For those who've installed a 2nd Hard Drive

[kdoug]

Is it absolutely necessary to remove the circuit board? I've watched a couple of videos where the main drive was removed and installed in the empty bay without removing the circuit board. I know it would lay in there loose but it doesn't seem like it would move around. I have the tools and could just order the SATA cable from Amazon. It seems like the circuit board is the biggest PITA to remove. Please chime in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymGnXdwvabg&feature=related

 

[RG129]

I would also like to know if anybody has tried this method. This seems significantly easier and cheaper. Even if the hard drive is a little loose, my mini won't be transported much, and if the SSD is mounted on the bottom and is slightly loose, it should still be decently protected, right?

 

[creativet]

Thanks for the link to the video. It made me fairly anxious LOL I kept waiting to hear something go "snap". I've been debating putting an SSD in myself, but I've decided not to for now simply because the only real benefit for myself would be a faster start up and that's about it. No real reason to, but I am curious also if anyone else has added their SSD/HDD this way?

 

[That-Guy]

I took the whole thing apart and made sure it was secured correctly. I dont like the thought of things rattling around inside the Mini.

All I did was have this video playing on the girlfriends laptop while I was doing it and paused the video so I could complete each step.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSA65MjfRG8

Its actually easy enough to do, just take your time and don't rush it. I'm not sure why people are having problems with connectors coming away from the board, my connectors seemed solid enough.

This is just my opinion, hope it helps