(PHOTOS BELOW) Hey all, recently I replaced a the Optical drive in a 2010 MacMini for a SSD. Now I have 2x SSDs in a MacMini, wich will give me potentially 2TB of storage in the machine.
I would like to share my experience with you guys, cause I've found no thread detailing this and also because this envolves handling 3 thermal sensors wich I discover a lot of users end up breaking them and making the fan go crazy. And guess what...I did it to... Moreover, iFix and probalby other companies will try to sell you a kit enclosure for the 2nd drive and this is absolutly not necessary atl all. Save your money. Here are the pictures:
Picture 1 shows the entire Mac, so you can be familiar with it.
Picture 2 shows the SSD in its place. Let me first say that you need no adpater to put a SSD there. I simply removed the optical drive, and slide the SSD in the available space. There are no screws at all holding in its place. But there is no need to. The barriers around the drive hold it from moving horizontally. The wall of the MacMini enclosure itself keeps the drive from going upward. And when the logical board is reinserted into place, it locks the drive downwards. Basically, the drive gets traped in the correct possition.
For the Sata connector, Im using OWC doubla data kit. It was meant for 2011/2012 models, but workds just fine with the 2010 model.
Now the thermal sensors. There are 3 thermal sensors you have to handle. 2 for the hard drive and 1 for the optical drive. These connectors are very fragile and break easilly. There are tons of threads here detailing this. And I broke 1 of them when removing. DOH! Lucly, I had previwolsly tested what would happen if each sensor wasnt available and Here is what I found out:
YOU ONLY NEED 2 OF THE CONNECTORS WORKING. Thats right. Its an absolute must to have the ODD sensor wokirng and 1 of the HDD sensor working. You dont need the other. Moreover, you can swap the cables, as each works in any of the 3 ports. To be more specific, you have to connect sensors in the 2 ports around the fan cable. And you can leave the other port empty. Pictures 3 and 4 show this. As you will see below, I have only 2 thermal sensors connected and the fan is running at low seed making no noise at all. 100% SILENT
To conclude, I would like to say I broke the ODD sensor while attempting to remove it. But then I took 1 of the HDD sensors and plugged into the ODD sensor port and it worked perfectly! Here is my guide to handle the sensors with care:
A) the HDD sensor opposite to the sata connector is easy to be removed. Simply remove the tape and the sensor will pop-out
B)The HDD sensor on the sata side is more glued to the connector. I had to first remove the tape, and then using my finger nail, cut the glue between the sensor and drive. I did this around the connect. Then DONT TRY PULLING the connector. You will breake it. Simply slide it to the side of the drive until it pops out. Again, do this using your fingernail to cut the glue.
3)for the ODD I sugest doing the same as B. I broke the connector trying o pull it. I sugest you first remove the tape, and then using your fingernail, cut the clue beneath the sensor and the plastic. (the sensor is glued to a trasnparent plastic covering the ODD). An even better idea, is to simply cut the plastic around the thermal sensor and remove it all together. This way you dont even get your hands dirty with glue.
I hope this helps 2010 Mac Owners. The ODD is a waste nowadays, specially cause the Mini can access the ODD on my macbook and on my Wndows PC. Photos attached..
I would like to share my experience with you guys, cause I've found no thread detailing this and also because this envolves handling 3 thermal sensors wich I discover a lot of users end up breaking them and making the fan go crazy. And guess what...I did it to... Moreover, iFix and probalby other companies will try to sell you a kit enclosure for the 2nd drive and this is absolutly not necessary atl all. Save your money. Here are the pictures:
Picture 1 shows the entire Mac, so you can be familiar with it.
Picture 2 shows the SSD in its place. Let me first say that you need no adpater to put a SSD there. I simply removed the optical drive, and slide the SSD in the available space. There are no screws at all holding in its place. But there is no need to. The barriers around the drive hold it from moving horizontally. The wall of the MacMini enclosure itself keeps the drive from going upward. And when the logical board is reinserted into place, it locks the drive downwards. Basically, the drive gets traped in the correct possition.
For the Sata connector, Im using OWC doubla data kit. It was meant for 2011/2012 models, but workds just fine with the 2010 model.
Now the thermal sensors. There are 3 thermal sensors you have to handle. 2 for the hard drive and 1 for the optical drive. These connectors are very fragile and break easilly. There are tons of threads here detailing this. And I broke 1 of them when removing. DOH! Lucly, I had previwolsly tested what would happen if each sensor wasnt available and Here is what I found out:
YOU ONLY NEED 2 OF THE CONNECTORS WORKING. Thats right. Its an absolute must to have the ODD sensor wokirng and 1 of the HDD sensor working. You dont need the other. Moreover, you can swap the cables, as each works in any of the 3 ports. To be more specific, you have to connect sensors in the 2 ports around the fan cable. And you can leave the other port empty. Pictures 3 and 4 show this. As you will see below, I have only 2 thermal sensors connected and the fan is running at low seed making no noise at all. 100% SILENT
To conclude, I would like to say I broke the ODD sensor while attempting to remove it. But then I took 1 of the HDD sensors and plugged into the ODD sensor port and it worked perfectly! Here is my guide to handle the sensors with care:
A) the HDD sensor opposite to the sata connector is easy to be removed. Simply remove the tape and the sensor will pop-out
B)The HDD sensor on the sata side is more glued to the connector. I had to first remove the tape, and then using my finger nail, cut the glue between the sensor and drive. I did this around the connect. Then DONT TRY PULLING the connector. You will breake it. Simply slide it to the side of the drive until it pops out. Again, do this using your fingernail to cut the glue.
3)for the ODD I sugest doing the same as B. I broke the connector trying o pull it. I sugest you first remove the tape, and then using your fingernail, cut the clue beneath the sensor and the plastic. (the sensor is glued to a trasnparent plastic covering the ODD). An even better idea, is to simply cut the plastic around the thermal sensor and remove it all together. This way you dont even get your hands dirty with glue.
I hope this helps 2010 Mac Owners. The ODD is a waste nowadays, specially cause the Mini can access the ODD on my macbook and on my Wndows PC. Photos attached..
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