Advice Please: What To Do With Mac Mini mid2011???

[steve217]

Thank you for your reply Steve, but my Mac Mini mid2011 only has USB 2.0 ports so I think it's too slow to use an external USB HDD...

You’re right, @BeautifulWoman_1984, it would make the 2011 MM slower to use an external drive for the system disc.

I meant to buy an external disc - but as @Kaida pointed out, get a Seagate, not the WD example I posted, ☺️ - and remove the drive from the case.

When I added a second drive 4 years ago, for some odd economic reason, the portable drives were cheaper than the bare drives. If you’re careful cracking open the container, you’ll have a spare case when you’re done.

Good luck. I really think you should go for it, if just for the joy of taking something apart and putting it back togather.

 

[minifridge1138]

I must have missed something, how would having extra internal hard drives solve the problem of Apple's Security Updates ending in September 2020?

I think (as others have said) all of your options have been mentioned:
1 - Do nothing. Continue using the system after it is EOL and no more security updates come from Apple.
2 - Install a different Operating System. Windows and Linux would be the most obvious alternatives.
3 - Use an unsupported version of MacOS on the mini. dosdude's patch is one way to do it, but there are others.
4 - Buy a newer Mac Mini.

I understand #1 isn't an option because you're concerned about security.
I understand #3 isn't an option because you're concerned about security.
I understand #4 is unpleasant because it is expensive and you're perfectly happy with the performance of the hardware and aren't looking for a performance increase, just security updates.

So I think that leaves option #2.

For what it's worth, I'm in a similar situation with my some of my Macs as well.

 

[Boyd01]

Seems to me that it's hard to get around the fact that we're talking about a 9-year-old computer that won't last forever. And opening it up to add internal drives is risky. How much longer do you think a 2011 computer will last? Do you want to continue spending money to repair/replace things as they break?

My vote would be option #4. Get a refurbished base model 2018 Mini, they go for about $600 directly from Apple and have the same warranty as new. That should hold you until 2029 (since you're happy with 9-year-old computers). Your 2011 Mini isn't going to last that long, so why not go ahead and have the advantages of a new computer right now?

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Wow, thank you for everyone who has replied!

There are so many options for me to choose which HDD/external SSD that I'm finding it hard to choose which option!!!

Yes, usb 2 would slow down a SSD to the same speed the HDD is slowed down to. I still highly recommend installing a SATA SSD because the jump in performance with a 2011 Mini really gives new life to it

Okay, at this point you need to look at standard questions for creating a data storage solution: 1) How much data do you have? 2) How much data do you frequently access (and therefore need faster data transfer with it)? 3) How much of your data is valuable (and therefore needs some sort of protection)?

Thank you for your reply Twalk!

Can anyone please else confirm that me using the USB 2.0 port with an external SSD attached would be just as slow as my current external USB HDD that's connected to the USB 2.0 port?

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Does anyone know how the Thunderbolt port would perform if I connected an external SSD/HDD to it? Would it be slow like the USB 2.0 port?

 

[r6mile]

Does anyone know how the Thunderbolt port would perform if I connected an external SSD/HDD to it? Would it be slow like the USB 2.0 port?

It would be as fast as the internal SSD (the bandwith of Thunderbolt 1 is higher than the driver's SATA speeds). The Transcend Storejet would work. Thunderbolt is not cheap though - up to you if it's worthwhile for an old Mini.

 

[twalk]

It would be as fast as the internal SSD (the bandwith of Thunderbolt 1 is higher than the driver's SATA speeds). The Transcend Storejet would work. Thunderbolt is not cheap though - up to you if it's worthwhile for an old Mini.

In addition, the 2011 Mini supports Firewire 800 (which is also higher in bandwidth than a normal SATA SDD). A quick check of ebay lists several Firewire 800 external drive cases for around $20-$50

 

[avz]

Seems to me that it's hard to get around the fact that we're talking about a 9-year-old computer that won't last forever. And opening it up to add internal drives is risky. How much longer do you think a 2011 computer will last? Do you want to continue spending money to repair/replace things as they break?

My vote would be option #4. Get a refurbished base model 2018 Mini, they go for about $600 directly from Apple and have the same warranty as new. That should hold you until 2029 (since you're happy with 9-year-old computers). Your 2011 Mini isn't going to last that long, so why not go ahead and have the advantages of a new computer right now?

And my Late 2008 unibody MacBook said nothing and just grinned with knowledge.

 

[minifridge1138]

And my Late 2008 unibody MacBook said nothing and just grinned with knowledge.

I have little doubt that the OP’s Mac Mini will continue to run for years.

I have Macs going back to G3 iMacs that still work just as well as the day they were new, but they’re frozen in time.

The Mac Mini won’t continue to receive security updates from Apple, and that appears to be a deal breaker for the OP.

 

[avz]

I have little doubt that the OP’s Mac Mini will continue to run for years.

I have Macs going back to G3 iMacs that still work just as well as the day they were new, but they’re frozen in time.

The Mac Mini won’t continue to receive security updates from Apple, and that appears to be a deal breaker for the OP.

Huge difference between Late 2008 MacBook and G3 iMac. Late 2008 has a sweet spot in terms of power for basic consumer tasks(for at least the next decade), any more power is a surplus.

The OP has a right to worry and be concerned, I guess we all have limitations, but our own limitations have nothing to do with what actually is possible.

 

[Boyd01]

And my Late 2008 unibody MacBook said nothing and just grinned with knowledge.

And my 2008 15" MacBook Pro just sat in the closet and cried, with a dead battery and generally beat-up condition from heavy use at work and home. My PowerBook G4 sat next to it and didn't do anything, it died completely a few years ago. Just like the Power Mac G4 up in the attic. And there are ghosts of countless other Macs I've owned, going back to a 512k "Fat Mac" in 1985.

 

[avz]

And my 2008 15" MacBook Pro just sat in the closet and cried, with a dead battery and generally beat-up condition from heavy use at work and home. My PowerBook G4 sat next to it and didn't do anything, it died completely a few years ago. Just like the Power Mac G4 up in the attic. And there are ghosts of countless other Macs I've owned, going back to a 512k "Fat Mac" in 1985.

Lol. Ironically your experience is mostly with machines that are "pre Late 2008". This is exactly my point. Technological timeline has different points of varying significance.

 

[minifridge1138]

Huge difference between Late 2008 MacBook and G3 iMac. Late 2008 has a sweet spot in terms of power for basic consumer tasks(for at least the next decade), any more power is a surplus.

The OP has a right to worry and be concerned, I guess we all have limitations, but our own limitations have nothing to do with what actually is possible.

My point was just that the hardware can often be quite durable and last many years longer than than the OS support. And that’s the OP’s problem.

 

[avz]

My point was just that the hardware can often be quite durable and last many years longer than than the OS support. And that’s the OP’s problem.

I do get your point. I was just saying that durability of the G3 machines is completely irrelevant in practical terms. On the other hand durability of the Late 2008 MacBook is a game changer. The absence of the Metal capable GPU is a problem but not a "problem problem" if that makes sense. Mid 2011 Mac Mini has the exact same limitation as the Late 2008 MacBook and that is saying a lot.

 

[tstimper]

there should be two things:

- 15 years of security update for a OS
- a guaranteed reasonable sum for the return of a device to the manufacturer

Apple is the one of a few manufactures who would have the power to do both.

That would save much electronic waste.

Yes it does not always make sense to run an 15 year old computer.

But for instance in building automation, manufacturing, aerospace older computer are used for different reasons.

Until we have 15 years of security updates for macOS, i am using macOS High Sierra with latest patches and after end of support for macOS High Sierra we will install a Linux distribution on our Mac mini 2011 devices and run a more recent macOS in Vmware Player if needed.

With 16 GB RAM and a SSD and a Linux a Mac mini 2011 is still good for the next five to ten years at least as Remote Desktop client an for most of internet surfing.

 

[iAssimilated]

I do not know if I agree with you on 15 years of security updates for an OS, it does seem sustainable IMHO (at least with macOS releases happening yearly), but...

With 16 GB RAM and a SSD and a Linux a Mac mini 2011 is still good for the next five to ten years at least as Remote Desktop client an for most of internet surfing.

... I do agree with you on this! My 2011 mini is going to run as long as it continues to function with KDE neon. The combination makes my mini very capable for a nine year old machine.

 

[tstimper]

... I do agree with you on this! My 2011 mini is going to run as long as it continues to function with KDE neon. The combination makes my mini very capable for a nine year old machine.

Which Linux distribution do you use?

 

[iAssimilated]

Kde neon - which offers the latest KDE built on top of (at the moment) ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

It would be as fast as the internal SSD (the bandwith of Thunderbolt 1 is higher than the driver's SATA speeds). The Transcend Storejet would work. Thunderbolt is not cheap though - up to you if it's worthwhile for an old Mini.

WOW, I had no idea that the external Thunderbolt 1 speed was faster than the internal SATA speeds of the Mac Mini mid2011... I just assumed that because Thunderbolt 1 was external it would be slower than the internal SATA speeds.

Can anyone please confirm this? I've been looking online for an article but I can't find anything comparing speeds of an external HDD connected via Thunderbolt 1 and an internal HDD connected to the Mac Mini mid2011's SATA cable?

 

[jdoyle]

Does that one have HDMI on it? I have an old Mac mini running High Sierra connected to my 65inch TV with wirelsss keyboard and mouse. Its the ultimate media centre ( as long as 1080p is good enough for you) . You can run KODI, Stremio, go to any streaming site. etc. I find it very handy.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Does that one have HDMI on it? I have an old Mac mini running High Sierra connected to my 65inch TV with wirelsss keyboard and mouse. Its the ultimate media centre ( as long as 1080p is good enough for you) . You can run KODI, Stremio, go to any streaming site. etc. I find it very handy.

Yes the Mac Mini mid2011 does have HDMI, but I'm really focused on trying to decide between installing an internal HDD using the SATA cable or buying a Thunderbolt 1 external enclosure and connecting an external HDD to it.

 

[r6mile]

WOW, I had no idea that the external Thunderbolt 1 speed was faster than the internal SATA speeds of the Mac Mini mid2011... I just assumed that because Thunderbolt 1 was external it would be slower than the internal SATA speeds.
t
Can anyone please confirm this? I've been looking online for an article but I can't find anything comparing speeds of an external HDD connected via Thunderbolt 1 and an internal HDD connected to the Mac Mini mid2011's SATA cable?

The bandwidth of Thunderbolt 1 is 10GBit/s. The bandwidth of SATA III is 6Gbit/s. So you can see that a SATA III drive will not be throttled by running over Thunderbolt - it should run just as fast.

Running an HDD over Thunderbolt 1 is quite pointless though;
Thunderbolt I enclosures are expensive and you'd be massively underutilising their potential by running a spinning drive through it. Just reference, on my Mac Pro I get 100 Mbps transfer speed on my HDD, and this is on a 7200rpm 3.5" drive. This is about fifth or a sixth of what you'd expect to get on an SSD, whether through SATA III or Thunderbolt.

As I've mentioned before, investing on a Thunderbolt I external is only really worthwhile if you're running an SSD (and even then it might be a marginal call, given that you don't expect to be running this machine for much longer given your OS support concerns).

If you really insist on having an HDD instead of an SSD, it might just be cheaper to pay and take it to a repair shop for them to install a new drive, than going the external route.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

The bandwidth of Thunderbolt 1 is 10GBit/s. The bandwidth of SATA III is 6Gbit/s. So you can see that a SATA III drive will not be throttled by running over Thunderbolt - it should run just as fast.

Running an HDD over Thunderbolt 1 is quite pointless though;
Thunderbolt I enclosures are expensive and you'd be massively underutilising their potential by running a spinning drive through it. Just reference, on my Mac Pro I get 100 Mbps transfer speed on my HDD, and this is on a 7200rpm 3.5" drive. This is about fifth or a sixth of what you'd expect to get on an SSD, whether through SATA III or Thunderbolt.

As I've mentioned before, investing on a Thunderbolt I external is only really worthwhile if you're running an SSD (and even then it might be a marginal call, given that you don't expect to be running this machine for much longer given your OS support concerns).

If you really insist on having an HDD instead of an SSD, it might just be cheaper to pay and take it to a repair shop for them to install a new drive, than going the external route.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply R6mile!

It seems like my choice is between:
1. Buying a Thunderbolt 1 external enclosure
OR
2. Opening the Mac Mini mid2011 and installing an internal HDD using the SATA cable


I'm worried about getting slow responsive times by using a Firewire external enclosure. Do you think Firewire is worth considering?

I still want to keep running the Mac Mini mid2011 after High Sierra supports, but I'll just install another OS like Linux.

 

[r6mile]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply R6mile!

It seems like my choice is between:
1. Buying a Thunderbolt 1 external enclosure
OR
2. Opening the Mac Mini mid2011 and installing an internal HDD using the SATA cable


I'm worried about getting slow responsive times by using a Firewire external enclosure. Do you think Firewire is worth considering?

I still want to keep running the Mac Mini mid2011 after High Sierra supports, but I'll just install another OS like Linux.

To be honest, what I would actually recommend for you - given that you seem to need a lot of storage, and that Thunderbolt 1/2 is very expensive - is pay someone to install two new drives in your Mini: one small SSD to be your boot drive (128/256GB should suffice) and one larger HDD (1TB/2TB? up to you) for your data. Probably the easier and most sustainable solution.

I would not consider Firewire for a boot drive - I use it just for data storage and its ok for that, but probably not suitable for boot.

 

[iluvmacs99]

WOW, I had no idea that the external Thunderbolt 1 speed was faster than the internal SATA speeds of the Mac Mini mid2011... I just assumed that because Thunderbolt 1 was external it would be slower than the internal SATA speeds.

Can anyone please confirm this? I've been looking online for an article but I can't find anything comparing speeds of an external HDD connected via Thunderbolt 1 and an internal HDD connected to the Mac Mini mid2011's SATA cable?

I do own a Mac Mini 2011 connected to a FireWire 800 hard drive and a Thunderbolt 1/2 hub that connect to a USB 3 USAP hard drive NexSTAR dock which roughly gives me 6Gbps xfer speeds out 10.

On the Mac Mini 2011 with an internal Kingston 240Gb SSD = 226MB/s read and 100MB/s write
On the Mac Mini 2011 with a Firewire 800 5400RPM hard drive = 60MB/s read and 55MB/s write
On the Mac Mini 2011 with a Thunderbolt hub connected to 7200RPM drive = 100MB/s read and 100MB/s write
On the Mac Mini 2011 with a Thunderbolt hub connected to 480GB SSD USB USAP = 480MB/s read and 400MB/s write

So all in all, an SSD drive connected to a Thunderbolt hub on the Mac Mini 2011 smokes not only the internal SSD, but also anything else that could connect to the 2011 Mini.

I multi-boot this Mini 2011 as it is my network server for all my Macs, PCs and Linux machines, and because the StarTech Thunderbolt Hub also comes with an extra Gigabit ethernet and HDMI port, I use the Gigabit ethernet to connect to my PowerMac G5 as my secondary server to the Mini. Anything through Thunderbolt is just super fast and great, including ethernet which doesn't seemed to be slowed down by any major activities while the Mini 2011 is serving other computers!

If you are going to go the Thunderbolt route, I suggest that you get a Startech hub. I got one pretty cheap from a recycling place where I worked, only $10, but usually retails around $80 used. They are much more expensive when you buy them new, but now they shouldn't be because Thunderbolt 1/2 are obsolete. Thunderbolt 3 and soon 4 are current. Getting a hub gives you multiple USB 3 ports which makes the Mini 2011 almost like the Mini 2012. USB 3 with USAP is fast enough for boot and write as you could see with my SSD connected to the Thunderbolt HUB. Even my Mac Pro with the Caldigit 3 PRO esata and USB3 PCIe card couldn't match its speeds compared to my Mini 2011 with Thunderbolt. So yes, Thunderbolt is fast.

Hope this helps.