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How long without problems with your Mini?

Violafab

Violafab

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 12, 2014
52
13
Hi i'm thinking about buying a Mac Mini for my desk at home. I study at the university and write a bunch of papers every semester.

I've got a Mbpr13 and a Dell monitor - but would rather spare the battery on my Macbook at home and that's why I need a Mini.

My iMac27, 2011, 2,5ghz died recently and i've had a lot of problems with it. The panel broke twice and the power supply broke once in the 3 1/2 years. I've decided not to buy a new iMac again.

Is it normal that Mini's also need to get repaired as often as my iMac did?

How old is your Mini (which version) and has there been problems with it?

I don't want to buy a very expensive Mac again, if it's normal.
 
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I've got four in use currently, none of which have ever given me any problems. The oldest is from 2005, and to be honest, it's still in service simply because it will not die. Another is from 2009; still going strong. The one that sees the most daily use is from 2012. It's used as my main media center, and probably gets used 4 to 5 hours a day, every day, and has never given me a lick of trouble.
 
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I am looking to purchase a used Mac mini 2012 late 2.5ghz as my first Mac I have read some good things about Mac I should have changed years ago after owning iPads and iPhones for years now my decision has been made
 
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I've owned 4 Mac Mini's since it's release in 2005, and never had a problem with any of them. My 2011 is still going strong as well as my 2014 models. BTW, I almost never shut them down, although I do put them to sleep when not in use. Basically both run all day and go to sleep when I do.

Edit: I forgot to mention a friend of mine still has his Mac Mini from 2006. The only problem he had after 7 years was his Hard Drive failed. I replaced it for him and it's still in use. Needles to say, I love the Mac Mini. I hope Apple continues to make and update them :)
 
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Concur with all previous posters. My 2010 served me with zero hardware failures before I gave it to my friend to introduce him to the world of Mac computing this summer, because I upgraded to a 2013 "late 2012" model quad core i7. I do a lot of iMovie work at home for home videos, so love the extra oomph that the new models just don't have. Upgraded both with small SSD's as the boot drive, they both fly still.

My friend has never been more impressed with ease of use and maintenance free computing. I set him up to use his similarly to mine, as the media hub of the home in combination with Apple TV's around the house.

Have never had any problems with them. Actually the best Macs I've ever owned.
 
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Got the lowest level Mac mini in 2009 for my dad as a gift, he didn't like so he gave it back to me. I have been using it through out my graduate school work, lots of paper writing and coding. Now days as everyday machine, coding and still using it to learn various of things. It still does everything I need, just not as fast, but I have no reason to replace it just yet. I have upgraded the HDD and RAM. Never have any issue with the little guy.
 
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Not to rain on a parade, but I fried my MacMini in under two years, but fortunately had AppleCare and it was replaced. The reason it fried, I believe, is because I kept it flat on its belly and it overheated. I now have it in a stand so it is vertical rather than horizontal and it is now two years without a problem.
 
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mine had a harddrive issue it is a 2011 replaced it with ssd but once in awhile I find it turned off. but overall they have been pretty good.
 
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I've been using a mini of one version or another since they first appeared, and I'm still waiting for my first problem.
BTW, my minis are left on 24/7 and monitor set to sleep, this is because it is also my TV and PVR recorder.
 
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No problems in over 6 years for my early 2009 Mini.

Bought new, it has been on almost 24/7, set to sleep when not used for 15 minutes. The only times it has been shut down have been when I have been away for more than a few days, the odd occasion when I want to take it to work (it only takes a couple of minutes to disconnect and connect up to a LCD projector in class), or when a software update requires it. I added 4 GB of RAM along side the original 1 GB to do the upgrade to Mountain Lion, which requires a minimum of 2 GB.

The original 120 GB HDD is still soldiering on. I did enquire about replacing it, but was advised (at the Mac dealer) to leave well enough be, and use an external HDD to expand storage. Failure is not a biggie; a new drive can be installed and files restored from Time Machine in fairly short order.

Edit: The optical drive has always been a bit fussy about what CDs/DVDs it plays. It is fine for writing. An external LG optical drive works for the odd time I need to play a dicky disc.

For my 2005 original I started to have a problem with the power supply after about 3 years, and the HDD failed after 4 years. Then I figured buying a new Intel Mini was more cost effective than repairing a near obsolete G4 one.

I reckon the power supply had a hard time dealing with poor quality mains supply. At the end of an inadequate line, the voltage was often too low to kick the fluorescent tubes into action. A huge power surge that shut down the supply to several provinces fried the UPS I was using…… Such is life in a partially developed country!

Since then the mains supply has been upgraded, I have installed an earth system and three pin sockets, and bought a better UPS, with AVR (Auto Voltage Regulation). The power supply of my 2009 Mini has had a much easier time.
 
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Violafab said:
Hi i'm thinking about buying a Mac Mini for my desk at home. I study at the university and write a bunch of papers every semester.

I've got a Mbpr13 and a Dell monitor - but would rather spare the battery on my Macbook at home and that's why I need a Mini.

My iMac27, 2011, 2,5ghz died recently and i've had a lot of problems with it. The panel broke twice and the power supply broke once in the 3 1/2 years. I've decided not to buy a new iMac again.

Is it normal that Mini's also need to get repaired as often as my iMac did?

How old is your Mini (which version) and has there been problems with it?

I don't want to buy a very expensive Mac again, if it's normal.
Click to expand...

We purchased our late 2012 Mini new when that model was first introduced nearly three years ago, and it has been very reliable. I envision it eventually becoming a HTPC in another few years, but for now it is a rock-solid daily computer. I partitioned the SSD to run Windows 7 Pro; and I've opened it several times to add RAM, put in a 1 tb hard drive to supplement the stock SSD, and then replaced the 1 tb drive with a 2 tb drive. All of this with no issues.
 
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I've got one 2007 Mini, and one 2010 Mini. I keep both of them up and running 24/7 (I don't even put them into sleep mode, as I have them running several services continually for me, although with fairly minimal CPU use most of the time). They are both still running strong; the only glitch I've had is that the sound hardware on the 2010 Mini developed a problem earlier this year, so I've switched to using a USB sound card on that one.

I have to say, the Minis do hold up quite well. :)
 
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I'm grateful for all the answers and it's positive to read that the majority of you Mini users haven't had problems at all (or very few problems).
 
I've had my 2011 for about 3 and a half years. Upgraded to 16 GB of RAM (G Skill) immediately after buying and it's been a workhorse ever since. Can't think of a single issue I've had with it. I'm pushing it into semi-retirement now (HTPC duty) as I have little use for a desktop anymore.

Of all the Apple machines I've owned over the years it's been the most hassle-free and dependable.
 
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I had a 2009 mini that I used as my daily machine for four years with no issues. My dad has a 2009 mini that he's been running his business on for the last six years, no issues. Finally, I now have a 2012 mini that I've been using as a server for the last year, again no issues.
 
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In August, 2013 I purchased from the Apple Store a Refurbished i5 Mac Mini(Late 2012), 2.5GHz, 4GB Ram,500GB HD which has exceeded my computer need expectations. Last January I upgraded my MM Ram to 16GB and plan to install an internal SSD when my Applecare on this MM expires next year. I am now using this MM primarily as a Media Server.

Last June I purchased another Refurbished MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHz,8GB RAM, 256 SSD which is one incredible machine in terms of speed and overall performance. If you decide to buy a MM I highly recommend you purchase one with a minimum of 8GB RAM and a SSD!
 
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tibas92013 said:
In August, 2013 I purchased from the Apple Store a Refurbished i5 Mac Mini(Late 2012), 2.5GHz, 4GB Ram,500GB HD which has exceeded my computer need expectations. Last January I upgraded my MM Ram to 16GB and plan to install an internal SSD when my Applecare on this MM expires next year. I am now using this MM primarily as a Media Server.

Last June I purchased another Refurbished MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHz,8GB RAM, 256 SSD which is one incredible machine in terms of speed and overall performance. If you decided to buy a MM I highly recommend you purchase one with a minimum of 8GB RAM and a SSD!
Click to expand...

If I buy a mini it will be a used one (with lower specs) OR a new Mini with 16 gb ram and 256 gigs SSD.

I'm a student and don't know if i can justify for my self spending that much money on one just yet.
 
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