Fix old Mac Mini or buy used newer one?

[Okusaguy]

Hi everyone,

I apologize in advance if I’m in the wrong section but I just have a quick question and I’m wondering if anyone can help me out and I’m new here.

My 2011 Mac Mini’s drive has failed.
I managed to back up my important info off of it and wiped it clean before it fully failed.

The Smart Status said it was failing.

My question is, should I just buy a new drive and replace it with the failed one or should I buy a used MacMini for double that price.

I’m assuming the drive and install would be around $150 and I can get a used 2014 model for around $300.

I also want to point out that I only used this computer about twice a week at one of my offices and did basic work on it, no gaming or anything that needs more power and speed than the 2011 drive that was in there.

What do you guys recommend I do?

Thank you!

 

[Sedulous]

Considering the use-case, I think I’d drop in a 500 GB SSD. They usually go for $80 and installation is easy enough.

 

[McTinker]

Agree. If the 2011 fits your bill, and you do only basic work, a smaller and older model SATA SSD would still be an upgrade, costs much less than $150. And actually it's fun to do.

 

[smirking]

I second everyone who said just install a new drive. If you had a hard drive in it before, you'll be amazed at how much performance it'll gain with an SSD. Swapping an HDD for an SSD is the easiest way to supercharge your computer.

 

[Ybersetzer]

Also agree, considering the use-case ... fit a SSD and soldier on!

 

[Okusaguy]

thank you so much everyone!
I think I will just upgrade the drive.

can you guys help me find a drive?
Where would I go online to see my options and know that it will fit my Mac mini?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Any 2.5" SSD will work. Samsung EVO Pro are the preferred models but anything will do. Crucial and Kingston are also good.

 

[iAssimilated]

I have the 1TB version of this drive in my 2011 mini (as the second drive for data) and it has been great:

SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal SSD - Newegg.com

Buy SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76E500B/AM with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[CooperBox]

Some good advise already above.
If it were me, i'd definitely go for a late 2012 MacMini either with Intel i5 or i7CPU. I bought one for my wife when it was introduced, and have since added a Crucial 500GHz SSD and upgraded RAM to 8Gb - if ever required it can be maxed out to 16GB.
Note: The 2014 and later MacMini's have non upgradable memory.....!
Now running OS Mojave, this 2012 is a really great performer. It can also run Catalina, which we have no requirement for as we'd loose the function of the Word and Excel apps and some others (at least without implementing a workaround).
2012 was an excellent year for Macs in general, as confirmed by my 13" and 15" MBPros which still perform faultlessly.

 

[Okusaguy]

you guys are the best!

I ended up just buying that Samsung drive that you guys mentioned and have a friend about to install it tonight!

After it’s installed is it hard to install the operating system back on it?

thanks again for the fast help everyone!

 

[iAssimilated]

The installation of the drive isn't hard (with the right tools):

Mac mini Mid 2011 Hard Drive Replacement

Use this guide to completely replace your...

www.ifixit.com

As for the installation of macOS:

How to Perform a Clean Install of macOS High Sierra

In this post, we'll describe how to do a clean install of macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

blog.macsales.com

 

[Reflej0]

You better fix your Mac Mini 2011 with the purchase of a new disk, mainly because this solution is cheaper.
And I don't think you notice a considerable performance improvement with a Mac Mini 2014.

 

[Okusaguy]

The installation of the drive isn't hard (with the right tools):

Mac mini Mid 2011 Hard Drive Replacement

Use this guide to completely replace your...

www.ifixit.com

As for the installation of macOS:

How to Perform a Clean Install of macOS High Sierra

In this post, we'll describe how to do a clean install of macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

blog.macsales.com

Appreciate it!

 

[Okusaguy]

You better fix your Mac Mini 2011 with the purchase of a new disk, mainly because this solution is cheaper.
And I don't think you notice a considerable performance improvement with a Mac Mini 2014.

I ended up buying the Samsung drive that was mentioned above and have a friend installing it tonight.

thanks for the input

 

[Okusaguy]

Hey guys so I’m stuck when installing the OS on the new drive.

When I go to install it there’s no disk to select.
So I go back to disk utility and it’s showing the Samsung drive but nothing under it.

I’ve seen two ways of moving forward.
In that link provided above it says to erase the old drive I think but mine is new as you all know.
I also found a video where a guy does this:

Clicks new SSD DRIVE
Then clicks “erase” then saves as “Macintosh HD” and leaves format as “APFS” and continues then goes to install OS.
When I click “Erase” it just shows what format I want “Mac OS Extended (journaled) “ or I can select others and then under that is the name where I can change to say Macintosh HD.
Do I even have to erase anything considering it’s a brand new drive?

2nd option I read was:
“You need create a partition under it. Click on APPLE SSD SM1024G Media, select partition map scheme is GUID Partition Table. Name the volume Macintosh. Select and make sure it is in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Select Apply. Once you see the volume created. Go back to the macOS utility screen and select install MacO”

This is my first time doing this so I don’t want to do the wrong thing.

Whats should I do?
[automerge]1582904849[/automerge]

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

What version of macOS are you installing?

 

[Okusaguy]

What version of macOS are you installing?

its only giving me Lion as an option

im installing from the internet.
I don’t have an OS on a USB or anything.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Erase/Format it to Mac OS Extended (journaled) and then it should appear.

 

[Okusaguy]

Erase/Format it to Mac OS Extended (journaled) and then it should appear.

So I did that and it did appear.
When I went back to install I’m getting the error “can’t download additional components needed to install Mac OS X”

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

1. In the OS X Installer, choose Utilities > Terminal.


2. Enter date 0201010116 and press Return.


3. Quit Terminal and continue the install.

 

[Okusaguy]

So my options are to download an OS to a USB and install or change the date and install Lion?

I’m trying to do this now at my officeso I don’t have access to another computer and USB so how can I change the date in recovery mode?

Also, by me installing the old Lion, will I be able to upgrade once I’m in to a newer OS?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Yes, and yes. You will see Utilities in the menu bar.

Yes.

 

[Okusaguy]

Yes, and yes. You will see Utilities in the menu bar.
View attachment 896571
Yes.

i clicked utilities and then terminal and then a white box comes up for me tyoe beside “-bash-3.2# and I typed In “date 0201010116” and pressed enter and it showed the date changed and I exited and tried to reinstall and I’m getting the same “can’t download the additional components...”error

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Try over Ethernet/wifi (whichever you haven't tried yet) and failing that, you'll need to make an installer USB on another Mac.

 

[Okusaguy]

i Was connected with wifi this whole time and just turned it off and ran Ethernet directly to it and still getting the error.
Sorry for all this and I really appreciate your help!

1.So I’ll have to get a USB and download an OS to it then boot it from there?
2.Which software should I use and how big are they typically because I have to buy a new USB that can hold it.
3.Should I change the date back to normal or just leave it?
4.If I have to change it back, what numbers do I input for today?

thank you so much again