updating my old mac mini

[zoran]

What is the max OS my old mac mini can hold up to and what other optimisations can i make so it can become more to date

 

[Kamolas]

El Capitan (10.11). You can upgrade memory up to 8 GB ( 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz ) and you can upgrade to an SSD.

 

[zoran]

Before doing any hardware updates, whats the max OSX update i can make with the existent config?

 

[Kamolas]

El Capitan, the only requirement is at least 2 GB of memory, which you do have.

 

[velocityg4]

You can use DOSDude's High Sierra Patcher to get unofficial High Sierra support. Here is a thread dedicated to the topic along with links.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-10-14-mojave-on-unsupported-macs-thread.2121473/

 

[zoran]

I have ElCap dmg install file... what should i do with it in order to make the installation?

 

[MBAir2010]

restart, command R while hearing the chime, select .dmg either the USB or DVD and follow instructions.

 

[zoran]

restart, command R while hearing the chime, select .dmg either the USB or DVD and follow instructions.

Command R is not working

 

[tpivette89]

Hold down the option key while booting. You will probably need an wired, official Apple keyboard to do this however.

 

[zoran]

Hold down the option key while booting. You will probably need an wired, official Apple keyboard to do this however.

Holding the option key will only show the boot disk, I can't see the usb drive

 

[tpivette89]

I guess you didnt create the thumbdrive as a bootable disk? I always do this when making OSX installers, makes things easier.

 

[Kamolas]

do you want a clean install of el capitan or do you want to upgrade from your current version?
Or do you want to keep your current version and create a partition on the disk and install el Capitan there?

 

[zoran]

I guess running the dmg file and making the installation from inside the OS seems to be the simplest way, so i guess thats what ill do. I dont mind if its a clean installation or not, nor am i interested in haveing a dedicated partition for elCap ;-)

 

[Kamolas]

Yes, it is the simplest way. Making a backup before is recommended.
Dont you want to upgrade to an SSD? They are cheap now and it will give your mini a new life.

 

[zoran]

Probably will go for an SSD but not at the moment ;-) Dont know what kind of memory i need for the mini nor how much they cost!

 

[iluvmacs99]

Probably will go for an SSD but not at the moment ;-) Dont know what kind of memory i need for the mini nor how much they cost!

Memory:https://eshop.macsales.com/upgrades/mac-mini-early-2009-2.26-ghz/memory

SSD:https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3D7E6G120/

Hope this helps..

 

[zoran]

I made the upgrade to elCapitan but at boot, I cannot get the wireless keyboard and mouse to connect via blue tooth. Its kinda strange that this happens, I mean bluetooth should be working... i wonder if this might be some update that I haven't done yet!

 

[zoran]

I have upgraded to ElCap and the Mac mini goes very very slow! I cannot work in any way!
I booted from the SnowLeopard bootable dvd to go back to SLeop, and the system will not allow to run the installation file!
This is crazy!

 

[Kamolas]

I recommended you an SSD, the hard drive disk is showing its age. A ram upgrade is also recommended, at least to 4 Gb.
I dont think you can return to snow leopard from el capitan now. You probably can only erase the disk and install SL again or create a partition if you want to keep el cap.

 

[zoran]

How can i create an extra partition without loosing my data?

 

[Kamolas]

On Disk Utility. Select Partition, type the name and the size you want for it, select Mac OS extended journaling for the format.

 

[zoran]

By that way im not erasing the existing partition?

 

[Kamolas]

No

 

[zoran]

...or create a partition if you want to keep el cap.

Are u suggesting that this can be done with disk utility?

 

[Kamolas]

Yes. Partitions and their creation or management are done with disk utility.