Hi all. This week I picked up a refurb 2012 13" MBA (2.0 GHz i7, 512GB, 8GB). I love it!
Right now I'm moving files around among my retiring late 2008 MBP, 2009 white unibody MacBook, and a 2 TB G-Tech external HDD (which only supports USB 2.0, not 3.0).
Over the course of transferring several large files, I noticed that when the external drive is connected to the right USB 3.0 port on the MBA, transfers were unacceptably slow. For instance, moving my iTunes library (~53 GB) from the HDD to the MBA was estimated at 14 hours.
I thought that was unacceptably slow, so I stopped the transfer, ejected the drive, and plugged it in to the left hand USB port on the MBA. This time, the estimate was about 25 minutes, and that's how long it took to move the files.
Thinking that perhaps it was just a fluke, I tried to move the iWeb application (yes, I know iWeb sucks) from the HDD to the MBA tonight on the right USB port. At ~450 MB, I got an estimate of 7 minutes. I could download a file from my 52 MBps cable connection faster than that.
I ejected the drive, switched to the left USB port, and the file transferred in less than a minute.
So, the question - does this sound like a Genius Bar question? I assume it's not a normal occurrence. The specs show that both ports are USB 3.0 (which shouldn't matter anyway, since the drive only supports USB 2.0).
This is my first refurb Apple product (far from my first Apple product; my wife and I have bought eight new iPhones, 4 new iPads, an iPod, and an Apple TV between us), and it's making me question the wisdom of trying to save $330 by going refurb vs. new.
Thanks for any insights or advice you may have. I'm really hoping that if there is a problem with it, I don't have to start over a square one in setting it up the way I like it.
Right now I'm moving files around among my retiring late 2008 MBP, 2009 white unibody MacBook, and a 2 TB G-Tech external HDD (which only supports USB 2.0, not 3.0).
Over the course of transferring several large files, I noticed that when the external drive is connected to the right USB 3.0 port on the MBA, transfers were unacceptably slow. For instance, moving my iTunes library (~53 GB) from the HDD to the MBA was estimated at 14 hours.
I thought that was unacceptably slow, so I stopped the transfer, ejected the drive, and plugged it in to the left hand USB port on the MBA. This time, the estimate was about 25 minutes, and that's how long it took to move the files.
Thinking that perhaps it was just a fluke, I tried to move the iWeb application (yes, I know iWeb sucks) from the HDD to the MBA tonight on the right USB port. At ~450 MB, I got an estimate of 7 minutes. I could download a file from my 52 MBps cable connection faster than that.
I ejected the drive, switched to the left USB port, and the file transferred in less than a minute.
So, the question - does this sound like a Genius Bar question? I assume it's not a normal occurrence. The specs show that both ports are USB 3.0 (which shouldn't matter anyway, since the drive only supports USB 2.0).
This is my first refurb Apple product (far from my first Apple product; my wife and I have bought eight new iPhones, 4 new iPads, an iPod, and an Apple TV between us), and it's making me question the wisdom of trying to save $330 by going refurb vs. new.
Thanks for any insights or advice you may have. I'm really hoping that if there is a problem with it, I don't have to start over a square one in setting it up the way I like it.
.