I have a 128GB MacBook Air (second gen). The damn SSD is almost full! How can I add internal storage? Do I need to crack it open and swap the SSD for a bigger one (I'm guessing yes)? Should I only take this to Apple, where I'm sure I'll be overcharged?

Finally, am I better off just giving this one to my wife (just got her a new iPad) and getting myself the third gen w/256GB or more?

Thanks in advance...

 

It's possible (but not exactly a piece of cake) to upgrade the SSD yourself. More info on that here: How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the "Late 2010" and "Mid-2011" MacBook Air models? Is it even possible? @ EveryMac.com

It may be cheaper and less stressful to upgrade to a newer model with 256GB, depending on if you buy one new, refurbished, or slightly used w/ warranty.

 

Why don't you just get an external harddrive to move all this shit onto it that you don't constantly need access too?

 

Great idea Captain!!!!

 

It looks pretty simple based on the video posted there, but decent size SSD are still pretty pricey. I would see if the external solution is viable, if not, consider an upgrade to 240+. If you are set to be a new one wait a few months since they will be refreshing the MBAir.

 

If you can wait for the new MacBook Air, then I would do that. They should be launched in the next few months or so - in theory. This site usually gives a rough timeline.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

OWC offer lots of SSD upgrades, although they are fairly pricey - their SSD's do look pretty fast though. According to their site, the upgrade looks pretty simple, and they can even provide you with the correct type of screwdriver.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Express

If you decide to wait for a new model Air then you can at least get one with a 256 GB drive, and who knows, Apple may even offer a larger drive this time?

In the meantime you should really get some external storage. This means that you can keep a backup of anything important. Some of the external Thunderbolt drives are extremely fast. You can get portable drives some of which are SSD based (fast but expensive) , and also larger capacity ones designed to sit on your desktop.

Seagate make two interfaces which use Thunderbolt, and both of them seem to allow the use of regular SATA drives.

 

Guys - Thanks for the advice. Contrary to what Kurt thinks, I am not retarded. I have 2TB of external storage, but 128GB is full with things I need (photos, movies, music). This is my travel laptop, and I travel A LOT. So no, I can't really shitcan stuff other than some docs, and those don't take up more than a couple of GB in total. I appreciate the links to those sites. Thanks!

 

Like cumstains you need to travel with all that shit on it.

I'm right, you're wrong.

 

How often do you take trips that take 31 hours each way? How much time do you spend in some shithole airport with no wi-fi? Don't tell me my business, boy...

 

If you are looking for some short term storage that does not take up any real space, you could get an SDHC card.

These come in sizes of up to 64 GB, they fit into the SD slot in the Air, and they don't stick out very much. So you could pretty much leave one in there the whole time. 64 GB should be enough space to move a fair few movies and/or music files onto, and whilst they are not as speedy as an SSD, they are pretty quick.

SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro SD Card (SDHC) - Class 1 UHS £139.99 - Free Delivery

For a bit more money you can get a 128GB SDXC card, effectively doubling your current "internal" storage :-)

Lexar 128GB Pro 133x SD Card (SDXC) - Class 10 £179.99 - Free Delivery

However I have not tried a SDXC card in an Air, so am not sure if they will work or not.