How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Safekeep all of your music, photographs, movies and more. But for the imac, the mac mini, or older mac laptops, replacing the internal hard drive with a drive that has more capacity can be a difficult. Carefully pull the wires for both hard drive thermal sensors upward to lift their connectors up and out of their respective sockets on the logic board. Some drive bays have a height of 7 mm, while others have a height of 9. Apple mac mini with fusion drive fall 2012 z0npmd3885. Nov, 2011 this video shows the process of how to replace the hard drive in a mac mini mid 2011 5,1. Then, take the three springs you removed earlier and place them back onto their corresponding antenna posts, followed by the antennas themselves. Rotate the bottom cover counterclockwise until the white dot painted on the bottom cover is aligned with the ring inscribed on the outer case. Mac mini 2018 and later mac mini late 2014 more mac compatibility less. Works great to add a secondary drive to a mac mini.
I know this is possible with the older models, but i havent seen anything regarding 2010 minis. Do not be tempted to buy the 1 tb version of the drive. Gtechnology 1tb g drive mobile ssd rseries storage next gallery image. Its very cool that there is no particular hardware order.
Replacing a mechanical hard drive with an ssd will transform the performance of the 2012 mac mini and your own experience with it. How to upgrade aluminum mac mini hard drives or ssds. It s been a while since i bought it and i can t remember what the exact limits are on combined thickness of the drives in the two available slots. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more. One such situation is when wanting to run windows 10 natively on your mac in my case my mac mini. But whereas last marchs mac mini dramatically improved the guts of the computer and significantly enhanced its connectivity, this one, officially called the mac mini mid 2010, offers more. Place your thumbs in the depressions cut into the bottom cover. Jan 15, 2020 macos recovery makes it easy to reinstall the mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. Full hard drive on mac mini august 2010 forums cnet.
Theres no need to buy a new computer, simply swap out the old drive for a new one. Now, according to this guy, the mac mini 2010 still comes with a stinky slow old sata1 drive, just as back in the days. A hard disk analysis tool like disk inventory x will scan your macs hard disk and display which folders and files are using up the most space. Blank new hard drive cant install os apple community. Hoping this will make working with photoshop a pleasure. Installing mac mini mid 2010 dual drive replacing your optical drive. Ifixit mac mini model a47 teardown manual pdf download. Your mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a oneyear limited warranty. Weve shown you how to securely wipe a hard drive with your mac, and doing so in recovery mode isnt really different from doing so within macos. The hard drive was formatted as a boot drive before i installed it.
Completing this guide requires rubber cement to stick the old thermal sensors to your new hard drive. Jun 18, 2010 the mac mini has long been the oddball child of the mac family. I tried soldier the connector back onto the board but was. Apple 07669 hard drive thermal sensor kit for mac mini. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. As an option you can add in a second drive using this kit.
Regular mid2010 aluminum unibody mac mini models, which have optical drives, support a single 2. I want to keep my original hard drive in the mac mini plus have the ssd for my main drive. This video also applies to the following mac mini s. Mac mini mid 2010 ssd dual drive installation crucial. The best thing to do at this point, is probably to boot the mini into target disk mode hold down t at boot while connecting it to another mac. Mid 2010 mac mini hard drive install larry talks tech. Depending on which version of system 2010 mac mini s macmini4,1 you do have a second choice. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. At step 21 youll need to take the thermal sensor off, use extreme care. Apr 15, 2020 if you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. How to instructions and videos to upgrade the storage, hard drive, hard drives, or ssds, in the aluminum mac mini. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. While its still possible to create an exact copy a clone of any drive connected directly to your mac, changes to disk utility have created extra steps when you use disk utilitys restore function.
Mac pro 8 core mac pro early 2008 mac pro early 2009 mac pro late 20 mac pro mid 2010. You can then delete these space hogs to free up space. Mac mini installing second hard drive ssd apple community. If youre not sure you have the technical chops to do it right, you should consider asking a more qualified friend to help, or even going to the professionals. Its also one of last to provide an internal dvd super drive.
Owcs stepbystep videos of how to install memory, hard drive, and an owc data doubler in the apple mac mini mid 2010 with model id. In the process of replacing the drive, i broke the hdd thermal sensor connector off of the logic board. The mac mini mid 2010 shipped in single configuration, with a 2. Sep 29, 2017 while the 2010 mac mini limits you to firewire 800 or usb 2. View and download ifixit mac mini model a47 teardown manual online. The owc ministack is the stackable, external hard drive solution designed to complement the look and feel of the latest mac lineup. Upgradeability is excellent for ram, just spin off the base cover and snap in the ram. Replace your mac mini mid 2010s hard drive for more storage space and an increase in speed. Upgrade or replace the hard drive in a mac mini cnet. Jun 19, 2018 to free up disk space, its helpful to know exactly what is using disk space on your mac.
Keep your aging mac mini alive with a few clever upgrades. Heres the ifixit guide youll need to follow to swap out your drives. When you turn the mini updside down to get in, then my original hard drive is on the bottom. However, from the mid2011 models onwards, all models of mac mini had the optical drive removed. On the underside of the mini is a black circular twistoff cover, which can be easily removed to gain access to the computers internals. And that ricky guy actually sounds like he knows damn well what hes. Replacing the upper drive looks like a tougher proposition. I was looking into upgrading my 2006 mac mini serving as a media server with a 2010 model, just to get a bigger hard drive and also a faster one. Of late, its begun to get quite sluggish, and im fairly sure its the slow hdd thats to blame. Backup your mac with a portable or desktop hard drive. If you want to leave the mac in an outofbox state, dont continue with the setup of your system. How to install windows 10 on your mac mini with an external drive. I thought i would be able to boot from the installation dvd and. A47 click to buy op hard drive sata 5400 mac mini mid 2010 a47 mc270lla from home.
Use this guide to completely replace your mini s hard drive. Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both the hard drive and optical drive connectors up out of their sockets on the logic board. Upgrade your mac mini to up to 8x more capacity and 92x faster speeds than with the apple factory drive. New hard drives in 2010 mac mini max combined size. The mac pro is designed to have its hard drive replaced easily, while an imac requires you to remove the entire screen. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. This video also applies to the following mac minis. How to upgrade the 2012 mac mini for use in 2020 imore. Mac mini mid 2010 hard drive replacement mac memory. Now, the mini s fan runs at full throttle all of the time. Hello all, i have a mid 2010 mac mini that had a hard drive failure.
The mac mini mid 2010 is easily distinguishable from its predecessors. The 4th iteration of the mac mini has an aluminum unibody case, which matches most of apples product lineup for 2010. Erase your hard drive and reinstall macos the best way to restore your mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macos. If you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. If youre using an imac, mac pro, or mac mini, use a usb or other wired keyboard and mouse to complete the next step.
What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your mac. Use the four screws to secure the drive in place and reattach the ribbon cable. Apple mac mini a47 desktop june, 2010 customized for. How to install windows 10 on your mac mini with an. I was looking into upgrading my 2006 mac mini serving as a media server with a 2010 model, just to get a bigger hard drive. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. Has your mac mini hard drive filled to capacity or burnt out. The 2010 mini is the first to have an internal power supply, no more power brick, and also the fist to support 16 gb ram. The tools worked to take everything apart and get access to the bracket to install my ssd in the upper position. Reinstall from macos recovery macos recovery makes it easy to reinstall the mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. I didnt know this at first and had completely taken my mac mini apart. Replacing your mac minis hard disk with a solidstate drive ssd is like going from a gas.
The boot drive in my 2010 mac mini server edition has gone belly up and needs to be replaced. Owcs stepbystep video of how to install a hard drive in the apple mac mini 2010 with model id. After macos installation is complete, the mac restarts to a welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. This video shows the process of how to replace the hard drive in a mac mini mid 2011 5,1.
The drive had no operating system or files on it, i just used a formatting that allows it to be a bootable drive. With a footprint identical to the 2010 and later mac mini. Only one drive is dead, but my initial thought is if. Mar 04, 2014 upgrade or replace the hard drive in a mac mini. Mac mini mid 2010 hard drivessd installation video youtube. First, note that as of this writing august 2010, the largestcapacity hard drive that you can put into a 2010 mac mini is the 750 gb western digital drive. How to wipe your mac and reinstall macos from scratch. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. It will work with just about any storage device that you can mount to your mac, including disk images, hard drives, ssds, and usb flash drives. Step 14 use the flat end of a spudger to pry both the hard drive and optical drive connectors up out of their sockets on the logic board. Replace your mac mini mid 2010s hard drive for more storage space. The mac mini mid 2010 was replaced in july 2011 by mac mini mid 2011 picture credits. Nov 21, 2018 how to instructions and videos to upgrade the storage, hard drive, hard drives, or ssds, in the aluminum mac mini. Dec 26, 2017 if you want a truly clean installation, however, you need to first wipe your hard drive.
Luckily that was the drive that had failed in my case. I have a 2010 mac mini with no dvd drive and a 5,400 rpm hard drive. Which ssd disk is compatible with mac mini mid 2010 ifixit. Mac mini mid 2010 hard drive replacement step 1 bottom cover. Mar 20, 2019 one such situation is when wanting to run windows 10 natively on your mac in my case my mac mini. Do take the time to read some of the comments before you start. While the 2010 mac mini limits you to firewire 800 or usb 2. Can i install 2 hard drives in a mac mini 2010 by getting rid of the optical drive. How to upgrade your mac mini with an ssd 2019 updated. How to upgrade the hard drive in a 2010 mac mini ryan harvey. Mac mini mid 2010 hard drive replacement ifixit repair guide. Oct 18, 2019 the best way to restore your mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macos. Technical specifications for the mac mini core 2 duo 2.
How to install hardware upgrades in the mac mini 2010. Which ssd disk is compatible with mac mini mid 2010. These instructions and a little common sense can also be used to replace the lower hard drive in the server version of the mac mini. Drive thats on the top when the mini is turned upside down to open it. Mac mini server mid 2010 mac mini server mid 2011 mac mini late 2018 mac pro. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support.
In my case it was a mac mini late 2012 model, with the original drive being in the lower position ie. Use this guide to trade your optical drive for a second hard drive. With the hard drive in place, its now time to place the cd drive back into the mac mini. There is no room in the model for two sata drives as in previous models. The normal method would be to use boot camp to repartition your internal hard drive to make room for windows 10. The mid 2010 server model was initially the only mac mini to entirely remove the optical drive, replacing it with a second hard drive in its place. Apple redesigned the mac mini line in 2010 to include a removable cover that gives users quick and easy access to the hard drive and memory. Depending on the size of your drive bay, you may need to use a spacer to make your ssd fit properly. Tilt the mini enough to allow the bottom cover to fall away from the outer case.