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MM2012

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
13
0
For those who changed the drive. What's you plan if the mini breaks down. Do you plan to put back the OEM drive and bring back to Apple to fix? If you already put the OEM as you storage, what will you do?
 

ramram55

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2012
825
183
For those who changed the drive. What's you plan if the mini breaks down. Do you plan to put back the OEM drive and bring back to Apple to fix? If you already put the OEM as you storage, what will you do?
Always put your oem drive in the mac mini for repair, otherwise apple will not touch your machine.
 

MM2012

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
13
0
Do they care what's inside the OEM. I will use it as storage. I don't want to wipe out the drive and put the OS back. Any suggestion?
 

ramram55

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2012
825
183
Do they care what's inside the OEM. I will use it as storage. I don't want to wipe out the drive and put the OS back. Any suggestion?
They will let you know they will deal with only the OEM they sold you, as simple as that, they will not touch your machine if the oem is not inside.
 

monokitty

macrumors regular
Sep 16, 2011
192
8
They will let you know they will deal with only the OEM they sold you, as simple as that, they will not touch your machine if the oem is not inside.

Not entirely true. The part you added/exchanged will not be covered, but everything else in the Mac will be unless that third-party part caused a different failure (which hard drives don't, normally speaking). I work for an independent Apple Service Provider and I see machines every day with modified drives/RAM and there is no issue with providing AppleCare-covered repairs on the rest of the machine.
 

That-Guy

macrumors 6502a
Feb 25, 2012
662
57
UK
So for me with my Stock HDD and a SSD in my mini it won't be a problem as long as the fault has nothing to do with the SSD? Is this correct?

I also have Crucial Memory installed :)
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
So for me with my Stock HDD and a SSD in my mini it won't be a problem as long as the fault has nothing to do with the SSD? Is this correct?

I also have Crucial Memory installed :)

No hdds are not a user replaceable part. The truth is very simple if you don't put the oem back they can say no warranty.

The next part is very important they don't say no warranty every time it is done at their discretion. Many times they fix the issue and honor the warranty but not every time. This is the usa warranty I speak for and can vary state to state. You are uk so ???
 

rshock

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2012
31
0
Not entirely true. The part you added/exchanged will not be covered, but everything else in the Mac will be unless that third-party part caused a different failure (which hard drives don't, normally speaking). I work for an independent Apple Service Provider and I see machines every day with modified drives/RAM and there is no issue with providing AppleCare-covered repairs on the rest of the machine.

But on the mini, isn't this only true if an authorized ASP installed the new drive? If the end user swaps out the drive on the Mini himself/herself, I thought that did void warranty/Apple Care, as the hard drive in the Mini is not a user upgradable part.
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
If your mini ever breaks during warranty just open it up, put original drive in and save yourself some possible problems.
 

tshrimp

macrumors 6502
Mar 30, 2012
412
3,436
I asked a person with Apple this exact question, and he said to avoid any issues he would recommend putting the OEM drive back in before taking it in.
 

Anthony.L

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2006
54
0
Seattle, WA
Not entirely true. The part you added/exchanged will not be covered, but everything else in the Mac will be unless that third-party part caused a different failure (which hard drives don't, normally speaking). I work for an independent Apple Service Provider and I see machines every day with modified drives/RAM and there is no issue with providing AppleCare-covered repairs on the rest of the machine.

Not the experience I've seen with friends when going through a Apple Retail Store. Two different friends took there MBP into the genius bar on two separate occasions, two different retail stores. They were both denied any service, and said they wouldn't touch the MBP because it had an aftermarket SSD installed. They also threatened their AppleCare was now null and void.
 

MM2012

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
13
0
Not the experience I've seen with friends when going through a Apple Retail Store. Two different friends took there MBP into the genius bar on two separate occasions, two different retail stores. They were both denied any service, and said they wouldn't touch the MBP because it had an aftermarket SSD installed. They also threatened their AppleCare was now null and void.

Your friends experiences are the exact concern I have. I was going to install an aftermaket SSD and use OEM as storage. I guess that won't work if I need applecare. That sucks
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
Your friends experiences are the exact concern I have. I was going to install an aftermaket SSD and use OEM as storage. I guess that won't work if I need applecare. That sucks

WELL this is not terrible. I have done lots of testing of usb3 and t-bolt cases they are pretty good. you can run the osx in the external . your performance drops a bit on the ssd but 0 risk and no time wasted taking apart the mini. also instant fix if the external goes bad.
 

MM2012

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
13
0
WELL this is not terrible. I have done lots of testing of usb3 and t-bolt cases they are pretty good. you can run the osx in the external . your performance drops a bit on the ssd but 0 risk and no time wasted taking apart the mini. also instant fix if the external goes bad.

Herer is my delimma, I can use the USB but then I will need to format the OEM and use it as storage. When I bring the Mini in wont they ask where is my OS?
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
Herer is my delimma, I can use the USB but then I will need to format the OEM and use it as storage. When I bring the Mini in wont they ask where is my OS?

no what you do is leave the oem hdd in the machine and make 2 partitions. 1 with 40gb let it keep the oem osx never use it and leave it alone as a backup. second partition turn in to storage. I just set up a 2.3 quad mini today. I have it with a 256gb ssd in a usb3 drive see photo. now my booter is the usb3. the oem has 1 partition.

I hit partitioner in utility disk and changed the oem hdd to 1 98gb with the osx and 1 900gb for storage see second shot and third shot. fourth shot all done.. safe no warranty issues.. oem hdd never moved a backup oem osx in place a large storage drive and my external ssd booter.

about 1 hour if the external booter is big. easy peasy. and i you want to f with the internal after warranty you can. it is a bit slower then the ssd on the internal sata then in external usb3 case.


for faster external booters

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



http://www.amazon.com/9000291-Rugge...1124&sr=1-7&keywords=thunderbolt+rugged+lacie

http://www.amazon.com/9000352-Rugge...1160&sr=1-9&keywords=thunderbolt+rugged+lacie

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

these are the fastest but
hi end the 512gb ssd and the 1tb ssd


http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10549
 

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Last edited:

slickadam

macrumors member
Nov 6, 2012
50
2
Germany & Hungary
no what you do is leave the oem hdd in the machine and make 2 partitions. 1 with 40gb let it keep the oem osx never use it and leave it alone as a backup. second partition turn in to storage. I just set up a 2.3 quad mini today. I have it with a 256gb ssd in a usb3 drive see photo. now my booter is the usb3. the oem has 1 partition.

I hit partitioner in utility disk and changed the oem hdd to 1 98gb with the osx and 1 900gb for storage see second shot and third shot. fourth shot all done.. safe no warranty issues.. oem hdd never moved a backup oem osx in place a large storage drive and my external ssd booter.

about 1 hour if the external booter is big. easy peasy. and i you want to f with the internal after warranty you can. it is a bit slower then the ssd on the internal sata then in external usb3 case.


for faster external booters

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



http://www.amazon.com/9000291-Rugge...1124&sr=1-7&keywords=thunderbolt+rugged+lacie

http://www.amazon.com/9000352-Rugge...1160&sr=1-9&keywords=thunderbolt+rugged+lacie

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

these are the fastest but
hi end the 512gb ssd and the 1tb ssd


http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10549

I was thinking about buying an internal ssd for my new mac mini, but I don't want to void my warranty either. I have a few questions:
- Can your Mac Mini boot from the external USB 3.0 SSD without any problem? I found other topics, where the guys mentioned, that USB3.0-boot just doesn't work with certain 2012 Apple Computers...
- How fast is your external SSD? Did you perform any benchmark tests?
- VERY IMPORTANT question: do you think the USB3.0 is stable enough to run the OS? USB2.0 was never that stable, that's one of the reasons, why other standards (Firewire, eSATA, ...) exist.

Thanks in advance!
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
I was thinking about buying an internal ssd for my new mac mini, but I don't want to void my warranty either. I have a few questions:
- Can your Mac Mini boot from the external USB 3.0 SSD without any problem? I found other topics, where the guys mentioned, that USB3.0-boot just doesn't work with certain 2012 Apple Computers...
- How fast is your external SSD? Did you perform any benchmark tests?
- VERY IMPORTANT question: do you think the USB3.0 is stable enough to run the OS? USB2.0 was never that stable, that's one of the reasons, why other standards (Firewire, eSATA, ...) exist.

Thanks in advance!

still testing search on this site my name has 3 or 4 threads on external ssd booters. I no longer put ssd in my personal computers. I external boot with t-bolt mostly but so far usb3 looks good.
 

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
I was thinking about buying an internal ssd for my new mac mini, but I don't want to void my warranty either. I have a few questions:
- Can your Mac Mini boot from the external USB 3.0 SSD without any problem? I found other topics, where the guys mentioned, that USB3.0-boot just doesn't work with certain 2012 Apple Computers...
- How fast is your external SSD? Did you perform any benchmark tests?
- VERY IMPORTANT question: do you think the USB3.0 is stable enough to run the OS? USB2.0 was never that stable, that's one of the reasons, why other standards (Firewire, eSATA, ...) exist.

1) Don't know about booting from USB3 but I had an iMac for a couple weeks and booted it from an SSD in a USB2 enclosure and it worked fine.

2) Using my external USB2 SSD was a huge improvement in speed; USB3 will increase the bandwidth from ~20 MB/s to ~200 MB/s which is going to be faster than any hard drive and isn't THAT much slower than the maximum speed of most SSDs. There really is basically no reason to replace the Mini's internal drive with an SSD unless the internal drive is louder than you would like.

3) Not sure what you mean by "stable." Do you mean disconnecting and reconnecting unpredictably? I've had no problem with that since I started using USB1 about 15 years ago. Like I said, I was booting an iMac off a USB2 drive for a couple weeks and it worked flawlessly.

----------

Herer is my delimma, I can use the USB but then I will need to format the OEM and use it as storage. When I bring the Mini in wont they ask where is my OS?

Here's what I've been doing. I have a 128GB SSD and a hard drive. I partition the hard drive so it has a 128GB partition which is a copy of what's on the SSD. (I copy the contents around with SuperDuper every few weeks or as needed.) That way I have a backup of my boot drive if something ever goes wrong, and also I can disconnect the SSD if I want (to travel?) and the computer will work exactly the same, just slower.
 

slickadam

macrumors member
Nov 6, 2012
50
2
Germany & Hungary
1) Don't know about booting from USB3 but I had an iMac for a couple weeks and booted it from an SSD in a USB2 enclosure and it worked fine.

2) Using my external USB2 SSD was a huge improvement in speed; USB3 will increase the bandwidth from ~20 MB/s to ~200 MB/s which is going to be faster than any hard drive and isn't THAT much slower than the maximum speed of most SSDs. There really is basically no reason to replace the Mini's internal drive with an SSD unless the internal drive is louder than you would like.

3) Not sure what you mean by "stable." Do you mean disconnecting and reconnecting unpredictably? I've had no problem with that since I started using USB1 about 15 years ago. Like I said, I was booting an iMac off a USB2 drive for a couple weeks and it worked flawlessly.

----------



Here's what I've been doing. I have a 128GB SSD and a hard drive. I partition the hard drive so it has a 128GB partition which is a copy of what's on the SSD. (I copy the contents around with SuperDuper every few weeks or as needed.) That way I have a backup of my boot drive if something ever goes wrong, and also I can disconnect the SSD if I want (to travel?) and the computer will work exactly the same, just slower.

I THINK the USB (2 or 3) is not designed for the continuous and fast communication. also the power supply of the USB is not perfect either (unless your external device has its own PSU).
I would be happy, if this USB3+SSD combo worked in the long run. It still cheaper than a Thunderbolt case + SSD.:)
 

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
I THINK the USB (2 or 3) is not designed for the continuous and fast communication. also the power supply of the USB is not perfect either (unless your external device has its own PSU).
I would be happy, if this USB3+SSD combo worked in the long run. It still cheaper than a Thunderbolt case + SSD.:)

I don't know where you're getting your information from re: USB but I doubt it's right. As an electrical engineer I know how these standards and products are designed, and I can assure you that the engineers who designed USB and USB-compatible parts did not design them to only "sort of" work. Actually I can guarantee you that anything with a USB connector has been tested to transfer data with no errors continuously for several days or possibly weeks depending on the product.

And personally, I've been backing up my computers for years to 2.5" external USB-powered drives which often requires an hour or more of continuous and fast communication, and if there were any problems or errors with that connection that caused my backups to be corrupted I would be furious. But so far no problems.
 

slickadam

macrumors member
Nov 6, 2012
50
2
Germany & Hungary
I don't know where you're getting your information from re: USB but I doubt it's right. As an electrical engineer I know how these standards and products are designed, and I can assure you that the engineers who designed USB and USB-compatible parts did not design them to only "sort of" work. Actually I can guarantee you that anything with a USB connector has been tested to transfer data with no errors continuously for several days or possibly weeks depending on the product.

And personally, I've been backing up my computers for years to 2.5" external USB-powered drives which often requires an hour or more of continuous and fast communication, and if there were any problems or errors with that connection that caused my backups to be corrupted I would be furious. But so far no problems.

Okay, I am not an electrical engineer, so I believe you :D And I hope they tested those connectors with fast bi-directional communication too.
But I still need more feedbacks. I'd like to know if this ssd+3.0 combo works just like an internal SSD. For months, for years, ... :)
 

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
Okay, I am not an electrical engineer, so I believe you :D And I hope they tested those connectors with fast bi-directional communication too.
But I still need more feedbacks. I'd like to know if this ssd+3.0 combo works just like an internal SSD. For months, for years, ... :)

I will gladly bet you a pint that you will be 100% satisfied if you connect an SSD to your Mini via USB3. And if anything DOES go wrong, it could only be with the USB port, or the enclosure, or the drive, each of which is easy to swap out. (Okay, the port can't be swapped, but you can use a different port.) But I'm basically certain nothing will go wrong. Remember, the internal drive is connected to the computer guts too. SATA isn't that different from USB, it's just a different protocol.
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
Okay, I am not an electrical engineer, so I believe you :D And I hope they tested those connectors with fast bi-directional communication too.
But I still need more feedbacks. I'd like to know if this ssd+3.0 combo works just like an internal SSD. For months, for years, ... :)

since the oldest tester I know on a 2012 mac mini is me at 3 or 4 days it is fine with usb3. the oldest tests of t-bolts are me at 10 months they are fine. 10 months plus on a pegasus t-bolt with a 2011 mac mini and 9 months on a 2011 with a lacie little big disk. pm me in a few weeks to see if i still like the usb3.

put a gun to my headand tell me to make a pick right now i pick the lacie lbd.
speed ,price, reliable are known factors to me all known to be good.
 

slickadam

macrumors member
Nov 6, 2012
50
2
Germany & Hungary
I will gladly bet you a pint that you will be 100% satisfied if you connect an SSD to your Mini via USB3. And if anything DOES go wrong, it could only be with the USB port, or the enclosure, or the drive, each of which is easy to swap out. (Okay, the port can't be swapped, but you can use a different port.) But I'm basically certain nothing will go wrong. Remember, the internal drive is connected to the computer guts too. SATA isn't that different from USB, it's just a different protocol.

other question (but still related to this usb3-topic): does the communication with an external ssd/hdd require more processor-power than it does with an internal sad/hdd?
i know, i know, the new mac minis are pretty capable, but still...

(sorry for my english. as you probably already noticed, it's not my native language :))
 
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