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MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

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Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#101

Post by mfincham »

abrowne wrote: post #65
mfincham wrote: post #8

Can someone tell me how I can determine if my machine is affected if I don't have an OS X install? I've only got Debian available.

I'd keep a (small) OS X partition around for firmware updates. Unfortunately, it has to be on the internal drive. I haven't had much luck using an external drive to install firmware updates†, even when set as the startup disk. † Other OS X software updates install fine on an external.

I'm pretty sure sometime shortly after buying this machine I was able to install a "firmware update" from a USB-booted OS X install, but don't quote me on that :)

I'm somewhat unfamiliar with Apple's software generally (I have always just run Debian) - do they release firmware updates often? What kind of things do they fix?

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#102

Post by jedberg »

r00fus wrote: post #98
jedberg wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You will be able to reinstall the operating system version that shipped with your product by going to the Mac App Store. Any other applications or other data should be restored from the back up that you made before the replacement." Maybe they worded it poorly, but that to me sounds like you're on your own.

How you got from that statement to: >> So now Apple has told her "you're going to lose all your data and we can't help you". Not cool. boggles my mind. Perhaps skip the extra serving of hyperbole?

I got their by reading the entire page.

First, they warn people to back up their data regularly because there is a high chance of failure. Then they tell you that if you come and get a new drive you have to restore it on your own.

Perhaps you've never had to support someone who isn't technologically savvy, but basically if I show this to her she will be very scared that her sacred pictures of her grandson will be gone forever. She won't understand this page beyond "my data will go away and Apple won't help me".

Whether that is their intention or not I don't know.

The only saving grace here is that I set up backups for her a long time ago, but she's probably forgotten.

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#103

Post by dekz »

jedberg wrote: post #102
r00fus wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How you got from that statement to: >> So now Apple has told her "you're going to lose all your data and we can't help you". Not cool. boggles my mind. Perhaps skip the extra serving of hyperbole?

I got their by reading the entire page. First, they warn people to back up their data regularly because there is a high chance of failure. Then they tell you that if you come and get a new drive you have to restore it on your own. Perhaps you've never had to support someone who isn't technologically savvy, but basically if I show this to her she will be very scared that her sacred pictures of her grandson will be gon…

Hey mate, I can attest to having this issue and at least give an account. I went in last month reporting failure of my HDD, the genius assumed that "Oh the partition somehow got corrupt, this happens" and somehow got a new installation on there after telling me they were not responsible for any data loss. So for some cases, some people would've already lost all their data if they didn't have a backup.

It failed again minutes after leaving the store so I arranged another visit with a genius. This genius was more helpful and understanding and swapped the drive out. Unfortunately the new replacement drive matches these model numbers. Not exactly happy about having to visit a far away store for a third time.

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#104

Post by hrktb »

ValentineC wrote: post #53
hrktb wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just as heads up: - Time machine: is not reliable for network backups (yes, really) - CCC: needs a USB connected drive for a MBA - Crashplan: recurring payment service based in the US All of the above solution are useful, but none are reasonable and no brainer backup solutions for everyone, especially for MBA owners. As for now, bittorent sync with a mirror on the same network feels like the best solution IMO.

Could you elaborate on why Time Machine isn't reliable for network backups? That's my setup at the moment. (My 2012 MBA's SSD failed, but thankfully much of my data was automatically backed up to my NAS the previous night. The backup restored fine, too.)

There was a technical discussion of the protocol used for networked time machine backups on the apple support pages but I can't find it back. Basicaly TM was designed to be local first, and adapted to also work over ethernet afterwards, but doesn't properly recover when you have failures (i.e. corrupted data or lost connection) at the wrong timing during the backups. From memory the network protocol changed one or two years ago to be more reliable, but the fundamental assumptions seem to have remained.

That's why it's advised you do at least your first backup with a wired connection for instance.

A description of one of the issues you could face: http://pondini.org/TM/C13.html

A 2010 support thread with the horror stories https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3684176?start=0&tstart=...

A more recent one: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3684176?start=0&tstart=...

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#105

Post by hrktb »

ejdyksen wrote: post #52
hrktb wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just as heads up: - Time machine: is not reliable for network backups (yes, really) - CCC: needs a USB connected drive for a MBA - Crashplan: recurring payment service based in the US All of the above solution are useful, but none are reasonable and no brainer backup solutions for everyone, especially for MBA owners. As for now, bittorent sync with a mirror on the same network feels like the best solution IMO.

CrashPlan doesn't require that you use their service. The client software (which is free) is also server software, and you can backup to your own server(s).

Thanks for the info, looking at it there's even a synology package for the headless server. Nice.

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#106

Post by abrowne »

mfincham wrote: post #101
abrowne wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd keep a (small) OS X partition around for firmware updates. Unfortunately, it has to be on the internal drive. I haven't had much luck using an external drive to install firmware updates†, even when set as the startup disk. † Other OS X software updates install fine on an external.

I'm pretty sure sometime shortly after buying this machine I was able to install a "firmware update" from a USB-booted OS X install, but don't quote me on that :) I'm somewhat unfamiliar with Apple's software generally (I have always just run Debian) - do they release firmware updates often? What kind of things do they fix?

I repairs Macs at work, so I boot a lot of machines via external drives. I think some firmware updates will work via external drive and some won't.

I remember trying to get an iMac to install one, hoping it would fix an issue, and the internal drive was encrypted. I had to erase/reinstall on the internal drive to get the update to install. (Note to university computer lab admins: if your Thunderbolt isn't working, try installing the "Thunderbolt Firmware Update" that Software Update prompts you to install before requesting a new logic board ;-)

Firmware updates aren't uncommon, when a machine or architecture is new. I can remember firmware updates for EFI (added internet recovery when Lion came out), Thunderbolt, Magsafe/power, SSDs, and Wifi across all types of Macs.

Re: MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

#107

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

tedivm wrote: post #73
Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep two backups, one onsite through Time Machine, one offsite using BackBlaze. After initial set up the maintenance time on them is about 2 minutes a month to check they've been running properly, total cost is a cheap external drive and $5 a month. Not backing up in 2013 is just irresponsible.

Well, be extremely careful with Backblaze. I got bit on the ass by them. It turns out their dashboard is just caching it's results, and there are instances where the dashboards will say they have data when they really don't. I learned this the hard way when we brought my girlfriend's computer in for repair. We gave them permission to replace the drive, went to restore the data from Backblaze, and got a nasty surprise…

Could you go into a little more detail?

Is this if I log into backblaze.com there may be files it says it has which it does not, or if the UI on my Mac says it's backed up it may not be? (Or both?)

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