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MacBook Air HD Upgrade

Need to know if anyone upgraded the 1st Generation MacBook Air with 80GB to anything bigger.

Will the new Toshiba 120GB drive (MK1231GAL) work on the MBA ?

Running our of space on the 80GB.

Help

MacBook Air 1st Gen

Posted on Mar 29, 2009 1:36 AM

86 replies

zaxflash

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May 28, 2009 4:08 AM in response to FireFox88

I just had a conversation with the manufacturer of the KingSpec 128G ZIF2 SSD. It seems to work, electrically, but as the SSD is 6.5mm the cover cannot be closed.

Does anyone have experience in taking the SSD out of it's casing and putting it into the Air with something thinner to protect it? what could/should be used?

Who got this to work?

greets&thanks
simon

May 28, 2009 9:28 AM in response to zaxflash

I just obtained the KingSpec 128G ZIF2 SSD, and it will fit in the case.
However, macbook air does not recognize the drive (the cable and connection seem to be O.K.). I am thinking to return the drive,

Does anyone know (1) if I need to format the drive before putting it in the case, (2) is their partition size limitation, such as less than 80GB for each partition?
I can not try this now, since I need a USB/PATA ZIF2 converter.

May 28, 2009 11:20 AM in response to debdebmice

I have been following several discussions on various forums about this issue. Some posters have pointed out that Apple has opted for a non-standard pin arrangement on the hdd connector, hence the problem of getting an off-the-shelf drive seen by the MBA.

May 28, 2009 12:51 PM in response to Phillip Deackes

This is interesting.
If this is the case, the original drive won't work with a regular PATA/ZIF2 USB converter/case.
Does anyone test this?

May 28, 2009 1:14 PM in response to debdebmice

There is more info on the pin arrangement earlier in this thread.

Message was edited by: Phillip Deackes

zaxflash

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May 28, 2009 3:24 PM in response to debdebmice

by fit the case you mean that you can fit it, or that you can also close the case and it is the same snug fit as before?

I have now someone saying it doesn't fit (can't close body of Air, but gets recognized, and someone that says that it fits, but the disk doesn't work.

And who is telling the truth now? 😉 Now saying someone is lying, but it seems there are several experiences? who has more to say?

May 28, 2009 6:06 PM in response to zaxflash

Hi,

It fits in and can close the lid without any problem (can used with the original rubber surrounding). The thickness of the drive is about 6mm. My problem is that the disk utility (and terminal does not recognize the drive). The cable is ok (it still works with the original drive) and the connection is not lose. I do not know if the drive is bad or not, and I can not test this now.

zaxflash

Level 1

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May 29, 2009 1:26 AM in response to debdebmice

Judging from what I've heard, you should send it back as it should work.

Of the people who have put in an SSD, how did the heat develop? My main beef is Time Machine, every time the fan goes into overload, the processor clocks down because of the temp. Would an SSD bring any improvement or is TimeMachine only processor-bound? I thought that because it hammers the disk quite heavily that the HDD is the main contributor to the temp-increase.

Jun 1, 2009 10:17 AM in response to FireFox88

Hi!
PhotoFast, a Taiwan company, just announced the release of new 128GB SSD with ZIF connector (PATA) 5mm thickness fitting for MacBook Air in this June!

PF18Z128GSSDZIFV2(128GB)
http://www.photofast.co.jp/gmon18zifv2.html

Although written in Japanase, their web says it fits for MBA!

This is what I really want to get!

carl wolf

Level 6

14,631 points

Jun 3, 2009 12:59 AM in response to FireFox88

"PhotoFast, a Taiwan company, just announced the release of new 128GB SSD with ZIF connector (PATA) 5mm thickness fitting for MacBook Air in this June!"

But the newer MBA has a SATA interface, doesn't it?

Jun 5, 2009 7:31 AM in response to carl wolf

Yes, this SSD is *for 1st genetation MBA* with PATA interface, which has only 64GB SSD or 80GB HDD.
PhotoFast also offers 120GB SSD with SATA interface, however the newer MBA already equips 120GB SSD and has no need to be upgraded.

Santala

Level 1

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Jun 5, 2009 7:47 AM in response to zaxflash

Offtopic, but I've set my MBA to always run at 1.2GHz and 0.9V. Works fine, doesn't overheat and most importantly, doesn't clock down to 800MHz whenever there's some Flash animation in Safari. Plays back 720p fine, which it didn't when trying to run at 1.6GHz and continuously clocking down to 800MHz instead.

xtravgnt

Level 1

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Jun 8, 2009 4:49 PM in response to MiniCabrio

After doing reading etc and searching for replacement parts my conclusion is us first gen air owners who are out of warranty and want to either replace or upgrade our HDD are SOL. We were the guinea pigs for the air and that's that.

Jun 9, 2009 4:17 AM in response to xtravgnt

Well, according to MiniCabrio the 128GB Photofast SSD mentioned above is in fact "for 1st genetation MBA with PATA interface, which has only 64GB SSD or 80GB HDD."

I'd say that is THE most important upgrade to my 1. generation MBA(80GB HD). When running both Leopard and WinXP in VirtualBox a 50% increase in HD space makes a BIIIIIG difference.

Can anyone confirm that the mentioned SSD with PATA-interface from Photofast will be usable in a 1. gen. MBA?

molmole

Level 1

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Jun 10, 2009 1:15 AM in response to Flopsy007

Hi, I have sent an email using Japanese to Photofast yesterday.
Haven't got any reply yet.

I hope that this information is true.

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MacBook Air HD Upgrade