I boot it up to what I believe was an SSD with Monterey on it and I get either a no entry sign OR I get this.....

This suggests to me that the keyboard or Track Pad or both isn't detected, Yet the power button is working to turn it on and off, but it won't do a PRAM reset..... So I swapped over a new cable and it is the same. All I can do is connect a USB mouse and I get language option OR start up disc.... I checked the start up disc and I get this!

(10.10.5 Yosemite is NOT even supported on a 2017 model as they were originally shipped with Sierra 10.12).

I swapped out the SSD to a KNOWN SSD with Big Sur (Supported) and it is the same, telling me the OS on the SSD is Yosemite!. I thne put another SSD with Monterey pre installed and left at set-up and guess what, it STILL is the same telling me it is Yosemite! I can only think to just put the board into another case with a new keyboard and see if then I can wipe it clean and then to install fresh starting from High Sierra to Catalina, to Monterey (Safest way to get the correct boot ROM firmware installed.... I have NEVER used Yosemite OS and I am absolutely 1000% certain this had either Big Sur or Monterey installed on it's SSD which had not been removed or replaced or anything. Very odd, never seen something like this before. The board is clean, no water damage or anything obvious. Can anyone tell me what and why etc is going on here?

I swapped over the KB case and got into recovery and tried to install Monterey but all I get is a no entry sign..... PRAM was reset. Then tried with Catalina, the progress bar completed and so far so good.....I got into disc utility, selected show all devices and the internal SSD (KNOWN to be good) is not shown. Apple disk image & OS base system only appears, together with the external installer drive. YAY. I put back the 'Yosemite' SSD and it is recognized.... Attempting to install Catalina.... It is seemingly much slower than normal. It gets to disc utility and the internal SSD is NOT detected, again just the base system. I am running diagnostics and the report says SMC error codes

PPF004 (Fan) PPF003 (Fan)

VFD004 & VFD 005 (There may be an issue with the display or graphics processor.)

NDC001 (There may be an issue with the camera.)

PPN001 (There may be an issue with the power-management system.)

VDH002 (There may be an issue with a storage device.).

Everything is connected up fine. I then run the Paul Daniels SMC Tools and successfully updated the SMC. Booted up again and it went back to this screen showing a mouse to connect!. Only option was to select start up disk (Listed were 4 compatible systems from my multi OS bootable drive, I selected Catalina, restarted and I get the screen your computer has a problem. Yes I know LOL

Firmware password protection is turned OFF. Help!

We will replace the SMC tomorrow......

⟐ Edited by author April 16, 2026 at 8:17 MST

Currently, I'm using a 3rd party "Techie" brand AC adapter (1 month old). The BIOS reports it as "Unknown", which causes heavy CPU throttling (stuck at 0.8GHz) and audio crackling.

Here's the strange behavior:

1. If I use the laptop with ONLY the charger (battery removed), it turns on, but it lags heavily and ThrottleStop cannot bypass the 0.8GHz limit.

2. If I plug the battery in, the laptop immediately shuts off.

3. Before it shuts off with the battery, the Battery LED blinks RED/Amber (it's usually white).

4. I checked the DC Jack and every thing is correct.

5. Also when I open just by charger no battery at all then evrything go right but it sticks blank on screen after sign in interface.

I've tried:

- Hard resetting (draining static).

- Using ThrottleStop (works sometimes when battery is connected, but now the battery seems to cause a shutdown).

- Measuring the adapter: 19.5V is present, but signal pin is at 0.1V.

Is my battery shorted, or is this all caused by the damaged DC Jack? Why does the laptop shut down only when the battery is inserted? Any advice on how to bypass this hardware throttle without a battery would be great. Thanks!

Hi there,

I am working on replacing all the ANC mics on my APM due to hiss. I got the left fixed, but hit a snag with the right. This mic flex also includes the button for the crown, and I cannot see how on earth I get that off the old one. You can see in my picture that the screw has zero room to get to it, same on the bottom. Does anyone know how that is meant to come off, or how I detach the crown to get to it? Is there a special tool I need? Thanks!

⟐ Edited by author April 16, 2026 at 7:45 MST

It is possible to enter Internet recovery mode, startup disk selection mode, Apple Diagnostics by using Startup key combinations.

But when I try to load recovery disk or MacOS boot disk(which show apple logo), it just boot loop.

I tried resetting SMC/NVRAM and it did nothing.

What's happening on my Macbook? I have no idea.

⟐ Commented April 16, 2026 at 7:09 MST

Thanks in advance

I tried (& obviously failed) to swap the display flex ZIF socket in the original first-gen Nintendo switch and tore a solder pad off. I’m pretty confident that I can fly a wire out from that remaining bit of solder pad, but I need to check whether I did the job properly. Can anyone tell me where this particular pad(10th from the left not counting the large one) lead to so I can check it with a multimeter or smth?

Thanks in advance!

Technical Specs:

- Core: 12 slots, 24 commutator bars.

- Dimensions: Core length 55mm, diameter 3.2cm.

- Wire: 32 AWG (0.20mm).

- Winding: Factory was 22 turns/coil (88 wires/slot total), but I plan to use 23 turns/coil (92 wires/slot) to improve torque and heat management.

- Pitch: 1 to 6.

- Progression: Retrogressive (1 -> 24 -> 23).

- Brushes: Positioned 90 degrees from the stator coils.

- Potting: Using two-part submersible pump epoxy (thinned with heat) in a vertical gravity-pour method.

The specific question is about the Lead Shift:

Because I am adding an extra turn (23 instead of 22) and the brushes are at 90 degrees, which lead shift is best to handle the high RPM and field twist?

1. Zero Shift (Bar 1 directly in center of Slot 1).

2. 7.5 Degree Shift (Mica directly in center of Slot 1).

3. 15 Degree Shift (Bar 24, one bar left, in center of Slot 1).

I am leaning toward the 7.5° (Mica Center) shift as a balance, but I'm worried about "fire-ringing" at 11,000 RPM. Has anyone done this specific 23-turn mod on these 12/24 armatures?

By ibot guess, the magnetic shift will ne around 18degree. I can't retrieve any original data of lead shift but from one saved coil, i get continuity from bar24 and 23, assuming first bar in center of slot is bar 1 and winding is retrogressive, connections moving left.

About a week ago, my Samsung S20 5G started having issues — it stopped charging with USB-C to USB-C. So I first tried cleaning the USB port, but that didn’t fix it.

A few days later, I also lost mic 1 (the one used for calls).

I then bought and replaced the charging port (daughterboard) without too much trouble, but the issue is still the same after reboot.

Right now:

• it charges with USB-A to USB-C
• but not with USB-C to USB-C

And now I’m getting a red temperature warning triangle, which even prevents charging with USB-A.

For context, my back cover is cracked, just in case that matters.

I’m running out of ideas at this point, so if anyone has suggestions, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance to anyone who tries to help! 🙏

⟐ Edited by author April 16, 2026 at 3:52 MST

After damage

• Checked for a drum light bulb: My specific sub-model does not seem to have one, but I found the orange tool behind the detergent drawer.
• Attempted a power reset: I left the machine unplugged for over 20 minutes, but the error returns immediately upon power-up.
• Tried entering the service menu: The error F97 is persistent and blocks access to the standard reset procedures.

The machine is currently disassembled. I suspect a hardware failure on the Main Power Electronic Module (ELP). Does anyone know which specific components (relays, capacitors, or transistors) typically fail on the ELP board when this error occurs? Are there any specific test points I should check with a multimeter?

Thank you for any technical advice!`