MacBook Pro A1278 Beeper

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A gifted MacBook Pro I was considering updating a bit, was given to me a while back. GD used it all through college, I’d replaced the spinner HD with an 8Gb SSD along the way, bumped RAM to 4Gb at the same time I think… But it’s battery is nearly gone… Takes a charge, but doesn’t hold for long…

Anyway, suddenly today, it began beeping, 3 beeps, dark screen, refused to shut down, stopping my intended nap! It would NOT respond to the Power button and shut down. Bummer! Google led to it being a RAM issue, so I pulled the back off, removed, the RAM chips, still beeping… Finally pulled the battery out, silence prevails… I found the battery, 16 Gb RAM, and replacement screws for the 3 or 4 missing, a little over $50… Ordered late last night (Sat) be here next Wednesday… Added some bottom bumpers…

But there it is, a 2012 A1278 MBP… I had played with it earlier today, considered using it to see/share the screen of my Mac Pro, but pretty tiny, gave that up, and AFAIK, it was just setting there, closed, on the charger when it went to beeperville,

One more project, nice screen, DVD R/W, decent for it’s time…

Choices…

Interesting, well done video…

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Update: The new battery, and 16 Gb RAM chips, even the new bottom bumpers, cover screws and the 2012 A1278 MBP is Alive Again! Booted right up, checked for Updates, none needed, put it on the charger and all is well, green and clean… Amazon had it all for under $50… Too easy…

Onward!

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I’ve had a very, very hard time finding batteries for MBPs >10 years old. Generally, fresh original batteries are impossible to find. For a while, reputable manufacturers like Anker made replacement batteries, but they’ve since gone on to focus on their own (very excellent, IMO) lines of chargers. Now, especially on Amazon, I run into fly-by-night companies that somehow get a bunch of, say, 2008 MBP battery casings and then stuff newer Li-ion cells into them, with mixed results. I’ve pretty much given up.

-awlabrador

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So far so good, I haven’t fiddled with the older, white MacBooks in ages, there’s a couple in the closet, but so far they seem OK, but rarely booted up… This 2012 MBP was a perfect fit, charged overnight OK… I hav a MBA, but so far it’s still OK, OEM battery still in place…

OWC is another source…

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Huh. I’d never gone to OWC for main batteries before, though I’d used them for PRAM batteries (I think) and such. Thanks for pointing them out.

-awlabrador

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OWC’s been my go=to spot for a long time, iFixit is the go-to for takeapart guides, if it’s needed…

My most recent OWC buy was the quad enclosure for the Mini’s backups, TM volumes…