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MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement

Prerequisite Only
This guide is only intended to be used as a prerequisite for other guides. It's incomplete by itself.

What you need

  1. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 1, image 1 of 3 MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 1, image 2 of 3 MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 1, image 3 of 3

    • 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.

    Edit

    I skipped the step (6c) of prying the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket (& disconnecting it), since it doesn't come off real easily, and I didn't want to damage it. It only requires a little more care when removing the HD from it's bracket if you skip step 6c.

    amiller770 - Reply

  2. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 2, image 1 of 1

    • Disconnect the audio out cable from its socket on the port hatch ribbon cable.

    Edit

    This is not necessary and looks pretty risky too.

    eugene_o - Reply

    Agreed, I encountered no issues when I skipped this on a Rev.B model.

    Kyle Milnes -

  4. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 1 of 1

    • Use a spudger to pry the hard drive cable connector up off the logic board.

    Edit

    Reversing step 8 is where I ran into trouble. The replacement fan I had was slightly thicker than the original and caused the ZIF cable to work its way out of the tenuous connection it had to the SSD, resulting in a "?" missing boot drive error upon startup. Took me three tries to get it right! The difficulty is to get the drive connector to the logic board to reach and seat without pulling the other end out of the drive.

    aaronmiller - Reply

  5. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 1 of 2 MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 2 of 2

    • 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.

    Edit

  6. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 1 of 1

    • Remove the four Phillips screws securing the hard drive assembly to the upper case:

    • Two 4.7 mm screws.

    • Two 3.9 mm screws.

    Edit

    Longer screws on top.

    Adam Nelson - Reply

    Two 3.9 mm Phillips screws.

    Two 4.7 mm Phillips screws.

    Alvaro Hermida - Reply

    There is a cable glued to the diskframe that must be loosened with a spudger before you can remove the frame.

    oysteinalsaker - Reply

  7. MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Hard Drive Replacement: step 6, image 1 of 1

    • Lift the hard drive assembly out of the upper case.

    Edit

    Ever since Steve Jobs died, Apple hasn't been what it used to be.

    George A. - Reply

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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