Can the 1st gen MBA's hard drive be replaced?

The ist gen MBAir came with a PATA (not SATA) HD/SSD - A certified Service Center will upgrade your HD to a SSD.

If you dare - you may DIY: http://www.ifixit.com/Mac-Parts/MacBook-Air-Original#0-SSDs

You're welcome.

btw - SSDs are quite nice: I own a MBAir (late 2008) with an out-of-the-box SSD as well as a MBPro 13 with a OCZ DIY SSD - I really like the performance of those drives.

My MBA HD just died, I didn't have the SSD drive to begin with, but am looking at replacing the original with one. Any recommendations on a manufacture or model?? Any thoughts on the AMP 64GB 1.8-inch 5mm 40-pin SaberTooth ZX IDE PATA ZIF SSD solid state drive upgrade??

I am not really sure if I am 1st Generation or not, there was an overheating issue within the first year and the unit was replaced (late 2008). So not sure if this will work or not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Not all SSD's are alike. Some are flawless, others die or lag quickly. Best bet is to use what others have good experience with.

Answer to your question is YES! It can be replaced with an SSD!

Best to leave it to someone with personal experience

After reading this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10630288 and the Macworld review of the Runcore SSD here: http://www.macworld.com/article/145112/2009/12/runcoressdupgrade.html I took the plunge and bought the Runcore for $415. I think the Macworld review was right that the MBA 1st Generation is about 30% faster with the SSD replacing the PATA drive. I've got an extra 40GB of space as well.

The Runcore package has everything you need to do the swap. New SSD, an empty case with either PATA ZIF or SATA II LIF interface. It even has a screwdriver. You swap the drives and run Carbon Copy Cloner and you are back in business.

I bought my SSD here: http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=80000AE0-1247088390

Hope this helps!

b