Was given a 2014 Macbook Pro 13 - What the hell to do?

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Shoganai said:
I generally don't buy storage brands from companies I've never heard of before. I'm sure they're fine, but it's a me thing. I also hate flash drives with swiveling parts like that. I just use a USB to USB C adapter if I need it.
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I have been pleased with these Sandisk units,
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But I did have an issue with one of them. I was trying to make a Windows 11 24H2 boot drive with Rufus and it failed while formatting.
It also failed with the Windows Creation Tool.
Sandisk Media Creation Error.jpg


The strange part is that it could still be used for data, I quick formatted it and copied 120GB of videos to the drive and it still worked, but decided to RMA it anyways since I couldn't make a boot drive with it.
The other one I had had no issue making a boot drive so I know it was that drive.
I went to check to see how long the warranty was and it was lifetime.
Did the RMA process, they emailed me a prepaid USPS label, and I sent it out yesterday.
 
got one of those too, its my second fastest, even with the tip bent at a 45. think my warranty's voided now though...
 
Zepher said:
I have been pleased with these Sandisk units,
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But I did have an issue with one of them. I was trying to make a Windows 11 24H2 boot drive with Rufus and it failed while formatting.
It also failed with the Windows Creation Tool.
View attachment 687019

The strange part is that it could still be used for data, I quick formatted it and copied 120GB of videos to the drive and it still worked, but decided to RMA it anyways since I couldn't make a boot drive with it.
The other one I had had no issue making a boot drive so I know it was that drive.
I went to check to see how long the warranty was and it was lifetime.
Did the RMA process, they emailed me a prepaid USPS label, and I sent it out yesterday.
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That's an issue I've had with certain drives. I have a Sandisk drive that would have issues with certain boot installs of various operating systems like Linux and Windows. I've never had issues with Samsung drives. I'm not sure what the problem is, exactly.
 
Thanks for all the info y'all. So... right now Monterey it is. It's the only one I can jump to from Yosemite. After that I can probably get to Sequoia. Fun fun.
 
jbltecnicspro said:
Thanks for all the info y'all. So... right now Monterey it is. It's the only one I can jump to from Yosemite. After that I can probably get to Sequoia. Fun fun.
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You can do a clean install of Sequoia by formatting the internal drive in Disk Utility when you boot from the USB that the OpenCore patcher makes. You don't need to upgrade first. It shows you how to do this in the video. Either way is fine. Upgrading first is just time consuming.
 
Shoganai said:
You can do a clean install of Sequoia by formatting the internal drive in Disk Utility when you boot from the USB that the OpenCore patcher makes. You don't need to upgrade first. It shows you how to do this in the video. Either way is fine. Upgrading first is just time consuming.
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Guess I need to watch the video. Sorry. In-App instructions say it can't be done. :D
 
jbltecnicspro said:
Guess I need to watch the video. Sorry. In-App instructions say it can't be done. :D
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I literally just did it yesterday on my 2011 MacBook Pro. I have Sequoia running on it, which I think is kind of nuts. The video shows you how to do it. You can do it either way. It doesn't really matter.
 
Shoganai said:
I literally just did it yesterday on my 2011 MacBook Pro. I have Sequoia running on it, which I think is kind of nuts. The video shows you how to do it. You can do it either way. It doesn't really matter.
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I'll get it to Sonoma eventually. Currently using Monterey. I'll get there man, don't worry. For now, I'm basking in the ability to just do something with this machine :D. Thanks for all the help guys!

EDIT - yes I'm typing on it right now. Whee!
 
jbltecnicspro said:
Guess I need to watch the video. Sorry. In-App instructions say it can't be done. :D
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To clarify - when I tried to do this, the option was greyed-out and told me I needed to be on a newer OS to do it. No matter now. I'm on Monterey and it should allow it now. Not trying to argue. If I missed something then my bad.
 
jbltecnicspro said:
To clarify - when I tried to do this, the option was greyed-out and told me I needed to be on a newer OS to do it. No matter now. I'm on Monterey and it should allow it now. Not trying to argue. If I missed something then my bad.
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No idea, honestly. Maybe a missed step? I don’t know. I’m not arguing either, just trying to help you out. Either way is fine and if upgrading from Monterey is what’s working on your computer, then by all means, do it that way.
 
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Bumping the thread. I got it up to Ventura. Not sure what I did wrong last time but it's working pretty good now. The machine says the battery needs servicing but as I type this, I have Pokemon air-playing over my Roku right now and battery is still 100%. So I'm wondering... is I because the battery is old?

Also, the left speaker is blown. Not sure how that happened. Maybe my kids were watching something too loud. I have a replacement in the mail. Looks pretty straightforward to repair. All in all... Still a happy camper. For the price of free, I cannot complain at all. I have taken to liking it so much I've considered getting a used M1 Air. :D
 
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