- #SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 UPGRADE#
- #SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 PRO#
- #SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 FREE#
In the process of figuring out that hellish makeshift strategy, I had inadvertently opened iFixit’s logic board replacement guide to find the paper clip tip. All the while, I felt close to irreparably destroying the component. Instead of waiting to order the tool, I used two extra-large paper clips - another online suggestion - to perform the task with some careful help from my roommate.
#SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 FREE#
Where did it all go wrong?Īpparently, iFixit sells a special Mac mini logic board removal tool, which is a U-shaped rod you use to press into two special holes in the bottom of the machine to free the logic board assembly from the frame. About 45 minutes later, I’m watching someone on YouTube use pliers to mold a metal coat-hanger into a specialized tool, just to release the logic board. I assumed it would be relatively straightforward from there. (In an uneventful twist, the maintenance guy just jammed a regular Torx tool into the screw head, as his security one didn’t even fit.) Neither of the two hardware stores within walking distance of my apartment had the appropriate tool. The screws have a small pillar in the middle, requiring an even more specialized screwdriver to take it out. Not only was this new guide 35 steps long, but just getting inside the Mac mini involved removing three TR6 Torx security screws. Or so I thought.Īs soon as I got to step four of iFixit’s guide, I realized the new Mac mini is different than its predecessor. Just a few parts needed removing and this new set would cover all the bases.
From my experience with the pre-2014 Mac minis, this would be a relatively painless process.
So I bought a 480GB SSD, an external hard drive docking station, and a torx screwdriver set off Amazon. Life is too short for slow computers, as The Verge’s Nilay Patel put it back in April.
#SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 UPGRADE#
As someone who’s been enjoying the speediness of flash storage on a workplace MacBook Air, I felt the upgrade on my home machine was long overdue. I knew the RAM was soldered to the logic board on this particular model, leaving a SSD replacement as the only true option. It would stall, stop, and choke up on even the easiest of tasks.
#SSD SUITABLE FOR MAC MINI 2011 PRO#
A Mac mini would let me keep my workflow, files, and apps intact from my dying MacBook Pro without having to spend upwards of $1,000.Ībout a year after purchase, the mini just wasn’t cutting it. I wanted a desktop computer, mostly because I could save some cash and felt I didn’t need a laptop if I would be using a work machine for 90 percent of my daily tasks. I should preface this by saying I bought the Mac mini fully knowing it was not a very powerful machine.
Macs are notoriously hard to upgrade, and that's by design It was yet another much-needed reminder that Apple goes out of its way to make tinkering a herculean task. It involved painstakingly dismantling the entire machine piece by piece, using janky tools in place of the specialized ones I didn’t have. And simply to reach one of maybe only two parts an average computer owner may ever want to upgrade on their own. But I was not at all prepared for the massive undertaking the late 2014-era Mac mini requires of users. This I know well from simple cases like RAM upgrades. Now, Macs are notoriously hard to upgrade, and that’s by design. Yet because the product is made by Apple, a seemingly simple procedure turns out to be a day-long adventure into the deepest, darkest parts of the DIY computer repair community. So I decided to replace its spinning hard disk drive with a solid state one.
You see, it was slow and hampered by its components, and in desperate need of a speed boost. Last weekend, I performed an invasive and meticulous operation on one of my more valuable gadgets: a late 2014 Mac mini.
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