I think it was overheating.). I knew the only way to make a noticeable difference in speed was to replace the drive with a new SSD. I did this and it did indeed speed up the laptop, but the startup screen locked up for a good 45 seconds before the Apple logo showed up.
Once booted, it was as fast as new machine. However she was still very annoyed at the slow screen at startup (she is a little impatient like that.) So, I learned that PRAM reset may help.
Well, PRAM reset not only did the trick, but the new drive did stop the black screen occurrence as well. I also removed the inoperable DVD drive and put the original drive in its place with a compatible cradle. Now, this ten year old MacBook Pro runs as fast and stable as my wife's 2021 model.
If this information is of any help to anyone else with this problem. the procedure for PRAM reset is easily found on the net. I don't know what this procedure actually does, but it worked wonders for me.
Bob
I don't often visit because I'm mainly a Linux user, but I do have several Macs (one desktop and two MacBook Pros that my wife and daughter use).
A little while back I was able to acquire a 2012 MacBook Pro for my daughter to use for school. I got it cheap and it was in great shape (i5, 16GB ram). The only issue was that the DVD drive no longer worked, which she would have never used anyway. After using it for a while she complained that it had gotten so slow she couldn't use it. In addition, there were times when the screen would just go black and it had to be restarted. I determined that the old spinning 5400rpm hard drive was probably the problem (I think it was overheating.). I knew the only way to make a noticeable difference in speed was to replace the drive with a new SSD. I did this and it did indeed speed up the laptop, but the startup screen locked up for a good 45 seconds before the Apple logo showed up.
Once booted, it was as fast as new machine. However she was still very annoyed at the slow screen at startup (she is a little impatient like that.) So, I learned that PRAM reset may help.
Well, PRAM reset not only did the trick, but the new drive did stop the black screen occurrence as well. I also removed the inoperable DVD drive and put the original drive in its place with a compatible cradle. Now, this ten year old MacBook Pro runs as fast and stable as my wife's 2021 model.
If this information is of any help to anyone else with this problem. the procedure for PRAM reset is easily found on the net. I don't know what this procedure actually does, but it worked wonders for me.
Bob