Can my MacBook Air be restored? My Mac is full. It will not let me update, referencing lacking memory space. Can I do anything to? Can Apple do anything?

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Level 1

9 points

Can my MacBook Air be restored? My Mac is full. It will not let me update, referencing lacking memory space. Can I do anything to? Can Apple do anything?

My MacBook Air 2017 running macOS Big Sur is full. Or at least out of available memory. Can it be restored or refurbished? I am okay with its performance. But it has ceased being serviceable. It will not allow any more updates or information. It also stops during programs. Saying not enough memory.

I am not computer knowledgeable. I would have to send it in. Or take it to a Apple store.

I have been given an expiration date for this old body of mine. So I really can’t spend the money for a new Mac. It would be wasted. Is there anyway to add more storage, memory or something else that would keep it running for a year? Thanks in advance for your assistance. Anita

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Aug 18, 2022 8:06 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

155,414 points

Aug 18, 2022 8:26 PM in response to aGrammie1

You may be able to reclaim sufficient space to make a difference. Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support offers some suggestions.

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Answer 2

Aug 18, 2022 8:30 PM in response to aGrammie1

There may be some good hints here: Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

aGrammie1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 20, 2022 1:55 PM in response to John Galt

I am not certain what the memory space is. As I said at the beginning I am not computer literate. There is a reference on the Apple page as 8 GB memory. I know you didn't sign up for this but I will put the information I see on this page. Respond if you want. I'm not sure I would be able to comprehend what you say in reference to the computer. Thank you some much for taking your time thus far. I well and truly appreciate it. My husband has a brand new computer. It is an HP I think. But I really love my Mac. Mac is the only thing I have used for years and years. It would probably take years for me to learn the Windows version of things. (Sorry not your problem.). I will post below what I have copied. Thank you again for your assistance. Anita

Model Identifier: MacBookAir7, 2

Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 1.8 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 3 MB

Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled

Memory: 8 GB

I am running macOS Big Sur

My computer says it doesn't have enough memory to update the new program.

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Answer 4

Aug 18, 2022 8:10 PM in response to aGrammie1

This may help: Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

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Answer 5

aGrammie1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 20, 2022 2:03 PM in response to John Galt

I have used the optimize your storage space. Thank you for the suggestion. It did free up a little bit. I copied my pictures to Amazon free storage for Prime Members. Do you know if I can erase them off of my Mac and still have them stored on Amazon. I have read that if you erase things off of your computer that are previously or still stored/uploaded to the cloud that it will permanently erase the cloud items also. Do you know if that is the truth?

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Answer 6

John Galt

Level 10

155,414 points

Aug 20, 2022 3:05 PM in response to aGrammie1

I have read that if you erase things off of your computer that are previously or still stored/uploaded to the cloud that it will permanently erase the cloud items also. Do you know if that is the truth?

You may be thinking of this excerpt from Delete photos from iCloud using Photos on Mac - Apple Support:

"When you delete files from your System Photo Library, they’re also deleted from iCloud."

Whatever Amazon does, it's completely separate from iCloud, so I am reasonably certain what you propose is a good strategy.

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