Enclosure for Apple SSD used in 2017 MacBook Air

[krs]

Hi,
I have not been on this forum for the longest time.
Now I'm wondering if anyone can help.

I have a 2017 MacBook Air where the SSD is acting up.
The battery suddenly no longer charged and boot up does not complete on that unit - tried two different Apple brand chargers and reset PRAM and SMC, didn't help with the charging.
To top it off - after doing these resets, the MBa now longer completes the boot up - progress bar goes about 2/3rds across and then stops.

I then booted up with an external backup and got a Disk Utility message that DU cannot repair the disk (SSD) but the SSD can be read.
So I created a 500 GB partition on the external drive, booted up on the backup with the intention to copy whatever files I could find on the MBa HD to that 500GB external. The external btw is a 2 TB spinner.
But when I booted up using the external backup, the backup and the 500 GB partition shows on the desktop, but the internal MBa HD no longer does.
Strangely enough, I still get the DU message that it can read but not repair the HD and when I check with DU, trhe HD shows in DU.

I have some disk repair tools on my MacMini, so the next step was going to be to remove the Apple SSD from the MacBook Air, place it into a USB enclosure and work on the MBa SSD on thec MacMini where I don't also have the power issue.

But where do I find an SSD enclosure that is compatible with the Apple SSD pin outs?
Does such a thing exist?

 

[krs]

Hi,
I have not been on this forum for the longest time.
Now I'm wondering if anyone can help.

I have a 2017 MacBook Air where the SSD is acting up.
The battery suddenly no longer charged and boot up does not complete on that unit - tried two different Apple brand chargers and reset PRAM and SMC, didn't help with the charging.
To top it off - after doing these resets, the MBa now longer completes the boot up - progress bar goes about 2/3rds across and then stops.

I then booted up with an external backup and got a Disk Utility message that DU cannot repair the disk (SSD) but the SSD can be read.
So I created a 500 GB partition on the external drive, booted up on the backup with the intention to copy whatever files I could find on the MBa HD to that 500GB external. The external btw is a 2 TB spinner.
But when I booted up using the external backup, the backup and the 500 GB partition shows on the desktop, but the internal MBa HD no longer does.
Strangely enough, I still get the DU message that it can read but not repair the HD and when I check with DU, trhe HD shows in DU.

I have some disk repair tools on my MacMini, so the next step was going to be to remove the Apple SSD from the MacBook Air, place it into a USB enclosure and work on the MBa SSD on thec MacMini where I don't also have the power issue.

But where do I find an SSD enclosure that is compatible with the Apple SSD pin outs?
Does such a thing exist?

Just came across this:

OWC Envoy Pro 1A Portable Enclosure for Apple and OWC SSDs

Add your own Apple SSD from most 2013-2019 Mac models or select OWC SSDs, including Aura Pro X2, Aura N2, and more. Rugged, bus-powered, portable.

eshop.macsales.com

Bothers me that it says "most" - why don't thry just list which ones the enclosure is compatible with.

 

[MacInWin]

Get in a chat with them, they are very helpful.

 

[MacBiter]

DiskWarrior might help - it's very much more useful than Disk Uility when it comes to failing disks.

 

[pm-r]

Now I'm wondering if anyone can help.

Just came across this:

OWC Envoy Pro 1A Portable Enclosure for Apple and OWC SSDs

Add your own Apple SSD from most 2013-2019 Mac models or select OWC SSDs, including Aura Pro X2, Aura N2, and more. Rugged, bus-powered, portable.

eshop.macsales.com

I would agree with Jake's comments and I would have suggested OWC just as you found.

An excellent source of Mac support and I have dealt and purchased many products from them over the years and handle shipments to Canada and Canadian customers very well.

Make sure to ask them if any other accessories are needed when installing such a drive and order the necessary Parts with the order.
Also, ask them about TRIM support and if you need it with whatever they suggest. I don't know if that is included with the SSD drive or the SSD drive enclosure.


Good luck. I'm sure you will be very satisfied dealing with them and their Mac knowledge.




- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

DiskWarrior might help - it's very much more useful than Disk Uility when it comes to failing disks.

Yes, I was going to try that.
First issue was finding my Disk Warrior CD.
Took me a while since I had not used that for years.
Now I have to figure out how to use it.

 

[krs]

I would agree with Jake's comments and I would have suggested OWC just as you found.

An excellent source of Mac support and I have dealt and purchased many products from them over the years and handle shipments to Canada and Canadian customers very well.

Make sure to ask them if any other accessories are needed when installing such a drive and order the necessary Parts with the order.
Also, ask them about TRIM support and if you need it with whatever they suggest. I don't know if that is included with the SSD drive or the SSD drive enclosure.


Good luck. I'm sure you will be very satisfied dealing with them and their Mac knowledge.

Thanks, Patrick,

The "most" part of the OWC enclosure description refers to that enclosures incompatibility with OEM Apple SSD's made by Toshiba.
I have not opened the problem Mac yet to see what drive is actually installed.
I also found some other M2 enclosures supposedly compatible with the Apple proprietary SSD, but they all cost around $C 100 vs a regular M2 enclosure at $C 25 - 30
Right now I'm getting a replacement 2017 MBa with no power/charging issues to determine if I can even "see" the problem drive.

 

[pm-r]

First issue was finding my Disk Warrior CD.
Took me a while since I had not used that for years.

Before using your copy of Disc Warrior on whatever drives you were planning to use it on I would strongly suggest you read up on the compelity of the Mac OS version you are using and the version of discworrier and what format your drives are in. A lot has changed over the years and this Warriors usefulness has fallen behind the times and unable to do much with some of the later formatting and file structure.

You might want to check out their site and maybe even Mac updates use your comments:
System Requirements:

Requirements — ALSOFT

www.alsoft.com

DiskWarrior
Supports MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, iMac Pro, Mac mini and Mac Pro. Supported OS includes OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), OS X Mavericks (10.9), OS X Yosemite (10.10), OS X El Capitan (10.11), macOS Sierra (10.12), macOS High Sierra (10.13 - when not rebuilding internal SSDs), macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS Catalina (10.15), macOS Big Sur (11.0), macOS Monterey (12.0), macOS Ventura (13.0) and macOS Sonoma (14.0) - when rebuilding external disks in the macOS Extended (HFS+) File System Format).

And Discworrier Developers and use your comments here:

Download DiskWarrior for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of DiskWarrior for Mac for free. Read 482 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

Just make sure everything is compatible with your setup before running your copy of Discworrier on your drive volumes, in case you weren't aware of many of us changes and incompatibility.





- Patrick
=======

 

[MacInWin]

I have not opened the problem Mac yet to see what drive is actually installed.

You may not need to open it. Disk Utility may show the make/model of that drive.

I second Patrick's warning about using disk utilities on APFS drives (which it probably is). APFS even has multiple versions, and not all are the same. The chance that those utilities could make it worse is pretty high. Be very careful.

Again, I suggest a chat online with OWC, or a telephone call to them should get you answers in minutes.

EDIT: This is a symptom of incompatibilities between Disk Utilities for one version and APFS for another:

I then booted up with an external backup and got a Disk Utility message that DU cannot repair the disk (SSD) but the SSD can be read.

 

[krs]

Before using your copy of Disc Warrior on whatever drives you were planning to use it on I would strongly suggest you read up on the compelity of the Mac OS version you are using and the version of discworrier and what format your drives are in. A lot has changed over the years and this Warriors usefulness has fallen behind the times and unable to do much with some of the later formatting and file structure.





And Discworrier Developers and use your comments here:

Download DiskWarrior for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of DiskWarrior for Mac for free. Read 482 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

Just make sure everything is compatible with your setup before running your copy of Discworrier on your drive volumes, in case you weren't aware of many of us changes and incompatibility.





- Patrick
=======

Thanks, Patrick
As per the DW compatibility:

DiskWarrior
Supports MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, iMac Pro, Mac mini and Mac Pro. Supported OS includes OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), OS X Mavericks (10.9), OS X Yosemite (10.10), OS X El Capitan (10.11), macOS Sierra (10.12), macOS High Sierra (10.13 - when not rebuilding internal SSDs), macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS Catalina (10.15), macOS Big Sur (11.0), macOS Monterey (12.0), macOS Ventura (13.0) and macOS Sonoma (14.0) - when rebuilding external disks in the macOS Extended (HFS+) File System Format).

I'm OK on that.
The problem Mac is a 2017 MBa running El Capitan.
What's a bit confusing in the compatibility statement is the wording that DW does not support rebuildiing INTERNAL SSD's - I assume they mean the integrated SSDs on the later Macs that use SAystem-on-a-chip.
This 2017 MBa has an internal M2 type SSD with an Apple proprietary pin out.

But before I do anything I will read the DW user comments and also try to recover any files that are not corrupt.

 

[krs]

You may not need to open it. Disk Utility may show the make/model of that drive.

I second Patrick's warning about using disk utilities on APFS drives (which it probably is). APFS even has multiple versions, and not all are the same. The chance that those utilities could make it worse is pretty high. Be very careful.

Again, I suggest a chat online with OWC, or a telephone call to them should get you answers in minutes.

EDIT: This is a symptom of incompatibilities between Disk Utilities for one version and APFS for another:

I just checked whatever history I have on the problem Mac - and it turns out it may be more messed up than I thought.
It';s a 2017 MBa, refurbished bought from Apple - first use in 2018
Mac came with macOS 10.13, but because the used hads real problems using every macOS update, she was on macOS 10.12 at the tiume with her oid Mac, I did some research and decided that this 2017 MBa would run on macOS 10.12
So we ported everything (macOS 10.12 and files) from the old Mac to this 2017 MBa in 2018 and everything was working fine all these years. At the tome I never considered that Apple had changed to APFS with 10.13, I assume the file system on that Mac is APFS with macOS 10.12

I'm going to take this slowly step by step

 

[MacInWin]

Here is a thread with links to an article on APFS from a pretty technical guy:

For those who run multiple versions of macOS, a caution

Howard Oakley points out the differences in APFS in different versions of macOS. If you use multiple versions, you might want to read/bookmark this article: https://eclecticlight.co/2024/08/22/dual-booting-your-mac-with-multiple-versions-of-apfs/

www.mac-forums.com

 

[MacInWin]

Mac came with macOS 10.13, but because the used hads real problems using every macOS update, she was on macOS 10.12 at the tiume with her oid Mac, I did some research and decided that this 2017 MBa would run on macOS 10.12

I'm sorry, but I do not understand that sentence at all. Can you restate it a different way?

 

[krs]

I'm sorry, but I do not understand that sentence at all. Can you restate it a different way?

Maybe typos I did not correct.
Let me try again
The problem 2017 MacBook air came with macOS 10.13
This was the first macOS to use APFS, so I assume the file system was APFS
Normally one cannot install an older macOS than a Mac came with when first introduced, but I installed macOS 10.12 and it worked fine.
I don't remember how I installed it - either from the macOS 10.12 installer USB flash drive I had and then migrated the data or from a back up I had made of the previous Mac.
The former approach (I think) would have installed 10.12 on APFS, the latter I assume would have used HFS+
Neither one is really legit so I was wondering what DW could do with the corrupt files.

 

[MacInWin]

Ok, that makes sense now, thanks. The only MBA in 2017 came originally with 10.12.4 (Sierra) and can go as far as Monterey (12). APFS came with High Sierra (10.13). It also could, with HS installed, run 32-bit software, but generated a warning that those could be incompatible with anything newer.

DW, and other similar products, originally struggled with APFS because Apple gave out very little information about how APFS works. Apple still haven't said much, but litle by little folks are figuring it out a bit. Some of the issues you are experiencing may be caused by the fact that the 10.13 installation had one version of APFS and when you retrograded to 10.12, it uses a different version of APFS. Did you format the drive when you rolled backward? If all you did was to clone a clone backup onto the drive, you have most likely mixed APFS versions and are seeing the issues. Read the article from Howard Oakley in the thread I linked to to see the various versions used in each version of the OS. Details are still sketchy, but the Utilities for newer versions struggle with the older.

One possible solution is to reformat the internal drive at the hardware level, using the Recovery system to do so. That will erase the entire internal drive, so be aware of that. If that succeeds, then you can reinstall the original OS that came with it, High Sierra, and then restore your own files from a backup. The idea is to get the Utilities and the APFS versions back in sync.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Some thoughts:

Neither Disk Warrior, nor any other third party disk utility, can repair the directory on a drive formatted as APFS. None. No matter what they say on their Web site. Apple never released the full specs for APFS, so no one has been able to update their utility software to handle APFS. Your only option is to run Apple's Disk Utility/First Aid. There are no other choices.

The problem with removing an SSD from a Macintosh and putting it into an external case kit is that Apple has used several different types and attachment formats of SSD's, and many of them have been proprietary. So you have to be very careful about figuring out which you have and seeing what, if anything, is compatible. This should help:

Apple Proprietary SSDs: Ultimate Guide to Specs & Upgrades
https://beetstech.com/blog/apple-proprietary-ssd-ultimate-guide-to-specs-and-upgrades

It doesn't happen often, but SSD's do sometimes completely fail. The good news is that when they do so, they usually don't become bricks, but instead they become read-only. That, thankfully, means that you can back up the data on them before replacing them,

You might want to use this excellent utility to figure out what is going on with your SSD:

DriveDX
http://binaryfruit.com/drivedx

 

[krs]

Ok, that makes sense now, thanks. The only MBA in 2017 came originally with 10.12.4 (Sierra) and can go as far as Monterey (12). APFS came with High Sierra (10.13). It also could, with HS installed, run 32-bit software, but generated a warning that those could be incompatible with anything newer.

I'm sorry - I was off by one with the 10.x release numbers. I usually use the macOS names and shouyld have stuck to that.
Yes - the 2017 MBa came with 10.12 but to keep the user on 10.11 (El Capitan) I decided after some research that this should work and it did.

DW, and other similar products, originally struggled with APFS because Apple gave out very little information about how APFS works. Apple still haven't said much, but litle by little folks are figuring it out a bit. Some of the issues you are experiencing may be caused by the fact that the 10.13 installation had one version of APFS and when you retrograded to 10.12,

Two comments:
1. El Capitan (10.11) ran on that 2017 Mac from 2018 until now with no problems - so "retrograding" from 10.12 to 10.11 was not an issue on the 2017 MBa, and
2. I never installed 10.13 on that 2017 MBa; it only ran with 10.11

it uses a different version of APFS. Did you format the drive when you rolled backward? If all you did was to clone a clone backup onto the drive, you have most likely mixed APFS versions and are seeing the issues.

If APFS was only introduced with Sierra (10.13), then anything related to APFS is a red herring.
Confusion started when I posted the wrong macOS versions.

A bit of background how the problem started:
Two days ago in the morning, the 2017 MBa (running 10.11) would no longer take a charge.
No light on the Magsave connector.
Tried another Apple charger - same problem.
Tried both chargers on a different MBa - both worked fine
Checked battery cycles - just over 200
At that point the MBa booted fine; battery was at 45%

So to see if I could coax thge charging back to life, I did both a PRAM and SMC reset
PRAM reset first - MBa booted up but would still not charge
Then the SMC reset; still no charge but now the boot process got stuck at about the 2/3rd point of the progress bar.
Seems that trying the SMC reset may have corrupted the SSD - or just coincidence?
DU reported that it can't fix the issue because it can't write to the SSD but it can still read the SSD
That didn't help much because the Mac is running out of battery power.

So....next step is to get another 2017 MBa (with no powere issues}, move the SSD from the problem Mac to the "other" MBa and try to recover any files.

One possible solution is to reformat the internal drive at the hardware level, using the Recovery system to do so. That will erase the entire internal drive, so be aware of that. If that succeeds, then you can reinstall the original OS that came with it, High Sierra, and then restore your own files from a backup. The idea is to get the Utilities and the APFS versions back in sync.

The SSD in the 2017 MBa is 7 years old, I'm not sure I want to use that again.
Is there any info re life expectancy of SSDs?

As to erasing the drive and installing the files from the back.
If the backup were current, I would have done that rather than trying to jump through hoops with the corrupt SSD.
Unfortunately the backup is several months old - but if all attempts to recovewr data from the corrupt SSD fails, that's the back up I will have to use.

 

[ferrarr]

Did you try safe mode? I understand the power isn't working, but safe mode should be included in any repair attempts, IMO.

 

[MacBiter]

Normally one cannot install an older macOS than a Mac came with when first introduced, but I installed macOS 10.12 and it worked fine.

That's generally true, however it's not always straightforward. My 2011 iMac came with Lion which was the latest OS when the iMac was manufactured. HOWEVER.. that particular iMac model was manufactured over about 18 months and the first part of that was when Snow Leopard was the OS of the time, and so the seller was able to install OS 10.6 over 10.7. I suspect that may be the case with yours? In other words, the model first came with 10.12 but was still being manufactured when 10.13 came out - so although 10.13 was the default OS for that Mac, it was capable of running 10.12 as the firmware hadn't changed.

 

[MacInWin]

Two comments:
1. El Capitan (10.11) ran on that 2017 Mac from 2018 until now with no problems - so "retrograding" from 10.12 to 10.11 was not an issue on the 2017 MBa, and
2. I never installed 10.13 on that 2017 MBa; it only ran with 10.11

OK, Sierra (10.12) did introduce APFS, but was, as I recall, optional in that you could still have HFS+ (It's been a long time since then). High Sierra (10.13) was APFS and only APFS for boot drives. El Cap (10.11) did not know anything about APFS. So, when you installed El Cap, you must have reformatted the drive to be HFS+ as that was all El Cap supported. Because the MBA originally had 10.12 on it, it was probably APFS format.

Is there any info re life expectancy of SSDs?

From what I can find, it's about the same as HD life expectancy. Average 5 years, some longer, some not. So a 7 year old SSD could be failing and need replacement.

A bit of background how the problem started:
Two days ago in the morning, the 2017 MBa (running 10.11) would no longer take a charge.
No light on the Magsave connector.
Tried another Apple charger - same problem.
Tried both chargers on a different MBa - both worked fine
Checked battery cycles - just over 200
At that point the MBa booted fine; battery was at 45%

That would seem to point to a problem with the I/O circuitry in the MBA. You might check at ifixit.com for your exact model to see if they have instructions and if you think you can do it yourself. Any parts you need you might be able to get from them, otherwise it's going to be an internet search for you to find someone with the parts.

I looked at ifixit, and this MAY be the instructions to replace the I/O board:

MacBook Air 13" Early 2017 I/O Board Replacement

Use this guide to replace the I/O board, including the headphone jack, USB port, and MagSafe 2 port, in your MacBook Air 13" Early 2017.

www.ifixit.com

If that is your system, it doesn't look that hard. It may or may not fix the charging issue, and won't fix the SSD issues, so it's definitely buyer beware so as not to open a money pit on an old system.