mac mini (mid2007) update questions

[ssi]

Hi guys! Thanks for reading this post

I got a mac mini from my girlfriend which has c2d 1.83ghz, 1gb ram and 80gb hdd. Well basically I have a late 2006 iMac 20" with c2d 2.16ghz, 3gb ram and 250gb hdd but the logic board is dead because of a fried ATI graphic chip. Therefore I am thinking to take the cpu, ram and hdd from the iMac and move them to the mac mini. I am just wondering if this will work and if such hybrid mac mini will be able to run osx lion 10.7.3 without the need to alter anything?

Many thanks again!

Steve

 

[808?]

Your iMac has a 3.5" hdd, while the mini only takes a 2.5" hdd.

 

[fhall1]

Also - make sure your Mini is in fact a C2D and not a CD.....Lion won't run on the CD (without some extra work).

 

[The-Pro]

That should work yes.
The mac minis up to late 2009 have a socketed CPU and you can exchange it. People have put the T7400 (the one in your iMac) into the mini before so it will work. Also you have a Core 2 Duo for sure (I have the same mini)
Your mini should also support 3GB RAM and is the same type and speed so that will work tooo.
HDD wont work because its a 3.5" whilst the mini has a 2.5". Id recommend you purchase a 7200rpm or a hybrid drive (seagate momentus XT) as a replacement because that 80GB one is pretty slow.

 

[ssi]

Thanks everyone for your reply! At least now I know where I am heading to.

But just one last question, what kind of hdd do I need to get? I know it got to be a 2.5" but what about SATA and other specs? Or just any 2.5" hdd would do?

 

[The-Pro]

You just need a 2.5" SATA HDD. I'd recommend you get a SATA 2.5" 7200rpm one or a Hybrid drive like the 2.5" Seagate Momentus XT

 

[ssi]

You just need a 2.5" SATA HDD. I'd recommend you get a SATA 2.5" 7200rpm one or a Hybrid drive like the 2.5" Seagate Momentus XT

Thanks The-Pro! I might take the hard-disk out from my macbook pro 13" early 2011 so I can get a ssd for my mbp! hope it works this way!

 

[fhall1]

That should work yes.
The mac minis up to late 2009 have a socketed CPU and you can exchange it. People have put the T7400 (the one in your iMac) into the mini before so it will work. Also you have a Core 2 Duo for sure (I have the same mini)
Your mini should also support 3GB RAM and is the same type and speed so that will work tooo.
HDD wont work because its a 3.5" whilst the mini has a 2.5". Id recommend you purchase a 7200rpm or a hybrid drive (seagate momentus XT) as a replacement because that 80GB one is pretty slow.

Without checking how can you be positive he has a Core 2 Duo (for sure)? I have a mid-2007 Mini also with a 1.83GHz CORE DUO (note: no "2") so by your reasoning I can be just as positive he doesn't have a C2D.

 

[philipma1957]

Without checking how can you be positive he has a Core 2 Duo (for sure)? I have a mid-2007 Mini also with a 1.83GHz CORE DUO (note: no "2") so by your reasoning I can be just as positive he doesn't have a C2D.

IT DOES NOT MATTER cd or c2d because there is a firmware hack to turn the cd into a c2d. the mobo on the cd is the same as the mobo on the c2d. I will look for the link on how to do a firmware hack on the cd 1.83 and make it a c2d some have turned a 1.83 cd into a 2.33 c2d with 3 gb ram running lion which is amazing. the link is on macmini123.

 

[The-Pro]

Two sources indicating Core 2 Duo in Mid 2007. Mactracker and Wikipedia

 

[jdreier]

I've successfully turned my 1.66 Core Duo into a 2.33 c2d, with 3gb of memory.
It works pretty great considering the computer was originally released in 2006.

But yah, if its a CD processor, you're gonna have to do a little extra work to get Lion to properly run. But then again you're replacing the processor, so you're already ready for a little work.

If you have the parts on hand i'd suggest reading up on the upgrade and doing it. It gave my mini tons of new life.

IT DOES NOT MATTER there is a firmware hack to turn the cd into a c2d. the mobo on the cd is the same as the mobo on the c2d. I will look for the link on how to do a firmware hack on the cd 1.83 and make it a c2d some have turned a 1.83 cd into a 2.33 c2d with 3 gb ram running lion which is amazing. the link is on macmini123.

 

[paulrbeers]

If the Mac Mini truly is a 2007, then it has a Core2Duo processor already in it and thus is already able to Run Lion without any hacks. It is also able to put 4GB (with only 3 addressable) without any hacks. The upgrade from 1.83 to 2.13ghz probably won't be all that noticable in day to day operations, but if you have the time and want to do it there is no reason not to (I've done a processor swap on the A1173's multiple times, but it was always from a Core Solo or Core Duo to a Core2duo).

Also, just to be clear, the Early 2009 Mac Mini's also had the CPU soldered to the motherboard (anything with an Nvidia 9400 and later had soldered CPU's). It was mentioned earlier in this thread that it was late 2009 which is inaccurate.

 

[emoore]

I thought you had to hack Lion even if it was a Core 2 Duo because of the GMA950 graphics card?

 

[ssi]

thanks guys so much info! btw this mac mini is c2d 1.83 for sure, i can confirm. but i wanna make sure if this mac mini can take a hdd, if, say its a SATA II?

regarding to the cpu, I don't need to install or do any hacks right? what worries me is I saw some case where people have to hack it when they did a cpu swap and updating to lion 10.7.2.

cheers

 

[paulrbeers]

I thought you had to hack Lion even if it was a Core 2 Duo because of the GMA950 graphics card?

Nope. For Mountain Lion yes, but for Lion you do not. Lion is a "64-bit" OS therefore Apple has decreed that it must be run on Macs with 64-bit processors (i.e. Core2duo's +). Since the original Intel Mac Mini's came with 32-bit only processors (core solo and core duo), they were excluded. There is some signaling on the motherboards that (even if you swap cpu's) still reports back that it is a 32-bit processor based motherboard. That's why you have to remove the plist file from Lion in order to run it on an upgraded to a Core2duo Mac Mini.

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thanks guys so much info! btw this mac mini is c2d 1.83 for sure, i can confirm. but i wanna make sure if this mac mini can take a hdd, if, say its a SATA II?

regarding to the cpu, I don't need to install or do any hacks right? what worries me is I saw some case where people have to hack it when they did a cpu swap and updating to lion 10.7.2.

cheers

Even on the original Core Duo's, you didn't have to hack the motherboard to upgrade from a Core Duo to a Core2duo. However, you did have to hack the motherboard in order to increase the max amount of RAM from 2 to 4GB (~3.1 usable). Trust me, I've done all of this many times (just in the last couple of months since I was told about the 2-4GB hack on the 1,1 Mac Mini's). This hack is not necessary on the 2,1 (i.e. core2duo) mac mini's.

As for an SATA II hard drive on SATA 1 connector, no problems. I'm even running an SATA III SSD in one of my upgraded 2006 Mac Mini's (only because it was an "extra" SSD I had laying around).

 

[emoore]

Nope. For Mountain Lion yes, but for Lion you do not. Lion is a "64-bit" OS therefore Apple has decreed that it must be run on Macs with 64-bit processors (i.e. Core2duo's +). Since the original Intel Mac Mini's came with 32-bit only processors (core solo and core duo), they were excluded. There is some signaling on the motherboards that (even if you swap cpu's) still reports back that it is a 32-bit processor based motherboard. That's why you have to remove the plist file from Lion in order to run it on an upgraded to a Core2duo Mac Mini..

Oh right I was thinking Mountain Lion for some reason. Sorry about that. I have Lion running on my 2007 Macbook and it runs alright. Battery life has gone to crap though.

 

[fhall1]

If the Mac Mini truly is a 2007, then it has a Core2Duo processor already in it and thus is already able to Run Lion without any hacks.

Once again - not true......my 2007 Mini is a CORE DUO 1.83 GHz

 

[paulrbeers]

Once again - not true......my 2007 Mini is a CORE DUO 1.83 GHz

No. Your late 2006 is a Core Duo. You may have bought it in 2007, but as of August 6, 2007 (mid-2007) all were converted to Core 2 Duo's. Seriously.... You have an MA608LL/A which ran from September 2006 until August 2007 if you have a 1.83ghz Core Duo. As of August 6, 2007, they released an updated version MB138LL/A which has a 1.83ghz Core2duo.

Seriously direct from apple:

Late-2006 http://support.apple.com/kb/SP29

Mid-2007 http://support.apple.com/kb/SP7


Can we please put this to bed now that we have proven what you have? My statement that 2007 Mac Mini's holds true as the above model (Mid-2007) is the "only" 2007 Mac Mini models.