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I am currently having trouble with booting my machine due to the fact I have lost my firmware password. When I try to boot the icon padlock appears. I am currently in El Capitan OS and first noticed the problem when I upgraded from Yosemite to El Capitan. Can I replace the solid-state drive safely? I would appreciate any help you can supply. Model Identifier-Macbook Air 7,2 Processor Name-Intel Core i5 Processor Speed- 1.6 GHz Number of Processors-1 Total Number of Cores-2 L2 Cache (per Core)- 256 KB L3 Cache- 3 MB Memory- 4GB Boot ROM Version: MBA71.0166.B12 SMC Version (system) 2.27f2
Well, you’re between a rock and a hard place here. Yes, you can replace your SSD but that won’t disable the hardware password. But! If you only enabled drive encryption then replacing the SSD will resolve the issue. Here’s the IFIXIT guide to replace the SSD: MacBook Air 13" Early 2015 SSD Replacement as to the SSD its self you could go with an original Apple SSD but they are quite expensive. Instead I would recommend going with OWC unit: MacBook Air 11" & 13" Mid 2013, 2014, and 2015 SSD upgrades If you need to reset your hardware password you’ll need to visit an Apple Store with your original sales slip in hand.
