I have a 2012 Mac Mini with 4G of RAM running Yosemite. My everyday tasks are limited to (admittedly heavy) web browsing via Chrome, word processing (I use LibreOffice) and Dropbox sync, so it's a pretty easy workload. Lately I've been getting more and more typing lags, long application load times, Finder snags and spinning beach balls. since I haven't changed how I use this machine, I'm wondering whether it's just tarting to fail on me. I did notice a boost in responsiveness after shutting it all the way down and then rebooting it, but I'm not convinced that the problem has truly been resolved....
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Is my Mac Mini pooping out?
- Thread starter GanChan
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This is mine, it has a SSD 128 GB (+500 GB spinning hard disk coexisting inside the machine) and 16 GB of RAM. It doesn't do anything of what you said.
Also, consider using a "text" editor instead of a "word" processor and you'll be more productive and your files will work everywhere becasue of the .txt format. I can edit my text on my Android phone in iA Writer and go back to Atom.app on the Mac (or Text Edit.app).
Also, consider using a "text" editor instead of a "word" processor and you'll be more productive and your files will work everywhere becasue of the .txt format. I can edit my text on my Android phone in iA Writer and go back to Atom.app on the Mac (or Text Edit.app).
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I have a 2012 Mac mini and experienced similar issues as you.
First, I would definitely take a look at any software related issues, as discussed by others. Hard drive may be full or some other software related issue may be running rampant.
Here was my situation...
When you experience the slowdowns, place your hand on top of the Mac mini chassis. Is it very warm? During normal usage, it should still be relatively cool to the touch. If the unit is running warm, your fan may have silently died. This happened to me. Normally, I am told the fan should sound strange before tanking, but in my case, it just stopped spinning. As a result, the Mac mini starts to thermal throttle when it gets too hot. Luckily, I was able to find a replacement fan for < $12 USD (with tools) on Amazon.
Additionally, if the thermal paste on a 2012 Mac mini hasn't been changed since 2012 or so, it will have the consistency of floral foam at this point and is likely to be ineffective at transferring heat. If you're willing to service the device, I'd recommend a new application of thermal paste.
Finally, heavy Chrome usage should be compensated with 8 or 16GB of RAM, which is fairly inexpensive these days relative to the latest modules.
First, I would definitely take a look at any software related issues, as discussed by others. Hard drive may be full or some other software related issue may be running rampant.
Here was my situation...
When you experience the slowdowns, place your hand on top of the Mac mini chassis. Is it very warm? During normal usage, it should still be relatively cool to the touch. If the unit is running warm, your fan may have silently died. This happened to me. Normally, I am told the fan should sound strange before tanking, but in my case, it just stopped spinning. As a result, the Mac mini starts to thermal throttle when it gets too hot. Luckily, I was able to find a replacement fan for < $12 USD (with tools) on Amazon.
Additionally, if the thermal paste on a 2012 Mac mini hasn't been changed since 2012 or so, it will have the consistency of floral foam at this point and is likely to be ineffective at transferring heat. If you're willing to service the device, I'd recommend a new application of thermal paste.
Finally, heavy Chrome usage should be compensated with 8 or 16GB of RAM, which is fairly inexpensive these days relative to the latest modules.
OP:
Important question:
What kind of DRIVE is inside the 2012 Mini...?
If you're still using the 5400rpm platter-based hard drive, get an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, and boot and run from that instead.
An AMAZING jump in performance, for little cost and effort.
Also, 4gb of RAM IS NOT ENOUGH any more.
Get ONE 8gb DIMM. One is all you need.
Just pop off the back cover and swap out the top 2gb DIMM for the 8gb DIMM.
Again, things will run better with 10gb of installed RAM.
Important question:
What kind of DRIVE is inside the 2012 Mini...?
If you're still using the 5400rpm platter-based hard drive, get an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, and boot and run from that instead.
An AMAZING jump in performance, for little cost and effort.
Also, 4gb of RAM IS NOT ENOUGH any more.
Get ONE 8gb DIMM. One is all you need.
Just pop off the back cover and swap out the top 2gb DIMM for the 8gb DIMM.
Again, things will run better with 10gb of installed RAM.