Mac Mini 2014 Ssd Upgrade Kit

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Apple'south refresh to the Mac mini may have caused some owners of earlier generations to exist envious of the performance compared to their existing Mac. One potential upgrade to give the older models a speed boost is to switch out the mechanical hard bulldoze for an SSD, a chore that isn't every bit hard to practice as people may recall.

Apple introduced a new model of the Mac mini in late 2018, bringing the meaty Mac up to date with new processor options and a more environmentally friendly casing, among other changes. One important shift for the line is the move away from offer the Mac mini with a hard drive, as all new models eschew the spinning storage medium for solid land versions, even in the cheapest models.

Owners of earlier models may look at the new versions with a tinge of envy, peculiarly if their Mac mini uses a mechanical hard drive. Replacing that very bulldoze with an SSD makes for a relatively sensible upgrade, offering faster accessing of applications and files, every bit well as potentially helping convalesce constrained retentivity issues past offering faster swap file usage.

Switching to an SSD could give a Mac mini a new lease of life, but at the same fourth dimension it seems like a daunting prospect. The Mac mini is then pocket-size, and the drive buried nether so many components in a hard-to-access location, that almost volition be turned off from the idea completely.

The speed boost an SSD provides over a difficult drive is certainly worth the effort for some people, with data transfers taking place at a multiple-times faster speed than with the mechanical spinning drive.

Recently, two AppleInsider writers went through that very same process on the 2012 and 2014 models of Mac mini. While it can take a few hours for the uninitiated, it isn't besides hard for the average user to perform, and requires relatively few tools to accomplish.

Before disassembly

Ensure that you wish to perform the process before y'all really proceed, as the final thing you want to do is have an unusable Mac mini after a few hours of work. If you are uncomfortable with taking your Mac apart, consider enlisting someone more technically minded to brand the change on your behalf.

Besides, in the event that you acquired a Mac mini merely earlier the new models were announced, be wary that at that place may exist existing guarantees and warranties, such as AppleCare, which may nevertheless utilize to the device. If extra warranty coverage still applies to the Mac mini in question, consider avoiding the upgrade until afterwards it runs out.

Cloning the drive

Before anyone picks up a screwdriver and takes apart their Mac mini, the start master task is to brand a copy of the drive, cloning its contents over to the new SSD. Regardless of model, it is advised to practise this in advance to make sure the new drive is actually fit for purpose before information technology is installed.

If y'all want to, this is besides an opportunity to start with a fresh installation of macOS, merely given the hassle of getting everything set up again later on reinstallation, it's probably worth avoiding this if possible.

For this, yous need your new SSD, a USB enclosure or a USB-to-SATA cablevision, and an application called Carbon Re-create Cloner. Y'all should pay for Carbon Copy Cloner, as information technology is an invaluable tool. Simply, information technology is also possible to accomplish what you lot need to do with the free version.

The new SSD and the USB-to-SATA cablevision for data transfers

Install Carbon Copy Cloner on your Mac mini. Attach the enclosure or cable-connected SSD to the Mac mini, via USB. Once connected, open up up Disk Utility located in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder.

Select the external bulldoze in the left-paw cavalcade, right click, and select Erase. This is being performed just in case there are any files left on the SSD if information technology isn't brand new and unused.

In the window, enter a new advisable proper name for the drive, preferably one that is slightly different from your Mac's existing drive for the purposes of telling them apart, select APFS equally the format, and the Scheme as GUID Partition Map. Click Erase and so Done.

Open Carbon Copy Cloner, and fix a new chore up to copy data from ane drive to the other. For the source, select your Mac's hard bulldoze, while for the destination, select the externally-connected SSD. Click Clone.

A prompt to install "CCC's Privileged Helper Tool" will appear. Accept information technology to start the process, which could take a few hours depending on the amount of data that needs to be transferred.

Once the clone is completed, examination that information technology works past restarting your Mac mini and hold the Pick key on the keyboard. You will run into a list of connected drives that macOS thinks it tin kick from.

The boot drive pick screen of the Mac mini, showing the original drive, a Time Machine drive, and the replacement SSD

Select the external SSD to continue the booting process from the new drive. After you have verified macOS loads fine and everything is working from the new drive, shut downward macOS and disconnect the Mac mini from power and all other continued items.

Disassembly - Tardily 2014 Mac Mini

The tools you will need to accept apart the Belatedly 2014 Mac mini are: TR6 Torx Security and T8 Torx screwdrivers, a logic lath removal tool, guitar picks or a plastic disassembly tool known every bit a "spudger," and a pair of tweezers. Yous may also want some other non-conductive items for poking and prying, such as chopsticks, depending on how you would adopt to work.

Have a fashion of collecting together the screws and tiny components you will be pulling from the Mac mini. This could be a container, such every bit an icecube tray, or an upturned strip of duct tape fastened to the table could exist used equally a sticky storage point.

Stick the screws in rows to an upturned strip of duct tape allows you lot to know what's next to use when reassembling your Mac mini

As discovered in the procedure of deconstruction, there is likely to be dust inside the Mac mini, Accept tissues, canned air, or other cleaning supplies safe for use on hardware on standby.

Start, turn the Mac mini upside down, preferably on a towel or a surface that won't scratch its terminate. Utilise a prying tool to gently lift upward the bottom embrace, until it tin can be lifted clean off.

Popping the bottom embrace off the Mac mini

Employ the TR6 driver to take out the six screws belongings the metal antenna plate to the rest of the chassis. Once unfastened, carefully lift information technology off merely continue information technology nearby as at that place is a cable attached. Follow the cable to the Aerodrome menu, use the T6 driver on the screw and washer to free the cable, and use a prying tool to elevator the connector straight off the bill of fare. Leave the other cables in identify.

Motion attending to the fan assembly, and unfasten the iii T6 screws holding it to the casing. Elevator the fan directly up to remove the captive screw, but don't have the fan completely off, as again it is connected past wires.

Detect the small connector for the fan and lift it straight out of its socket. Yous may have to apply a piffling pressure to the cables from underneath using a prying tool. Once costless, remove the fan from the casing completely.

Next, take out a T6 spiral nearly to the SATA cable connector, shut to the front end of the Mac mini, which is used to concur a bracket securing the cable in the connector. Once the bracket is removed, use a prying tool again to gently lift the cable off the socket.

Moving right (if the rear of the Mac mini is facing you), find the IR sensor cable connector and remove it using a prying tool to lift information technology directly up.

At that place is one more than T6 screw to remove, and it is located on the bottom left of the logic lath, close to the rear of the casing.

Now for a major point: separating the logic board assembly from the rest of the case. For this, insert the logic lath removal tool which is petty more than a aptitude metal rod into the two holes as far downwards as it can become, and so gently pull the superlative "handle" section towards yous. Cease when the prying tool comes into contact with the case, and remove the tool.

On the correct-hand side of the logic board is the power cables, which demand to be pulled out from the socket. Once asunder, carefully slide the logic board assembly out of the Mac mini's rear side.

To remove the power supply, extract the metal prune property the AC connection in identify, then rotate the Air conditioning connection roughly 90 degrees counterclockwise to get in come out of its slot. Remove one more T6 spiral property the power supply in place, then slide the unabridged power supply out.

We have now reached the drive assembly. Take out the T6 screw from the left-hand side and pull the drive tray out.

Remove the four T8 screws on each side of the difficult drive, then lift it up from the tray. Raise the ribbon cable of the SATA connector, take off the black record, and pull the connector off completely. Finally, take off the two blackness square pads off the sometime bulldoze and place them in the aforementioned locations on the SSD.

Reassembly

For the most part, this process is effectively the reverse of disassembly, simply there are a few points worth noting.

First, don't worry nearly placing the blackness record to hold the SATA connector in place. Yous could add new tape of your own, merely it isn't really necessary considering the tray's construction.

When placing the bulldoze and SATA connector into the tray, make sure to slot the ribbon through the pocket-size hole in the tray beforehand. Too, be wary of the safety seals where each of the four bulldoze screws are located, as they tin can fall out if pressure level is practical.

Y'all will be able to tell the power supply is reinserted correctly because the AC connector has a big notch that slides into a groove inside the case, acting equally an extra locking betoken when the connector is twisted back into its correct orientation.

Sliding the logic board back into the casing does not require the tool used for extraction, merely don't push it all the mode in until you reconnect the ability to information technology.

The logic board associates, exterior the Mac mini

Information technology is much easier to reconnect things like the IR sensor cablevision and the fan connections, as they can only go i way into the socket, and can easily be pressed in with a finger once seated.

When getting the antenna cablevision put dorsum into place, it is far easier to attach information technology to the Airport card before screwing the bracket into identify. There is besides less of a need to try and fit the cable in tidily when placing the plate on, though it may be worth tucking it in a bit beforehand.

Lastly, the plastic base can exist reapplied, merely notably placement is important otherwise it won't fit correctly. An easy mode to line it up is to have the back of the Mac mini towards you and to orient the base of operations so the words Mac mini are easily readable from left to right.

Disassembly - 2012 Mac Mini

The process to take apart the earlier 2012 generation of the Mac mini is largely like to that of the Late 2014 version, and uses practically the same collection of tools.

To start with, remove the bottom panel, though this fourth dimension information technology can be done without extra tools. Identify your thumbs in the depressed thumb holes on the panel and apply opposing pressure level to rotate the panel counter-clockwise, until the white dot aligns with the outlined dot on the enclosure, then lift the panel off.

Removing the lesser console is easier with the two pollex holes

Using a T6 Torx screwdriver, remove the two screws holding the fan in place, located on the top two corners, almost the antenna plate. Lift the fan carefully, and pull the connector for the attached cable free from the balance of the assembly. Remove the Fan.

Assuming the ports are pointed towards y'all, on the lesser left is a single T6 screw holding a curved piece of cowling. Remove the screw, and so rotate the cowling towards the terminate nearest the antenna plate.

Next, to remove the metal antenna plate, have out the four T8 screws besides as the connector on the left-mitt side, below the plate. Use a spudger or some other prying tool to disconnect the connector, then remove the plate itself.

Again, information technology is time to disconnect both the IR sensor and difficult drive connections from the logic lath. Only every bit earlier, use a prying tool to carefully release the connections, with special attention due for the IR sensor connector.

Another three more screws, a T8 and two T6 screws towards the bottom of the housing, can be removed from the logic board. At this point, you lot tin can use the logic board removal tool to slide out the board from the enclosure, simply in this example, don't pull information technology all the manner, as there are cables withal attached.

The difficult drive should at present be accessible from the front surface area of the Mac mini's cavity, which can be slid towards you then upward to exist freed.

Pulling the drive out is possible after sliding the logic board associates out a small amount

Remove the tape holding the connector in place, detach information technology, and attach it to the new drive. At the same time, transfer any other items across to the new drive, including the embrace and the mounting screws.

Every bit with the 2014 Mac mini, at present is the time to reassemble your Mac past reversing the disassembly steps.

Fix to tackle a drive switch? Here's a quick shopping list to get you started:

• TR6 Torx Security and T8 Torx screwdrivers
• Logic board removal tool
• Guitar picks or a plastic disassembly tool known as a "spudger"
• Pair of tweezers
• Carbon Copy Cloner software
• two.5" SATA SSD

Source: https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/31/how-to-give-your-2012-or-2014-mac-mini-a-performance-boost-by-replacing-the-hard-drive-with-an-ssd

Posted by: woodbeetch.blogspot.com

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