I have seen talk of it and a few videos but is there a secure way to upgrade the HD to something slightly bigger? I have the 2.13 128GB and curious if there is an option out there for more space. Thanks.
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Can I upgrade the HD in my MBA?
- Thread starter duvinclunk
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I don't think there are any 256 gb SSDs which fit the 1.8mm profile with 5 mm clearance.
Someone is going to suggest upgrading to runcore which will give you a speed boost, but no space boost.
Someone is going to suggest upgrading to runcore which will give you a speed boost, but no space boost.
your ssd will be about 3x faster or so.
Whether this is of value to you is another matter.
I personally didn't see spending $400 USD on speed as important, but some people do, so it's a matter for you.
256GB SSDs are still expensive. So if tehy ever come out in the 1.8" factor it STILL needs to be less than 5mm thick, i.e. very specific and therefore likely pricey.
Whether this is of value to you is another matter.
I personally didn't see spending $400 USD on speed as important, but some people do, so it's a matter for you.
256GB SSDs are still expensive. So if tehy ever come out in the 1.8" factor it STILL needs to be less than 5mm thick, i.e. very specific and therefore likely pricey.
I believe we will have an alternative option of a 256 GB SSD within a few months. This will be a third-party option that will have an LIF connector and fit in all v 2,1 MBAs. I would suggest you wait for that product release.
In addition, you could contact Matt the Runcore rep that is on these forums and see if they have a competing product coming out soon. While it wasn't possible for them six months ago, I believe they can probably provide a 256 GB SSD soon.
I would also think Apple will upgrade the MBA soon. That might provide another alternative for an SSD upgrade if it uses an LIF connector and has the same form factor of a 1.8"/5mm height.
In addition, you could contact Matt the Runcore rep that is on these forums and see if they have a competing product coming out soon. While it wasn't possible for them six months ago, I believe they can probably provide a 256 GB SSD soon.
I would also think Apple will upgrade the MBA soon. That might provide another alternative for an SSD upgrade if it uses an LIF connector and has the same form factor of a 1.8"/5mm height.
In my post in the other thread, I implied the possibility of the new 25nm Intel drives being incorporated into the next MBA update. However, I forgot about the 1.8" form factor, so it seems like 2011 (and more in line with a completely new and redesigned MBA) would be the best bet for those drives, based on this article: link
Yes, it's too bad but it's not even about a 1.8" form factor SSD... Apple also uses a 5mm height drive and LIF cable which further reduces the options.
We may get a new drive type/form factor when the MBA design is changed. I don't know if Apple could change anything given the current extremely limited space in the MBA. I believe Apple uses the current system to ensure it gets the sale and to keep people from cracking open their MBAs. It's definitely not as simple to open an MBA and swap components as say an MB or MBP.
True, but while this strategy might have made sense when the MBA was first introduced, I'm not sure if it's worth alienating the niche market that "needs" an MBA at this point.
With the introduction of the iPad and the direction that they took with the 13" MBP, I'm starting to wonder what Apple feels the target population for the MBA is....especially when considering alternatives such as the Vaio if Mac/iPhone OS is not necessary.
Given that the people left choosing an MBA after looking at all the alternatives (both Mac and PC), and assuming that they truly do need an MBA for its unique feature set, wouldn't it be a a little...I dunno, evil?...to purposefully impose restrictions that aren't necessary if there's no tradeoff involved with going with a better option? It seems rather silly to force MBA owners on an upgrade path based solely on RAM/HD upgrades, given the lack of flexibility with respect to those options in current models.
buy a LaCie Starck external mobile hard disk for $100 and be happy and save yourself a lot of angst 
buy a LaCie Starck external mobile hard disk for $100 and be happy and save yourself a lot of angst
Or better yet, attach that external drive to an AEBS or buy a TC. Then that drive can be accessed while at home or over the Internet. I use that setup, and it has never let me down.
I leave about five movies on my MBA in iTunes that I haven't seen yet (actually have them moved onto iPad now too). I keep my entire iTunes collection on my MBA (10 GB). I have 50 GB of business files, and I have 30 GB set aside for Windows (only using 10 GB).
On the drive I have attached to my AEBS, I keep about 300 GB of entertainment files, 50 GB of old business files that I rarely ever would need, and a full backup of the MBA in case the MBA gets lost or stolen.
In addition, when my house was broken into and my AEBS and attached drive were stolen with my Macs, I learned to keep an alternative backup. In that case I have a Time Capsule that is "hidden" which always keeps my current files backed up to. I intentionally have it off the Internet and on my secondary network to ensure I never lose my data again. When my backup drive was stolen (along with my Macs), I lost nearly four months of information. By the time my secretary pulled everything she had worked on, and all of the emails we sent between the two of us, I figured I lost about 20% of important files for four months. Now, I even use a DropBox account for my primary client files that I am working on currently in addition to MobileMe. I have learned my lesson. I hope this advice might help at least one person learn from my lesson as it was a nightmare that costs me more than I can imagine. I could see it being a complete tragedy. Sorry to get off subject... sorta.
