2012 Mac Mini i7 1TB hard drive question

How do you determine the brand?

APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662:

Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
Model: APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662
Revision: JA0AB560
Serial Number: J8900119HB1VNC
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk1
Rotational Rate: 5400
Medium Type: Rotational
Bay Name: Lower
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
disk1s1:
Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s1
Content: EFI
disk1s2:
Capacity: 999.35 GB (999,345,127,424 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s2
Content: Apple_CoreStorage
Boot OS X:
Capacity: 650 MB (650,002,432 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s3
Content: Apple_Boot
Volume UUID: 2FCB49FD-7D73-308C-A24A-2502C36B04FF

WDC 7500BTKT x 2. I assume that is Western Digital per http://www.wdc.com/global/products/specs/?driveID=905&language=1

I am assuming your going by model? I'm curious what mine is now.

jjk454ss said:

How do you determine the brand?

APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662:

Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
Model: APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 ---------this is a hitachi 1tb 5400 rpm hdd
Revision: JA0AB560
Serial Number: J8900119HB1VNC
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk1
Rotational Rate: 5400
Medium Type: Rotational
Bay Name: Lower
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
disk1s1:
Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s1
Content: EFI
disk1s2:
Capacity: 999.35 GB (999,345,127,424 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s2
Content: Apple_CoreStorage
Boot OS X:
Capacity: 650 MB (650,002,432 bytes)
BSD Name: disk1s3
Content: Apple_Boot
Volume UUID: 2FCB49FD-7D73-308C-A24A-2502C36B04FF

Click to expand...

I marked that this is an hitachi see above in bold. my 2.3 quad core diy fusion has a samsung 500gb ssd and a hitachi 1tb 5400 rpm(stock)

philipma1957 said:

I marked that this is an hitachi see above in bold

Click to expand...

Thanks

jjk454ss said:

Thanks

Click to expand...

you are welcome. I have opened a few of the 2.3 2012 quads.

they have hitachi or toshiba 1tb 5400 rpm hdds

Fairly confident mine was a hitachi

Mine is a Hitachi

HTS541010A9E662 as part of a BTO Fusion i7 2.6GHz

Hitachi 1TB here.

yeah my hitachi to toshiba ratio in these minis is 15 or 16 to 1. if you go back to novemeber when I got the new quad and did lots of heat testing on it the machine died. that was the only 2012 that I got with a toshiba/ every one since then has been hitachi

which is better?

kenoflife said:

which is better?

Click to expand...

I liked the toshiba better but that machine was the only 2012 mini that ended up broken. Not saying it is the toshiba's fault. I will look for some reviews of the two drives. newegg has some reviews

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145848


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149377


I felt like the toshiba was faster.

product26 said:

Can those of you who own a 2012 Mac Mini i7 with the 1TB hard drive please check to see what brand of hard drive is in your mini?

To do so, select Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info > System Report > Serial-ATA and copy/paste the contents.

Click to expand...

In many cases, it is a Hitachi drive.

AFAIR, Apple had a contract with WD. Now Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) is a subdivision of WD, and HGST has some very nice HDD options in all kind of markets. So that is (flexibility) the main reason why Apple uses HGST HDDs.

The average reliability of modern SSDs and HDDs is not Apples main problem, because they give the user Time Machine, which is just one backup method, which you can use.

OS X 10.8.3 Now Offers Fusion Drive Possibilities For Non-Fusion Drive Equipped Macs

FROM: http://blog.macsales.com/17624-os-x...tup-option-for-non-fusion-drive-equipped-macs

We’ve been waiting and waiting for Apple to release the next version of OS X Mountain Lion in hopes that the next full version would have all the necessary components to setup a Fusion drive on any Mac capable of installing a hard drive and SSD together. A little over a week ago, Apple released OS X version 10.8.3 and, with one small caveat, our hopes were fulfilled.
The Profusion Of Fusion Confusion

But before we get to showing you exactly how to setup your own DIY Fusion drive, I’d like to dispel some mis-information that has been floating around the web. Up until now, most of the reports you’ve read about creating your own DIY Fusion drive on a machine have been incomplete. There have been many tutorials on how to create a Core Storage volume that have been labeled as “how to create a Fusion drive”. They are two similar, yet different drive configurations. I’ve addressed a lot of this information in comments on the OWC Blog, but figure it would be a good idea to review and further explain what a Fusion drive actually is as opposed to a Core Storage volume.

When Apple introduced Lion, they added a logical volume manager (Core Storage) to the OS. The key factor to Core Storage is that it allows a single volume to span multiple physical disks. Which makes the Fusion drive possible, but it isn’t the only aspect.

What turns a Core Storage drive into a Fusion drive is the introduction of automated storage tiering to mix. This has actually been around since 2005 on larger scale networks where the software moves data across different disk types and RAID levels in order to balance space, cost and performance requirements of a server. Prior to the automation software, this type of data manipulation was done manually.

Most of the terminal command setups we’ve seen online are only initiating that Core Storage volume. It needs the software to run the automated storage tiering to make it a true Fusion Drive. Until now, we’ve only seen that software component in the 2012 Mac mini and 2012 iMac models that ship with their specific builds of 10.8.2

You don’t find out that it’s not truly ‘Fusion’ until the SSD portion has been completely filled up. And even then – what’s on the SSD continues to be read at full SSD speed, so it’s only the new data writes (where existing data on SSD is not being replaced) and subsequent reads of that HDD stored data that are slower due to being on the HDD. The way a Core Storage volume works, it really makes people think they’ve created a true Fusion drive. So, now that you know the difference, the question on everyone’s mind is…

How to read a Travelstar model number

Found this on Hitachi/HGST website:

How to read the Travelstar model number
HTS727575A9E364 = 750GB, SATA 3Gb/s
H = HGST
T = Travelstar
S = Standard (vs E for Enhanced Availability)
72 = 7200 RPM
10 = Full capacity — 1TB
10 = Capacity this model, 10 = 1TB (75 = 750GB, 64 = 640GB)
A = Generation code
9 = 9.5mm z-height
E6 = SATA 6Gb/s with 512 emulation
8 = 8MB cache
0 = No encryption (1 = BDE, 5 = TCG Opal Encryption)

So the Mac Mini number supplied by jjk454ss, HTS541010A9E662 translates:

H - HGST
T - Travelstar
S - standard
54 - 5400RPM
10 - full capacity 1TB
10 - a 1TB capacity
A - the "A" generation I assume, meaning what? I don't know.
9 - 9.5mm thickness
E6 - SATA 6Gb/s with 512 emulation
6 - a 6MB cache? Weird size IMO
2 - some type of encryption rather than none, I assume.

TADA!

Mac Mini HGST Update

Ye All,

In response to my email (the relevant bits) below:

===========================
*The Situation*
I am considering buying a Mac Mini, one of the model numbers above. But price difference between model "388" and the model "389" is distorted.

* "388" models have a single 1TB drive, your model number
HTS541010A9E662.
* "389" models have two 1TB drives, same model number.

*Questions for you:*
1 - Can I use your models HTS541010A9E680 or HTS541010A9E681 with the
HTS541010A9E662? I was thinking about striping them (RAID 0) to increase data transfer speeds.
2 - I combed your website and read everything I could. The last two numbers in the model numbers, according to your "How to read the Travelstar model number" on the last page of the data sheet TS5K1000_ds.pdf, are defined as:
8 = 8MB cache
0 = No encryption (1 = BDE, 5 = TCG Opal Encryption)
3 - So what does the "62" designate in the Mac Mini models? "6" = 6MB cache? And the "2" = some undefined encryption?
===============================

HGST Support replied this afternoon with the following:

===============================
Hello Spike,

Thank you for contacting HGST. When you plan on RAIDing drives together, we recommend using the same exact part number drives. As this will give you the most stable RAID. If you mix part numbers, they can still be RAIDed to together in most cases but the RAID will not be that stable. It could cause the RAID to degrade to corrupt itself. The 3 model numbers you provded will all have slightly different Part Numbers. So they should be fine to RAID together, but it would not be the most stable you could get.

As for Model Number: HTS541010A9E662, this looks like it is going to be an OEM drive through Apple. With OEM drives, we manufacture those drives and sell them to computer companies like Dell, HP, Apple. When we do this, those companies take all liability for these drives. They get their own uique Model/Part Number, the drives get loaded with that companies specific firmware, and covered by that companies warranty. OEM drives are also not retail drives. The reason we do not have a listed for what the "2" at the end of the model number means, is because it is specific to Apple. We do not sell a drive retail that is the exact same as that Apple drive.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.

Regards
Matt
HGST Technical Support Center
===========================

So that's what I know. Non-Apple modified drives apparently work just fine, but are not "customer supported" by Apple. And I wish I could get a 388 or 389 Mini with cheapest or no HD and smallest or no RAM! And an install flash or external boot drive. Guess I'll have to buy the minimum configuration do what I want and try to sell the replaced items.

Anyone interested in 2x2GB RAM for a Mac Mini or MacBook Pro (not Retina).

Sincerely,
Spike

Apple hdd hts541010a9e662

Is this a question?

Miat,

Are you asking a question?
Or just restating the drive we are referring to?
Or are you interested in buying or selling?
Or is this what you have in your Mini too?

My guess is the later.

Or is this what you have in your Mini too?

My guess is the later.

Click to expand...

This.

The latter

Miat,

So if you want to add another drive you can put in virtually any 2.5 inch 9.5mm drive, but if you want to stripe the two drives you should get one with the same model number as the HGST guy expounded upon.

The only place to get that HGST OEM model, specifically manufactured for Apple, is from Apple or from someone who owns one from their Apple who replaced it with a different drive.

The only reason to worry about his at all is if you intend to stripe the drives.

Sorry for the overkill, if this was already clear in my previous post.

Replaced mine a few weeks back. It was indeed a Hitachi Drive.