Do not update your macbook air 2012 to new software

[jamesjingyi]

My MacBook Air was set to update to new software and I clicked the 'Later' option to install after I had finished some work. Now I am met with the folder with a question mark and pressing ⌘+R just starts internet recovery which never starts. I am going to take my MacBook into the Apple Store at the weekend however no external disks are even readable by the system which has made my computer 'dead'. I only hope I can get some of the files off it...

 

[Weaselboy]

My MacBook Air was set to update to new software and I clicked the 'Later' option to install after I had finished some work. Now I am met with the folder with a question mark and pressing ⌘+R just starts internet recovery which never starts. I am going to take my MacBook into the Apple Store at the weekend however no external disks are even readable by the system which has made my computer 'dead'. I only hope I can get some of the files off it...

Do you have the 128GB SSD version by any chance? If so, these have been dropping like flies all of a sudden. It is probably just a coincidence this happened at the same time as the update. There is nothing in that update that would cause a drive to stop functioning. Often times updates do tax the drive, so if you have a drive on the edge of failure then can push it over.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

The flashing question mark folder seems to be the #1 cardinal sign of SSD failure in these models. All reports have 1 thing in common, the 128GB Toshiba SSD.

 

[-Eden]

It could also be the hard drive cable. I had a MBP, which had a flashing folder after a restart from a update. Diagnosing it showed that the HD was intact (I plugged it into a external enclosure), and booted it from there. I replaced the hard driver cable and all was well .
If you take it to Apple and they say they will replace the hard drive, but at the end of the service they don't, all they just did was replace the cable.

 

[Weaselboy]

It could also be the hard drive cable. I had a MBP, which had a flashing folder after a restart from a update. Diagnosing it showed that the HD was intact (I plugged it into a external enclosure), and booted it from there. I replaced the hard driver cable and all was well .
If you take it to Apple and they say they will replace the hard drive, but at the end of the service they don't, all they just did was replace the cable.

The Airs don't have a cable. The flash drive is a blade design that plugs into the logic board. But you are correct about the Pro models having this issue often.

 

[jamesjingyi]

Do you have the 128GB SSD version by any chance? If so, these have been dropping like flies all of a sudden. It is probably just a coincidence this happened at the same time as the update. There is nothing in that update that would cause a drive to stop functioning. Often times updates do tax the drive, so if you have a drive on the edge of failure then can push it over.

Oh... So does Apple cover this? Also do you think all the data is lost?

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It could also be the hard drive cable. I had a MBP, which had a flashing folder after a restart from a update. Diagnosing it showed that the HD was intact (I plugged it into a external enclosure), and booted it from there. I replaced the hard driver cable and all was well .
If you take it to Apple and they say they will replace the hard drive, but at the end of the service they don't, all they just did was replace the cable.

Was this covered by the 1 year warranty?

 

[Weaselboy]

Oh... So does Apple cover this? Also do you think all the data is lost?

There have been other forum members here that report Apple covered this for them even though they were outside the one year warranty. You might try mentioning you have read this is a widespread problem and you think they should cover it.

Yes, based on other reports here, that drive cannot be accessed at all and the data is gone.

Can you confirm you have the 128GB version?

Good luck at the Apple Store and let us know how it works out.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

There's a thread at Apple's discussion forum saying the Apple stores in the last few days have seen something 'pop up' on their screens when noting this error, causing computers outside of warranty to be fixed free of charge.

 

[jamesjingyi]

There have been other forum members here that report Apple covered this for them even though they were outside the one year warranty. You might try mentioning you have read this is a widespread problem and you think they should cover it.

Yes, based on other reports here, that drive cannot be accessed at all and the data is gone.

Can you confirm you have the 128GB version?

Good luck at the Apple Store and let us know how it works out.

I have the 128GB version and it is still in warranty so it should be ok. However all my files and applications are gone Good thing most of my songs are on the Google Music and the Documents are in the cloud. Also I had just copied all my photos to my external hard drive.... However all my Applications and Photoshop/Indesign files are gone Gutted

Do you think they will upgrade me? Because I have genuinely lost about 30+ hours of work because SSDs are said to never die... Just my luck to get one that does...

I have made an appointment for this weekend. Hopefully it will get sorted. From previous experience, do you know whether it will be a quick operation with a replacement done in minutes or a long drawn out tooing and froing happening?

And out of curiosity, do you think that they will stick by the Apple claim that all the SSD chips are soldered to the logic board and get a whole new one or do you think they will just replace the chips?

Thanks for your help btw

 

[Weaselboy]

I have the 128GB version and it is still in warranty so it should be ok. However all my files and applications are gone Good thing most of my songs are on the Google Music and the Documents are in the cloud. Also I had just copied all my photos to my external hard drive.... However all my Applications and Photoshop/Indesign files are gone Gutted

Do you think they will upgrade me? Because I have genuinely lost about 30+ hours of work because SSDs are said to never die... Just my luck to get one that does...

I have made an appointment for this weekend. Hopefully it will get sorted. From previous experience, do you know whether it will be a quick operation with a replacement done in minutes or a long drawn out tooing and froing happening?

And out of curiosity, do you think that they will stick by the Apple claim that all the SSD chips are soldered to the logic board and get a whole new one or do you think they will just replace the chips?

Thanks for your help btw

Some users have reported the replacement is a Samsung and I believe I did see a couple reports from people who scored a 256GB as a replacement, so maybe plead your case and they will take pity on you for an upgrade.

The posts I have seen people have had to leave their Macbook with Apple a couple days to get the drive replaced.

The flash drive chips are not soldered to the logic board. They are soldered to a "blade" board that is held in by one screw and slides right out, so it is easy for them to replace just the drive (blade) itself.

 

[sou1 so1di3r]

I have the 128GB version and it is still in warranty so it should be ok. However all my files and applications are gone Good thing most of my songs are on the Google Music and the Documents are in the cloud. Also I had just copied all my photos to my external hard drive.... However all my Applications and Photoshop/Indesign files are gone Gutted

Do you think they will upgrade me? Because I have genuinely lost about 30+ hours of work because SSDs are said to never die... Just my luck to get one that does...

I have made an appointment for this weekend. Hopefully it will get sorted. From previous experience, do you know whether it will be a quick operation with a replacement done in minutes or a long drawn out tooing and froing happening?

And out of curiosity, do you think that they will stick by the Apple claim that all the SSD chips are soldered to the logic board and get a whole new one or do you think they will just replace the chips?

Thanks for your help btw

back up your files dude. You can get a TB passport for like $90

 

[jamesjingyi]

Some users have reported the replacement is a Samsung and I believe I did see a couple reports from people who scored a 256GB as a replacement, so maybe plead your case and they will take pity on you for an upgrade.

The posts I have seen people have had to leave their Macbook with Apple a couple days to get the drive replaced.

The flash drive chips are not soldered to the logic board. They are soldered to a "blade" board that is held in by one screw and slides right out, so it is easy for them to replace just the drive (blade) itself.

How can I check whether my new drive is a Samsung or Toshiba? Thanks for your help, even though I argued my case, the guy at the Genius bar said that it was not a known issue and that he could only replace like for like (blah blah blah Apple policy blah). He said it was an extremely rare issue and that I should back up and that he was terribly sorry etc.

Thanks for your help anyways and I will back up more I think

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back up your files dude. You can get a TB passport for like $90

Yup, just bought one Hopefully this never happens again however if it does, I will be prepared

 

[Weaselboy]

How can I check whether my new drive is a Samsung or Toshiba? Thanks for your help, even though I argued my case, the guy at the Genius bar said that it was not a known issue and that he could only replace like for like (blah blah blah Apple policy blah). He said it was an extremely rare issue and that I should back up and that he was terribly sorry etc.

Thanks for your help anyways and I will back up more I ought one Hopefully this never happens again however if it does, I will be prepared

If you click the Apple at the top right then go to system report and look in the entry that shows your drives you will see and entry for the flash drive.. If it starts with TS it is a Toshiba.

 

[bartzilla]

Because I have genuinely lost about 30+ hours of work because SSDs are said to never die...

There are no competent people out there who know anything about computer hardware walking around saying "SSDs never die".

I'm sorry you lost your work. I'm reading this thread with concern because I have a 2012 MBA myself, but I back my work up. As should you, regardless of who you buy your computer from and what parts are inside it.

 

[jamesjingyi]

There are no competent people out there who know anything about computer hardware walking around saying "SSDs never die".

I'm sorry you lost your work. I'm reading this thread with concern because I have a 2012 MBA myself, but I back my work up. As should you, regardless of who you buy your computer from and what parts are inside it.

But if you ask anyone who knows about computer hardware, they will say that SSDs are a lot more secure and hardwearing than traditional hard drives. I will back up from now on... Also have you checked this ?

 

[jdechko]

Yup, just bought one Hopefully this never happens again however when it does, I will be prepared

Fixed this for you. Hard drive failure/ data loss isn't a matter of if, but when. Hard drives die, computers are damaged beyond repair and files are deleted. Fortunately, you only need it to happen once. Unfortunately, it's often too late.

Backup early, backup often and test your freaking backups!

But if you ask anyone who knows about computer hardware, they will say that SSDs are a lot more secure and hardwearing than traditional hard drives. I will back up from now on... Also have you checked this ?

It's true that SSD's are more durable than spinning disk hard drives. There are no moving parts, so things like bumps and drops aren't going to cause problems. But many times, it's not so much the moving parts that fail in a hard drive as it is the controllers: the CPU that tells the hard drive what to do. In the case of the 2012 Air SSD failures, it's not the storage chips themselves that are failing, it's the controllers.

 

[jamesjingyi]

It's true that SSD's are more durable than spinning disk hard drives. There are no moving parts, so things like bumps and drops aren't going to cause problems. But many times, it's not so much the moving parts that fail in a hard drive as it is the controllers: the CPU that tells the hard drive what to do. In the case of the 2012 Air SSD failures, it's not the storage chips themselves that are failing, it's the controllers.

What does the controller do that makes it so unreliable? Why haven't they devised a better option which is less likely to break?

 

[jdechko]

What does the controller do that makes it so unreliable? Why haven't they devised a better option which is less likely to break?

The controller is the brains of the disk, whether it's an SSD or a spinning disk, so when they go bad, you can't access any portion of the disk. Reading what I wrote, I made it sound like the controllers fail often. The fact is I don't know what fails the most overall, but it is the source of the problem on the 2012 Airs. The Sandforce controllers in the Toshiba's have a fatal flaw that's been causing the mass failures.

 

[Miat]

Backup early, backup often and test your freaking backups!

Never heard anybody complain about having too much backup.

 

[m00min]

Reading this thread I'm quite glad I paid for the 256gb Samsung drive last year. Samsung do seem to make the better parts, better SSDs, better screens than LG, etc. it's a shame Apple seem to be moving away from them.

 

[sw6lee]

Oh my god..I got the ssd issue alert, and went to the apple store yesterday. And he told me I need to back up all my files first, and also he told me that he has to order ssd and it will take up to 10 days. He said he will call me when it's ready.

I did not back up my files because I don't own any external hard drive, and I don't need it for anything, so I did not buy it. A lot of my documents are in Google Drive, but my songs, all the apps are in the storage of my mba itself. \

So the apple genius told me I can keep my macbook until they call me in, and he will replace the ssd for me. I said okay fine, and came back home after wasting my time..

Today, I was using my macbook fine in the morning and afternoon, then just now, after going out and coming back, when I opened up my macbook, it suddenly froze, and as I was waiting for it to come back, it rebooted and now it's showing this image attached...I don't know what to do. It's Sunday, and all the apple store around here are closed. I forced reboot, and it's still the same screen. I'm very upset and disappointed at the same time.. I have tons of work due next week, and this thing came up, and a lot of my time is being wasted.

Anyway, sorry about the rant, and my questions are..
1. Is there anything I can do to recover this on my own, without taking risks?
2. Will apple replace only my ssd, like they told me, or replace my macbook with a new one?

Thanks for your help..

 

[Isamilis]

1. You can try, and still possible get success 1-2 times. When it happen, quickly backup your data
2. Most likely only SSD will be replaced.

 

[Jimbo47]

Doesn't the update prevent this issue from happening? Or is this a completely unrelated issue?

 

[AnorexicPig]

Doesn't the update prevent this issue from happening? Or is this a completely unrelated issue?

His drive is faulty, hence he was directed to Apple Store to get it replaced. The update tries to fix the issue, if it does it all good. If it cannot update firmware,it asks to get SSD replaced-as it did in his case.

 

[sw6lee]

1. You can try, and still possible get success 1-2 times. When it happen, quickly backup your data
2. Most likely only SSD will be replaced.

Thanks for letting me know. I have already tried to boot it up 5 times by pressing the power button but it's always stuck on that screen..