I bought a 13-inch 2014 MacBook Pro sold for repair. It sometimes boots a Big Sur installer from USB, but freezes shortly afterward. Once switched off, it may not turn on again for hours. Could the battery be the cause, and where should I start troubleshooting?
2014 MacBook Pro freezes and won't restart for hours. What should I check?
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n38+comma_shift
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Check the cooling system first. Make sure the fan isn't packed with dust and that it spins when the machine is running. A blocked fan or heatsink could cause overheating, though the freezing alone doesn't prove that's the problem.
If you're comfortable opening it, clean out the dust. Replacing the thermal paste is another possible step, but that means removing the heatsink, so I'd check the fan and airflow before going that far.
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Try booting a different USB system, such as Linux, and see whether it also freezes. If it does, that makes the installed operating system less likely to be the whole explanation. An SSD problem is still possible, but freezing in a USB installer suggests looking beyond the internal drive too.
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I wouldn't buy a battery based on this symptom alone. The delay before it powers on again could have several causes, and the freezing needs investigation too. Start with the cooling and USB boot checks before spending money on parts.
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n38+comma_shift:
It also froze in recovery after I connected to Wi-Fi. The Big Sur installer sometimes freezes before I can select anything.
!almost+audible~:
That makes a problem limited to the installed system less convincing. I'd check the fan and cooling before assuming the SSD is bad.