⟐ Commented gennaio 26, 2025 at 6:47 GMT-7

Please don’t mind me asking - is it possible to upgrade the RAM in the new version of the Mac Mini from March 2020 as described for the 2018 Model? It would think so, but would like to make sure for my purchase.

Cheers

⟐ Commented novembre 24, 2020 at 10:31 GMT-7

⟐ Commented febbraio 19, 2024 at 14:53 GMT-7

⟐ Commented settembre 01, 2019 at 11:46 GMT-7

My question is for the M1 Mac Mini is there still an internal port where you can add a second drive?

⟐ Answer edited agosto 16, 2022 at 13:14 GMT-7

I have tried to reset PRAM and SMC but i cannot tell if they have actually reset, not sure if the sandy bridge based macs use something different.

I also ran the "d" diag utility and everything passes. The machine runs fine the fan is just stuck at 100% and its very annoying.

⟐ Commented agosto 28, 2021 at 0:22 GMT-7

I was wondering if it's possible to connect 4 hard drives through a SATA port multiplier plugged to the SATA port instead of the superdrive...

Does anyone know if there is an intel mac mini that supports this technology? (I looked for the developer notes, but the most recent I found was of the G4 mac mini...)

I asked this question also on apple support forum, but had no reply...

The space in the case is not a problem because i was thinking about putting the mac mini components into another (DIY) case in which i can also insert 5 Hard Drives (one for the system and four on raid 5 for datas)...

Thank you in advance

Matteo

⟐ Answer accepted novembre 08, 2013 at 18:57 GMT-7

I have the Mac mini late 2014, the mid model, with the i5 at 2,6 ghz, iris graphics, 8 gb ram, 1 TB HDD.

From what I gather, I have a free slot on the machine for an SSD. All I need to do is to buy a cable from IFIXIT.

I want to get a SSD and use it with the 1 TB HDD that already come with the Mini. What interface should the new SSD be? M.2? Also, I have a SATA 3 SSD in a drawer... I can't use it at all,no?

⟐ Answered dicembre 05, 2020 at 11:49 GMT-7

I have read several people have installed their ssd in a late MacMini 2012 in the original slot where the hard disk was, and the HD in the empty bay. What is currently considered the best thing to do (also since I'm now running 10.10, which was not the standard OS when the guide from ifixit was made)?

Same question regarding the cable to attach the new ssd? Is it best to use the original cable for the ssd or better to use the ifixit cable for the sad?

Thanks,

Eric

⟐ Answer accepted giugno 14, 2015 at 2:31 GMT-7

When the computer restarts, it doesn't indicate a kernel panic.

No idea what to do, thank you for the help!

⟐ Commented luglio 12, 2025 at 12:03 GMT-7

Some background information may help some readers understand why I am asking this question.

On the 2010 Mac mini, a thermal sensor was taped to the hard drive. This was also done on the older iMacs. But the 2011 iMac switched to proprietary sensors internal to the hard drive itself, as noted the following article:

http://www.macgasm.net/2011/05/16/owc-in...

It starts out:

Other World Computing (OWC), supplier of many parts for new and old Macs, has gone in-depth into the reported restriction of Apple’s mid-2011 iMacs. The issue is that if a non-Apple hard drive is placed into the 2011 iMac, the fans will eventually spin at their maximum speed and the iMac will fail the Apple Hardware Test.

Apple is using custom firmware on their supplied hard drives to monitor the thermal properties of the hard drive while it is operating. In order to accomplish this task, Apple must use a special 7-pin SATA cable with the additional two pins being used for thermal monitoring.

__________________________________________

Was this change also made to the 2011 Mac mini? I thought that it might have since there is no longer a thermal sensor taped to the drive in the iFixit teardown.

The teardown is here:

Mac mini Mid 2011 Teardown

But some of the commentators hint that basically there are no thermal sensors for the hard drives at all! I would like to have a clear answer, if possible. If the drive were to fail after the warranty expires, I would want to install a non-Apple supplied “off the shelf” hard drive myself rather than pay apple to do the work to install their proprietary hard drive.

Thanks!

⟐ Answer edited dicembre 05, 2014 at 23:43 GMT-7

This drive runs at 6 gigabit but I understand my Mac Mini runs SATA at 3 gigabit.

But when I installed the SSD it only runs at 1.5 gigabit. Is there some incompatibility with the Nvidia SATA driver?

Does anyone know which drives work and run 3 gigabit?

Hi and lucky day! I returned the Samsung EVO 250GB and ordered a Crucial BX100 250GB from a local webshop. It said on their website that this drive is compatible for the 2009 Mac Mini. Of course all 6Gb drives "work" but the negotiating speed is the culprit.

When I installed the BX100 250GB I was disappointed because it also was set to 1.5Gb! I was on a chat with Crucial on their website and they suggested there must be something with "garbage collection" and to fix it I should take out the drive and let it stay connected to power only (no data connection) for at least 8 hours and the drive would fix itself. This sounded like a crazy solution but ok, I will try it. To my my amazement this really worked! Look at the enclosed pics. I get at least twice the speed I had on 1.5Gb. So my conclusion is that Crucial SSD drives work with the NVidia SATA controller in the 2009 Mac Mini. I guess this should work also with other Crucial SSDs.

So for my fix on this you would need an external power cable like an USB to SATA.

• UPDATE ***

I upgraded from Mac OS X 10.9 to 10.10. I then noticed the Crucial SSD again had gone back again to 1.5Gb. Tried different things like resetting pram, upgraded Trim Enabler etc. No luck. So I thought I should try again the suggestion with putting the drive on power-only for some hours. That again did the trick! Amazing (but weird) solution. I am now back where I want with 3Gb speed.

I checked the Crucial compaibility search and it says the BX100 should work. Will report back. http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible...

I also found this useful article on upgrading old Macs with SSD: http://blogs.helsinki.fi/tuylaant/2014/0...

The Mini is back to 1.5Gb :-( I have tried every trick except opening the Mini and doing the "let alone with power and no data" trick. I don't have time for that right now. So that did not last for long. I hate this issue. Sorry.

I came by this discussion that suggested using the Kingston UV400 SSD drives since they have a Marvell controller and do not conflict with the nVidia SATA controller. Would love to hear if anyone has tested this.

⟐ Commented dicembre 29, 2020 at 8:57 GMT-7

is the new design too tightly integrated to do this? Does it have different voltage requirements anyway making it more awkward to supply with power?

⟐ Commented settembre 23, 2024 at 21:43 GMT-7

I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini (2.5Ghz i5 model A1347) which I bought from the refurb store in 2013.

From mid 2013 to late 2016 it served as a media server, running XBMC/Kodi. Towards the end of that time it started to randomly shut down. I then stopped using it and since then it's been sat in a cupboard.

I was going to wipe it and set it up for my daughter, but I can't get it started. When I try to start it, the power light comes on and I can hear something (I think it's the HDD) and then about one second later it switches off.

Any guidance on troubleshooting this would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Barry

⟐ Commented marzo 27, 2025 at 10:57 GMT-7

I'm looking for a take apart guide for Mac mini Server (Mid 2010). I need to replace both internal hard disks.

⟐ Answer edited settembre 17, 2014 at 10:37 GMT-7

Is it processor dependent ? (some Intel processors are listed at 16 GB, some at 32 GB)

---

Added:

To be more specific:

If you look at this question:

What are the comercial names of Mac mini 2012 chipset and processor?

there is a link to an Intel comparison:

http://ark.intel.com/compare/67355,65709... .

Here one of the processors accept 16 Gb while the 2 others accept 32. My question is: if I upgrade the processor of the server version, will the Mac Mini accept 32 Gb as listed in the Intel table?

Did anyone tried that?

⟐ Commented marzo 06, 2022 at 8:19 GMT-7

I have been running Catalina Public Beta. I got a notice that an update was available, so I updated. When I came back a few hours later, my Mac Mini was shut down. No light or noise on pushing power button. Verified power available and then contacted Apple support. They verified it was still under warranty until November and made an appointment at the local store. Taking it in today and will follow up.

⟐ Answered dicembre 26, 2020 at 6:32 GMT-7

I'm looking at purchasing a 2012 Mac Mini with an i5 processor. I have a PC at home that is not really used as I am a Mac user. The PC is pretty high spec - well it was 3 years ago. It's running an i7 processor and I was wandering if I could put it in the Mac?

Any help is appreciated.

Many thanks,

Steve

⟐ Commented maggio 29, 2024 at 11:47 GMT-7

My mini is still under warranty as it hasn't been out for very long. This is actually my 2nd mini as I exchanged the first one hoping the 2nd one would run cooler. But they run almost identical. This mini has the discrete gpu thus ~6W idle additional heat to dissipate.

I am irritated that I cannot enjoyably stream Netflix without the cpu die reporting 95C via iStat Menus and Hardware Monitor by Bresink, although it does settle out to ~90C. This i5's thermal limit is 100C. Thankfully the SMC is working as the fan runs at almost full and thus I can hardly even hear the movie. Now I know that the total amount of heat isn't going to change by reapplying thermal compound but I think it might greatly reduce the die temp and thus allow the fan to back off a bit.

The mini is on a metal wire shelf that allows airflow into the bottom intake and the rear cables come down from the top so as to not obstruct the exhaust vent. The room is at 26C (55%RH) and the mini idles (2% cpu) at 71C cpu diode and about 66C cpu proximity with ambient air sensor in mini at 56C.

I recently had Apple fix my MBP6,1 17" as it was also having thermal problems however it took almost a week of *arguing* with Apple to get them to make it right, but now it idles at 42C and never goes over like 86C and it used to hit like 103C. I know the mini won't be that cool but I want to know if it can do better than my current readings? I woud assume do this fix myself as the arguing with Apple is incredibly stressful. Oddly none of the reviewers seemed to mention temperature data? I would be curious to see a picture of the cpu die before you cleaned it off in your tear down if you have it? Oh and if these temps are like clearly showing a problem with my mini to the extent that Apple might listen then please tell me :)

Thanks for any advice / stats you can give. I admit I am a tad scared to tear the mini apart but the needing to know what the temp *could* be is killing me :D

Ryan

[update - AUG 29]

A friend of mine bought a new mac mini (base model) and it runs just as hot. Yet he found a mac mini in an Apple Store didn't run hot. Perhaps some cool units exist? I found that Netflix is just bearable with Plex as it uses slightly less cpu than chrome or safari. Probably will endup getting a ROKU or an Apple TV for the future as the mini just sucks at Netflix. Anyways last night I decided to point a fan at my mini. This drops the idle temp from 70C to ~60C (internal fan chills out too). Kinda annoying having the extra fan noise but helps a lot and makes the top of the mini touchable. So that is my temporary advice. I may try water cooling the top of the mini in the future just to avoid the extra fan noise.

As for repasting I will indeed hold off as that seems like the wise thing to do. Also it seems that the GPU either has hardware problems or is in serious need of better drivers. As youtube videos will get like weird green stuff going on and windows with transparency on my other monitor will get weird crosshatch patterns (concurrent). Thus I want to wait and see if Apple is gonna software update or if this unit has issues. Once all that is sorted out and my warranty is nearing the end I will reapply z paste.

[pictures of mini w/ fan xD]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2091843/ifixit/m...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2091843/ifixit/m...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2091843/ifixit/m...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2091843/ifixit/m...

⟐ Commented ottobre 16, 2015 at 18:14 GMT-7

Last week, I woke up to find my mini completely dead. The power light was still on, the hard drive was still spinning, but nothing going on. I powered it off, and back on, and it still sat silent. The light came on, but no chime, and no booting.

What I've tried so far:

- resetting the PRAM => fan runs @ max until I turn it off, front light does not come on.

- resetting the SMC => back to the normal state where the front light comes on, but nothing else.

- replacing the original 1.66 Core Duo CPU to see if I'd smoked the T7200.

- pulling one of the 1G chips out, and then the other.

At this point, is there much chance that it could be anything but a failed logic board? (The thing was quite dusty around the intake vents ...). I suppose it could be the power supply, but it seems sort of unlikely.

Nobody seems to sell logic boards, so I guess it's time to pick up the cheapest old mini I can find ($350 is what I've seen), or fork over ~$750 for a brand new one.

-/\/

⟐ Commented aprile 19, 2022 at 22:47 GMT-7