Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 1

6 points

How do i upgrade macbook air harddrive while keeping the same system?

I have been tasked with "fixing" a macbook that would not boot. It was having issues as the HDD was completely full.

I moved Downloads and Pictures to a USB stick for about 117MB, rebooted and had errors. Booted into single user mode, the disk was full again, so i deleted the user's ./Library/Cache and cleared virtual memory to save 2 GB. Rebooted without error, cleared Chrome's cache, and now there is about 573 MB free. Trash is empty. Nor are there iTunes backups.

The disk itself is 56GB. There is a 25GB image (single file) for VirtualBox. "du -hc | grep ^...G" produces (sans permission errors):

6.1G /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Versions

6.1G /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents

6.1G /Applications/Google Chrome.app

1.0G /Applications/iMovie.app/Contents/Frameworks

2.2G /Applications/iMovie.app/Contents

2.2G /Applications/iMovie.app

1.1G /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Resources

1.4G /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents

1.4G /Applications/iPhoto.app

1.0G /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office

1.2G /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011

14G /Applications

1.4G /Library/Application Support/GarageBand

2.3G /Library/Application Support

6.1G /Library

2.1G /private/var/vm

3.4G /private/var

3.4G /private

3.3G /System/Library

3.3G /System

25G /Users/User/VirtualBox VMs/BMS Remote

25G /Users/User/VirtualBox VMs

25G /Users/User

25G /Users

2.2G /Volumes/NO NAME

2.2G /Volumes

55G /

55G total

/Volumes/No Name is the usb stick.

I do not think the free space will last very long, so i either need to remove files, either to the usb stick or permanently, or upgrade the hard drive.

The current laptop runs a system in their building and must continue as-is for the next 8 or 9 months. No upgrades are allowed. Is it possible to upgrade the hard drive and keep the same system, like by copying and expanding the image? Or perhaps an external hard drive would be better for the VirtualBox image, but i wonder how that would affect performance. Any help would be appreciated.

According to Apple, based on the serial number, it is: MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) .It has 4GB of memory and is running OSX 10.9.5.

Mac mini, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 15, 2018 3:19 PM

Best reply

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Posted on Nov 19, 2018 11:35 AM

That page does say it supports the 5,2, i guess i missed it in the list. :-/ It's the 250GB with the kit then. That does seem like a nice option for a nice price.

Thank you for all the help and all the replies. I really do appreciate it.

---

Ugh, i hit solved on my reply instead of yours. How to i fix that?

View in context

Similar questions

43 replies

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 24, 2018 8:30 PM in response to chacham

I've looked at that warning label again and, frankly, I'm not sure if they include their own SSD you bought in this warning not to install it, but if they do, I would just use the reverse I mentioned previously.

Unless someone here (all other users) has bought that particular model for that particular MBAir, then there is no way for anyone to know that OWC has suddenly changed the rules. I'd definitely ask them why.

So, do get in touch with them, tell them of your concerns and what you were planning to do and ask if that is ok or if you should do it in (what I called) the reverse order. I think it'll be fine.

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 25, 2018 9:06 AM in response to chacham

Unless I was trying it myself or observing you closely, I would not be able to say for sue, but it looks like it doesn’t fit. So, you’ll need to contact them on Monday anyway or do it now via email and question both the install/cloning sequence and the screwdriver. This kind of thing is certainly annoying.

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 27, 2018 11:01 AM in response to babowa

Emailed them on Sunday, so i just called them now. I mentioned the email and he said they were super busy due to Cyber Monday. Good for them.

While i was on the phone i tried the screwdriver again. No go. Then i saw something on it which i scratched off, and it began to work a little. I got a turn out of it before it slipped and scratched the back of the macbook. And then a second time. So, i'm relatively sure it just didn't get a good cut. Anyway, he sent out another screwdriver, told me it might even be here by tomorrow, or at the worst, Thursday.

I asked about the instructions, he said the reason is that the new storage runs hotter than the stock one, and the enclosure is not made for that. So, the official answer is to do it their way, and the only way if i do not want to void the warranty.

So, i probably could do it the way mentioned here, but this is for a client, so breaking the warranty is not really an option.

Thank you again for all the help.

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 29, 2018 10:23 PM in response to babowa

Got the new screwdriver today, worked like a charm. Following the videos for installation, putting the new drive in the macbook and the old one in the enclosure. Booted off the enclosure via usb, installed CCC and ran it, and chose to clone the external to the internal. At the end it asked if i wanted the recovery partition, i said yes. Shutdown, removed the external enclosure, booted up, and it seems fine. Wow.

A couple notes. One, the new hard drive was already formatted. Two, when booting off the enclosure, the old hard drive had more space on it (well over a gig) than when booting off it directly. Three, when booted off the enclosure, i tried connecting to wifi, but it told me the keychain was invalid or something.

I'll try again in the morning or something to verify all is well. But it seems like it was a really smooth "clone".

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 30, 2018 8:21 AM in response to chacham

Glad to hear everything went well!

If you’re keeping the now “old” external, test it to make sure it will still boot from it occasionally.

Just as an FYI, some external drives do come formatted, but I’ve learned over the years that it is good to do it yourself, even if it is done for the second time. That way, you know you did it (and did it righ). In the process, any unnecessary software the mfr added will be deleted as well (no external needs any software to do its job).

As for wifi not working with the enclosure, I’ve never experienced that and don’t have an answer for that. You might want to contact their customer service and ask them; might have something to do with the new enclosure?

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 30, 2018 8:59 AM in response to babowa

I didn't think about that. That they would sneak in some software that way. Wireless works now. The issue was the keychain. If i ignore that error, i am still using the wifi.

Now to fix the keychain issue, which exists when booting externally or locally, which gives me a keychain not found error. I found some solutions, tried 2 or 3 so far which did not work, still searching and trying though.

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 30, 2018 9:48 AM in response to chacham

Most of them include software. but, having said that, I checked OWC and even the Mercury Pros (not SSD), of which I still have several, do not have anything listed - when I bought them, they had a laundry list of stuff. I have to wonder if that might have to do with the new security features built into Mojave. In any case, formatting it again will not hurt anything ecxept delete whatever is on it.

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 24, 2018 6:24 PM in response to babowa

>What you want to do is to install the SSD in the enclosure

What now?

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 16, 2018 1:19 PM in response to gregorytucker

Thank you for that. I hope to review all these options (and any more that come along) on Sunday. I'm glad i posted the question here.

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 17, 2018 5:44 PM in response to chacham

I prefer CCC due to its ability to create a recovery partition.

There are 2 ways to create a recovery partition. Install the OS or run a utility that will create it. CCC has that utility.

chacham Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 18, 2018 9:09 AM in response to babowa

Thank you for replying and explaining throughout, over and over. If i have a grasp on its, its because of you. I plan to present the options to the other guy and see what he wants to do.

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 19, 2018 12:29 PM in response to chacham

That’s ok, it’s not like the points buy us anything. And no, you can’t change it once done. Good luck and post back if you’re not clear about something.

babowa

Level 9

78,109 points

Nov 27, 2018 5:19 PM in response to chacham

You are welcome - hope everything goes well.

How do i upgrade macbook air harddrive while keeping the same system?