Their tests indicate that the only problem is with the HDD, and that the rest of the hardware is OK (which is good because Apple has declared the 15-inch Early 2011 MBP to be "obsolete" as of January 1st). I took my MacBook Pro in to Mike's Tech Shop yesterday, and the situation turns out not to be as dire as I thought. I intend to use the G4 in a long-delayed retirement project, and I don't think I would be able to use even a 27-inch iMac's display as if it were KVM-connected to the G4. For about a year I've had a rather satisfactory setup, with my MBP and a 2001 Digital Audio G4 connected to an inherited 2010 27-inch Apple Cinema Display through an ATEN CS782DP KVM switch. If I take that option, which directories should I restore from Retrospect?īTW, it's probably not worth your time suggesting that I buy an iMac instead. My second option would be to selectively restore my app software and settings onto the new MBP under Sierra, which presumably comes installed on a new MBP. Could I temporarily run a new MBP under Yosemite?
That would painlessly give me all my existing app software and settings back, so long as I can do without function keys until I upgrade to Sierra. The first option would be to immediately do a total restore from Retrospect, and then quickly upgrade the new MBP from a download of Sierra. Once I get the replacement, it seems to me I have two options. I'm asking for advice here in the Mac Ach, in case I decide to buy from NewEgg and therefore don't have the moral right to ask for advice from Mike's. If I buy the replacement MBP from Mike's Tech Shop, I'll be paying up to $235 in NYS-NYC sales tax-but I'll be able to get advice from store personnel. I basically have two sources for buying a replacement MBP: Mike's Tech Shop a few blocks from me (Tekserve closed its retail operations at the end of last July), or NewEgg.
Of course the MBP is totally backed with Retrospect as of Monday night, so restoring any or all of the HDD contents shouldn't be a problem (I'm going to do a test total restore onto the portable FireWire HDD just to be sure). Because I'm a cautious old fuddy-duddy, my MBP has been running under Yosemite.
I thought it might just be the HDD going bad (I've used the MBP for a total of 3 years-it sat on the floor for another 3 years), but the MBP can't see a recently-test-restored portable FireWire 800 HDD from which I can successfully boot my inherited 2010 Mac Pro. With little warning, my Early 2011 MacBook Pro stopped being able to boot yesterday.