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SSD Upgrade Complication...

G

gpspad

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 4, 2014
698
47
Installed the SSD drive today, everything worked out OK, but in the process of disconnection the infrared connector I broke the harness that attached the cable to the mother board.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but when everything was reinstalled I noticed the power light want on and then a quick test of my apple remote confirmed something was wrong.

I reopened the mac mini and the harness the connector plugs into was half off the board.

It seems like all this cable does is the power light and the infrared sensor. Anything else I loose w/o this connected?

Also it seems like an easy fix with a fine soldering iron tip, is it possible to by a new infrared connector?
 
We Are Like Wildebeests!

Whenever a forum user considers an upgrade our voices rise in a chorus to urge him or her forward. Their siren song promises great rewards to those who venture inside the case. Bold souls who complete SSD and HDD installations report their successes to the surging herd.

So this is what they meant by "be careful"! :( Now gpspad, days after the crocodile of misfortune has clamped onto your ankle, there is silence from the pack! Sadly, I can't stop to help either. Instinct compels me to migrate on to greener feeding grounds but I do have time to grunt out a couple of thread links:

ttp://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1322255/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1718484/

Please read both threads from start to finish. Perhaps something in one of them will help you to kick free of that reptilian monster. I like the USB dongle concept because it does not assume specialized soldering skills or equipment.

Good Luck!
 
[[ So this is what they meant by "be careful"! Now gpspad, days after the crocodile of misfortune has clamped onto your ankle, there is silence from the pack! ]]

You won't get that from me.

Again and again and again and again and again and again (had enough yet?), I've suggested to late-2012 Mini owners to connect, boot and run their SSD externally via USB3.

Doing so is quick, easy, cheap and painless. And the speeds obtained are nearly the equal that they would be after going through "Mini surgery", which is fraught with peril, as the OP above has discovered.

I opened up the Mini once to add an 8gb RAM board to the top slot (10gb total was plenty for my needs). No need to dig further -- the Mini has been running GREAT for two years now, booting and running from an SSD in a USB3/SATA docking station.

Unless something inside fails on me, I see no need to go messin' with its internals again, ever....
 
Come on - it's not that hard as long as you have the right tools. But of course it does help if you like taking these things apart and have some experience.

M.
 
Thanks for the links.

No real regrets; it iust bugs me that I broke the connector, but Im a tinkerer. While it bugs me that I broke that connector, it would also bug me that I didn't try to do it right i.e..... add the drive to the inside to the case.

Thanks to the links I have a new project to try.

I don't think the led light or the infrared is something I'd really use that much. I think if I did it again I wouldn't break it again, but maybe that is the trap ;-)
 
Experience Does More Than Help!

marclondon said:
Come on - it's not that hard as long as you have the right tools. But of course it does help if you like taking these things apart and have some experience.

M.
Click to expand...

It is true that "it's not that hard" but that is not the problem that they face.

I think that it is a shame when the hazards of these repairs are not part of the decision process. This may not have been the case with the OP but we see this pattern too often on these forums. I was intrigued by the fact that gspad's appeal for advice on this busy forum went days without receiving even one response. If the post had instead been titled, "SSD vs 7200 rpm HDD-Is The Samsung 850 Pro Worth It?", some of us would have tried to break the Internet responding.

This infrared/power LED problem is small potatoes compared to some of the outcomes we see on these forums. Runaway fans, busted RAM clips, and dead logic boards happen. Too often, these adventurous computer owners seem shocked by the cost and finality of these disasters. Their surprise reflects poorly on their advisors. It is fine to attempt a challenging repair as long as you understand the risks involved.

For most adults, driving is not that hard. Even with an economy car, driving fast is not especially difficult. The problem with the second choice is the risks associated with fast driving and the skills and circumstances that are required if you want to avoid disaster.
 
Fishrrman said:
[[ So this is what they meant by "be careful"! Now gpspad, days after the crocodile of misfortune has clamped onto your ankle, there is silence from the pack! ]]

You won't get that from me.

Again and again and again and again and again and again (had enough yet?), I've suggested to late-2012 Mini owners to connect, boot and run their SSD externally via USB3.

Doing so is quick, easy, cheap and painless. And the speeds obtained are nearly the equal that they would be after going through "Mini surgery", which is fraught with peril, as the OP above has discovered.

I opened up the Mini once to add an 8gb RAM board to the top slot (10gb total was plenty for my needs). No need to dig further -- the Mini has been running GREAT for two years now, booting and running from an SSD in a USB3/SATA docking station.

Unless something inside fails on me, I see no need to go messin' with its internals again, ever....
Click to expand...

I feel you
I was really careful and one of those ram clamps broke. Luckily it reads 16 GB after some fumbling around. Can you make the drive in the docking station the booting drive?
 
Boot From An External Drive?

grandM said:
I feel you
I was really careful and one of those ram clamps broke. Luckily it reads 16 GB after some fumbling around. Can you make the drive in the docking station the booting drive?
Click to expand...

Yes, depending on which "docking station" you have.

Try these threads for information:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1709803/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1768103/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756240/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1744188/
 
Last edited:
Celerondon said:
It is true that "it's not that hard" but that is not the problem that they face.

I think that it is a shame when the hazards of these repairs are not part of the decision process. This may not have been the case with the OP but we see this pattern too often on these forums. I was intrigued by the fact that gspad's appeal for advice on this busy forum went days without receiving even one response.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you expect from a public forum.
 
mr.steevo said:
I'm not sure what you expect from a public forum.
Click to expand...

Just this...

Maybe a few potential victims of the "It is easy!" Mod Squad (MS) will consider my posts and those of folks like Fishrrman, Kaibob, OldMike, and Redheeler before they decide to start tugging wires. I don't really expect that my comments will make our MS will suddenly become sensitive to the risks that face inexperienced mini technicians. However, it is possible that some of them will connect the dots and realize that their advice can and does lure relative innocents into the abyss of damaged hardware.
 
Ifixit rates the Mini teardown as 'moderate' in difficulty. 99.99% of all owners will never take it apart. Of the remainder, I would guess the majority of us don't have a problem. I would agree though that this is not an ideal project if you've never say encountered a PCB before and disconnected connectors on other computers.

M.
 
marclondon said:
Ifixit rates the Mini teardown as 'moderate' in difficulty. 99.99% of all owners will never take it apart. Of the remainder, I would guess the majority of us don't have a problem. I would agree though that this is not an ideal project if you've never say encountered a PCB before and disconnected connectors on other computers.

M.
Click to expand...

Yes!

Your short paragraph describes the situation with an elegant economy of words.
 
Just wish the ifixit video flashed a huge red "warning" banner every time a potential mini damaging step was about to happen :)

I havent noticed the loss of the irda sensor or the led light yet, so think Ill be OK and enjoy the extra speed I got from the SSD drive.
 
Side question:

Is it a problem to install an SSD without native TRIM support ?
I might have a professional do the install for me but not without TRIM.

thanks !
 
My opinion, mine only, some will disagree, some will disagree vehemently, but....

....TRIM is over-rated, and some drives now appearing on the market do not seem to benefit from it.

I've been running a Crucial m500 SSD in a USB3/SATA docking station for almost a year now, which serves as my "external booter" for a late-2012 Mini.

I've noticed no perceivable degradation of performance. Using Blackmagic, the documented results are negligible.

Just keep a reasonable amount of "free space" on the drive (I reckon 15-20%), and I think most folks will do fine without TRIM.

Again, my opinion only...
 
My experience has also been good on an Intel SSD I installed in a 2009 mini 6 years ago.
Trim wasn't even the norm back then and the Intel drives for sure were not trim compatible.
Short story--
Under normal day to day home-hobby type use, email-web surfing-watching online movies whatever, this mac+SSD combo is as good today as it was 6 years ago.
 
I just did an SSD upgrade on a 2011 MacMini. I think one of the problems is the different videos to be found on how to take them apart. In my case, I only needed to remove the "top layers" and never had to slip out the logic board. It was a bit of a challenge removing and replacing the hard drive with the SSD but it worked and I never had to mess with any connectors except the fan, the antenna and the SATA connector. Piece of cake. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBongunj4pc

As far as the infrared connector, if you don't use it, don't worry about it.
 
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