Should I replace the hard drive if my MacBook Pro shows a folder with a question mark?

KATO_B wrote:

Thanks. I'd consider replacing the internal drive depending on cost and how easy it is to do myself. So do I just search for a replacement hard drive for the macbook model in question?

As I said before, your MacBook Pro does not accept internal hard drives. It has an internal "circuit board stick" SSD and no SATA drive bays.

I could be mistaken, but I believe that Apple did not always use standard M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs. The SSD type varied from year to year depending on the particular Mac notebook model. Other World Computing eventually found sources of compatible internal SSDs, and their site guides you to appropriate SSDs based on your Mac's model, hardware model year, and model identifier.

That's why I posted this link:

Other World Computing – OWC Solid State Drives For MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Late 2013 - Mid 2015)

and, given that your tag line says that you are still running High Sierra, this caution:

Note that your MacBook Pro cannot update past Monterey – and that if you plan to ever use Monterey, you would need to install it somewhere while your MBP was using the Apple OEM SSD. The Monterey installer reportedly will run a firmware updater which chokes if (a) your firmware is not already up-to-date, and (b) you have a non-Apple internal SSD.

2015 MacBook Pros do not have hard drives, or bays in which to install them. They have internal "circuit board stick" style SSDs.

The folder with a question mark means that the Mac could not find a valid startup volume. If the internal macOS installation had gotten corrupted somehow, and there was no bootable external drive attached, not being able to select the internal drive as a startup disk would be normal. You would need to fix the issue with the volume (e.g., reinstall macOS) before there would be a good macOS installation that you could select.

As for replacement drives, you can get them from Other World Computing.

Other World Computing – OWC Solid State Drives For MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Late 2013 - Mid 2015)

Note that your MacBook Pro cannot update past Monterey – and that if you plan to ever use Monterey, you would need to install it somewhere while your MBP was using the Apple OEM SSD. The Monterey installer reportedly will run a firmware updater which chokes if (a) your firmware is not already up-to-date, and (b) you have a non-Apple internal SSD.

However, I doubt if it's a dead internal drive that's the issue. Probably just one on which you need to reinstall the operating system.

Does Disk Utility see the drive?

If so, run First Aid a couple times on the volumes and container.

If DU sees the drive but First Aid fails to correct the issue, you may need to erase and reformat the drive and reinstall macOS after that.

If you have a spare external drive laying about you might try installing macOS on that and use it as the boot drive for that Mac.

If the issue is caused by drive failure, then yes, replacing it would likely solve the problem. However, I agree with @BobTheFisherman and wouldn't spend money on a ten year old computer - unless maybe you're a hobbyist.

In Disk Utility use the tiny View menu to "Show all Devices"

the DEFINITION of a dead drive is one that will not tell disk Utility BOTH

• The make & model of the Physical device, AND

• show a non-zero size/capacity for the Physical device

all others MIGHT be able to be repaired, erased, or set up again for re-use.

NB> 'MacOS Base System' is a disk image pulled from the Mac's ROM. That is the software running stand-alone Recovery, Disk Utility, and Installer. It is typically under 2 GB in size -- WAY too small to install a 12 GB or larger installer onto.

The physical device you have selected is the disk image device that holds macOS base system and is under 2GB in size.

No other drives showing says, your internal drive meets the criteria for a DEAD DRIVE.

not repairable.

not re-usable.

where would you like to go from here?

• add external drive

• replace with internal third-party drive

• trade in this older Mac (may not have any value) toward an Apple-silicon Mac

Try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the Monterey online installer. If this laptop is using a third party internal SSD, then you need to be booted from macOS 10.13+ in order to see a third party internal NVMe SSD. Disk Utility for macOS 10.13+ installer will have a "View" option just above the left pane of Disk Utility. Unfortunately some Macs may only boot to the online installer for the OS which originally shipped with the Mac from the factory regardless of the special keys used for booting.

Otherwise it would appear the internal SSD has most likely failed.

My advice -- I would not spend any money trying to repair a 10 year old obsolete/vintage computer.