Also running Catalina on mine and it runs fine on 8GB and a cheap SSD as long as you are not going to thrash the Mini. Catalina is the endstation, though. No way of getting Big Sur to run acceptably on the GeForce 9400M.
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upgrading my late2009 MacMini
- Thread starter zoran
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What SSD is that and are u talking about the late 2009 Mini?
And also how can i know which SSD's might not work as should with the NVIDIA chipset, this is kinda important so i can pic a cheap SSD ;-)
Yes. The early/late 2009. I think it might be an Integral P. I got hold of a few when they hit rock bottom prices. I've put my Mac Mini away for now as I am demolishing walls in my room this week but it will either be an Integal or a Sandisk.
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I used a Crucial MX300 and get the 3GB transfer speeds instead of the 1.5GB that happens with some Brands of SSD with the mini 2009. It is half the speed what the MX300 is capable of (up to 6GB), but I knew that when I purchased.
Probably any of the Crucial would work, but you will be limited by the bus speed of the mini of course and your budget.
We have to remember that when the Mac mini 2009 came out, a SSD in it was not even thought of at the time, so the bus speed will not get the full potential of any current SSD, though it is still a great improvement.
I bought the Crucial MX300 when it was competing with Samsung at the time so I got a decent price then, but sense it is discontinued for awhile now (the current is at MX500), the prices for the MX300 are high when I checked on Amazon.
Depending on how much you want to spend, some of the lesser popular brands at a reduced price would probably be ok for the mini. You just have to take the risk if you don't know and call it a day.
I bought my first SSD (the legendary Intel X25-M - it was the first decent consumer SSD) in 2008. Had it in a Core Duo MacBook first, then moved it to an early 2009 mini.
In the 2009 mini, this affects some SATA II SSDs as well. This is the issue we're taking about.
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The 2009 mini only does SATA II. Open System Profiler's Serial ATA section and check what it says for negotiated link speed on the SSD. 1.5 Gigabits per second (SATA I) is bad, 3 (SATA II) is good.
A list of which SSDs are known to successfully negogiate 3 Gbps in MCP79-based Macs might come in handy in this subforum.
The 9400M-based machines tend to be quite picky about their RAM. Be sure that you’re using PC3-8500 RAM, particularly in the lower slot. Faster RAM (like 10600) often leads to the POST beeps. I’ve found that so long as you’ve got 8500 in the lower slot, they don’t seem to care what you put in the upper slot. In my 2009 mini I’ve got a 4GB 8500 stick in the lower and a 4GB 12800 in the upper slot. This config has been running stably for months now
These are the modules i got, i believe they are supposed to be 8500 and the following specs seem to be ok, am i correct?
What is 8500 btw?
What is 8500 btw?
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Hmmmmmm, those should work, unless they’re modules that have been flashed to show as 8500. Some third parties will take faster RAM and screw with the controller to make it show as slower RAM than it is rated at, which can cause weird compatibility problems, particularly in picky systems. I’d suggest seeing if you can source a name-brand module of the proper speed, even if it’s just one to put in the lower slot to make the mini happy.These are the modules i got, i believe they are supposed to be 8500 and the following specs seem to be ok, am i correct?
What is 8500 btw?
8500 is the designation of 1067MHz RAM. PC3-8500, like on these pics.
How many beeps do you get? Are they short or long? In any case, it means something's wrong.
Id say short. Beep , 2sec , beep , 2sec , beep…
It’s the memory modules cause when I replace them with the old original ones, it works like a charm.
Remove ALL the RAM modules, then try power with no memory installed. You should get that same beep, pause, beep, pause, beep...
That means your mini is not detecting ANY memory. If the mushkin RAM does that, make sure that you have it seated properly. It may simply be a tight fit. Try again, pushing down so you can hear a slight "click" when the RAM is seated completely.
If you have tried seating multiple times already, then the RAM needs to be returned. Find a different brand.
That means your mini is not detecting ANY memory. If the mushkin RAM does that, make sure that you have it seated properly. It may simply be a tight fit. Try again, pushing down so you can hear a slight "click" when the RAM is seated completely.
If you have tried seating multiple times already, then the RAM needs to be returned. Find a different brand.
So whenever the new RAM is involved, it's just beeps? Time to try another manufacturer then.
