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09Mini died after HD upgrade during install of OSX, help!

lamerica80

lamerica80

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 22, 2008
694
533
I just upgraded the RAM and harddrive of my my 2009 Mac Mini, carefully following the steps in the OWC video. Im 100% sure i didnt miss anything.

I installed a brand new blank 7200.4 500gb drive.

I started the mini and i got a blinking question mark, then i inserted the OSX install DVD and i got the apple logo as the drive started to spin for a minute, then it just shut off and i cant turn it back on.

Any ideas?

Edit: i actually forgot to hold town the C key wile booting the mini..if this helps. But i cant understand why the thing wont turn on!
 
But the old hard drive back in and see if it works. Also, had you used the superdrive before you did the upgrade? It sounds a bit strange. Always test it before putting the lid back on, just in case. You might want to test the RAM - check its seated properly, test it with one RAM stick in, one not etc. Are you sure you reconnected all the airport cables? Maybe one fell and has shorted something somewhere.
 
haha turned out i hadnt plugged the power cable properly to the big powerthing.

Ok so i had the installation dvd in but there is no target destination to choose from. I assume i must format the drive before attempting to install osx.

How do i do this? What are the steps?

Thanks!
 
you can use the search function on MR to help you - also google is another valuable resource when it comes to routine tasks on computers.


to get started, boot from the CD and then run Disk Utility :)
 
lamerica80 said:
haha turned out i hadnt plugged the power cable properly to the big powerthing.

Ok so i had the installation dvd in but there is no target destination to choose from. I assume i must format the drive before attempting to install osx.

How do i do this? What are the steps?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hahahahaha!! I don't want to be mean but..... epic fail!

Congratulations on getting your machine working again, I know how terrifying those moments can be where it doesn't turn on.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
Hahahahaha!! I don't want to be mean but..... epic fail!

Congratulations on getting your machine working again, I know how terrifying those moments can be where it doesn't turn on.
Click to expand...

Yep it rarely gets more Epic than that! :) I feel ashamed and relieved at the same time. But now its finally installing.

I partitioned 49 GB for the OS and other software, and the rest is for media. I assume thats the way to go?
 
lamerica80 said:
Yep it rarely gets more Epic than that! :) I feel ashamed and relieved at the same time. But now its finally installing.

I partitioned 49 GB for the OS and other software, and the rest is for media. I assume thats the way to go?
Click to expand...

Each to your own partitioning wise. I believe things can be faster if you give the first part of a disk its own partition for the OS and software like you've done. Have fun with your new hard drive!! :)
 
Spanky, ye who seem to know everything (others welcome to reply aswell), how do i move my users folder to the large partition?
 
lamerica80 said:
Spanky, ye who seem to know everything (others welcome to reply aswell), how do i move my users folder to the large partition?
Click to expand...

Hahaha!! Thanks, if only I got paid for this stuff!!

Here's a guide by the mighty Chris Pirillo that takes you through the process.

I have to admit, I'm quite tempted to repartition my main drive in a similar manner to yours so as to have all the applications at the start (and thus fastest part) of the disk. I think I'll wait until Snow Leopard comes out to give it a try though, I'll likely be reinstalling then anyway. It'd also prepare me well for such a time as when SSDs become what I would consider affordable.
 
rvmeush said:
lamerica80, could you tell us what hard disk you used to replace the old one, and if you see any performance improvements?
Click to expand...

I replaced the stock hitatchi 5400 120gb drive. I really cant tell if its faster since i didnt really test the original drive. Im converting HD video clips and its fast enough. I like the fact that i can watch a 720p movie at the same time with no lagging or anything. This computer is simply awsome.

Question: How do i check temperature,cpu usage and fan speed on the mini?
 
One program I use to monitor temperature is Hardware Monitor - you can get it and other programs from versiontracker.com.

What make/model hard drive is in the Mini now? I guess you're saying that you don't notice any speedup in boot time, application startup, etc. Is that correct?
 
What im saying is basicly that i dont have anything to compare with as i barely plugged in my mini before replacing the drive, but it seems fast enough. It runs cool and i have no issues.
 
lamerica80 said:
What im saying is basicly that i dont have anything to compare with as i barely plugged in my mini before replacing the drive, but it seems fast enough. It runs cool and i have no issues.
Click to expand...

Exactly, I did the same. Booted the machine up once to check that it worked and then opened her up and put in the new RAM and new drive. I didn't even set up a username or anything.

Here are my temps:

Picture 2.png

That's with the 7200rpm drive that came out of my MacBook Pro and 4GB of RAM. If they seem high to you, don't know if they are or not, it'll likely be because my mini is hidden away inside a cupboard and has been on in there for several weeks now since it was last restarted.
 
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