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Will the Apple Store do this?

M

Mindprey

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2013
44
0
I would like to upgrade my late model 2012 Apple Mac mini to a 128 GB solid-state drive as well as a 1 TB hard drive. Will Apple Store do this for me if I pay them, if so how much? Or my better off going to an independent shop to have it done? I have apple care and don't want to void it, but I'm looking for better response time and more storage out of the Mac Mini.

Also, if I upgrade the RAM myself, do I void any warranty with the Apple Care?
 
it really isn't hard to do these upgrades yourself. just look at ifixit or owc for instructions...

buy the right tools! be patient, don't force things, separate your bolts, and use your head... Its a lot of fun :D
 
mvmanolov said:
it really isn't hard to do these upgrades yourself. just look at ifixit or owc for instructions...

buy the right tools! be patient, don't force things, separate your bolts, and use your head... Its a lot of fun :D
Click to expand...

As an ex IT engineer (mainly focusing on Apple kit) of some (deep breath) 10+ years, I have to say, I don't agree. Not when it comes to Mac Mini's.

I've swapped hard drives in macbooks, powerbooks, ibooks, imacs from 1999 to the present day, heck I even fixed up a mac cube. I've had 3 or 4 mac mini's and worked on loads...until 2011.

The most fiddly, irritatingly non user upgrade friendly mac I've ever worked on was a 2011 Mac Mini. Almost the same layout as the current one.
Other macs have been a pain, but you rarely felt like you were actively in danger of breaking it irreparably.

I'd never broken a mac until then. Not one. Sure I'd pinged off the odd aerial and needed to replace it etc.

But on this I cracked the motherboard - because there's a part - after you've carefully removed fiddly hardware which feels very nasty - you're basically prising things off a motherboard - where you (and I quote);
"..remove the logic board, using the two cylindrical rods of the Mac Mini Logic Board Removal Tool which must be inserted into the holes ... Inserting instruments into any logic board holes other than the ones highlighted in red may destroy the logic board."

Except you work that out by feel. Trial and error? Nope. Dead mac mini.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/6422

Step 15.

So I'm now waiting for the next mac mini to come out and buying it with a 1tb drive as I simply can't afford to irreparably break another Mac Mini 2 years on.

I'd normally applaud the comments of mvmanolov, I've done countless repairs and upgrades and it's amazingly simple in so many cases - but the mac mini is just too expensive to mess up.
It's absolutely not an upgrade for beginners. Memory is fine, hard drive, nope.
 
boomhaueruk said:
As an ex IT engineer (mainly focusing on Apple kit) of some (deep breath) 10+ years, I have to say, I don't agree. Not when it comes to Mac Mini's.

I've swapped hard drives in macbooks, powerbooks, ibooks, imacs from 1999 to the present day, heck I even fixed up a mac cube. I've had 3 or 4 mac mini's and worked on loads...until 2011.

The most fiddly, irritatingly non user upgrade friendly mac I've ever worked on was a 2011 Mac Mini. Almost the same layout as the current one.
Other macs have been a pain, but you rarely felt like you were actively in danger of breaking it irreparably.

I'd never broken a mac until then. Not one. Sure I'd pinged off the odd aerial and needed to replace it etc.

But on this I cracked the motherboard - because there's a part - after you've carefully removed fiddly hardware which feels very nasty - you're basically prising things off a motherboard - where you (and I quote);
"..remove the logic board, using the two cylindrical rods of the Mac Mini Logic Board Removal Tool which must be inserted into the holes ... Inserting instruments into any logic board holes other than the ones highlighted in red may destroy the logic board."

Except you work that out by feel. Trial and error? Nope. Dead mac mini.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/6422

Step 15.

So I'm now waiting for the next mac mini to come out and buying it with a 1tb drive as I simply can't afford to irreparably break another Mac Mini 2 years on.

I'd normally applaud the comments of mvmanolov, I've done countless repairs and upgrades and it's amazingly simple in so many cases - but the mac mini is just too expensive to mess up.
It's absolutely not an upgrade for beginners. Memory is fine, hard drive, nope.
Click to expand...

Depends on the person: a careful one can do this quite easily.
I managed to put an OWC second drive kit in my late 2012 Mac Mini and add a Samsung 256GB 840 SSD in it with the 1TB HDD it came with (plus 16GB RAM, which is a piece-of-piss, of course!).

Yes it was a bit fiddly, but as a complete newbie to such things, I found it quite easy provided I was careful and FOLLOWED THE GUIDES (OWC and online ones) – which I made sure to do.

Apple WILL NOT do this for you, BTW.
 
boomhaueruk said:
As an ex IT engineer (mainly focusing on Apple kit) of some (deep breath) 10+ years, I have to say, I don't agree. Not when it comes to Mac Mini's.

I've swapped hard drives in macbooks, powerbooks, ibooks, imacs from 1999 to the present day, heck I even fixed up a mac cube. I've had 3 or 4 mac mini's and worked on loads...until 2011.

The most fiddly, irritatingly non user upgrade friendly mac I've ever worked on was a 2011 Mac Mini. Almost the same layout as the current one.
Other macs have been a pain, but you rarely felt like you were actively in danger of breaking it irreparably.

I'd never broken a mac until then. Not one. Sure I'd pinged off the odd aerial and needed to replace it etc.

But on this I cracked the motherboard - because there's a part - after you've carefully removed fiddly hardware which feels very nasty - you're basically prising things off a motherboard - where you (and I quote);
"..remove the logic board, using the two cylindrical rods of the Mac Mini Logic Board Removal Tool which must be inserted into the holes ... Inserting instruments into any logic board holes other than the ones highlighted in red may destroy the logic board."

Except you work that out by feel. Trial and error? Nope. Dead mac mini.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/6422

Step 15.

So I'm now waiting for the next mac mini to come out and buying it with a 1tb drive as I simply can't afford to irreparably break another Mac Mini 2 years on.

I'd normally applaud the comments of mvmanolov, I've done countless repairs and upgrades and it's amazingly simple in so many cases - but the mac mini is just too expensive to mess up.
It's absolutely not an upgrade for beginners. Memory is fine, hard drive, nope.
Click to expand...

well, i can appreciate your sentiments, and i empathize for your misfortune. And i most certainly am not an engineer or a professional repair tech. But it took me less than 30 min to take my 2012 mini apart and put it back together. i've done this now twice as i put new drives in... so.... oh, and i did not buy the removal tool but simply used two thin drill bits....
but hey, years of repair experience certainly count...
 
boomhaueruk said:
Other macs have been a pain, but you rarely felt like you were actively in danger of breaking it irreparably.

I'd never broken a mac until then. Not one. Sure I'd pinged off the odd aerial and needed to replace it etc.
Click to expand...

You've never removed the display from a 2011 27inch iMac to do repairs, have you? :eek:
 
Mindprey said:
I would like to upgrade my late model 2012 Apple Mac mini to a 128 GB solid-state drive as well as a 1 TB hard drive. Will Apple Store do this for me if I pay them, if so how much? Or my better off going to an independent shop to have it done? I have apple care and don't want to void it, but I'm looking for better response time and more storage out of the Mac Mini.

Also, if I upgrade the RAM myself, do I void any warranty with the Apple Care?
Click to expand...

There have been posts to these forums about using an independent certified Apple Repair service for these mods to keep warranty intact. Not sure if that is truly the case.

OWC will do the mods for you also:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/install/
 
I just bought a new Mac mini for HTPC use and upgraded it to a 240GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. Must have done the job in ten minutes.


I'm not ex-IT, but I've upgrade some dozen Mac minis with absolutely no issues. What I find most important is patience and using the right tools.
 
boomhaueruk said:
The most fiddly, irritatingly non user upgrade friendly mac I've ever worked on was a 2011 Mac Mini.
Click to expand...

Your kidding right? And your an IT engineer?

It takes about 10 minutes to completely pull apart.

Removing the logic board? Just insert the tool or two blunt miniature drivers and pull towards you.

Even iFixit gives its ease of repairability an 8/10 with 10 being the easiest on the scale. It is probably one of the easiest repairable macs on the iFixit website.

The 2013 MacBook retina ranks at 1/10
The 2012 iMac ranks 3/10

They didn't rank the older Macs in terms of their repairability so I can't put them up.

I recognise the current mini is unique in its design and fiddly if you have 'fat fingers', but if you take your time and read the various instructions properly or watch the vids then it is dead easy. You also need the right tools. Never force anything. If you are forcing it, or it is not aligned in the rebuild then go back to the drawing board and see what you did wrong.

The problem is you usually only hear of the few who botch the job, not from all those who have done the successful surgery. No one creates a thread 'I successfully installed an SSD!' but they will create a thread 'I just ripped off the fan now what do I do?'.

I have three unibody minis and pull them apart probably every six months just to dust them down. Throw on some Tuniq TX-4. Polish the exhaust vents (just kidding :)). Kind of like tinkering with the car in the garage now and then.
 
Rule #1:
Don't get this the wrong way, but if you already debating/asking the question whether a shop should do the upgrade because you don't want to void your Apple Care, that is already an indication that you should NOT do the upgrade yourself.
 
pentool said:
Rule #1:
Don't get this the wrong way, but if you already debating/asking the question whether a shop should do the upgrade because you don't want to void your Apple Care, that is already an indication that you should NOT do the upgrade yourself.
Click to expand...

this is hardly true... if anything its rather discouraging when what we (the ones that have done something like this before) should be doing is encouraging people to tinker with the stuff they own!

Its not hard, its not challenging - the first time may be scary - but like what many have said - if you are careful patient and diligent in following the instructions it will go well! and you'd feel great for having done it yourself.....

So please pack up your elitist - if you have to ask don't bother, attitude - get off your high horse and cut down your ivory tower.... being afraid of ruining your $1000 toy is perfectly normal!.... and offer some constructive advice!
 
Just make sure you're well grounded. Static electricity has zapped many circuit boards, including one of mine back in the 90's (learned from that ONE time mistake!)
 
Thank you all for your feedback. I may try this myself, but in the meantime I have been consuming myself on another project: data storage solutions for my rather large itunes library. I might put this upgrade on the back burner for a bit, but certainly appreciate everyone's input and links to additional info.
 
opinio said:
Gee... sorry Sonic. Call your local Apple Store and ask them!
Click to expand...

Trying to help the OP, don't really care if they do it or not. It make no sense when a thread is "does...?" and people answer "you should..." without ever addressing the actual question.
 
CH12671 said:
You've never removed the display from a 2011 27inch iMac to do repairs, have you? :eek:
Click to expand...

No, can't say I've done that one.
I have broken down and put back together an Imac G3. Screen and all.
Worst part was that it kept so much charge in it you could (technically) be electrocuted shortly after it was unplugged if you didn't earth it - as the ably demonstrated in the training facility.

----------
opinio said:
Your kidding right? And your an IT engineer?

It takes about 10 minutes to completely pull apart.

Removing the logic board? Just insert the tool or two blunt miniature drivers and pull towards you.

Even iFixit gives its ease of repairability an 8/10 with 10 being the easiest on the scale. It is probably one of the easiest repairable macs on the iFixit website.

The 2013 MacBook retina ranks at 1/10
The 2012 iMac ranks 3/10

They didn't rank the older Macs in terms of their repairability so I can't put them up.

I recognise the current mini is unique in its design and fiddly if you have 'fat fingers', but if you take your time and read the various instructions properly or watch the vids then it is dead easy. You also need the right tools. Never force anything. If you are forcing it, or it is not aligned in the rebuild then go back to the drawing board and see what you did wrong.

The problem is you usually only hear of the few who botch the job, not from all those who have done the successful surgery. No one creates a thread 'I successfully installed an SSD!' but they will create a thread 'I just ripped off the fan now what do I do?'.

I have three unibody minis and pull them apart probably every six months just to dust them down. Throw on some Tuniq TX-4. Polish the exhaust vents (just kidding :)). Kind of like tinkering with the car in the garage now and then.
Click to expand...

Quite the insulting post this one, isn't it.
Yes, I was (was being the operative word) an IT engineer - for over a decade professionally. Apple a speciality. Have kept my hand in amply since then, thanks ever so much, though it has been around 10 years since I moved up.
Can't say I've ever been accused of having 'fat fingers' before. All 13 stone of me at 39 years old, but cheers.

Couldn't give two stuffs about Ifixit or any other sites rating, that motherboard removal is way too risky a job for those concerned about such work.
I can see someone getting that right once - doing it multiple times and never having problems again - or doing it 3 times wrong.
There's a knack. And that's the worst thing - no video is going to tell you how to feel that out.

I felt the need to highlight that - but you lot carry on with your discussion, so many of you are so dismissive it must just be me. At £450+ let's hope so.
 
boomhaueruk said:
No, can't say I've done that one.
I have broken down and put back together an Imac G3. Screen and all.
Worst part was that it kept so much charge in it you could (technically) be electrocuted shortly after it was unplugged if you didn't earth it - as the ably demonstrated in the training facility.

----------



Quite the insulting post this one, isn't it.
Yes, I was (was being the operative word) an IT engineer - for over a decade professionally. Apple a speciality. Have kept my hand in amply since then, thanks ever so much, though it has been around 10 years since I moved up.
Can't say I've ever been accused of having 'fat fingers' before. All 13 stone of me at 39 years old, but cheers.

Couldn't give two stuffs about Ifixit or any other sites rating, that motherboard removal is way too risky a job for those concerned about such work.
I can see someone getting that right once - doing it multiple times and never having problems again - or doing it 3 times wrong.
There's a knack. And that's the worst thing - no video is going to tell you how to feel that out.

I felt the need to highlight that - but you lot carry on with your discussion, so many of you are so dismissive it must just be me. At £450+ let's hope so.
Click to expand...

Can you direct me to insulting part?

'Fat fingers' is term has nothing to do with being fat. It refers to those who do not have such fine motor skills as others. Some do some don't. People often say 'I have fat fingers' in a humorous way to suggest they are not good with the fine detail in mechanics and engineering etc. It's a saying, not a derogatory term.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fat-finger

Plus it was directed to the forum, not you. That's how the posts usually go. Perhaps I should have written in the proper English style of third person and written 'I recognise the current mini is unique in its design and fiddly if one is not so dexterous, but if one takes ones time...'

Seriously. You need to loosen up a little.

Only the 'you're kidding right? And your an IT engineer? ' part was directed to you and it was tongue-in-cheek.

Anyway, I won't get into tit-for-tat.

Take it easy.
 
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