Resolved Possible to change HD in mini 2011 for a 1 TB drive?

[Akarin]

Hi all,

I've recently bought a Mac mini 2011, i5, 2.5 GHz, 500 GB HD. Now, I notice the drive is too small for my purpose and it is a royal pain to work with several external drives plugged-in.

Is it possible to change the vanilla hard drive for a 1 TB (or larger one) in my mini ? If yes, what brand / specs should I go for and where is a good tutorial to do it without breaking my mini (youtube, whatever...). I'm not a hardware guy, just a programmer so some help would really be appreciated.

Thanks !

 

[warvanov]

I haven't used this drive myself, but this is what I'm considering putting into a new MacBook Pro:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD10JPVT/

They also have an option to bundle with an external enclosure for your old drive:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/YWD10JPVT/

This site has very clear guides for replacing hard drives, upgrading RAM, etc:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-Mac-Mini-Mid-2011-Hard-Drive-Replacement/6422/1

 

[Akarin]

I haven't used this drive myself, but this is what I'm considering putting into a new MacBook Pro:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD10JPVT/

They also have an option to bundle with an external enclosure for your old drive:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/YWD10JPVT/

This site has very clear guides for replacing hard drives, upgrading RAM, etc:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-Mac-Mini-Mid-2011-Hard-Drive-Replacement/6422/1

Thanks. So from what I understand from your link, any 2.5" SATA drive will fit into my mini ? Or are there other specs I should be aware of ? What about a 7'200rpm drive ? The external case for the old drive is a nice touch, I wouldn't have thought of it.

 

[warvanov]

I think you may be restricted to drives that are 9.5mm thick, which rules out a lot of 12mm drives. Be especially careful as a lot of the 1TB drive options are thicker than your Mac mini would allow.

Although I may be wrong and the newer Mac mini may allow 12mm drives. Somebody who owns one may be able to verify that one way or the other.

 

[LeandrodaFL]

Friend, your MacMini is insane! Congratulations. Havin said that, yes, you can upgrade the hard drive. But the 2011 model allows you to simply add a second drive, no need to replace the old one (with that you will need to reintall the OS, the apps, etc....much headache)

Simply get any 2.5 drive and install it to the second sata port. You also need to get a "kit" wich will also include the specific cable and conectors

http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005

I would sugest getting a 1TB drive, since you gonna have the trouble of opening your computer already.

 

[philipma1957]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...es+-+Notebooks+/+Laptops-_-SAMSUNG-_-22152291


this one works

 

[Akarin]

Friend, your MacMini is insane! Congratulations. Havin said that, yes, you can upgrade the hard drive. But the 2011 model allows you to simply add a second drive, no need to replace the old one (with that you will need to reintall the OS, the apps, etc....much headache)

Simply get any 2.5 drive and install it to the second sata port. You also need to get a "kit" wich will also include the specific cable and conectors

http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005

I would sugest getting a 1TB drive, since you gonna have the trouble of opening your computer already.

Well... I then got the option of having two drives in my mini. I therefore ordered the kit: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005

...and the drive: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/1...t&utm_term=if107-106&utm_content=product_link

I think that once I receive everything, I'll shoot a tutorial video as to how to install it.

Thank you for the answers!

 

[deafgoose]

I think that once I receive everything, I'll shoot a tutorial video as to how to install it.

Already been done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaRS6w5l1o

 

[Akarin]

Already been done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaRS6w5l1o

Just watched it, yep... Nice one. Well, less work for me

 

[57004]

Well... I then got the option of having two drives in my mini. I therefore ordered the kit: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005

How did you manage to order that kit? It's always out of stock and even though I signed up for a notification weeks ago, I never got word that it was back in stock again.

Edit: I also see they just changed the full screwdriver kit that came with it, to a bit driver with only 2 torx bits, while keeping the same price

 

[Akarin]

How did you manage to order that kit? It's always out of stock and even though I signed up for a notification weeks ago, I never got word that it was back in stock again.

Edit: I also see they just changed the full screwdriver kit that came with it, to a bit driver with only 2 torx bits, while keeping the same price

Check now: 3 kits available.

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and in two mins (time to take a screenshot, publish it on my ftp and link it here)... ...only 2 left :

...at the speed they leave, I don't think you'll ever get a mail if you are not checking the page by yourself from time to time, it seems.