Software and hardware frustrations adding up fast, HELP

[bungiefan89]

I was in the Apple ecosystem pretty much my whole life up until 2018 when my beloved 2011 iMac 27" died due to a failed GPU. Since then, I've been all in PC (Windows 10) for all my computing needs but I recently happened upon a Mac Mini 2014 (it was headed for the dumpster of all places, and I saved it!) that I've uploaded all my Time Machine data from the iMac to so I can finally come home to the hardware and software I'm used to.

It's been a terrible experience so far!

On the software side, I keep having these problems:

1. iCloud and Apple ID will not leave me alone. I'm relentlessly bombarded by demands to sign up to the latest terms and conditions, (which seem to update every time I go through an OS upgrade) verify my account, set up 2-factor identification, etc. I know it's optional, but signing up for these services is the only way to dismiss these relentless notifications in the corner of my screen that keep insisting I sign up. This feels so much more invasive and tedious than I remember .. I don't use either of these services or want them!
2. Everything is slow. Everything. I shouldn't have to wait 3-4 seconds after pushing the "volume up" button or right-clicking on the desktop for something to happen. I realize that I'm going from an SSD-powered Windows 10 experience to the 5400 RPM HDD in this Mac Mini, but it feels like I've got a major performance bottleneck somewhere.
3. All my Adobe programs (CS 5.5) don't function, of course that's with the exception of the aggravating/useless Creative Cloud service that sits in my top bar, taunting me with its worthless, resource-hogging existence. Getting access to my old Adobe programs was the main reason I went through a Time Machine restoration in the first place ... how in the world do I get access to these programs I paid hundreds for? Same for my older versions of Final Cut Pro X.

On the hardware side:

1. This Mac Mini's 4GB of RAM is soldered in. This might be the source of my #2 software issue above, but ... is there ANY way around this? Could I speed up the machine by upgrading to a 7200 HDD or an SSD in the future? Or is this computer eternally hamstrung by the RAM?
2. Are the Thunderbolt ports in back incapable of outputting a 2560x1440 resolution? Or is that a bottleneck of the DVI/adapter combination I had set up? Yes, I was using a dual link cable and the screen works fine with HDMI (WHY don't more Macs have HDMI!?) but more options is always preferable.

Might add more to this later and sorry if it all sounds like a rant but ... damn, this is has been a terrible re-introduction to Apple's ecosystem and I want some sort of help easing this process if at all possible.

 

[konqerror]

damn, this is has been a terrible re-introduction to Apple's ecosystem and I want some sort of help easing this process if at all possible.

You got the absolute lowest-end model Apple made, 5 years old, dug out from the trash. It was compromised and barely usable when it was new. Can't magically turn it into a high end model, especially one that's appropriate for FCPX. Put it back into the dumpster and buy a newer one.

This is nothing about Apple and all about dumpster diving. If you want awful Windows experience, you should try some of the Acer laptops that I found in the trash.

 

[mmomega]

Format it and eBay or Craigslist it for a couple hundred if you don't want to invest anything in to it.
People pay for Macs especially holiday season.

The absolute worst thing about any mac with a platter drive, is the platter drive. An SSD makes it seem more powerful than it is, I have almost 2 dozen of them (2014's) and out of the box brand new before even powering them on I swapped in a $50 SSD.

 

[bungiefan89]

You got the absolute lowest-end model Apple made, 5 years old, dug out from the trash. It was compromised and barely usable when it was new. Can't magically turn it into a high end model, especially one that's appropriate for FCPX. Put it back into the dumpster and buy a newer one.

Barnacles! I knew this machine was a stinker, but I didn't realize it was the runt of its lineup.

And to be fair, it was never actually in the garbage, but co-workers were about to send it there, but I intervened and spruced it up thinking I was turning trash into treasure. Guess my instincts were wrong.

Format it and eBay or Craigslist it for a couple hundred if you don't want to invest anything in to it.
People pay for Macs especially holiday season.

The absolute worst thing about any mac with a platter drive, is the platter drive. An SSD makes it seem more powerful than it is, I have almost 2 dozen of them (2014's) and out of the box brand new before even powering them on I swapped in a $50 SSD.

You know, that sounds more and more like a good idea. Especially for the 2006 and 2009 Mac Minis that I found from the same place. Probably can't get much for them, but since I got it all for free I've got little to lose.

Still, realizing this 2014 model is such a dud has left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe my instincts were right about Apple sliding downhill in the post-Jobs era.

 

[Fishrrman]

The Mini you have was crippled from the moment is was taken out of the box.
You're never going to get much out of it.
An external USB3 SSD would help, but again, the low RAM (which cannot be upgraded) will always hold it back.

If you want a decent Mac, BUY a decent Mac.
The 2018 Minis, properly-equipped, are very nice Macs.
Using a 2018 i7 Mini here, with 16gb of RAM and a 512gb SSD.
Runs great.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I was in the Apple ecosystem pretty much my whole life up until 2018 when my beloved 2011 iMac 27" died due to a failed GPU. Since then, I've been all in PC (Windows 10) for all my computing needs but I recently happened upon a Mac Mini 2014 (it was headed for the dumpster of all places, and I saved it!) that I've uploaded all my Time Machine data from the iMac to so I can finally come home to the hardware and software I'm used to.

It's been a terrible experience so far!

On the software side, I keep having these problems:

1. iCloud and Apple ID will not leave me alone. I'm relentlessly bombarded by demands to sign up to the latest terms and conditions, (which seem to update every time I go through an OS upgrade) verify my account, set up 2-factor identification, etc. I know it's optional, but signing up for these services is the only way to dismiss these relentless notifications in the corner of my screen that keep insisting I sign up. This feels so much more invasive and tedious than I remember .. I don't use either of these services or want them!
2. Everything is slow. Everything. I shouldn't have to wait 3-4 seconds after pushing the "volume up" button or right-clicking on the desktop for something to happen. I realize that I'm going from an SSD-powered Windows 10 experience to the 5400 RPM HDD in this Mac Mini, but it feels like I've got a major performance bottleneck somewhere.
3. All my Adobe programs (CS 5.5) don't function, of course that's with the exception of the aggravating/useless Creative Cloud service that sits in my top bar, taunting me with its worthless, resource-hogging existence. Getting access to my old Adobe programs was the main reason I went through a Time Machine restoration in the first place ... how in the world do I get access to these programs I paid hundreds for? Same for my older versions of Final Cut Pro X.

On the hardware side:

1. This Mac Mini's 4GB of RAM is soldered in. This might be the source of my #2 software issue above, but ... is there ANY way around this? Could I speed up the machine by upgrading to a 7200 HDD or an SSD in the future? Or is this computer eternally hamstrung by the RAM?
2. Are the Thunderbolt ports in back incapable of outputting a 2560x1440 resolution? Or is that a bottleneck of the DVI/adapter combination I had set up? Yes, I was using a dual link cable and the screen works fine with HDMI (WHY don't more Macs have HDMI!?) but more options is always preferable.

Might add more to this later and sorry if it all sounds like a rant but ... damn, this is has been a terrible re-introduction to Apple's ecosystem and I want some sort of help easing this process if at all possible.

The Mac Mini 2014 is ham strung by 3 strings. 4Gb of ram is pretty inadequate for Photoshop and FCPX, but manageable if you run a fast SSD with DRAM buffer as a virtual memory pager. Secondly, it doesn't have a GPU; it only has an iGPU which is much slower than a full fledged GPU. Even the latest fastest Mac Mini 2018 only has an iGPU which is, again way slower, than my AMD RX 580 in my Mac Pro. Which is why people, doing Photoshop and FCPX added an eGPU (external GPU) with their Mac Mini. You can add an eGPU for your Mac Mini 2014 through a software hack, but this adds more money. This is the Mini's weakpoint; always was and always will be for graphics. Lastly, the Mini 2014 came with a slow 5400 RPM drive. I have a Windows 10 PC here with a 5400 RPM and it was slow as molasses. Upgraded to a Sandisk 1TB SSD high performance enterprise drive and it runs so fast now, it'll make your head spin.

What you got was Apple's lowest end Mac Mini with a slow RPM hard drive and limited memory and a gutless iGPU. It was designed to sell to people who are contend with a low end PC with the same memory and lack of GPU resources machines. The Apple iMacs, however, are much better specs and equipped. In fact, the latest iMacs are much better value compared to the Mini 2018 because, it comes with a capable GPU which the Mini 2018 is an optional costly addition. And to get HDMI and 4K or 5K multiple outputs with even the latest Mini 2018 at fast refresh speeds, you again need an external eGPU for that.

The Mini had always been designed as an entry point to the Mac ecosystem; a rather expensive entry point when you can now get a much capable Windows 10 8th gen Core i5 machine with lots of memory, fast SSD and a nice Nvidia capable graphics card for the same price as the Mac Mini Core i3 goes to show what Apple brand stands for now.