Unable to re-install OS Snow Leopard on my Late 2009 Mac Book Air

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My Mac Book Air 13.3/2.13GHZ/2GB/128SSD placed order last week in Aug 2009 and was delivered first week in Sept 2009 with OS Snow Leopard(The time when the SnowLeopard OX was released)
I upgraded to New OS as they become available-migrated to Lion then Mountain Lion and finally Maveric.

Three weeks ago My MBA while surfing the net Safari window got frozen resulting in me force quitting. Then when I tried to restart-it would not boot but got a single beep at regular interval.
My attempt to Safe Start, Reset PRAM, Nothing worked.
After 24 Hours when I boot it went to Maveric and worked for a week.

Yesterday I had the update for iWork & OS RAW files appeared and tried to install.
Halfway through the install it froze and I had to force quit.
Once again I got the single beep at regular interval & would not boot.

Left it for 24 hours and started it just brought Apple logo and not further.
I attached my Super Drive put in the Snow Leopard Disk 2 that has the Apple Hardware Test and did the extended test-No fault found.
At the end of that test I selected the restart
Apple Logo appeared with a bar at the bottom that would fill up third of the way and turn off itself.
This happened on every time I attempted to boot.
It would not start with "Shift " Safe mode.
So I once again put in the Disk 1of Snow Leopard that came with my MBA in the superdrive and "C"+Start.
Here I was able to reach look on the DU and all are reported as normal. I through the Snow Leopard installer did the Repair Permission,Repair disk and attempted to reinstall after a an reach and as suggested in the apple site but
on every time Installer bar fills for 10 minutes and shows 28 minutes remains a window appears to suggest that the computer will need a force restart.

I tried the whole after noon repeating the re install minimum 30 times and not able to go past third of the installation bar.
Can anybody tell me what else I could do?

Regards
 

pigoo3

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My Mac Book Air 13.3/2.13GHZ/2GB/128SSD placed order last week in Aug 2009 and was delivered first week in Sept 2009

I tried the whole after noon repeating the re install minimum 30 times and not able to go past third of the installation bar.
Can anybody tell me what else I could do?

Your MacBook Air only has a 128gig SSD. For many folks this is not very large. You didn't tell us how full your MBA's SSD is...but it is possible that it is so full...that there is not enough room to do a Snow Leopard reinstall.

Let us know how full your SSD is (gigs used and gigs free)...then we can see what we have...and move on from there.:)

- Nick
 
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Your MacBook Air only has a 128gig SSD. For many folks this is not very large. You didn't tell us how full your MBA's SSD is...but it is possible that it is so full...that there is not enough room to do a Snow Leopard reinstall.

Let us know how full your SSD is (gigs used and gigs free)...then we can see what we have...and move on from there.:)

- Nick

All 128GB is available for install.. Because I have erased the Partitions followed the instructions as how to reinstall the OS. I did the following on each time...

1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.)

2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Optionsbutton, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Regards
 
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Sounds like the SSD has failed. They do the same as platter drives alas.
 

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Is it easy to change SSD on Mac Book Air of mine? I know I cannot change RAM. Regards

If the MacBook Air is still under warranty, let Apple do it. Otherwise you can purchase a replacement SSD for your MBA from Other World Computing. They also supply instructions on how to change one out. By the way, it's not an easy swap out so be sure you read the instructions first before deciding to do it yourself.
 
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Would someone reply if I could put in insted of SSD ?

Hi
Mine Model No:A1304 ie: Mac Book Air 13.3/2.13GHZ/2GB/128SSD.

This came with a SSD Flash HD. I am fro UK.

I search crucial & google for a SSD flash drive but with no avail for my model Mac Book Air.

Would some one help to learn if
1.I could replace my present 128GB SSD Flash Drive with a new spinning HD?

2.Where could I find one for my Mac Book Air of Sept 2009? Any link would be appreciated.

3. Could my problem in installing the Snow Leopard arise from Logic Board failure?


PS:I tried to install by putting my Snow Leopard installer on a USB-It goes up to third of the way and screen freeze with a message to re-start the computer.
I also tried to partition my HD through the Installer's Disk Utility to 2 partitions one with 40 GB and tried on it thinking I could by pass any faulty sectors on my SSD but with no luck. ( I am not a computer person and don't take any offence in my saying what I have tried ;)) Desperate situation makes me do desperate methods!!

Regards
 
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chscag

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You can not replace the SSD flash drive in your MBA with a spinning hard drive. As I pointed out in my last reply, Other World Computing in the USA sells replacement flash drives for your MBA. I don't know of any dealer or service center in the UK who does likewise. Perhaps someone from the UK can better answer your question.
 
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You can not replace the SSD flash drive in your MBA with a spinning hard drive. As I pointed out in my last reply, Other World Computing in the USA sells replacement flash drives for your MBA. I don't know of any dealer or service center in the UK who does likewise. Perhaps someone from the UK can better answer your question.

Thank you chscag for that infor.

Other World Computing from USA would ship it to UK .

On another note would my problem is caused by Logic Board Failure? What your thoughts are on it? I am only asking for advice. I will not hold you responsible for your thought :Mischievous:
 

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This OWC page has links to the installation videos , Chose the video for your model and you can see the installation process. It's pretty straightforward. If you have a look on their site you can get a better idea which drives will fit even if you end upo purchasing from another vendor.

If the drive you choose is compatible the installation should be as described in the videos.

My first guess would be drive failure rather than logic board. I doubt you would be getting as far as you are if it were a logic board failure.
 

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On another note would my problem is caused by Logic Board Failure?

I don't think the Logic Board is the problem. It sounds very much like the SSD Flash Drive has failed from the symptoms you described above. If you think you can swap out the drive yourself, purchasing one from OWC would be OK but may be expensive because of shipping and VAT. If you do decide to go that way, it might be a good idea to purchase a larger SSD. Maybe 256 GB instead of 128 GB.
 

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Did anyone notice this part of his first post?

"Yesterday I had the update for iWork & OS RAW files appeared and tried to install.
Halfway through the install it froze and I had to force quit.
Once again I got the single beep at regular interval & would not boot."



The One Beep over and over makes me wonder. I have never worked on an AIR but that sounds like an startup error of some kind.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
 
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The One Beep over and over makes me wonder. I have never worked on an AIR but that sounds like an startup error of some kind.

Do you feel it could be a Logic Board? The RAM is soldered on the Logic Board.

It does not make any bleep any more on each attempt when I turn on..

Problem started with frozen screen-initially on safari then while I was updating the new updates. :Confused:
 
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Since your machine is on Mavericks, it has a Recovery Partition. Have you tried that (command-r held down while starting up)?
 
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Since your machine is on Mavericks, it has a Recovery Partition. Have you tried that (command-r held down while starting up)?

I attempted after my first debacle-when my safari window lock up-forced quit and then when started single beeps... so tried Command+R but no luck. On that occasion after 24 hours when I started the computer it opend up worked for a week.
 
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On another note when I put in my New SDD, would it be benificial to Partition into 2 and put the OS in one and mark the second as for DATA? Would this help recovery of data in future with any eventualities?If so
1. Should borth partitions set for "GUID" at format?
2. How much GB better allocated for OS as I will be migrating to Maveric if I am sucessful with the Snow Leopard installation.
I would be ever so greatful for your advice & guidence

Regards
 
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Another observation I realised not happening after watching few You Tube postings, is that on every attempt of mine when I tried to install from Disk run from my super drive, When I press the start button on my Mac Book Air... I do not hear the chime?

Does that have any bearing on the functionality of my Mac Book Air. I thought od asking this while I am awaiting for my SSD to arrive..

Regards
 

chscag

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Do you hear the chime other times or is it gone altogether?
 
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Do you hear the chime other times or is it gone altogether?

Not other times I mean prior to the failure of my device, I kept turned off the sound all the time while functioning.
I use to turn it on if needs to - like listening to music on you tube or talking to some-one on face time.
Once the need is over I press the sound button on my keyboard until a X appear over the speaker on screen leave with no sound. Now with my device failed, I did not think about the starter chime, until I watched few you-tube posting!

On every attempt of my re-install after the disk gives the option to access Disk Utility or Install, I could see on the top left corner my home WiFi as available and I could sign into it as well as Battery status. it will also prompt to connect to mains if not connected...
 
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chscag

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If the startup POST chime is not sounding at all, it may mean a hardware failure has occurred. The chime is an indicator that the machine passed the Power On Self Test (POST) meaning the memory is OK and logic board is functioning. No chime, something is wrong.
 

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