Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2011 MBA not accepting 256GB SSD from 2010 MBA

W

will0407

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 20, 2006
609
57
Hi everyone,

I got a 2011 128GB i5 11" MBA (samsung SSD). I didn't want to pay £250 for the upgrade to 256GB, so I managed to get a 256GB (toshiba SSD) 2010 MBA from ebay for a good price. My plan was to switch the SSD and then sell the 2010 on for a minor loss.

I opened both machines, everything went smoothly with the 2010 MBA. The 128GB ssd was fine, booted from USB stick with Lion on and began installing Lion no problems.

The 11" however is being troublesome. The 256GB SSD had a fresh install of Lion on, however it wouldn't boot from it. So I tried booting from the recovery HD. It wouldn't do it- the grey apple appears then turns into a 'no entry' sign, and then it turns off.

I swapped the SSD's back, and had the same problem booting from the USB on the 2011 (no entry). I then instead selected the recovery partition and that has worked. It seems that my 2011 with only work with the sad it shipped with

So in short, with the 256GB in the 2011, I cannot get past the apple sign whatever I do. All that i've managed to do is a hardware test and that says there are no problems.

Anyone have any ideas or solutions as to why the 256GB causes issues?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Its because you CANNOT install the version of Lion required by the new MBA's without the internet recovery partition. The SSD most likely boots and works fine, just the version of Lion is incompatible.
 
I connected my 11" 2011 to my wifi, clicked the recovery option but it still wouldn't work
 
will0407 said:
I connected my 11" 2011 to my wifi, clicked the recovery option but it still wouldn't work
Click to expand...

I have no idea how to make it work having never tested it myself.

Have your formatted the 256GB SSD with a GUID Partition Map and HFS+ ? Basically make it a truly blank slate and see what happens.

I have no idea if that would have any effect or not. Your in new territory.
 
I'm currently trying the 'command-R' option as outlined in the apple link. It's currently doing a recovery by the looks of it so I'll see how it goes and report back. It's odd if it works as when I held option after booting I got the recovery HD option, clicked it but then it wouldn't work.
 
will0407 said:
I'm currently trying the 'command-R' option as outlined in the apple link. It's currently doing a recovery by the looks of it so I'll see how it goes and report back. It's odd if it works as when I held option after booting I got the recovery HD option, clicked it but then it wouldn't work.
Click to expand...

Definitely would like to hear how this goes.
 
update: the "2011 128GB" in the 2010 is currently installing lion without problems off a USB.

the "2010 256gb" in the 2011 started up and began recovery mode using command-r function. It took about 8 minutes to download whatever it need to, and is currently on the "downloading additional components stage". It's about 1.3 of the way through and says 1 hour 30 remaining. This stage installing from a USB usually only takes 5 minutes. I guess when it's done it'll restart as usual and then begin installing lion via download. It's going to take too long for to wait up so fingers crossed I'll have a nice surprise in the morning.

Thanks for everyones input and help thus far.
 
I'm going to guess Apple wasn't expecting people needing to do a restore of a new model on the first week, so the cloud restore wasn't ready. That's why some folks reported failures. I took my 24 hour old MBA back to the Apple store I bought it from to get restored (I didn't know about Command R), and they gave me a new one instead because THEY didn't have a restore image. Hopefully they've fixed by know.

I mean, who destroys their drive on the FIRST WEEK. (Answer: i do :D )
 
this was a very good post in terms of learning something new.

thanx
 
If you don't mind, which one did you get. I would love to increase my SSD if I can find one for the right price.
 
Right, that was ALOT quicker than expected! I can't say exactly how long as I didn't think to check what time, although I'd say about 90 minutes, judging by when I found out about the common-r function

It took just over an hour to download the 'additional items', then it restarted and began installing lion. I thought it'd take much longer to install but it only took about 20-25 minutes. Currently about to restore from time machine back up.

@Mhotep: I got a samsung screen and samsung SSD in my 2011, however the SSD i got in the 2010 air that I bought is a Toshiba. I've managed to sell the 2010 air on for break even as I got such a good price on it originally with the 256GB in, so I've gained an extra 128GB for free!
 
This certainly makes me think. 64Gb is enough for now, since it will be my 2nd computer. Difference in Europe between 64 and 256 is 400 Euro, already more than when I buy a new 256Gb SSD. Waiting a year or so and I might have a nice upgrade for my Air (I am still deciding what specs to order).
 
will0407 said:
@Mhotep: I got a samsung screen and samsung SSD in my 2011, however the SSD i got in the 2010 air that I bought is a Toshiba. I've managed to sell the 2010 air on for break even as I got such a good price on it originally with the 256GB in, so I've gained an extra 128GB for free!
Click to expand...

Nice. A 256GB Toshiba SSD for essentially the price of a 128GB Samsung is worth it, IMO. IIRC, most of the 2010 MacBook Air 256GB drives were Toshiba, since the first Samsung drives that showed up were 128GB drives.
 
Time machine restore was also quicker than expected. It's currently spotlighting with the fans at 5300rpm and temp at 67c but that's to be expected.

Loading times seem pretty similar. I'm not a hardcore user (not in terms of mac software anyway!) so i can't give any reviews/impressions on speed or performance other than apps seem to open just as quickly!

The screen on my new 2011 11" air compared to my 2010 11" seems a little sharper although that could just be me wanting to see that! Also the colours are more bold and less washed out, but again, that could just be the calibration. I'm not so fussy that I faff around with settings etc.

Anyway, looks like we've all learnt something today! Thanks once again for everyone's input and help.
 
The Build of Lion required by the 2011 MacBook Air (11A2063) is a newer specialized build than the standard 11A511 build that is downloaded from the App Store --- this is likely the culprit of your problems booting from this Lion install.
 
Thanks OP. Just put a 1 TB into my new Mac Mini, and just like you it wouldn't load lion. Think I got it working with your help. Now just got to get my MBP to wipe a format a copy of W7so I can put OSS on it.
OP if you mind me asking how much was the 256gb SSD?
 
I bought a 2010 13" MBA ultimate for £800 inc postage. Managed to sell it on for £845 inc postage with my 128GB in, so I gained 128GB and made £35 :)

Edit: Quick update- once the air actually restarts and begins to install lion after the hour ish long download, it only takes 6-7 minutes to actually install.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back