Thanks

⟐ Answer accepted luglio 14, 2021 at 21:08 GMT-7

I suspect the thermal sensor is either bad or connected incorrectly to the system board.

My questions is: Which of the 2 possible locations on the logic board are used if there is only a single HD in the system? Or, does it even matter?

I bought this unit used, and there were other minor details about it that make me think whoever added/ replaced the HD was not careful in reassembly of the Mini - which is why I wonder about the possible misplaced sensor.

Thanks in advance!

The images would have made more sense, if, when I opened up the Mini, there had been 2 thermal sensors connected. As it was, there was only one and it was connected to the left connector (farthest from the RAM slots. )

I moved it over to the right slot and it's settled right down,

Thanks for the quick reply

⟐ Commented luglio 14, 2021 at 0:18 GMT-7

FYI - This is a strictly offline setup. No router, no ISP.

I often use the ad-how or “create network” option so I can stream to another Mac. The main issue I’ve encountered is Range. Using WiFi scan option on the airport utility iOS app, the RSSI of the ad-hoc network is -61. I’m only 6ft away with no obstructions. I know at -65 you can start dropping packets. I tested several channels including 5 GHz ones and there is no difference.

So is there a better solution? A better internal WiFi NIC? A nativity supported USB adapter (specifying native support because I’ve read they all use separate drivers and utilities to work.

I don’t care what it is as long as I can create a reliable WiFi ad-hoc network.

⟐ Answer edited luglio 16, 2021 at 5:32 GMT-7

I did a fresh install quite a few times but same results. I’ve also tried removing one SO-DMM , then the other, different drives, different RAM and essentially it still restarts with random Kernel errors.

Mac Mini mid 2010, 16GB memory , 250GB SSD, macOS High Sierra

Any suggestions?

⟐ Answer edited luglio 10, 2021 at 15:52 GMT-7

Unscrewing everything worked great. Wifi antenna, fan, status LED, power connector- everything was easy to remove. The two big screws holding the motherboard in the case were my only problem, they were really tight and I tried to get them out for about 15 minutes. Unfortunately I slipped off one of the screws (see picture) and thought this doesn't look like critical damage to the logic board. I then installed the new RAM, reassembled everything, and the Mini wouldn't turn on. Nothing at all.

I know a little bit about PCs, asked in various forums, talked to several people who know better, but I just can't find the fault. The Mini seems to get absolutely no power, the status LED does not light up, the fan does not turn on and the USB outputs give no power.

First of all, I would like to know if I have seriously damaged anything with this scratch. Everyone has told me so far that this can't be the case, because the Mac can't suddenly lose power from such a scratch.

Here is everything I have already done:

• Disassembled and reassembled the Mini for 5h about 20 times.
• Checked all cables. It can't be the cables, no cable is damaged and all cables are seated correctly when reassembling.
• Also re-installed the old RAM bars about 5 times (in a different order also). The RAM-Chups are also definitely sitting correctly and not too loose etc., so it can't be because of that either.
• Checked the small ribbon cable of the power button. On Reddit it was assumed that the Mac can not be switched on at all, because the cable was damaged during disassembly. It is definitely correct and is not damaged.

I'm really don’t know what to do. I only have 3 guesses, but they are relatively unlikely:

• My power cord has suddenly broken, but this can not be i think, because it was working normally before.
• I damaged something by electrostatic discharge during disassembly. But that can't be also, because I did the whole thing on an appropriate mat, was grounded and didn't play around with the screwdriver anywhere.
• The scratch is so bad that I have completely broken something. But that wouldn't explain why the Mac doesn't get power anymore.

I would appreciate any new ideas that I haven't had on the screen yet. Thanks and have a nice day!

⟐ Answer unaccepted luglio 03, 2021 at 13:48 GMT-7

⟐ Commented maggio 28, 2021 at 8:42 GMT-7

⟐ Commented maggio 16, 2021 at 19:06 GMT-7

Has anyone done this?

Also a different and mostly unrelated question:

regarding upgrading mac mini with dual storage could I use bootcamp on one drive and mac os on a new ssd? I stopped using my old laptop that I have bootcamp online because I didn’t want to go online with old programs that I can’t give up. In other words: to stay safe I have bootcamp with old excel etc on and never go online with it. whew

I have heard that having windows / bootcamp even if you aren’t using it, opens you up to viri!!! I haven’t been right since microsoft xl! miss it so!!

I go online on a mac running only mac os. (like I said… too many apples)

By “dual” I am wondering if that really means the systems are separate enough for different (ancient) operating system that would never be vulnerable or accessible to the outside world.

OK stop Laughing!!!

UPDATE RE: USING old iMac as a monitor: why didn’t I think of that…. looking on the apple website. Dan pointed me in the right direction and I found these specifics.

⟐ Commented maggio 09, 2021 at 21:16 GMT-7

My question is…. with a 1tb hdd that I use little of (I use external ssd for storage anyway) does anyone with any experience think it would be smart for me to dive deeper and update to ssd while I am tinkering? Please give me positives and negatives!

⟐ Commented maggio 09, 2021 at 7:53 GMT-7

My 2014 MAC Mini is pre installed with single 512GB PCIe SSD, now it is almost full of space. I have spare SATA SSD 512GB which is now installed in my 2008 MBP, can I just remove from MBP and install it in Mac Mini?

⟐ Commented aprile 17, 2021 at 15:33 GMT-7

⟐ Answer accepted aprile 10, 2021 at 6:50 GMT-7

⟐ Commented marzo 30, 2021 at 19:20 GMT-7

On the late-2014 Mini, I successfully swapped the existing 1TB HDD (HGST 5K1000) with a 500GB Crucial SSD. Before I did so, I installed BigSur on the then external SSD.

Only when opening the device I realized that there was a M.2 drive installed. I left it in after the swap.

Everything works but the M.2 SSD seems not to be used. Partitions on it are not recognized. The device shows with it’s hardware name only in Disk Utility, with 120GB), therefore I assume that together with the HDD, it formed a Volume Group (“Fusion Drive”?) which is broken now. Can anybody confirm this?

My understanding is that with the Crucial SSD, it is no longer of any use otherwise. Now my Question: is it save to remove the SSD or just reformat it as a second drive?

Thanks…

⟐ Commented marzo 28, 2021 at 13:55 GMT-7

This is my very first post on the forum.

I always wanted to have an Apple computer and I like fixing stuff, so I went on Ebay and bought a 2011 Apple Mac Mini that chimes, but won’t post.

Being a Windows guy I struggled to troubleshoot what was wrong but still decided to give it a go.

I reset the SMC and PRAM, as advised with no success.

After this, I opened it up and removed the hard drive, to see if at least would show on the screen the famous folder with the question mark. Nothing showed up.

I changed the RAM, and while changing it, I powered on the Mac mini with no RAM and it gave me that mono beep complaining of no RAM was detected. That’s why I still believe there’s some live in this thing because it can detected if there’s RAM, it chimes and it powers on my keyboard and mouse.

I replaced the PRAM battery (but used one) but still no video output.

At this point I ran out of ideas…

Also, I noticed that as soon as I power it on, the motherboard gets weirdly hot. Not crazy hot, but too hot for something that it’s not under load.

Is there anything else I could try that I am missing?

Thank you very much in advance or your help.

Regards,

John

⟐ Answer accepted marzo 25, 2021 at 9:25 GMT-7

⟐ Answer accepted marzo 02, 2021 at 9:00 GMT-7

⟐ Commented febbraio 25, 2021 at 9:24 GMT-7

I have a Samsung mz-jpu512t/0a6 SSD from a dead MacBook Pro 15” medio 2014, which I would like to put in a Mac mini late 2012. The SSD in NOT in a case or such - just a bare circuit board.

The Mac mini is equipped with a standard SATA disc, where the SSD obvious doesn’t fit.

I would prefer adding the SSD to the Mac mini, giving two discs, but replacing the SATA drive would also be OK.

My question - what kind of cable/adaptor/kit do I need for either solutions - if possible. I have searched this - and a lot other forums, but not found a clear solution.

Thanks in advance,

Jens

⟐ Answered febbraio 22, 2021 at 16:08 GMT-7

⟐ Answer accepted febbraio 17, 2021 at 15:51 GMT-7

I want to use handoff or airdrop in my mac mini, do I need a new airport card?

If necessary, please provide us with a compatible list.

I've already tried Bluetooth dongle, but it's not activated.

⟐ Commented febbraio 17, 2021 at 5:43 GMT-7

⟐ Answered febbraio 11, 2021 at 9:42 GMT-7