OS troubles with MBA 2020

[sturg]

So my employer has all of us employees using 2020, MacBook Air computers with a 121GB Flashdrives in them. I've had repeated issues with system crashes. The comp. will restart and when the Apple comes on the screen, the progress bar goes 3/4's of way across the screen and stops and does not move again. This is the third time this has happened to me in the last 9 months. The most recent was just after the 12.6 Monterey update. We received a message from tech. that a number of people are having difficulty completing this update due to size limitations on storage. I am curious as to how they intend to fix this issue, since you can't just open it up and just slap some additional memory in there.
Any ideas?

 

[pigoo3]

So my employer has all of us employees using 2020, MacBook Air computers with a 121GB Flashdrives in them.

We received a message from tech. that a number of people are having difficulty completing this update due to size limitations on storage. I am curious as to how they intend to fix this issue, since you can't just open it up and just slap some additional memory in there.
Any ideas?

These MacBook Air's (if they are all the same model)...must be older than 2020...since the minimum storage in 2020 MacBook Air's is 256GB.

It is possible to upgrade the storage in some older MacBook Air's...if we can get a handle on exactly what model these MacBook Air's are...it might be possible to upgrade the internal SSD.

Nick

 

[sturg]

Model is A2179. Serial: FVFCWD38Q0WM

 

[sturg]

Nick, nowhere can I verify, or prove to you that the storage is what I said it is. I even called Apple and they can't verify the specific storage with the Model and serial number I provided. They said I'd need to look at the display under "About This Mac" which currently is not possible.
I AM 100% certain that it's 121GB, because I remember laughing for days when they started giving these out, because the MacBook Pro they had me return had a 1 TB SSD on it and I could not understand how they claimed they were "upgrading" my device with this puny little amount of storage.

 

[pigoo3]

they said I'd need to look at the display under "About This Mac" which currently is not possible.

Sorry...I thought the MacBook Air was only periodically glitchy (you mentioned it doing this 3 times in the past 9 months)...didn't realize it was a 100% of the time issue.

Try booting into the Recovery Partition. It's a small partition that has its own dedicated SSD space. If SSD space is the issue on the main partition...this should work find to get the info we need.

To boot into the Recovery Partition...reboot the computer...and immediately press the 2-key combo Command + r.

Once in the Recovery Partition...do the "About This Mac" under the Apple drop down menu to verify the exact model this is...and how much internal storage it has.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[sturg]

When I booted up into recovery my only options available under the Apple drop down menu were:
Startup Disk, Restart, and Shut Down.

And in the center of the screen I have four options :
Restore from Time Machine
Reinstall macOs Monterey
Safari
Disk Utility

In the past when I've tried to do a TM restore it goes well for a while, but then ultimately asks for some password that only the tech at my job has and will not give out, so I'll just let him deal with it.

No possible way to determine storage from this screen.

 

[pigoo3]

When I booted up into recovery my only options available under the Apple drop down menu were:
Startup Disk, Restart, and Shut Down.

And in the center of the screen I have four options :
Restore from Time Machine
Reinstall macOs Monterey
Safari
Disk Utility

Choose the "Disk Utility" option. This will show the amount of storage in the left column in the window.

Nick

 

[sturg]

Ok. Got it. The capacity is 121.01 GB. The amount used is 102.04 GB. The amount available is 17.42 GB.
IMHO, I think that the OS keeps crashing because there isn't enough room on the storage media for it to work/run properly. And the techs have point-blank told me there is NO WAY to add additional memory to these devices. Can't wait to see how they solve this one.

 

[pigoo3]

I did some additional research...and it does look like an A2179 MacBook Air is a 2020 model.

All "normal" 2020 MacBook Air's are supposed to have no less than 256GB internal storage...but it appears there must have been a "Education" 2020 MacBook Air that came with only 128GB storage. This must be what you have.

Unfortunately with 2020 MacBook Air's the internal storage is soldered onto the logic board...and is not upgradeable. The last MacBook Air's that had internal storage could be upgraded were the 2017 models.

I agree...very possible this MacBook Air's internal storage must be very full...and not enough free space to operate properly.

One way to fix things is to connect an external SSD or Hard Drive (with the macOS installed on it)...then boot the 2020 MacBook Air from this external drive.

This will give you access to the 2020 MacBook Air's internal storage...allow you to move or delete some items to free up some space...then hopefully the 2020 MacBook Air will boot normally from it's internal drive.

Going forward...the key to keeping this from happening again...is to make super sure enough free space remains on the internal storage so that the 2020 MacBook Air does not have issues like this again.

If maintaining enough free space is difficult...may have to save any data/files generated on external media.

HTH,

Nick

 

[Slydude]

I'm pretty sure the MacBook Air I use for work is a 2020 model with the same memory configuration. I'll double check tomorrow to be sure. Maybe Apple is using a custom configuration for sales to organizations. They've done that before.

 

[sturg]

Nick, from your post above:

"One way to fix things is to connect an external SSD or Hard Drive (with the macOS installed on it)...then boot the 2020 MacBook Air from this external drive."

YES! Please explain (simply) how I can do this. How do I install the OS, and then direct the computer to boot from there?

I have an "attached" Samsung T5 ( 1 TB ) that I use regularly to keep copies of most of my important work files.
I currently have a lot of stuff on it. Would I need to wipe it clean to do what you are suggesting?

What I mean by attached....
I have the T5 velcroed to my laptop case and permanently connected with a cable. I found a neat little app, EJECTIFY, that automatically disconnects and reconnects it whenever I open and close the computer, and always without getting the little message about "you have not ejected your disk properly and may have damaged it", etc. Here's a link:

Ejectify - No more "disk not ejected properly" notifications

Ejectify automatically unmounts external volumes when your Mac starts sleeping, and mounts them again after it wakes up.

ejectify.app

 

[Randy B. Singer]

The capacity is 121.01 GB. The amount used is 102.04 GB. The amount available is 17.42 GB.
IMHO, I think that the OS keeps crashing because there isn't enough room on the storage media for it to work/run properly.

Correct. When an SSD is about 70% full...it's done. You are well past that. See:

"The rule of thumb to keep SSDs at top speeds is to never completely fill them up. To avoid performance issues, you should never use more than 70% of its total capacity.

https://www.seagate.com/tech-insights/ssd-over-provisioning-benefits-master-ti/

"When you’re getting close to the 70% threshold, you should consider upgrading your computer’s SSD with a larger drive."

Why solid-state drive (SSD) performance slows down as it becomes full - Pureinfotech

 

[sturg]

Nick, from your post above:

"One way to fix things is to connect an external SSD or Hard Drive (with the macOS installed on it)...then boot the 2020 MacBook Air from this external drive."

YES! Please explain (simply) how I can do this. How do I install the OS, and then direct the computer to boot from there?

I have an "attached" Samsung T5 ( 1 TB ) that I use regularly to keep copies of most of my important work files.
I currently have a lot of stuff on it. Would I need to wipe it clean to do what you are suggesting?

What I mean by attached....
I have the T5 velcroed to my laptop case and permanently connected with a cable. I found a neat little app, EJECTIFY, that automatically disconnects and reconnects it whenever I open and close the computer, and always without getting the little message about "you have not ejected your disk properly and may have damaged it", etc. Here's a link:

Ejectify - No more "disk not ejected properly" notifications

Ejectify automatically unmounts external volumes when your Mac starts sleeping, and mounts them again after it wakes up.

ejectify.app

Additionally, if I can complete the procedure for installing/using the EHD as my startup disk, how do I then direct the TM BU to go to that location?

 

[pigoo3]

YES! Please explain (simply) how I can do this. How do I install the OS, and then direct the computer to boot from there?

Do you have access to a 2nd Apple computer? This makes this process more doable/easier.

Usually the process is to create a USB thumb drive bootable macOS installer. Usually you need a fully operational Apple computer to do this (makes it easier)...I think it is possible to do this on a Windows computer also (but I've never done it).

Since your 2020 MacBook Air is having issues...this computer wouldn't be useable for creating the USB bootable installer or useable for getting the macOS installed on an external drive (once a bootable macOS installer has been created).

If you do have access to a 2nd Apple computer (hopefully similar vintage)...this would allow us to move forward with getting your 2020 MacBook Air operational again.

Nick

 

[sturg]

I have just two other Apple laptops. One is a 2012 MBP with a 1 TB SSD, I am running Catalina on it. The other is a new, 2021 MBP with the M1 Pro chip. I am running Monterey 12.6 on it.
Which would be best for this purpose.

 

[pigoo3]

Which would be best for this purpose.

It depends...I'll explain.

At this point we're talking about three different computers:

* 2012 MacBook Pro
* 2020 MacBook Air
* 2021 MacBook Pro

...and we're talking about getting the macOS installed on your external drive (not sure if it's a hard drive or SSD).

It would be a great idea to install a macOS version that would be compatible with as many of these computers as possible. Then if you have an issue in the future...you can use this external drive to boot them from.

Unfortunately given the minimum & maximum macOS each of these computers are capable of...only 2 of them would be bootable from this external drive with a given single macOS install.

Either the:

* 2012 MBP & 2020 MBA
* 2020 MBA & 2021 MBP

If you wanted the 2012 MBP & 2020 MBA to be bootable from this external drive...then you would install Catalina.

If you wanted the 2020 MBA & 2021 MBP to be bootable from this external drive...then you could install Monterey or anything newer.

If you wanted to be able to boot all three computers from this external drive...then you would need to partition it (at least 2 partitions). One partition with Catalina...and the 2nd partition with Monterey or newer.

It's always good to have an alternative way of booting a computer...just in case you run into issues similar to what you're experiencing with the 2020 MacBook Air.

Nick

 

[sturg]

My external is a Samsung T5 ssd, one TB.
As I said I have a bunch of stuff on it.... Basically my most used files from currently not usable MBA. Would I need to wipe it?
If it were you would you partition?

 

[sturg]

I have to admit, I am trying to get my head around this....
So I would, potentially, be installing two different os's on a partitioned ssd? And I'd be able to use this to boot from if I ever got jammed up like this again?

 

[pigoo3]

If it were me...I'd probably get a new external drive...and this drive would be dedicated for maintenance or emergency purposes (like when things get jammed up like you're experiencing at the moment).

And (in theory)...if I had an exact same situation just like your's (with the same 3 computers)...I'd probably partition it into at least 2 partitions...and install the 2 macOS versions mentioned...so that all three computers could be booted from it in an emergency situation.

A regular low cost 1-2 TB "spinner" external hard drive would be great for this purpose. I know I can get a bare hard drive like this for around $40 + need an external case for the HD.

Nick

p.s. You probably could use a much smaller external drive for this purpose if you wanted to...since most macOS installs require 20GB or less/install. But for around $40 for a 1-2TB spinner HD...that's not too bad.

 

[sturg]

OK. I have one of those too. A WD, one TB spinner. Just need to wipe and prep it.
What is the procedure?