HELP. MacBook air problems please help

[Ridgeline]

I was given an original MacBook air A1237

It had a bad screen so I replaced it.

The computer starts up and then immediately goes to the utilities screen where it gives the option to restore from a backup, erase or repair a disc,or or reinstall OS X lion.

I connect to the Internet and attempt to download lion. It will not let me do it. After I click on it it tells me that an error has occurred please try again.

If I click on the help It takes me onto the Internet through Safari and from there I can type in the search bar and go on the Internet like normal which I think is strange but maybe I'm wrong. Can anybody help me out with this? Normally I really like Apple stuff but this is really confusing me. Do I need to order a flash drive with lion on it? Any help would be great

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Also, I'm not very familiar with partitioning disks and the like. It looks like there is just one partition and it is 80 GB. I think the person that my friend got it from simply went in and erased everything but I'm not sure. I tried calling Apple but they were of no help

 

[cruisin]

The computer doesn't have a working version of OSX so there is nothing to boot up and goes straight to recovery mode. You need to install OSX from the internet first. You do not need a flash drive if you can download OSX (about 5 GB).

Assuming you have working internet, it is likely that you have a broken hard drive since you are stopped from downloading OSX. Before it starts the download, it prepares the hard drive. Since it looks like the hard drive is broken, it stops the download.

Safari is temporarily downloaded when you start recovery and runs straight from ram (Linux has something similar).

Find disk utility (one of the options aside from installing OSX) and try verify and then repair disk. It should help, or at least tell you whats wrong. Or try the erase disk, that should work if the hard drive is ok.

You can also try formatting as Mac OS extended and seeing if it manages to work. If it cannot, you might need a new hard drive.

If you have a SSD version instead, the steps are the same.

 

[Ridgeline]

I clicked on verify and then repair. According to the log on the screen it says the hard drive is fine so I'm confused. Is the hardis the hard drive just a standard laptop size?

 

[cruisin]

Maybe try the erase setting and choose the Mac OS extended setting. Should be the default for erase. If it still gives issues after a format then i'm stumped.

Unfortunately the hard drive is smaller than standard to create the thin Air. From: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/specs/macbook-air-core-2-duo-1.6-13-specs.html

An 80 GB (4200 RPM, 8 MB buffer) 1.8 inch, 5 mm PATA hard disk drive is standard

It will be hard to find this specific type in store as very few products used this. I believe it is the same size as the one in the classic iPods, to give an idea of the size.

There are two other things you could try. They sometimes work.

Resetting NVRAM

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R.
3. Turn on your Mac.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys immediately after you hear the startup sound.
5. Hold these keys until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for a second time.
6. Release the keys.

Resetting PRAM

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Option, Command (⌘), P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on your Mac.
4. Immediately press and hold the Option-Command-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Continue holding the keys down until your Mac restarts, and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

Do you have a local apple store? They can give you a free quote on the estimated repair cost.