What to do with a 2015 Mac Mini - dead hard drive

[theladyboo]

I think it is a 2015, it could be 2014? I'm not sure at the moment because the hard disk doesn't boot. I get the flashing ? when it tries so I'm assuming it is the hard disk.

I thought about using it as a desktop for a project that doesn't require any new software. I can boot from a USB external drive that I bought today for something else finding out that it isn't going to fit in the specific enclosure I bought it for. I will need to find my other enclosure that will fit it. I didn't realize the 5 TB drives were so tall and will not fit into the enclosure used for my M1 Mini. Instead of returning the drive, I thought I might attempt to use it as the external for the other 2015 Mini.

The hard part will be getting the whatever OS was available for the Mini at that time since I can't boot from the mini. If I create an emergency disk from my M1 Mini, do I get a list of MacOS systems to install, or will it only list the options for the M1? Is there any other way to grab a copy of the OS for that older machine and install it on the drive? Will the old Mini even recognize a 5 TB drive?

Obviously, I've been out of my tech element for a while Thanks for the help.

 

[haralds]

You could boot into recovery on the 2015 Mini, reformat the drive, and reinstall the system over the internet.

You can also use MrMacintosh.com to download the latest macOS for your Mac Mini 2015. To my knowledge, it was macOS Monterey. You would then build a USB on your M1.

 

[Cave Man]

The hard part will be getting the whatever OS was available for the Mini at that time since I can't boot from the mini. If I create an emergency disk from my M1 Mini, do I get a list of MacOS systems to install, or will it only list the options for the M1?

Your M1 mini might be able to create a bootable USB thumb drive for your 2014 mini if you do it with Monterey (both Intel and Apple Silicon). If you can, then you can run Disk Utility to see if you can repair the internal drive. If it is truly dead, then perhaps you can replace the internal hard drive with a 2.5" SATA SSD. If you can, install it to the new SSD using an external enclosure or USB/SATA adapter to verify the drive will boot the computer. If it does, then replace the dead HD with the new SSD and it should boot upon power-up.

Is there any other way to grab a copy of the OS for that older machine and install it on the drive?

See this link for how to make a USB thumb driver installer for macOS Monterey.

Will the old Mini even recognize a 5 TB drive?

It should so long as the controller in your enclosure can take 5 TB drives (not all can). But if you want to install a new drive into an old Mac, I strongly recommend you get a 2.5" SATA SSD. It will make your 2014 mini feel like a brand new machine.

 

[theladyboo]

It should so long as the controller in your enclosure can take 5 TB drives (not all can). But if you want to install a new drive into an old Mac, I strongly recommend you get a 2.5" SATA SSD. It will make your 2014 mini feel like a brand new machine.

I'm terrible with hardware. I'm a walking lightning bolt and screws run away from me even when I sort them in empty ice trays. If it still works with an external boot drive, I might look into someone installing one if it's worth it. I decided to return the 5 TB and buy a 20TB external for my mini and see if the old one will boot from it first. I don't care about speed really, it has one purpose and will do it well with the ram it has (I think it might have 32 gb of ram, maybe 16)

 

[theladyboo]

Your M1 mini might be able to create a bootable USB thumb drive for your 2014 mini if you do it with Monterey (both Intel and Apple Silicon). If you can, then you can run Disk Utility to see if you can repair the internal drive. If it is truly dead, then perhaps you can replace the internal hard drive with a 2.5" SATA SSD. If you can, install it to the new SSD using an external enclosure or USB/SATA adapter to verify the drive will boot the computer. If it does, then replace the dead HD with the new SSD and it should boot upon power-up.

See this link for how to make a USB thumb driver installer for macOS Monterey.

It should so long as the controller in your enclosure can take 5 TB drives (not all can). But if you want to install a new drive into an old Mac, I strongly recommend you get a 2.5" SATA SSD. It will make your 2014 mini feel like a brand new machine.

I'm trying this right now. I just realized my new doc has an SD slot like the 2014/15 model does so maybe I can install an emergency disk with it and boot from it. Maybe. I haven't done this stuff since I worked there. I miss it. Thanks

 

[Cave Man]

I'm terrible with hardware. I'm a walking lightning bolt and screws run away from me even when I sort them in empty ice trays. If it still works with an external boot drive, I might look into someone installing one if it's worth it. I decided to return the 5 TB and buy a 20TB external for my mini and see if the old one will boot from it first. I don't care about speed really, it has one purpose and will do it well with the ram it has (I think it might have 32 gb of ram, maybe 16)

If that's the case, then just buy a USB3 external enclosure for the hard drive. Make sure it can work properly with 20TB hard drives, though. If it does, then you should be able to install Monterey using a USB thumb drive.

 

[theladyboo]

Thanks everyone. I've been battling it tonight. I got it to boot using opt-cmd-r and then used my wifi to connect. Reformatted the drives, including the internal one. During the installation check it would stop and give the message "An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running the application again."

So I reformatted the drives again as APFS, attempted to zap the NVRAM (not sure if it did it as I didn't hear a second boot- does it do that like old times?), rebooted and got it to start installing on the external but it seemed to stall, rebooted, started installing on the internal and realized the wifi wasn't selected so I selected 22Ghz instead of our 50 and started the install. It was stuck on the 2 hours and 18 minutes like others, went up to 3 hours and 46 minutes then the screen went black. Nothing would bring the screen back, rebooted and now it says less than a minute remaining...crossing fingers...and it's still rebooting every few minutes so I suppose it's downloading updates. And it works!

Now I'm going to install it on the external as well just in case the internal drive dies again.

Thanks for the hints