128gb ssd

chrisjburgess said:

Hi, can anyone give recommendation on the cheapest 128gb ssd compatible with rev b/c air?

I have seen a Samsung 1.8" SATA II and not sure if this will work or if you can buy an interface to make it work...

Thanks in advance.
C

Click to expand...

The only aftermarket drive for those computers is the Runcore drive and it should never be known as the only choice as it is the best possible solution in that computer that can be built at this time. Made with the fastest controller and the best MLC flash available.

Take a look at this thread and you will see all the info you need.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/810517/

Matt

Not only is the Runcore SSD the only aftermarket solution, it's 3x to 5x faster than the stock MBA SSD. And at least 12X faster than your stock HDD but probably faster in terms of access speed.

The drive in your MBA is a 1.8" drive. It also has a 5mm clearance height requirement. Additionally, it uses a proprietary LIF connector (it may not be proprietary to Apple but Apple is the only company using an LIF connector with a SATA-II drive controller, as far as I am aware). A "standard" SSD isn't going to fit, so Runcore is your best bet.

I have had great results with my Runcore, and I definitely recommend it to others. Also, there is an instruction set with photographs at iFixIt.com. My instructions don't have photos nor are they "professionally" written or reviewed, so reviewing iFixIt.com for advice would probably help.

Last thing, remember your MBA is stuck with 2 GB of RAM forever. The Runcore SSD speeds up the entire system as the drive access is so much faster for things like reading swap files when RAM is being used. And 256 MB of your RAM is tied up with your Nvidia GPU. You will get faster boot times, instant app opening times, superior speed when the drive is multitasking, huge improvements in initial drive access speed, instant shutdown, and a consistently excellent performance. I have about 95 GB of use, and my Runcore is going strong and performing wonderfully. It is definitely worth the money to upgrade from the pitifully slow 4200rpm HDD that your MBA came standard with. I wish you the best with whatever you do!

Cheers.

chrisjburgess said:

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice, I figured that it might be the only (best) choice but was hoping for a cheaper alternative. Given your thoughts I bought one on ebay with the 8% cashback option so got it for about $400, feels expensive for a HDD but I guess I'll find out if it's worth it when it arrives...

Last question, if I decide to sell my air or upgrade in the future to another machine is the disk transferrable, e.g. can I buy a different interface for it?

Cheers,
C

Click to expand...

It would be expensive for an HDD but it's an SSD! JK. Good luck with it.

chrisjburgess said:

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice, I figured that it might be the only (best) choice but was hoping for a cheaper alternative. Given your thoughts I bought one on ebay with the 8% cashback option so got it for about $400, feels expensive for a HDD but I guess I'll find out if it's worth it when it arrives...

Last question, if I decide to sell my air or upgrade in the future to another machine is the disk transferrable, e.g. can I buy a different interface for it?

Cheers,
C

Click to expand...

No you will probably want to sell it in the MBA to get a premium and keep the drive that came in it as a backup device.

Runcore said:

The only aftermarket drive for those computers is the Runcore drive and it should never be known as the only choice as it is the best possible solution in that computer that can be built at this time. Made with the fastest controller and the best MLC flash available.

Take a look at this thread and you will see all the info you need.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/810517/

Matt

Click to expand...

Dears

Be careful with these guys, I was one of the unlucky buyers of there 256MB drives ... last year.... to date they have failed to support me so EURO 600 down the drain ... have a look here BEFORE you decide if you should go for them

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f78/

This is not a rant just have a look at how many other users have had problems with them... and how many have been left without support ,,,,you have been warned

nobackup said:

Dears

Be careful with these guys, I was one of the unlucky buyers of there 256MB drives ... last year.... to date they have failed to support me so EURO 600 down the drain ... have a look here BEFORE you decide if you should go for them

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f78/

This is not a rant just have a look at how many other users have had problems with them... and how many have been left without support ,,,,you have been warned

Click to expand...

Is it really a 256 GB SSD? Or is it a 256 MB SSD? How does it fit in the MBA? What interface does it have?

What specific problems have you had with it? I never heard of a 256 GB SSD that fits in an MBA before.

Scottsdale said:

Is it really a 256 GB SSD? Or is it a 256 MB SSD? How does it fit in the MBA? What interface does it have?

What specific problems have you had with it? I never heard of a 256 GB SSD that fits in an MBA before.

Click to expand...

its a standard 256GB sata drive got it last year in june for my MacBook, if you look at the linked forum you'll see a whole bunch of issues across the board including the 128GB SSD referenced in this thread

nobackup said:

its a standard 256GB sata drive got it last year in june for my MacBook, if you look at the linked forum you'll see a whole bunch of issues across the board including the 128GB SSD referenced in this thread

Click to expand...

Well this is a Runcore 1.8" LIF drive with a 5mm height measurement we're discussing here which is for the MacBook Air specifically. There are no other drives that fit the MBA.

I guess it's still Runcore you're discussing but it's not the same drive and wouldn't fit in an MBA. Just an observation about the difference in drive. Not saying that Runcore shouldn't make it right or help you make your drive work in your MB... just that it's different tech.

Best wishes with it. As far as the Runcore SSD for the MBA, it's a pretty darn good experience. I will be Matt from Runcore gets back to you here and reply to your post.

Scottsdale said:

Well this is a Runcore 1.8" LIF drive with a 5mm height measurement we're discussing here which is for the MacBook Air specifically. There are no other drives that fit the MBA.

I guess it's still Runcore you're discussing but it's not the same drive and wouldn't fit in an MBA. Just an observation about the difference in drive. Not saying that Runcore shouldn't make it right or help you make your drive work in your MB... just that it's different tech.

Best wishes with it. As far as the Runcore SSD for the MBA, it's a pretty darn good experience. I will be Matt from Runcore gets back to you here and reply to your post.

Click to expand...

that good for u but do you know that if you have to update the FW you need to stick it in a PC !!! as the updater runs only under DOS...

mate all I was doing was pointing you guys here to their support forum, where lots of people are having issues with the LIF/ZIF drives for the MBA...

I think we need to look at this in a balanced way ... the good and the bad

nobackup said:

that good for u but do you know that if you have to update the FW you need to stick it in a PC !!! as the updater runs only under DOS...

mate all I was doing was pointing you guys here to their support forum, where lots of people are having issues with the LIF/ZIF drives for the MBA...

I think we need to look at this in a balanced way ... the good and the bad

Click to expand...

Who did you buy the drive from? Our vendors take care of the RMA's.

Matt

128Gb Runcore: An egregious error

I bought several 64GB Runcores and have been well served. Never needing customer support. I had no idea what I was doing when I got my 128GB SSD Runcore. It was a total fail (see below) - and I am finding Runcore support very lacking. I have been waiting on them to respond in any way; since March 23.

This, that I am bringing to your attention and asking for help with; is in regards to this DRIVE, not my computer which, I must admit, is not a Mac.

Question: Has anyone had any luck with direct customer support from Runcore?

128gb Pro IV PATA 50mm Mini PCI-E SSD

<MY STORY IN TECHNICAL DETAIL>

I was replacing the 64GB Runcore card I had.

They say the 128GB Runcore is faster, and it is.
Boot time is so fast, getting into setup is near impossible.

Anyway - on receipt, the drive was not formatted. How annoying.
And at first the computer (Win XP Pro) did not recognize it at all. I might as well have USB'd a pretzel to the machine.

I tried it on several of my other computers. Bad card? Bad cable?

Well then I was trying one last time and I was messing with the USB connection and the computer started dinging, how it does, recognizing a uSB appliance - it was alerting merrily; going 'found, not found, found, not found' as I jiggled the usb connection.
So I conclude that on my card, to work with the USB connection I have to jiggle the connection AT THE CARD and then, set it down VERY gently not to lose the precious connection.

So I format the drive using Disk Management tools from the Admin tab of the control panel. Takes two tries but it formats. The Quick Format failed, the regular did not fail. But it takes so long that you think it's hung, but it is not.

Once formated I downloaded and used Acronis to clone the 64GB to the 128GB
It installed itself and identified the drive and did some imaging and then never gave me a finished button. Just "cancel" ...Acronis is quirky and hangs a bit, but effective.

So I turned off the computer and back on again and apparently it had worked because when it came back up it forced safe mode and cloned the drive on an XP bluescreen.

So, duly cloned, I put the 128GB drive in the Mini 9 and it doesn't work, "media not found"
So I unscrew the thing and check it on the usb cable and it's fine. So I replace it and because I am sure I will be pulling it again, I don't screw it down. Works fine bootable, no problem.
I put a screw in it, turn off and on; it still boots fine.
I put the second screw in it and turn off, and it won't boot.
I took that second screw OUT and it booted fine.
Put it back in, didn't boot.
Second screw; was the masked man.

It SEEMS, that the second screw very slightly BENDS the board and then it's a fail.
So I put a drop of hot glue on the riser that holds the board, and then when it had cooled, I reinstalled the board and the corner came down on the hotglue 'riser' preventing the flex and now, the drive boots over and over without fail.

So, you see; there are several points where a person would come to the conclusion that their Runcore 128gb was a fail and get an RMA.
1) Installing and finding it not formatted may result in failure to identify the drive. (Some would get an RMA at this point)
2) Once identified, it may have to be formated. Quick format fails. (Some would get an RMA at this point) Hard format doesn't.
3) Cloning software isn't a mainstream product and so I could see how a person would have a hard-to-impossible experience with it. (Some would get an RMA at this point)
4) Once cloned, and dropped into the machine, it is possible the card is not tolerant of flexing.....And shows as 'media not found'. (Some would get an RMA at this point)

SO this was my 128GB Runcore experience. It's in, and functioning, and it does seem to be considerably faster than the 64GB - almost twitchy fast.

I am sure next week a 256GB will be available for what I paid for this 128GB and I will just hang myself. Ah what can ya do.

(OLD) Question:
If a board is sensitive to flexing, does that mean it is broken? Like a solder joint is gone and has to be "just so" to work or make contact - or do you see that with any sort of expansion card that's flexed in the socket?

Thank you.

Erik

ADDENDUM
One user suggested that the board should not be that wonky and that I should RMA it. I figured since it was working (at that time) why mess with a good thing.

ADDENDUM
I should have taken your advice and RMA'd it when it was wonky at the git go.
It worked fine, well since the February post....
And this morning, failed.
On attempted boot from WIN XP install disc it says NO MOUNTABLE DRIVE found. Wow.

So it's just a green piece of silicon now.
I am not mad.
I will be if Runcore fails to handle this.

Grrrr

Erik

ADDENDUM
It has been several weeks and Runcore has not responded on their Runcore Forum, nor to the email I send every week. I doubt they have any product support in the USA. They are based in China.
Super Talent, on the other hand, is made in the USA.

Here is what I have sent to support@runcore.com every week since March 20, 2010

This also describes the problems I had in pretty clear detail.

"Hey I have invested (heavily) in the Runcore128GB Pro V SSD and it has failed. It worked a short period of time even though it was wonky on install. (See dellmini forum notes)
I would like to have an RMA.
I trust Runcore and the products because I have TWO of the Runcore64GB running fine.
Please take care of me. I am a good customer.
Thank you
Erik Johnson
3125 Roswell Road Suite H
Marietta GA 30062

Timing on this is very bad because my presentation for the University of Georgia is on the dead drive. It is my fault for no backup.
Please help with my drive
Erik

First problem: Sudden reboot, came up cannot find operating system. Did that once.
A week later, sudden reboot, came up in Windows and did Chkdisk, found errors. Went down.
Came up and reported corruption.
Came up again and simply reported cannot find operating system.
Got out my Win XP install disc and set bios to boot off CD and the disc managed to get ready start windows and then blue screened with "No Mountable Drive Found"

I think the drive has died.

It was in Windows XP SP2 Dell Mini"

The drive has the following imprints:

0937
RunCore
miniPCIe V2.0_VL03
On the reverse:
SN 0900026151

Erik do you by chance have the Pro IV T Style SSD for the Dell Mini 9 and Dell Vostro A90?

Matt