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   Apple Replacing Faulty MacBook Air Storage Drives

   Josh Centers

   If you purchased a 64 GB or 128 GB MacBook Air (mid-2012) between June
   2012 and June 2013, your flash storage drive [1]might be defective, in
   which case Apple will replace it for free.

   [2][tn_MacBook-Air.jpg]

   To determine if your MacBook Air has a faulty flash storage drive, open
   the [3]App Store app on your MacBook Air, click Updates, and download
   the [4]MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.1. Presumably, if
   the update doesn't appear, your MacBook Air is not among those that
   might suffer from this problem. (TidBITS publisher Adam Engst has a
   mid-2012 MacBook Air, didn't see the update in the App Store app, and
   when he downloaded it and ran it manually, the installer reported 'This
   computer does not need this update.')

   Once downloaded, the update will test your drive, and if it's faulty,
   will take you to the relevant Apple support document for further
   instructions about how to get a free replacement.

   If your drive is bad, Apple strongly recommends that you don't install
   new applications or operating system updates until the drive has been
   replaced. You should also be sure to perform a backup as soon as
   possible. In fact, you should do that even if your drive is good! If
   you're not backing up regularly, be sure to check out Joe Kissell's
   '[5]Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac, Second Edition,' which tells
   you everything you need to get started.

References

   1. http://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2013-10/MacBook-Air.png
   3. http://itunes.apple.com/store?mt=12&at=10l5PW
   4. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1690
   5. http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/backing-up?pt=TB1196

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