Upgrading Early 2006 Mac Mini

[amsutcliffe]

I have an early 2006 Mac Mini (1.66Ghz Core Duo). The Hard Disk seems have breathed it's last, so I've decided to attempt to replace it myself.

Can I use any Internal SATA drive, eg something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Bar...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271502982&sr=1-2 or are there other considerations to take into account?

I'm also intending to upgrade the memory, given I'll (hopefully) have managed to get the case open. Is there any danger in doing this at the same time, or is it safer to replace the HDD first and then upgrade the memory?

Many thanks.

 

[Bennieboy©]

the only consideration on the hard drive is that it needs to be 2.5" a 3.5" wont fit

if your changing the ram while your at it, change the ram first, the HD is part of the top chassis that covers the cpu and ram, so ram first, top cover + HD next then re-assemble

 

[amsutcliffe]

Haha, I did know I was looking for a 2.5", just clearly can't read a product page! I guess something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Dig...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271505284&sr=1-1 will be fine then?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Bennieboy©]

yeah that would work great, you can add a 3.5" but only if you removed the superdrive to make the room

 

[pastrychef]

Just stick with 2.5" drives. Even if you remove the optical drive, a 3.5" drive will not fit. You will see strips of foam on the bottom of the original hard drive. Remember to move them to the new hard drive. They are there to direct air flow.

Since you will have the computer open, it's the perfect time to upgrade the RAM as well. The most that your system can handle is 2GB.

Be careful with the cable that connects to the audio board. I've managed to kill the audio on a Mac mini before and needed to replace the entire board.

It you want to go even further and upgrade the CPU too, try to get a few nuts and bolts that can fit in the holes that mount the heatsink to the main logic board. The nylon pieces used to hold the heatsink in place can break, especially on older systems.

 

[MacHamster68]

and when you are already upgrading ram and fitting a new harddrive ..its the right time to clean it inside too