Remove the following 10 screws securing the lower case to the Air: Six 2.8 mm Phillips screws. Two 3.8 mm Phillips screws. Two 5.4 mm Phillips screws. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4617 Slightly lift the lower case near the vents and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4618 Slightly lift the lower case near the vents and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4618 Disconnect the battery connector by pulling it straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4619 Remove the following nine screws securing the battery to the Air: Four 2.9 mm Phillips. Four 3.8 mm Phillips. One 7.2 mm Phillips. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4621 Lift the battery out of the Air. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4622 Disconnect the port hatch ribbon cable from the logic board by pulling it straight up by its black pull tab. Pull the audio out ribbon cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case. Use a spudger to pry the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4652 Disconnect the port hatch ribbon cable from the logic board by pulling it straight up by its black pull tab. Pull the audio out ribbon cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case. Use a spudger to pry the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4652 Disconnect the port hatch ribbon cable from the logic board by pulling it straight up by its black pull tab. Pull the audio out ribbon cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case. Use a spudger to pry the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4652 Disconnect the audio out cable from its socket on the port hatch ribbon cable. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4653 Use a spudger to pry the hard drive cable connector up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4654 Use the sharp end of a spudger to de-route the microphone cable from the hard drive bracket. Remove the cosmetic screw cover from the adhesive securing it to the hard drive bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4655 Use the sharp end of a spudger to de-route the microphone cable from the hard drive bracket. Remove the cosmetic screw cover from the adhesive securing it to the hard drive bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4655 Remove the four Phillips screws securing the hard drive assembly to the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4656 Lift the hard drive assembly out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4657 Use your thumbs to push the hard drive away from its bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4658 Use your thumbs to push the hard drive away from its bracket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4658 Peel the rubber shock isolator off the perimeter of the hard drive. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4659 Peel the rubber shock isolator off the perimeter of the hard drive. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4659 If present, remove the small piece of black tape covering the ribbon cable connector. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4660 The two different versions of MacBook Air have different hard drive connectors. Failure to perform the action appropriate to your machine will damage your hard drive! Be very careful when disconnecting the hard drive cable. The ZIF connectors are fragile. If you have the original MacBook Air (A1237), use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap TOWARD the cable (seen in picture 1). If you have the A1304 version of MacBook Air, use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap AWAY from the cable (seen in picture 2). Pull the hard drive cable straight away from its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4661 The two different versions of MacBook Air have different hard drive connectors. Failure to perform the action appropriate to your machine will damage your hard drive! Be very careful when disconnecting the hard drive cable. The ZIF connectors are fragile. If you have the original MacBook Air (A1237), use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap TOWARD the cable (seen in picture 1). If you have the A1304 version of MacBook Air, use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap AWAY from the cable (seen in picture 2). Pull the hard drive cable straight away from its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4661 The two different versions of MacBook Air have different hard drive connectors. Failure to perform the action appropriate to your machine will damage your hard drive! Be very careful when disconnecting the hard drive cable. The ZIF connectors are fragile. If you have the original MacBook Air (A1237), use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap TOWARD the cable (seen in picture 1). If you have the A1304 version of MacBook Air, use a spudger or your thumbs to flip up the ribbon cable retaining flap AWAY from the cable (seen in picture 2). Pull the hard drive cable straight away from its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s4661 If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running. If you need to, transfer the foam from your current hard drive to the new one. The foam does come off by using a spudger and some patience. The two primary options for reading CDs and DVDs on a MacBook Air are to either purchase an external SuperDrive or to use an Apple feature called Remote Disc. Remote Disc allows the optical drive of a nearby Mac to be borrowed for use in mounting discs on the MacBook Air. /Guide/MacBook-Air-Models-A1237-and-A1304-Hard-Drive-Replacement/860/all#s6294