2 Hard Drives on Mac Mini 2010?

[sammyman]

Can I install 2 hard drives in a Mac Mini 2010 by getting rid of the optical drive? I know this is possible with the older models, but I haven't seen anything regarding 2010 minis.

I am thinking about an SSD + 500GB Seagate XT. Hoping this will make working with Photoshop a pleasure. Also, would it be possible to burn CD's to a Macbook Pro nearby, or even a PC in a media center nearby?

 

[dolphin842]

It's technically possible to replace the optical drive with a hard drive, but I haven't seen any 3rd party mounting solutions appear yet (i.e. OptiBay). It's just a guess, but the issue may be due to the opening being smaller on the new Mini.

Also, I believe the built-in Remote Disc service allows you to read from discs but not burn to them. A generic external drive should take care of burning, but if you ever want to install Windows in Boot Camp, you'd have to get the official MacBook Air drive from Apple.

 

[onlymybiribiri]

It seems that if you install a second hard drive you will need to get an external DVD/CD reader. Why go through all of the effort when you could just get an external hard drive? I understand if you were planning on using the second drive for Windows, I have heard that Windows does not like to install to externals.

 

[glhiii]

MacMini with 2 hard disks

I bought an assembly for a second hard disk from iFixit for my 3,1 MacMini. It replaces the optical disk, works perfectly and was not very hard to install. They don't guarantee it will work with my MacMini, but it does -- should work with the last 2 revs of the computer that have an external power source. I don't know whether they are available anymore. I have them hooked up as one Raid drive, and so the 2 hard disks are pretty fast.

 

[onlymybiribiri]

I bought an assembly for a second hard disk from iFixit for my 3,1 MacMini. It replaces the optical disk, works perfectly and was not very hard to install. They don't guarantee it will work with my MacMini, but it does -- should work with the last 2 revs of the computer that have an external power source. I don't know whether they are available anymore. I have them hooked up as one Raid drive, and so the 2 hard disks are pretty fast.

Interesting, I'll have to see if I can find a relatively cheap mac mini. I'd really like to be able to do this and use it as a torrent box/media server.