Installed 100GB drive in my Mac Mini :)

[pulsewidth947]

Hope this is the right place for this thread!

OK so I bought an American Mac Mini 1.25GHz in January off eBay. Within a week I had popped the case open and installed 512MB Crucial Ram.. and just now I've finished installing a 100GB 5400rpm Fujitsu drive and I thought I'd share my experience with y'all..

First thing I did was download as much info as I could find on replacing the drive - I got the OWC video on replacing parts, then I found the Service Manual somewhere. The next step, probably the most important was to backup EVERYTHING thats important to me. Then just to be über paranoid - clone the drive with Carbon Copy Cloner onto my LaCie backup drive.

Next step was the most fun - actually popping open the mini and putting the drive in. It was actually really easy to install the new drive, you just have to go round the houses to do it. The least enjoyable aspect is putting the Mini's case back together. This took me about 5 mins!! Frustrating


So I got me about 92GB of free space now as opposed to the measly 20GB I had before (with the 40GB HD) to fill up with a load of crap! Also it does seem to be more responsive with the 5400rpm, but that could be psychological

And to top my day off I've got a xmas bonus from work, and they've agreed to pay for me to train as an apple certified techie! Awesome

 

[retasi]

Does that not void you warrant??
Well done by the way!!!

 

[TodVader]

Does that not void you warrant??
Well done by the way!!!

He bought it on eBay. Unless they transfered the applecare, which I doubt, he doesn't have a warranty.

 

[pulsewidth947]

Warranty's a grey area.

First off I bought it off eBay in January - Its an American one, I live in England, so its second hand. Secondly, the general consensus is that it doesnt void your warranty providing you dont break anything while inside the Mac.

I dont belive that - i think if you get into the Mac you void your warranty - but to me I'm happy to risk £300 to gain a working understanding of my Mac mini, and now with the exception of the logic board, I can replace just about any part inside it now so I dont really need a warranty

 

[EricNau]

And to top my day off I've got a xmas bonus from work, and they've agreed to pay for me to train as an apple certified techie! Awesome

Sounds like you could already be Apple Certified.

Good Job.

 

[dermeister]

100 GB? You sure you're gonna have enough room in the long run?

 

[grapes911]

100 GB? You sure you're gonna have enough room in the long run?

It uses a 2.5 inch laptop hard drive rather than the normal 3.5 inch. They are more expensive and you don't see them much bigger than 100 GB. Not that they don't sell them bigger, but they become less cost effective. I think 120GB is the current max capacity.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

s w e e e e t

good luck with it!

 

[generik]

Why not buy a small firewire 800 case and put a cheap 3.5" drive in it?

It'd be faster too!

 

[grapes911]

Why not buy a small firewire 800 case and put a cheap 3.5" drive in it?

Because you'd have to deal with having an external drive. Personally, I'd rather not have the extra wire.

It'd be faster too!

Not necessarily. Depends on how nice of drive and how nice of an enclosure you purchase. It could end up being slower.

 

[NYmacAttack]

Sounds like you could already be Apple Certified.

Good Job.

I've had "authorized apple service" people not have a clue about opening a mini. When my old mini's logic board went the guy opening the case was amazed at how tight everything is packed in there.

 

[jaw04005]

He bought it on eBay. Unless they transfered the applecare, which I doubt, he doesn't have a warranty.

Not true. The 1-year-limited warranty goes along with the system, not the buyer. If he called now and wanted to purchase AppleCare or have his mini repaired, he could since all mini's are within their 1-year-limited warranty. Apple should not even ask for a receipt, seeing that their computers should know the production date of his machine. A receipt would only be needed if they unit was stocked at a warehouse and not sold until months later.

I've also sold Macs on eBay with AppleCare, and all the new owner had to do was call Apple and explain the situation. Apple just registered the computer in their name despite the AppleCare agreement requiring a transfer, and I was contacted as a courtesy through snail mail.

Upgrading your Mac mini does not void your warranty unless you damage something (casing, logic board, etc), however those *new* parts will not be covered under your 1-year-limited warranty or AppleCare agreement, and may need to be removed and replaced with their original parts before Apple will service the machine.

 

[pulsewidth947]

Wow, plenty of responses here! Yeah so I wanted an internal, because like grapes911 said the current max is 120GB, and I didnt really want the wires hanging about. In fact I already have a LaCie 250GB, which is faster than my 5400rpm, but its not always about speed, sometimes its about minimalism.

I never knew that joshuawaire, although I did kind of suspect as I put the serial number in on Apples site and it told me when it was manufactured. Still, it probably doesnt help unless its an international warranty as its an American mac mini (came with a pesky 2-pin plug)!

I wonder if Apple would let me do my own services if I'm Apple trained.. probably not but it would be nice not having to send away my precious Macs!!

 

[pusman83]

250GB, 179$ (but FW400).

Seems pretty minimal to me .

 

[topgunn]

I have tried opening the mini with a putty knife but i prefer to do it another way that leaves no marks behind like the knives can.

What I do is take two 9" pieces of CAT5 and strip off the outside insulation and seperate the wires. Double one of the individual wires over to make a U shape and slip it into the vent holes in the bottom of the mini and slide it over the clip. Pull up until you hear a snap (this is the clip disengaging). Repeat this with the other clips. When you have disengaged all of them, pull up on all of the wires at once and you're in. No scuffs, no scratches and no need to go buy two putty knives.

 

[pulsewidth947]

pusman83 not really minimalist is it? Effectively doubling the size of the Mini, another box to always have to carry about, not to mention the extra couple of wires and the extra $ from leaving it plugged in all the time. Its a nice looking one, but I've seen externals with better functionality - like having extra USB/FW ports..

I have tried opening the mini with a putty knife but i prefer to do it another way that leaves no marks behind like the knives can.

What I do is take two 9" pieces of CAT5 and strip off the outside insulation and seperate the wires. Double one of the individual wires over to make a U shape and slip it into the vent holes in the bottom of the mini and slide it over the clip. Pull up until you hear a snap (this is the clip disengaging). Repeat this with the other clips. When you have disengaged all of them, pull up on all of the wires at once and you're in. No scuffs, no scratches and no need to go buy two putty knives.

Seems like a great way to get in, but I dont really understand how you get the wires round the clips? Ooooh wait.. the holes at the bottom not at the back? Might have to try that one day, but so long as your putty knife is really really thin and pretty blunt (sandpaper) you should be ok.

 

[debroglie]

Why not buy a small firewire 800 case and put a cheap 3.5" drive in it?

It'd be faster too!

The minis don't have FW 800, only 400

 

[EGT]

Nice one.

I've just installed a 120Gb drive in my powerbook. Have yet to reinstall the OS etc.

Opening up the computer really makes you appreciate the design and effort to build these machines.