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mdgm

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 2, 2010
1,665
407
I'm not very confident about the idea of pulling apart a Mac Mini 2011 Server to replace the disks (I think one has failed, either that or some other component) with SSDs.

Just got an OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock, Apple bi-directional TB3 to TB2 adapter, an Apple Thunderbolt cable, an OWC Envoy Express and a 1TB Aura P12 SSD.

I only have TB1 ports on the Mini so the speeds aren't the best, but TB1 is still the best choice when the alternatives are USB2 and FW800. The dock does have USB3 ports but you need a 2017 or newer Mac to boot off those.

I need the dock as the NVMe drive is bus powered and the TB3 to TB2 adapter doesn't transfer power.

Cloned the HDD across using Superduper and changed the Startup disk. My initial reaction is that the difference is amazing. Apps load much quicker and it feels so much more responsive.

I am limited to running Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra (or a later version via a hack) as the drive only works with 10.13 and later but that's O.K.
 
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