Ensure your Mini is powered off and disconnected from power, then remove its bottom cover by twisting it with two thumbs. But for those who are confident they can do it themselves, the following steps can be seen as a general guide to the process when it comes to RAM upgrades in the 2010-2012 minis.ġ. After installing a solid state drive (SSD) with no moving parts, the drone of my iMac’s hard drive and fans has given way to such an absence of sound that I only hear the high.
After all, it’s a reality that any upgrade comes with risks, and nobody wants to see damage to their Mac.
Many Apple users will be happy getting an upgrade at an Apple store or doing so via a tech professional. Apple advises allowing an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider to do the upgrade. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple 2011 Mac Mini 2. *The 2018 Mini’s RAM is upgradeable, but its a much more complex process than that of the 2010-2012 Minis. The Upgrade List for Every Mac Mini of the Past Decade Year This installs the OS X that came with your Mac when it was new. Choose Reinstall OS X from the OS X Utilities window, then follow the onscreen instructions. True, there’s no suggestion such steps would deliver someone a computer that is on the cutting edge of today’s technology, but Apple fans would say the record of eight-year-old PCs being as easy to upgrade and as long-lasting is far more limited. Open Disk Utility from the OS X Utilities window, then use Disk Utility to erase your built-in hard disk using the OS X Extended (Journaled) format.
For example, it’s common to see Minis from 2010 that shipped with 4GB of RAM or Minis from 2012 with 8GB of RAM – yet, a 2010 can upgrade to 8GB, and the 2012 to 16GB.Īs a result, many people in recent years have found they could buy a used Mac Mini from as far back as 2010 and that it will hold its own with a Mac from 2020 in numerous tasks. What makes the Mini special is its capacity to effectively utilize upgrades introduced into it well beyond its base model. Is an Upgrade Really Worthwhile?Īt the outset, it’s useful to provide a quick overview surrounding why the Mini is so fantastic from a DIY-upgrade perspective. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself.
Let’s see which Mac Mini models are easy to upgrade, as well as the general process for how to do it in the 2010-2012 range. For the main 3.5' SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-wire power configuration to a 7-wire configuration. Minis are also popular for the speed and ease in which many of the versions can be easily upgraded in their RAM and hard drive capacity. This depends on what was pre-installed when you purchased your MM. At our Chatham, Ontario store we only work with the highest quality parts and our repair work is covered under a 90 day warranty.Mini users love them for the versatility they offer in terms of easily adding components. If you try to use Internet Recovery in your Warrior step, since you have a mid-2011 Mac Mini, you might get OS X Lion or Mountain Lion as your OS X to install. Unlike other phone repair stores, we focus exclusively on Apple ® products.
2 comments Step 2 Gently bend the Jimmy outwards to pry the crack open a little larger and lift the lower housing up a small amount. The Jimmy should reach a stop about 3/8' down. Insert the Jimmy into the crack between the aluminum top housing and the plastic lower housing.
Hardly seems worth it to go to that trouble and expense. In addition to repairing and replacing existing hard drives Experimax of Chatham, Ontario can give your Mac mini a boost by adding additional memory. Power down your Mac mini, disconnect all of the cables, and flip it over. Even with the drive replaced you’re unlikely to sell it for more than 300 or so. If your hard drive has already failed we can work to help you recover data that may have been lost.
Does the original hard drive on your Mac mini need some TLC? Is your Mac mini showing signs of wear and tear? Are you receiving errors when you try to save files? Are you worried about your data integrity? At Experimax of Chatham, Ontario we can help you diagnose hard drive problems, and make sure your data is fully backed up.