Mac Mini MB138LL no OS installed

[ugmold]

Hi folks,
I just bought an older Mac Mini Mac Mini MB138LL A1176 Core 2 Duo (T5600) 1.83GHz 1GB RAM 80GB Desktop. It has been wiped clean with no OS on it. It hasn't arrived yet and I would like to find out how to install the OS. (I don't have the disks) This model seems to be able to be upgraded to OS X Lion.
Thanks, ugmold

 

[keysofanxiety]

Hi folks,
I just bought an older Mac Mini Mac Mini MB138LL A1176 Core 2 Duo (T5600) 1.83GHz 1GB RAM 80GB Desktop. It has been wiped clean with no OS on it. It hasn't arrived yet and I would like to find out how to install the OS. (I don't have the disks) This model seems to be able to be upgraded to OS X Lion.
Thanks, ugmold

1) Avoid OS X 10.7 Lion like the plague. It's a terrible OS, and will run even more terribly on the hardware you have.

2) Buy an SSD and fit that instead of the HDD. This will partly compensate for the lack of RAM, and generally improve the performance of the system in every way.

3) You can also upgrade the RAM, which I would recommend if budget allows after the SSD. Maximum supported on your Mac Mini is 4GB with 2x2GB modules (DDR2 SODIMM 667MHz). I thought the RAM may be expensive as it's EOL, but having a look online, the prices have plummeted.

4) Buy a Snow Leopard DVD or acquire one elsewhere, and install that on the system.

 

[jpietrzak8]

If the Mini doesn't come with the original OS X DVDs, you'll need to purchase the OS. You won't be able to run 10.7 (Lion) unless you upgrade the machine to have at least 2 GB of RAM, but 10.6 (Snow Leopard) will work, and is still available (as keysofanxiety posted before I could respond; here's the link to the US web shop, if you prefer).

 

[ugmold]

If the Mini doesn't come with the original OS X DVDs, you'll need to purchase the OS. You won't be able to run 10.7 (Lion) unless you upgrade the machine to have at least 2 GB of RAM, but 10.6 (Snow Leopard) will work, and is still available (as keysofanxiety posted before I could respond; here's the link to the US web shop, if you prefer).

Is this the same OS as my iMac runs? Thanks.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Is this the same OS as my iMac runs?

Well, both machines do run OS X. You can check what version of the OS your iMac is running by going to the Apple menu at the top left of your screen and selecting "About This Mac".

 

[ugmold]

Well, both machines do run OS X. You can check what version of the OS your iMac is running by going to the Apple menu at the top left of your screen and selecting "About This Mac".

The seller said "no IOS installed", so I thought perhaps it was like the iPad/iphone OS or something. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[jpietrzak8]

The seller said "no IOS installed", so I thought perhaps it was like the iPad/iphone OS or something.

Ah! Yeah, the Mini is really small, but it is a full-blown desktop computer.

 

[ugmold]

I am mostly going to use it for a music server in the living room, I had a thought of using it for my website hosting but so far it seems way to complicated. Thanks for the advice, I'm getting Snow Leopard for the install.