2012 Mini drive bay question

[sfphoto]

I swapped in a new drive on a 2011 machine which was easy as the drive was on top [lower bay] when the machine was inverted.

Now I thought to ADD a drive to my 2012 Mini.

If Disk Utility says the 'lower' bay is in use, it means full dis-assembly of the machine. Is such correct?
(full dis-assembly: ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Mac+Mini+Late+2012+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/11713)

I assume if the DU report says the 'Upper' bay is in use, installation of a second drive would be as simple as the swap was for my 2011 Mini.

?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, you are correct.
But, consider what else you might do when you completely disassemble. You have a more-than-10-year old Mac. The only way to get at the battery is to remove the logic board. A low, or dead battery, can result in some unusual boot problems. That battery has been in there for a long time... If you need to get at the "other" hard drive bay, that would be a convenient time to replace the battery, too, as part of the total task. (it takes a BR2032, just in case!)

 

[sfphoto]

Good point about the battery, thanks.
In further research I found some 2012 users had issues when installing an SSD as a second drive.
iFixIt: "Better to put the SSD in the lower position and move the original disk to upper position"
Apple discussions:"Some 2012 users have reported problems with not being able to boot from an SSD installed in the upper bay when the upper bay was originally empty"

 

[Miat]

Definitely replace the battery while you are in there. Make sure you get the correct one.

Consider replacing the thermal paste too. That will be past its use by date as well.

How-to tutorials on iFixIt.

 

[ToniCH]

I have several 2012 Mac Minis and couple of older ones. I think 2012 is quite easy to dismantle and put back together. Yes, lots of steps but if you look at the iFixit guide carefully and go slowly step by step its no problem. Just don't force anything. And you don't need the logic removal tool, just use something else to stick into the holes.

And yes, do buy the BR2032 and swap it at the same time so you don't have to start all over again later for the battery. Note that the BR battery is for hot environment (=Mini case) and will last much better than the more common CR-variety.

I think the stock (non server) Minis only have one hdd bay hardware installed from factory. So, buy a SDD and replace that, don't worry about the other bay unless you want to install 2 drives. If you have a SATA to USB -cable or an external drive case you can clone your original HDD to the SDD already before installing it. This way you can test that it boots before installing it to the machine. Or you can also install a clean OS to the SDD before installing if you don't want to clone it.