change solid state drive for macbook air

Taking apart the MacBook Air was a little more challenging than other models (Apple really does pack things tightly in there), but the real challenge was re-installing the OS.

The operating system, applications and local copies of works in progress took up only 10Gb or so. While 30GB doesn't sound like much storage space, I use that particular machine only for writing and it's always been optimized to reduce the load on CPU, HD and battery. My wife (with a little hint) ordered a 30GB ZIF SSD kit for about $100 as a Christmas gift. I didn't have to look much further than OWC, the company that supplied the SSD I reviewed earlier. Besides, I've always wanted an excuse to open it up and see what makes it tick.

It's a pain tracking down a suitable replacement, but given the fact that the current generation of this model of notebook starts at around $1300, I figured it was worth looking around. This is a first generation model, pretty pokey and with a small capacity hard drive that uses a hard to find ZIF connector. Following the success I had with upgrading my MacBook Pro's hard drive with a SSD (solid state drive), I decided to to try the same thing with my MacBook Air.

Change solid state drive for macbook air