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I have a MacBook Pro mid 2010 13", with C2D 2.4 GHz, 1+4 GB RAM (1333 MHz and 1600 MHz), nVidia 320M integrated VGA.

I would like to install OSX to my blank internal SSD. I tried Internet Recovery, bootable pendrive, both won't work. The loading bar stops in halfway, and the notebook freezes. Apple hardware diagnostic said there is no errors (booted from USB also).

When I bought the notebook, had 10.6.3 on it. I tried update it, and when it restarted, it didn't load anymore. At that time swapped the original HDD to an SSD.

I tried El Capitan installer, High Sierra installer, opencore Big Sur installer (that is loaded once, but in the language selection screen, it freezes instantly), and the Internet Recovery with Alt+CMD+R and Shift+Alt+CMD+R also.

I know, the latest supported is High Sierra. But I try to install any of OSX (High Sierra or older), it always stops halfway of progress bar, and freezes. I can't even get to the installer because it won't load. Last time I waited half an hour. When the progress bar appears, I hear the fan spinning louder, and when stuck in halfway, the macbook freezes, and the fan slows down.

What can I do next?

Update: It was the RAM that was at fault. I replaced it with supported units, everything works perfectly.

Richárd Kiss
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  • Either Sierra or High Sierra is probably the last OS supported by a 2010 MacBook Pro, see this answer to How To Update MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) from macOS High Sierra (Version 10.13.6) To macOS Big Sur (Version 11)? – Greenonline Oct 10 '23 at 09:04
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    I would try an earlier OS first, just to get something down. However, IIRC, those models were prone to a dodgy SATA cable, which might need replacing. – benwiggy Oct 10 '23 at 10:01
  • I tried also El Capitan from a bootable pendrive, the symptom is the same. Also the same, if it has an ssd internally, and if not. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 10:08
  • I'd be tempted to remove internal storage & attempt install to an external drive. this would hopefully bypass any dodgy SATA cable. Bear in mind, this will be slow at USB2 speeds. If successful, you could migrate or clone the drive to an internal… that also being a test for the SATA cable. – Tetsujin Oct 10 '23 at 10:36
  • The machine should start the installer even if the cable is damaged, I think. Or am I wrong? By the way, i will try this external drive method, thank you for your suggestion. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 10:58
  • It's not guaranteed that a 2010 MacBook with 10.6 even knows what an SSD is yet. idk exactly which Mac models, but SSD support came in a firmware update for some, at around Sierra/High Sierra. I don't know the procedure by which it was done. I've only ever owned Mac Pros, for which I do know the procedure.. and have done it many times, but it doesn't translate to laptops afaik. – Tetsujin Oct 10 '23 at 17:49
  • @Tetsujin: I could be wrong, but I thought firmware updates could not be installed unless there is a EFI partition on the internal drive. In other words, installing to an external drive without an internal drive may cause problems. I believe both Sierra and High Sierra install firmware updates. – David Anderson Oct 10 '23 at 18:26
  • @DavidAnderson - I've only ever had to do it "once" but the once was every single Mojave beta, which meant 8 or 10 times before we got to release. On the Mac Pro, it involved holding the power button until a noise I've never heard before or since happened, then it would reboot & get on with the update. I did, in that respect, have a functioning drive with EFI before & after, so I don't honestly know. I never had to do it from a wiped drive & USB stick. – Tetsujin Oct 10 '23 at 18:34
  • Yesterday, I put High Sierra on an external drive, the machine didn't freeze, but it didn't boot. I found a post, says there was a problem with the 10.6.3 updates and they could only fix them from the original disc. Unfortunately, I don't have an installation disk. I managed to do a 10.6 usb installer, but the machine says that I have to restart. Even after restarting, I only get this message again. – Richárd Kiss Oct 11 '23 at 07:19
  • Thank you all for your help, it was the RAM that was at fault. I replaced it with supported units, everything works perfectly. – Richárd Kiss Oct 12 '23 at 12:10
  • @RichárdKiss Since the "solution" was the faulty RAM, please make sure to post that as your own "answer". After 48 hours, you can select it as the answer. – agarza Oct 12 '23 at 14:15

1 Answers1

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See Hardware_compatibility to discover which latest versions of macOS/OSX that your Mac can support.

For 10.12 (Sierra) and 10.13 (High Sierra):

Laptops: MacBook (Late 2009 or later), MacBook Air (Late 2010 or later), MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or later)

Greenonline
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  • The latest supported is High Sierra. But I try to install any of OSX (High Sierra or older), it always stops halfway of progress bar, and freezes. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 09:14
  • I have a 2010 17" MBP, and I seem to remember that when I installed High Sierra on it, there was a very long pause, that seemed like a freeze, during installation. Even a year or two after installation, upon a reboot, I found that the same MBP is prone to these apparent freezes, just upon a reboot. Maybe you just need to wait longer? Also, have you formatted the disk, so that the installation is on to a clean disk? – Greenonline Oct 10 '23 at 09:18
  • It's a blank SSD in the machine. Unfortunately, I can't even get to the installer because it won't load. Last time I waited half an hour. When the progress bar appears, I hear the fan spinning louder, and when stuck in halfway, the macbook freezes, and the fan slows down. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 09:29
  • Hmm, your two comments under my answer, should probably be edited into your question (so that the info is all in one place). Also, as a suggestion, I would remove references to OS versions later than High Sierra (i.e. El Capitan and Big Sur) as they are incompatible with your MacBook Pro and may serve to cloud the real issue, which is your laptop hangs while trying to install a supported OS. – Greenonline Oct 10 '23 at 09:58
  • Thank You for your help and your suggestion, I appreciate. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 10:04
  • As an aside, I have a Penryn MBP (2008), that will not allow anything to be installed upon it, nor will it boot from any pre-installed OSes, except for 10.6.8. I have tried Lion and Mountain Lion (both the installer and bootable drives that work on other identical models), and (from what I can tell) seems to be due to a faulty FireWire port. The installer locks up at the checking of firewire ports or installation of the Firewire drivers. So, maybe, your MBP has a hardware fault impeding the installation. Have you checked the install logs? – Greenonline Oct 10 '23 at 10:05
  • I don't have an installed operating system, or another working mac. Can I still watch the logs somewhere? – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 10:12
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    Greenonline: In a previous comment, you refer to El Capitan (OS X 10.11) as being later than High Sierra (macOS 10.13), which of course is wrong. Richárd: If you do not have another working Mac, then how did you create the bootable pendrive? – David Anderson Oct 10 '23 at 10:51
  • From VmWare High Sierra, on a windows based laptop. – Richárd Kiss Oct 10 '23 at 12:43
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    Thank you all for your help, it was the RAM that was at fault. I replaced it with supported units, everything works perfectly. – Richárd Kiss Oct 12 '23 at 12:10
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    @RichárdKiss - Glad that you found a solution. BTW, You should post that comment as an answer and then mark it as accepted. That way the question will be removed from the "unanswered list". – Greenonline Oct 12 '23 at 12:36