INSTALLING SSD IN LATE 2012 MAC MINI INSTALL
INSTALLING SSD IN LATE 2012 MAC MINI FULL

Put the SSD into an enclosure startup in macOS Recovery mode, erase and format the SSD Guid/Mac OS Extended (Journaled), install macOS, then startup from the SSD and migrate from the old drive or your Time Machine backup, then swap out the drives.install macOS, then migrate from the old drive in an enclosure or your Time Machine backup. Install the SSD the Mac Mini and the old HDD in an enclosure, startup in macOS Recovery mode, erase and format the SSD GUID/Mac OS Extended (Journaled).Carefully remove the glued rubber from the hard drive and put it around the SSD.You can successfully do it a few different ways. Remove the 4 screws holding the hard drive brackets in place, the screws are different lengths so please note which goes where, then unplug the hard drive and remove. I don't understand why Apple designers make it this hard to get to the fan to clean it.

INSTALLING SSD IN LATE 2012 MAC MINI FULL

My two and half year old iMac was full of dust, the fan was so caked with dust that I could barely see the fan blades. Carefully peel all the foam tape from monitor and chassis and put the monitor in a safe place so it does not get damaged while you are replacing the hard drive. The top connector needs careful wiggling to get it loose then lift the wire-clip holding bottom connector in place. Disconnect the 2 cables from the monitor to the motherboard and remove the monitor. Do not use too much force, you might break the glass.Īfter you have cut the foam tape on top and both sides, gently separate the glass from the chassis, it will still be glued with a foam tape at the bottom but that will break when you tilt the top of the monitor out. I destroyed 5-10 business cards that tore or folded on the corners. Do not cut towards the camera, you might hit the camera and damage it. After getting both sides loose I started at the top and cut away from the camera 'eye' to each corner. You only need to get the corner of the business card about 5 mm (1/5 inch) in from the edge to break the foam tape. I started at the top on one side, pushed a corner between the aluminium and glass and slid it down. I used paper business cards, stiff enough to cut the foam tape, soft enough to not cause damage. Stiff plastic is best but credit cards are too thick, you risk breaking the glass that the monitor is bonded to. To open the iMac and get to the hard drive you need to cut through the foam tape on the edges where the monitor is taped to the aluminium. You should also follow ESD guidelines to prevent Electro Static Discharge damage, I have seen expensive parts stop working as a result of being handled. It is no fun to get electric shock while working on the computer and it can not only kill you but also damage some components. Start by unplugging the iMac and don't touch the printed circuit boards when working on it. 16 Gig is the absolute minimum you can get away with for boot up drive, I guess you could use USB2 drive but then it will probably take an hour to boot up. I used 5-10 business cards to break the foam tape so I could remove the monitor and get to the internals.įinally you need at least 16 Gig USB3 thumb drive to boot up from. I used matt 'scotch' tape for temporary fix and then ShoeGoo for semi permanent closing. You should use very thin foam tape to tape the screen back on. I couldn't find mine so I used 2.4 mm (1/10 inch) slot screwdriver from a set I had lying around. There is a program available to fix that but you should be safe with all the latest drives.įor tools you need a Torx (T10) screwdriver. Apparently some hard drives will cause the fan inside to go to highest speed. Although this brand/type works fine for me I'm sure there are others that are comparable in most ways, check local availability and prices. I did not want to put smaller capacity SSD into the iMac and higher capacity SSDs were much more expensive. I purchased 500 GB Samsung SSD 850 Evo because it was decent capacity at comparatively low price in my area. For this step you need to gather some parts.Ī SSD.

Installing ssd in late 2012 mac mini