Macbook Air Hdd Size

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Macbook Air Hdd Size

MacBook Air Q&A

Update Published July 18, 2013

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Macbook Air Hdd Sized


Aug 24, 2020 The first SSD-equipped MacBook Airs had 64 GB SSDs at a time when most people were buying laptops with 250 GB or larger HDDs. It was soon obvious just how impractical 64 GB was, and 128 GB soon.

  • The original Macbook Air has been out for a while now but it is still an amazing piece of technology. This video will show you how to upgrade or replace you.
  • Testing conducted by Apple in May 2017 using preproduction 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-based 13-inch MacBook Air systems with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%.
  • Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage every 12 months, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for.

How do you replace or upgrade the hard drive in the original, 'Late 2008' and 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air models? Can you swap the hard drive for an SSD?

This Q&A covers the original, Late 2008, and Mid-2009 MacBook Air models (A1237, A1304). EveryMac.com provides storage upgrade instructions for later MacBook Air models -- the 'Late 2010 and 'Mid-2011,'Mid-2012,' and 'Mid-2013,' 'Early 2014,' 'Early 2015' and 'Mid-2017' lines, too.

Officially, the hard drive or SSD in the original, 'Late 2008' and 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air models is not designed to be replaced or upgraded by the end user. Given the particularly tight tolerances in the MacBook Air, this is not the best system for a new user to attempt to upgrade.

However, for those with some experience replacing the hard drive in similar notebooks, the upgrade is quite feasible.


Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (MacBook Air)

Identification Help

If you're not sure if you have a original, 'Late 2008' or 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air, these models can be differentiated externally by Model Number (which is visible on the bottom in tiny text toward the hinge). Accordingly, EveryMac.com has hand documented that the original MacBook Air models are Model Number A1237 and the 'Late 2008 and 'Mid-2009' models -- which support the same type of storage -- are Model Number A1304. More recent MacBook Air models have different Model Numbers.

In software, the original MacBook Air models have a Model Identifier of MacBookAir1,1, and the 'Late 2008' and 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air models all have a Model Identifier of MacBookAir2,1.

EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature -- as well as the EveryMac app -- additionally can uniquely identify these MacBook Air models by their serial numbers.

Storage Type & Details

As first noted by AnandTech, the original MacBook Air models -- the MacBook Air 'Core 2 Duo' 1.6 13' (Original) and 1.8 13' (Original) -- have a 1.8-inch wide, 5 mm tall hard drive or SSD and 'instead of a standard PATA connector Apple uses a 40-pin ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) connector' due to space constraints.

The 'Late 2008' MacBook Air models -- the MacBook Air 'Core 2 Duo' 1.6 13' (Late 2008) and 1.86 13' (Late 2008) as well as the 'Mid-2009' models -- the 1.86 13' (Mid-2009) and 2.13 13' (Mid-2009) -- use a hard drive or SSD with the same physical dimensions as the original models, but have a standard Serial ATA connector.

Storage Upgrade Instructions & Advice

Naturally, whether or not it is easy or difficult to upgrade the hard drive in these MacBook Air models depends on the skill of the user performing the upgrade, but as noted in the introduction of this Q&A, this is a moderately difficult upgrade as it requires one to remove the bottom plate of the notebook as well as the battery before it is possible to access the hard drive or SSD.

Site sponsor OWC doesn't consider this upgrade to be extremely easy, but considers it to be 'straightforward' and provides step-by-step video instructions:

Note that for those with one of these MacBook Air models with a hard drive, not only is swapping it for an SSD quite possible, the performance improvement can be dramatic.

This video, also from OWC, shows the performance of the MacBook Air 'Core 2 Duo' 1.86 13' (Mid-2009) -- upgraded with an OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSD -- compared to the MacBook Air 'Core 2 Duo' 2.13 13' (Mid-2009) with a 120 GB hard drive:

Since these MacBook Air models were introduced, the price of SSDs has become far more affordable. Consequently, for those interested in increasing the performance and/or capacity of an original, 'Late 2008' or 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air, an SSD upgrade may be well worth the price whether self-installed or installed professionally. Professional installation is recommended.

Storage Purchase Options Dvd software for mac.

In theory, just about any hard drive or SSD that meets the minimum requirements should work in these MacBook Air models. However, it always is best to buy from a trusted company with Mac knowledge for the most trouble-free experience.

In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells hard drives and SSDs compatible with both the original MacBook Air and the 'Late 2008' and 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air models.

In the UK and Ireland, site sponsor Flexx sells MacBook Air compatible SSDs with free shipping. The company provides flat rate shipping to France, Germany, and Switzerland and inexpensive shipping for all of Europe, too.

In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells MacBook Air hard drives and SSDs with guaranteed compatibility, fast shipping, and no customs duties to worry about.

In Australia, site sponsors Macfixit and Upgradeable sell MacBook Air compatible SSDs with fast shipping, a money-back guarantee and more.

In New Zealand, site sponsor Upgradeable New Zealand sells MacBook Air SSDs with fast delivery to all corners of the country, precise compatibility, a lifetime warranty, and a money-back guarantee.

Also see:

  • How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the 'Late 2010' and 'Mid-2011' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
  • How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the 'Mid-2012' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
  • How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the 'Mid-2013' and subsequent MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?

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Information about these and other types of Mac ports is in the specifications for your Mac: choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, click Support, then click Specifications. Or check your Mac user guide.

Thunderbolt/USB 4

These Mac models have Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports:

Use these ports with displays and other devices that connect using either a Thunderbolt 3 cable or USB-C cable. You can also connect a USB-C power adaptor and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adaptor to connect it.

Thunderbolt 3

These Mac models have Thunderbolt 3 ports:

  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)
  • iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)
  • iMac Pro
  • Mac Pro (2019)
  • Mac Pro (Rack, 2019)
  • Mac mini (2018)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

Use these ports with displays and other devices that connect using either a Thunderbolt 3 cable or USB-C cable. You can also connect a USB-C power adaptor and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adaptor to connect it.


If your Mac notebook or desktop computer has more than one port like this, each port supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.

USB-C

MacBook models introduced in 2015 or later have a single USB-C port. This port doesn't support Thunderbolt devices.

Use this port with displays and other devices that connect using a USB-C cable. You can also connect a USB-C power adaptor and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adaptor to connect it.


If your Mac has only one port like this, it's a MacBook that supports USB-C but not Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt

These Mac models have Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 ports:

  • MacBook Pro introduced in 2011 until 2015
  • MacBook Air introduced in 2011 until 2017
  • Mac mini introduced in 2011 until 2014
  • iMac introduced in 2011 until 2015
  • Mac Pro introduced in 2013

Use these ports with displays and other devices that connect using a Thunderbolt cable.

Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort . They have the same shape, but use different symbols on the cable and port. However, this port does support Mini DisplayPort for video output, so you can use a Mini DisplayPort cable to connect a Mini DisplayPort display.

Macbook Air Hdd Size

Mini DisplayPort

These Mac models have Mini DisplayPort:

  • MacBook Pro introduced in late 2008 until 2010
  • MacBook Air introduced in late 2008 until 2010
  • Mac mini introduced in 2009 and 2010
  • iMac introduced in 2009 and 2010
  • Mac Pro introduced in 2009 until 2012

Use this port with displays that connect using a Mini DisplayPort cable.

Mini DisplayPort is not the same as Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 . They have the same shape, but use different symbols on the cable and port.

USB-A

Use these ports with devices that connect using a USB-A cable. USB ports are sometimes known by the USB specification of the port, such as USB 2 or USB 3.


Left to right: power, two Thunderbolt, USB-A, and Audio-Out.

HDMI

Use HDMI with displays and TVs that connect using an HDMI cable.

Ethernet

Use Ethernet with networks and devices that connect using an ethernet (RJ45) cable.

FireWire

Use FireWire with devices that connect using a FireWire 400 or FireWire 800 cable.

SD card

Use the SD card slot with SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC and UHS-II media cards, such as those used by digital cameras.

Audio

Use Audio-Out — or — with headphones, speakers and other audio-output devices that connect using an audio cable that has a 3.5 mm (1/8 inch) audio jack.

Use Audio-In with a microphone or other audio-input device that connects using an audio cable that has a 3.5 mm (1/8 inch) audio jack.

Power

Use the power port , if available, to connect your computer to AC power using a MagSafe cable or adaptor. This port isn't available on newer Mac notebook computers, which use Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C for power and charging. Learn more about power adaptors and cables for Mac notebook computers.

Learn more





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