MacBook Pro doesn’t recognize new internal HDD

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My MBP 13” mid 2012 doesn’t recognize new HDDs (500 GB HGST 5400 rpm SATA 3.0gb or 500GB HGST 7200 rpm 6.0g) in Disk Utility, but picked up a Toshiba 500 GB. My previous HDD failed(dead). I am confused; Is it really something with the brand, or rather a compatibility issue or something else?


Solution 1:

The MBP 13" mid 2012 has some weirdness with the internal hard drive cable, which seems to be overly sensitive to many factors, including hard drive brand. I have seen trouble before with HGST drives and that model MBP.

Assuming you successfully tested the drive another way and found it working, I would try a new internal hard drive cable. Check the cable model number on its undeside, it's either 821-1480 or 821-2049. The former seem to be less reliable than the latter, so if you need to order a new one to test, I would order the latter.