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2012 Mac Mini Upgrade Prep?

B

bleumax

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2009
27
1
I recently ordered a refurb 2012 mac-mini i7 and would like to upgrade the RAM and install a SSD. I'm not entirely certain that I know what to order in advance of delivery to make the changes ASAP. The main issue is that some late 2012 mini's apparently have the hard drive in the upper slot.

Do I need to order anything other than the following to be ready to go on day one?

16 gb Crucial RAM
Crucial MX100 SSD
OWC Data Doubler DIY Installation Kit


Thanks in advance.
 
Your list looks good. But I would hold off on the data doubler until you find out where the HDD is:

Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA

If I remember correctly you 'might' need to get a different SATA cable if the original drive is in the upper bay. Somebody will correct me if that is incorrect.
 
Darby67 said:
Your list looks good. But I would hold off on the data doubler until you find out where the HDD is:

Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA

If I remember correctly you 'might' need to get a different SATA cable if the original drive is in the upper bay. Somebody will correct me if that is incorrect.
Click to expand...

So, it sounds like I'll just need to be patient and wait for its arrival.

Thanks everyone.
 
And having just replaced the existing drive with an SSD and upgrading the ram on my new 2012 mini three days ago that iFixit file was EXTREMELY helpful they only had one thing missing. They showed that you just lifted the hard drive up and out, but there are two screws that hold it in on the side and I had to remove the entire logic board to access it. I had to look at some of the other tear downs to see how to properly disconnect the power supply etc from the logic board. And if you're going to add the second hard drive make sure the boot drive is in the number 1 SATA connector. When I get my little fit from iFix it so I can add back the HDD that came with it, I have to switch the SATA cable positions on the logic board.
 
JohnRN, the cables are location-specific. The cable for the "upper" location will only plug into a certain plug on the board. It won't be as simple as just swapping the connection.

For what it's worth, my SSD is in my "upper" location and is my boot drive. My original HDD is still installed and has an OS on it still and I have no issues with reboots. Where did you hear that the boot drive MUST be on the #1 port?
 
bleumax said:
I recently ordered a refurb 2012 mac-mini i7 and would like to upgrade the RAM and install a SSD. I'm not entirely certain that I know what to order in advance of delivery to make the changes ASAP. The main issue is that some late 2012 mini's apparently have the hard drive in the upper slot.

Do I need to order anything other than the following to be ready to go on day one?

16 gb Crucial RAM
Crucial MX100 SSD
OWC Data Doubler DIY Installation Kit


Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I just ordered a 2012 i7. I'll order the basic OWC data doubler when I discover which bay the HDD is in.
 
Darby67 said:
Your list looks good. But I would hold off on the data doubler until you find out where the HDD is:

Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA

If I remember correctly you 'might' need to get a different SATA cable if the original drive is in the upper bay. Somebody will correct me if that is incorrect.
Click to expand...
How can I derive from Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA which bay is being used
 
grandM said:
How can I derive from Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA which bay is being used
Click to expand...

If you open it, click on the "Series Chipset" (mine specifically says Intel 7 Series Chipset) on the right column and look down the list it will have "Bay Name" tucked between "TRIM Support" and "Partition Map Type". If you click on the actual name of the drive, it's tucked between "Medium Type" and "Partition Map Type".

I think they changed the name in Yosemite to "SATA/SATA Express"
 
Last edited:
Darby67 said:
If you open it, click on the "Series Chipset" (mine specifically says Intel 7 Series Chipset) on the right column and look down the list it will have "Bay Name" tucked between "TRIM Support" and "Partition Map Type". If you click on the actual name of the drive, it's tucked between "Medium Type" and "Partition Map Type".

I think they changed the name in Yosemite to "SATA/SATA Express"
Click to expand...
between rotational and gpt [gui partition table] I see upper. Is this the easy or tough bay
 
The upper bay is the last thing to remove, closest to the top of the mini when standing on its foot. Personally never found it any more challenging than the lower bay, just more time consuming. The first time I did it though, the power supply was a little tricky to pull out but for some reason something unknown in my technique improved and it seemed to come out easier.
 
SSD advice

Hi there,

I'm going to install an SSD as the second hard drive into my Mac Mini Late 2012. It currently has the default 500GB HDD installed as "Lower". I've ordered a tools kit and the appropriate cable so now I need to choose which SSD to buy.

Do you people think Crucial MX100 CT512MX100SSD1 (the 500GB model) would be a good choice? For some reason, it's significantly cheaper than other 500GB brands.

Generally, are all 2.5" SSDs compatible with the Mini? I probably would be good with a 250GB as well; the main goal is to move the OS and applications onto the SSD. So any recommendations would be good to hear!
 
grandM said:
How can I derive from Apple Menu -> "About This Mac" -> System Report -> SATA which bay is being used
Click to expand...

The answer is to open disk utility. Click on your Macintosh HDD an in the lower left portion of the Disk Utility it will say Lower or Upper for the location
 
Last edited:
Absolutely!!! My arrived today. I just installed and it works perfect...

Install the new SSD in the lower bay where your original drive was, and install the original 5400 RPM drive in the upper bay using the new cable that comes with the ifix it kit.

Best part if you order from Amazon and you have Prime it will be to you in two days. I ordered Tues evening and got it today
 
dhmoore74 said:
Absolutely!!! My arrived today. I just installed and it works perfect...

Install the new SSD in the lower bay where your original drive was, and install the original 5400 RPM drive in the upper bay using the new cable that comes with the ifix it kit.

Best part if you order from Amazon and you have Prime it will be to you in two days. I ordered Tues evening and got it today
Click to expand...

Thanks. I do have Prime, but I paid $3.99 extra to receive it by Saturday. I prefer to swap it out during the weekend.
 
its an easy job... maybe 45 mins if u take your time and go slow. The website has a great step by step.

I installed as a 2nd drive and moved my home folder... I was not keen on the fusion setup as I have read many issues with it
 
dhmoore74 said:
its an easy job... maybe 45 mins if u take your time and go slow. The website has a great step by step.



I installed as a 2nd drive and moved my home folder... I was not keen on the fusion setup as I have read many issues with it
Click to expand...


Yeah, I just installed an MX100 last night. Bought a $8 Mac mini toolkit from Amazon, and watched the owc install video. Took around 20 min or so to do. Toolkit is nice to have for sure.
 
yeah... It didn't actually take me 45 mins at all... I got a phone call in the middle of it. If you are good with building computers this is an easy install.
 
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