0

I have a Macbook Pro 15" mid 2014 - A1398 ($1999). It has liquid damage, so it's $1240 to repair = not worth it to repair. I have three questions for you guys..

  1. Is it safe to sell it as it is? I'm concerned by my hard drive and all private data I had there.

  2. Is there a chance I could take off the hard drive (256GB SSD) and put it into some kind of external case or adapter and use it as external hard drive?

  3. If 2 is yes, for what exactly should I look? Can I recommend me such case?

Thanks for help!

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
0

Is it safe to sell it as it is? I'm concerned by my hard drive and all private data I had there

Nope. Never sell any computer (or phone) without a complate wipe.
If the device is broken, remove the storage.

Is there a chance I could take off the hard drive (256GB SSD) and put it into some kind of external case or adapter and use it as external hard drive?

and

If 2 is yes, for what exactly should I look?

Googling on "macbook pro 15 mid 2014 ssd upgrade" yields some pictures as well as shops selling this.

Picture what to look for: Semi random pictures with firm names removed


In short, look for a mini PCI-e card(ish) with 28 connectors.

You can remove it from the laptop. Not sure how easy that is with your model. Some macs are not made to be trivially opened. But it can be done and it will remove all your data.


Can I recommend me such case?

Product recommendations are off-topic on Superuser.

But a quick search shows several very expensive upgrade kits like this. Ignore the price, that is including a large shiny brand new SSD. But the fact that they offer an external USB case which fits the old drive means these devices do exist.

Improve this answer
7
  • Thanks! I'm not sure I understood this part "In both cases make sure that the motherboard or case is M2 and not classic SATA.". I was thinking about making a "pendrive" out of this ssd drive. So I can plug in into any computer.
    – Anna Long
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 14:56
  • The links I found have a convertor for the Apple format to standard M2. M2 is a relative new format and is not yet present on all motherboards. And external harddisk cases usually ship with a regular SATA connector, not with M2 or 28pins apple format.
    – Hennes
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 14:58
  • Thanks! Just to be sure, something like this: startech.com/HDD/Enclosures/m2-ssd-enclosure~SM2NGFFMBU33 ?
    – Anna Long
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 15:18
  • Something like that for an M2 SSD. Note that you also need the 12+16 pin to M2 convertor. After which it should work but might not fit in the case.
    – Hennes
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 16:01
  • So, I need a 12+16pin to M2 converter AND external case for M2 SSD. Two things.Correct?
    – Anna Long
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 17:09
0

The problem you will have is that the adapters are all to M.2 B key and the enclosures you might pair them with are M.2 M key, with the short 5 pin section at the other side, so they won't mate. I've searched for the same solution as you with no luck. Even then, the adaptor is too high to fit the enclosure.

With Apple using their own physical form they are able to charge for data recovery at their retail outlets, or you can buy a dedicated enclosure. This is a bit more expensive than their recovery charge, but you do get a usable external SSD at the end of it. In the UK: this US: this

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .