Apple MacBook Pro A1278, MB: 820-3115-B, Auto turn on with MagSafe, white screen

The very strange thing is that USB port works perfectly because you can boot from it, but you say external disk is not recognized.
So if you install OS on HDD or SSD by another working macbook, it should be recognized when plugged in USB port.
Also when the holes that linking the two sides of the motherboard if aren’t covered before covering I solder them.

valieromarco napisał(a):The very strange thing is that USB port works perfectly because you can boot from it, but you say external disk is not recognized.

As I have mentioned before - if HDD is formatted with APFS and EFI is not upgraded with at least OS X 10.13 version, computer will not be able to recognise any APFS bootable drive, even if other identical machine is able to boot from it. Not upgraded EFI does not only impact SATA port with APFS booting ability, but also USB ports, SD card and all other ports which you can boot from (like TBT, FireWire, LAN etc).

As Vogelek23 says these motherboards start when magsafe is plugged in without battery, I see that you can boot OS by USB drive but internal and external HDD are not recognized.
If possible you have to install OS with GUID partition Mac OS Extended (Journaled) by a working machine then insert the HDD in the external box (USB port) and check if you can boot from external HDD.

Vogelek23 napisał(a):- you have previously disconnected the battery (when you disconnect all the power, CMOS memory is cleared and this causes MLB to start automatically after connecting the power supply, regardless of the fact that you connect battery first and then, power supply; MLB will always start automatically on CMOS clearing, until you connect the battery and switch the machine on, at least to a boot menu, and then switch it off)

Okay, let me describe the symptoms in more detail.
All power sources disconnected from the board -> I connect the main battery and the machine stay tuned off. When I connect the MagSafe the machine automatically turn on, MagSafe shine green and after a few seconds it changes to orange.
If I hold down the power button the machine turns off. I can turn it on to Boot menu with pressing on the power button and holding down the "Option" key. With holding down the power button the machine turn off. If I disconnect the MagSafe now and connect it again the machine automatically turn on (without disconnecting the main battery).
As I know, this is not normal.

Vogelek23 napisał(a):- battery is completely flat or faulty,
- motherboard does not detect battery (SMBUS problems; most likely charger IC or SMC fault).

I don't think so, because the MagSafe indicates charging the battery, in addition the machine runs on the battery only, if I disconnect the MagSafe while the machine is turned on.

Vogelek23 napisał(a):Startup disk may not be visible, although it does have a working OS installed on it, in one of these cases (most likely):
- HDD is formatted with APFS, while EFI is not upgraded; on this occasion EFI does not recognise any APFS bootable drives,
- HDD cable is faulty.

I tried with both - HDD formatted as "exFAT" and also "NTFS". None of them is visible as internal/external hard drive.
I'm 99,9% sure that the HDD cable is okay, because with old (original) BIOS the machine sometimes boot to the OS. In addition I tried with another HDD cable, which also should be fine.
The HDD drive connected to the USB port via SATA/USB adapter is also not visible. I tried with two different SATA/USB adapters (both works fine on another PC).

Vogelek23 napisał(a):Because of the above, please share an oscillograms on battery connector (SMBus) with both battery and power supply connected.

Here they are:
- Battery SMBus clock
Such pulses appear about once per second.


- Battery SMBus data
Such pulses appear about once per second.

valieromarco napisał(a):If possible you have to install OS with GUID partition Mac OS Extended (Journaled) by a working machine then insert the HDD in the external box (USB port) and check if you can boot from external HDD.

Unfortunately I have currently no other Apple machine in working condition.

First you have to be sure that all devices are working fine, so better to plug an external Keyboard and don’t plug any macbook devices you can also connect an external monitor/tv.
Repeat all sequences as you described and check if you have the same situation.
Why you hold Option key + power button?

valieromarco napisał(a):First you have to be sure that all devices are working fine, so better to plug an external Keyboard and don’t plug any macbook devices

I tried to turn on the machine without keyboard, TouchPad, ODD, WIFI and Battery indicator board connected and all is exactly the same, except that the fan runs on high speed, which is normal without TouchPad connected.

valieromarco napisał(a):you can also connect an external monitor/tv.

If I'm not mistaken it is impossible to enable the external screen, if the machine is not booted to the OS, so I can't test it with external screen.

valieromarco napisał(a):Why you hold Option key + power button?

I hold down the "Option" key and only press on the power button to enter into the Boot menu.

valieromarco napisał(a):Why you hold Option key + power button?

It seems to be a misunderstanding. Matic calls boot menu by holding Alt (Option) key, and is able to switch the machine off by holding power button. He does not hold both Alt + power key at the same time (at least I cannot find such an information on his posts).

matic napisał(a):I don't think so, because the MagSafe indicates charging the battery

I have provided the most common sources of problems, however, I do not claim that any of these are the faults on your machine.

matic napisał(a):I tried with both - HDD formatted as "exFAT" and also "NTFS". None of them is visible as internal/external hard drive.

Sorry Matic, but when you repair Apple computer you need to have Apple OS and HDD formatted with an Apple file system - most likely Mac OS Extended (journaled) which is compatible with most of older and modern computers. It is pretty hard (or sometimes even impossible) to repair Apple computers without keeping the basic tools, which give you possibility to diagnose the machine and determine what kind of problem you have with it.

Apple computers will NEVER boot to (and even recognise) a Windows-formatted drives until they are specifically prepared to run on that particular machine (using a Bootcamp feature under Mac OS). This is because Apple computers have a completely different EFI structure than normal PCs, and to get Windows working on them you need to prepare the drive to emulate a PC EFI over native Apple EFI.

matic napisał(a):If I'm not mistaken it is impossible to enable the external screen, if the machine is not booted to the OS, so I can't test it with external screen.

If the internal screen is not connected, machine should fire up the external screen via Display Port over Thunderbolt port, even on a boot menu (before OS starts up).

Hello!

Matic I hope that I understood all posts correctly. If You do not have a working MAC OS computer to format a HDD, You Can use this one: https://www.macdrive.com/macdrive/trial/
You can select Standard version to download and then:

-Install this on a Windows machine;
-Connect the HDD that will be used for testing in MAC that your repairing
- In Thic PC Windows right click on the connected HDD, select MAC Drive > Format MAC Disk > Format volume and ypou should see Window as pasted:



After that You`ll vbe able to test HDD with older and newer filesystem on the MAC.
Hope, this helps,
Sebastian

Vogelek23 napisał(a):

matic napisał(a):I tried with both - HDD formatted as "exFAT" and also "NTFS". None of them is visible as internal/external hard drive.

Sorry Matic, but when you repair Apple computer you need to have Apple OS and HDD formatted with an Apple file system - most likely Mac OS Extended (journaled) which is compatible with most of older and modern computers.

Ok, I managed to get a working Apple machine.

I formatted the hard drive, but it is unfortunately still not visible in "Boot" menu.
I also connected this formatted HDD via USB adapter on the working machine, but it is also not visible in "Boot" menu. I tried with two different SATA to USB adapters. Under the system the formatted HDD it is normally visible with both adapters.

SebastianR napisał(a):Matic I hope that I understood all posts correctly. If You do not have a working MAC OS computer to format a HDD, You Can use this one: https://www.macdrive.com/macdrive/trial/
You can select Standard version to download and then:

-Install this on a Windows machine;
-Connect the HDD that will be used for testing in MAC that your repairing
- In Thic PC Windows right click on the connected HDD, select MAC Drive > Format MAC Disk > Format volume and ypou should see Window as pasted:

[ Obrazek ]

Thanks, I try this, but the HDD formatted this way is also not visible in "Boot" menu.

Hello,

@Matic but does the MAC OS Installer detects the HDD in the machine?

My point is - ignore the boot menu, boot MAC OS Installer, and chceck if the disk is visable in Disk Utility.

Regards,
Sebastian

SebastianR napisał(a):@Matic but does the MAC OS Installer detects the HDD in the machine?

My point is - ignore the boot menu, boot MAC OS Installer, and chceck if the disk is visable in Disk Utility.

If I click on the installer Bootable USB stick, I get a loading bar, but when it comes to about 60% it throws a crossed circle.
Here are a pictures from a working machine. Exactly the same happens with this machine, which I repairing.

Matic you have to set Date on Terminal
Set date on 2016 before install OS.

01 January 2016 10.30 am

date 0101103016

valieromarco napisał(a):Matic you have to set Date on Terminal
Set date on 2016 before install OS.

It is sufficient to just disconnect battery and PSU for 10 secs to reset date/time and allow offline installer to fire up correctly if boot problem is related to date/time.

matic napisał(a):I formatted the hard drive, but it is unfortunately still not visible in "Boot" menu.

Of course, after formatting HDD you won't see it under Boot Menu until you have a working and bootable OS installed on that HDD. Pure formatting does not set HDD as a bootable device.

matic napisał(a):Ok, I managed to get a working Apple machine.

Are you able to try and boot the machine you repair using the HDD taken from this working machine? If not, please bear in mind that you can still use the working machine in order to boot from its HDD/SSD - all you need is to put that working machine into a Target Disk mode (there is such an option under Startup Disk in System Preferences) and connect both machines via FireWire (point-to-point); the entire working machine should then be detected and acting as a standard FireWire external HDD under Boot Menu on the machine you are repairing. Just another very useful feature on Apple computers.

@Matic Maybe, It`s worth trying to test with another HDD flex cable?
I know that You`ve tried on another one, but maybe it was incompatibile somehow?

That`s the only Idea I have for now.

valieromarco napisał(a):Matic you have to set Date on Terminal
Set date on 2016 before install OS.

01 January 2016 10.30 am

date 0101103016

I did it on the working machine, but it is still the same - I get a loading bar, then a crossed circle, if I try to install the OS on the working machine (as on the post #31).

Vogelek23 napisał(a):

matic napisał(a):Ok, I managed to get a working Apple machine.

Are you able to try and boot the machine you repair using the HDD taken from this working machine?

No, I aren't.

Vogelek23 napisał(a):If not, please bear in mind that you can still use the working machine in order to boot from its HDD/SSD - all you need is to put that working machine into a Target Disk mode (there is such an option under Startup Disk in System Preferences) and connect both machines via FireWire (point-to-point); the entire working machine should then be detected and acting as a standard FireWire external HDD under Boot Menu on the machine you are repairing. Just another very useful feature on Apple computers.

I did it, but the working machine is unfortunately not visible in "Boot menu" on the machine that I repairing.



I got another MacBook A1286 with a hard drive for the repair.
I connected a hard drive from this machine to the working machine via SATA to USB adapter and I can boot the working machine from this hard drive.
If I connect this hard drive to the machine that I repairing, the hard drive is not detected as all other ones. I tried to connect it as internal and also external hard drive via SATA to USB adapter.

The issue is strange because HDD/SSD is not recognized by system even with USB external drive

I tried to reflash the EFI chip again with old (original) dump from this machine and now the machine displays an image (flashing folder on the screen) every time it is turned on (before replacing the PCH chip, there was usually only a completely white screen with no image with the original EFI dump). The internal/external HDD drives are still not detected.

On the Vinafix I found an EFI dump with a clean ME-region for this machine. With this dump everything is exactly the same as with others, except that there is no sound.

The machine still automatically turn on, when I connect the MagSafe. Is it possible that this two faults (autostart and undetected HDD drives) are somehow connected to each other?

matic napisał(a):The machine still automatically turn on, when I connect the MagSafe. Is it possible that this two faults (autostart and undetected HDD drives) are somehow connected to each other?

The common point is PCH.

Autostart with only MagSafe plugged in is normal
Autostart with battery plugged in and when MagSafe is plugged in for the first time is normal.
Try to replace chip bios from a damaged motherboard

Vogelek23 napisał(a):

matic napisał(a):The machine still automatically turn on, when I connect the MagSafe. Is it possible that this two faults (autostart and undetected HDD drives) are somehow connected to each other?

The common point is PCH.

I replaced the PCH chip with a brand new one. I examined the replacement PCH chip under the microscope before the soldering and it looked new (no signs of reball or anything else), so I assume that the PCH chip is good.

Are there any other component, which may cause such issues? Maybe a SMC, which you have already mentioned:

Vogelek23 napisał(a):

matic napisał(a):When I connect the MagSafe, the machine automatically turn on.

Does this happen with the battery connected? If so, please replace a SMC with a known working one (most likely you want to use 820-3115 logic board as a donor).

valieromarco napisał(a):Autostart with only MagSafe plugged in is normal
Autostart with battery plugged in and when MagSafe is plugged in for the first time is normal.

Yes, I know, but the machine autostart with connected battery all the time, when I connect the MagSafe, regardless if the machine was previously turned on and off without disconnecting the battery. The battery is also good, because the machine works with connected battery only (without MagSafe connected).

valieromarco napisał(a):Try to replace chip bios from a damaged motherboard

I did it, but unfortunately it does not change anything.