We just upgraded a 2011 Apple Mac Mini to have an SSD, a second hard drive, and new RAM.
Use this guide to completely replace your mini's hard drive. Note that some of the connections in this Mac are more fragile to disconnect and more difficult to reconnect than in other Macs. This guide is thorough in explaining how to remove each part that's in the way of the hard drive, but experienced repairers may be able to move the fan. The Mac mini (stylized with a lowercase 'mini') is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the current Macintosh lineup, serving as an alternative to the all-in-one iMac, and sitting below the performance range iMac Pro and Mac Pro. The Mac mini is Apple's only consumer desktop computer since 1998 to ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. Upgrade or replace the hard drive in a Mac Mini. Has your Mac Mini hard drive filled to capacity or burnt out? There's no need to buy a new computer, simply swap out the old drive for a new one.
Video
Also available on YouTube in High Definition or Standard Definition.
However, if you have an old Mac Mini lying around, like we do, you can easily upgrade it to work like a new computer. Here we show you how you can upgrade a 2011 Mac Mini for use in the current year. You will need the following items for this project: Set of Torx screwdriver bits; New hard drive; SSD; New SATA cable for the SSD. This video shows the process of how to replace the hard drive in a Mac Mini (mid 2011 - 5,1). This video also applies to the following Mac Mini's:. Mid 2010.
Parts List
_ports.jpg/350px-Mac_mini_(2018)_ports.jpg "Upgrade")
- OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive VTX3-25SAT3-120G
- Western Digital 1TB Blue WD10JPVT 5400RPM, 8 MB cache, 2.5 inch, 9.5MM height hard drive
- Corsair 8 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9
- Apple Mac Mini Model MC816LL/A 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive
- Cable: Apple Part 922-9560, also called 'Apple Mac Mini Server (Mid 2010) Bottom Hard Drive Server Flex Cable' or 'Hard Drive Flex Cable Bottom'. We used part number 1009005 at welovemacs.com. This is sold as a kit from ifixit.com.
Alternate Parts List
The OCZ Vertex 3 is the fastest consumer SSD at the moment. Other SSD's that you might consider include:
- Highest reliability SSD: Intel 510 Series 120 GB
- Best value high capacity SSD: Lexar Media Crucial 512 GB m4
The Western Digital Blue drive mentioned above is high capacity and quiet. For a faster spinning hard drive consider:
- Western Digital 750TB Black WD7500BPKT 7200RPM, 16 MB cache, 2.5 inch, 9.5MM height hard drive
The dedicated graphics in the mid-tier Mac Mini make it worth it for me. But for the cheapest Mini, consider:
- Apple Mac Mini MC815LL/A 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000, 2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive
UPDATE: My video shows adding two 9.5MM height drives. I just upgraded another Mac Mini with a 9.5MM SSD and a 12.5MM standard hard drive. As with my first upgrade, the hard drive goes in the bottom slot (the side closest to the top of the case when upright). This does fit. But first you need to slide the logic board out slightly. Be sure to remove the IR port adapter before sliding out the logic board. The OWC video shows how to do this. I used a cut up coat hanger to insert into the logic board holes and slide it out.
First Boot
Starting with a blank hard drive is easy on the 2011 Mac Mini. Hold down Command-R to boot into Lion Recovery which allows you to format the drives and download Lion over the Internet.
TRIM Support in Lion
- OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive VTX3-25SAT3-120G
- Western Digital 1TB Blue WD10JPVT 5400RPM, 8 MB cache, 2.5 inch, 9.5MM height hard drive
- Corsair 8 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9
- Apple Mac Mini Model MC816LL/A 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive
- Cable: Apple Part 922-9560, also called 'Apple Mac Mini Server (Mid 2010) Bottom Hard Drive Server Flex Cable' or 'Hard Drive Flex Cable Bottom'. We used part number 1009005 at welovemacs.com. This is sold as a kit from ifixit.com.
Alternate Parts List
The OCZ Vertex 3 is the fastest consumer SSD at the moment. Other SSD's that you might consider include:
- Highest reliability SSD: Intel 510 Series 120 GB
- Best value high capacity SSD: Lexar Media Crucial 512 GB m4
The Western Digital Blue drive mentioned above is high capacity and quiet. For a faster spinning hard drive consider:
- Western Digital 750TB Black WD7500BPKT 7200RPM, 16 MB cache, 2.5 inch, 9.5MM height hard drive
The dedicated graphics in the mid-tier Mac Mini make it worth it for me. But for the cheapest Mini, consider:
- Apple Mac Mini MC815LL/A 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000, 2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive
UPDATE: My video shows adding two 9.5MM height drives. I just upgraded another Mac Mini with a 9.5MM SSD and a 12.5MM standard hard drive. As with my first upgrade, the hard drive goes in the bottom slot (the side closest to the top of the case when upright). This does fit. But first you need to slide the logic board out slightly. Be sure to remove the IR port adapter before sliding out the logic board. The OWC video shows how to do this. I used a cut up coat hanger to insert into the logic board holes and slide it out.
First Boot
Starting with a blank hard drive is easy on the 2011 Mac Mini. Hold down Command-R to boot into Lion Recovery which allows you to format the drives and download Lion over the Internet.
TRIM Support in Lion
For optimal SSD performance, enable TRIM support within OS X Lion. Grant Pannell describes the terminal commands to enable TRIM.
Photos of Upgrade
Hey all:
Ordered the i7 Mini and can not wait to open it up, upgraded to 8G memory and, of course, the 256G SSD (Samsung).
Here are few things I want to share with anyone interested in the SSD.
First, seems the TRIM support only will work on Apple's stack SSD, can not be achieved by 3rd vendor.
Even I used Samsung (which Apple usually uses) that TRIM is not supported. Although the system profile did recognize as SSD.
Second, it's SATA III (6G) per hardware indication, which I kicked myself for buying the SATA II (when it was on sale) months ago.
Third, it is way much easier then 2010 Mini to extract the hard drive. I just removed the memory, fan and side panel. Only Fan connector needs to be disconnected. There is NO hard drive sensor on the drive, just SATA cable and plastic shielding cover.
Fourth, since there is no optical drive, below the hard drive, you can see the empty space. You also can see the OTHER SATA spot next to the hard drive's SATA slot/button. Download yosemite os for macs. Here is my question - the Mini ditched the optical drive and share the same design of the Mini Server's design.
Has anyone tried to install the second hard drive using ( part # 922-9560) flex cable?
Mac Mini Hard Drive Upgrade
Thanks
Sam
Remove Hdd Mac Mini 2011
Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7)
Hdd For Mac Mini 2011 Mini
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