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If I supply the ram, will the Apple Store upgrade my Mac mini for me?

iParis

iParis

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
3,671
31
New Mexico
My MacBook is about to hit the bucket due showing more and more signs everyday that the logic board is going to die on me. I could have Apple fix and it would basically be brand new for $350, but they're going to stop supporting it starting November 1st and I can't get that much for it in time. Anyway, until the MacBook Air goes retina I'll be buying a Mac Mini 2,1 2GHz off of my friends for $300 at the end of next month. I don't mind the slight processor difference as it will still perform better than my dying MacBook, but I currently have 4GB (3GB usable) in my MacBook and would like to just switch the ram to the Mac Mini. I know there are ways to do this myself, but it would be easier if Apple did it for me. I think my friend told me when she it took into the Apple Store they wouldn't upgrade the ram for her. I'm hoping it's different if I take in the ram myself. It wouldn't make sense for them not to since according to this support document Apple even advices you to take it in as oppose to upgrading it yourself.

Thoughts?

EDIT: In case you guys question why I'm buying a Mac Mini when I have the iMac in my signature, well it's pretty much one massive paperweight due to a faulty ATI X1600 graphics card.
 
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Gav2k said:
Wouldn't matter if they did or you did tbh
Click to expand...

Well I think the process will be a lot faster if they do it and I'm sure they have more efficient ways of upgrading the ram than at-home techniques.
 
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Also, just to be sure, my MacBook and the Mac Mini I intend on getting do have the kind of ram, right? I would assume so considering my iMac takes the same kind.
 
It really wouldn't. You would have to book an appointment and for a simple twist and click upgrade there is no benefit of them doing it. Your ram wouldn't be covered by them fitting it and if the ram caused an issue they wouldn't cover that either.
 
Che Castro said:
You can also try geeks quad best but
They can do that for you
Click to expand...

Oh, cool, I hadn't thought about that! Hopefully they don't charge much. If Apple charges I don't think it would be much more than $40 (the price they charge to open up a computer, diagnose, and blow all the air out)

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Gav2k said:
It really wouldn't. You would have to book an appointment and for a simple twist and click upgrade there is no benefit of them doing it. Your ram wouldn't be covered by them fitting it and if the ram caused an issue they wouldn't cover that either.
Click to expand...

I know I have to book an appointment, I've been to the genius bar many times and the Apple Store is ten minutes from my house. The process looks a bit more of a hassle than upgrading my MacBook's ram. I'm aware they wouldn't cover it, I wouldn't expect them to since it's not from them. I've had no issues with the ram in my MacBook so I don't see why I would in the Mac Mini. Now if they have me pay, then I may just do it myself.
 
iParis said:
Oh, cool, I hadn't thought about that! Hopefully they don't charge much. If Apple charges I don't think it would be much more than $40 (the price they charge to open up a computer, diagnose, and blow all the air out)

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I know I have to book an appointment, I've been to the genius bar many times and the Apple Store is ten minutes from my house. The process looks a bit more of a hassle than upgrading my MacBook's ram. I'm aware they wouldn't cover it, I wouldn't expect them to since it's not from them. I've had no issues with the ram in my MacBook so I don't see why I would in the Mac Mini. Now if they have me pay, then I may just do it myself.
Click to expand...

Gav2k is wrong, it is a lot more than just twist and click on a 2.0ghz Core2duo Mac Mini. With that said, I've done it on about 4-5 of them (well a couple of 2.0ghz and several 1.83ghz and lower). It isn't for the faint of heart, especially the initial opening of the case (can send you for a heart attack the first time you do it). With that said, ifixit has a nice write up if you do decide to do it.

Now if you don't want to do it, Apple probably won't. I had a buddy who called and asked and they told him you had to buy the memory from them if you wanted to upgrade it, so in the end he did. A reseller like Geek Squad or other Apple resellers/repair centers will. Just be prepared to pay for their time is all....
 
paulrbeers said:
Gav2k is wrong, it is a lot more than just twist and click on a 2.0ghz Core2duo Mac Mini. With that said, I've done it on about 4-5 of them (well a couple of 2.0ghz and several 1.83ghz and lower). It isn't for the faint of heart, especially the initial opening of the case (can send you for a heart attack the first time you do it). With that said, ifixit has a nice write up if you do decide to do it.

Now if you don't want to do it, Apple probably won't. I had a buddy who called and asked and they told him you had to buy the memory from them if you wanted to upgrade it, so in the end he did. A reseller like Geek Squad or other Apple resellers/repair centers will. Just be prepared to pay for their time is all....
Click to expand...

Yeah.. I'm just really worried about causing a problem with the AirPort card. How long did it take you the first time? Is opening it really that hard and sketchy? Videos made it look simple, like opening other Apple products held together by clips on the inside.
 
paulrbeers said:
Gav2k is wrong, it is a lot more than just twist and click on a 2.0ghz Core2duo Mac Mini. With that said, I've done it on about 4-5 of them (well a couple of 2.0ghz and several 1.83ghz and lower). It isn't for the faint of heart, especially the initial opening of the case (can send you for a heart attack the first time you do it). With that said, ifixit has a nice write up if you do decide to do it.

Now if you don't want to do it, Apple probably won't. I had a buddy who called and asked and they told him you had to buy the memory from them if you wanted to upgrade it, so in the end he did. A reseller like Geek Squad or other Apple resellers/repair centers will. Just be prepared to pay for their time is all....
Click to expand...

I just read somewhere it's $50 to have Best Buy do it. Is that worth it or do you think I could take the risk upgrading it myself? I upgraded my MacBook and iMac's ram myself, but those were picnics.
 
iMarvin said:
Id say put the 50 bucks towards a better computer instead, i'm pretty sure you can find something faster. :)
Click to expand...

If I want to buy a PC, maybe, but no. I'm not going to buy a PC so trying to convince me of that is fruitile. I looked around and $300 is a really good price for that machine, especially since I'll be upgrading the ram off the back. I don't need a power-packed machine. My friend has been selling this Mac mini, err, not needed, for a while, but I was trying to get my MacBook to last until I can buy a MacBook Air but that's definitely not going to happen.
 
iParis said:
If I want to buy a PC, maybe, but no. I'm not going to buy a PC so trying to convince me of that is fruitile. I looked around and $300 is a really good price for that machine, especially since I'll be upgrading the ram off the back. I don't need a power-packed machine. My friend has been selling this Mac mini, err, not needed, for a while, but I was trying to get my MacBook to last until I can buy a MacBook Air but that's definitely not going to happen.
Click to expand...

Well then, go ahead. Check with handy friends if they will change the ram for a free lunch.
 
FrancoisC said:
50$ to install RAM is a total rip off.

You can get 16GB DDR3 for that price...

It's the easiest computer upgrade you can do, you don't even need a screwdrive like you would on most PCs, and the RAM is sitting right under the cover.

I upgraded mine 2 times (from 4GB to 8GB, and later to 16GB) almost a year ago and never ran in any problem.

Edit: Just saw that you upgraded your macbook and iMac, trust me upgrading the mini is even easier :)
Click to expand...

I think your Mac Mini knowledge is lacking a little bit. Read the rest of the posts as well. This only unofficially supports 4GB ram and is a completely different model than the one you have, even exterior wise. There's no ram cover like on the newer models and you're not supposed to upgrade it yourself, you have to take the computer out of the housing to upgrade it.

EDIT: What the hell? Was the post I just quoted deleted?
 
My mistake, I missed the part about it being an older model, so I deleted my post :eek:

I did upgrade the CPU and RAM in one of those, and yeah it's not a super easy job.
 
FWIW, when I worked for Apple Retail, the Genius Bar would not install any RAM other than Apple RAM. Never understood that, as they'd install any brand of hard drive for a customer. :confused:
 
I've done this upgrade before, to a 2009 mini. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. If you take your time, have plenty of light and can see the parts you are trying to take off, it should go smoothly. I don't know if you've seen the ifixit site, but I followed their directions and it worked out well. The airport antenna is actually pretty easy to take out... just push down a bit and squeeze the tabs. But here, look at this to get a better sense if you want to do it:

I highly recommend the tools they use... makes life a lot easier.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Mac+mini+Model+A1283+RAM/1058/1
 
iParis said:
My MacBook is about to hit the bucket due showing more and more signs everyday that the logic board is going to die on me. I could have Apple fix and it would basically be brand new for $350, but they're going to stop supporting it starting November 1st and I can't get that much for it in time. Anyway, until the MacBook Air goes retina I'll be buying a Mac Mini 2,1 2GHz off of my friends for $300 at the end of next month. I don't mind the slight processor difference as it will still perform better than my dying MacBook, but I currently have 4GB (3GB usable) in my MacBook and would like to just switch the ram to the Mac Mini. I know there are ways to do this myself, but it would be easier if Apple did it for me. I think my friend told me when she it took into the Apple Store they wouldn't upgrade the ram for her. I'm hoping it's different if I take in the ram myself. It wouldn't make sense for them not to since according to this support document Apple even advices you to take it in as oppose to upgrading it yourself.

Thoughts?

EDIT: In case you guys question why I'm buying a Mac Mini when I have the iMac in my signature, well it's pretty much one massive paperweight due to a faulty ATI X1600 graphics card.
Click to expand...

I'm totally confused. If you are certain your Macbook is dying but it has Applecare, what's stopping you from having Apple replace the logic board?

Apple never will install third party ram, go to an Apple Cert. Tech or do it yourself on the mini. Upgrade the hard drive while you have the Mini open, too.
 
California said:
I'm totally confused. If you are certain your Macbook is dying but it has Applecare, what's stopping you from having Apple replace the logic board?

Apple never will install third party ram, go to an Apple Cert. Tech or do it yourself on the mini. Upgrade the hard drive while you have the Mini open, too.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, it doesn't have AppleCare and I'm pretty sure I never said it does. This is a fall 2007 model, no way would AppleCare even cover it still. When I said they're going to stop supporting it November 1st I meant they won't even fix it for a fee because it will have been discontinued for five years.

Yeah, I think I'll do the hard drive as well while I'm at it. Size doesn't matter to me too much since I rely on externals, so I'll probably just go with a 250GB or 320GB and bump the speed to 7200rpm.
 
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iParis said:
That's the thing, it doesn't have AppleCare and I'm pretty sure I never said it does. This is a fall 2007 model, no way would AppleCare even cover it still. When I said they're going to stop supporting it November 1st I meant they won't even fix it for a fee because it will have been discontinued for five years.

Yeah, I think I'll do the hard drive as well while I'm at it. Size doesn't matter to me too much since I rely on externals, so I'll probably just go with a 250GB or 320GB and bump the speed to 7200rpm.
Click to expand...

I'd take the MB into Apple anyway. You might get lucky.
 
I wouldn't say I'm particularly 'handy', but a year or so after getting my first mini (PPC) I decided to have a go.

I was absolutely shatting my knickers, but I took it slowly and it was fine, I've gotten a couple more minis subsequently and must have done the job at least half a dozen times. -> buy mini -> upgrade HDD and RAM -> swap HDD before selling.

The first time cracking the case was the most tricky part, because it seems like you're breaking it, but I could open one blindfolded with a butter knife now.

You actually just need a very thin paint scraper and it's a doddle.

I used the OWC videos as a guide. Here.

(scroll down)

I think yours is this one.

The videos are invaluable for your first time, not sure if I would have tried it otherwise.

I went back to them from time to time, because they rearranged the internals - so you have to make sure you undo all the wires for antennas or the data ribbon cable properly.

If you take your time, you should be cool, although when you are swapping the HDD the whole thing is in bits and you do get the 'how on earth does this all go back' kind of feeling.

After all this time, I quite like cracking open the case to do a mod as anyone watching is like WTF!
 
CHAOS STEP said:
I wouldn't say I'm particularly 'handy', but a year or so after getting my first mini (PPC) I decided to have a go.

I was absolutely shatting my knickers, but I took it slowly and it was fine, I've gotten a couple more minis subsequently and must have done the job at least half a dozen times. -> buy mini -> upgrade HDD and RAM -> swap HDD before selling.

The first time cracking the case was the most tricky part, because it seems like you're breaking it, but I could open one blindfolded with a butter knife now.

You actually just need a very thin paint scraper and it's a doddle.

I used the OWC videos as a guide. Here.

(scroll down)

I think yours is this one.

The videos are invaluable for your first time, not sure if I would have tried it otherwise.

I went back to them from time to time, because they rearranged the internals - so you have to make sure you undo all the wires for antennas or the data ribbon cable properly.

If you take your time, you should be cool, although when you are swapping the HDD the whole thing is in bits and you do get the 'how on earth does this all go back' kind of feeling.

After all this time, I quite like cracking open the case to do a mod as anyone watching is like WTF!
Click to expand...

About how long did it take you the first time you did it on one of the 06/08 models? Opening it doesn't seem that hard and I'm glad to know everything ends up working out better than you think when first starting it. I'm really stoked to do this. I was happy when I upgraded my MacBook's ram, but at that point the logic board hard already started failing and the Mac Mini will be able to use more of the ram. Do the screws go in and out easily everything go back together well? When I took the top casing off my MacBook I had a huge problem getting some of the screws back in and in fact, I couldn't even get four of them in.
 
iParis said:
About how long did it take you the first time you did it on one of the 06/08 models? Opening it doesn't seem that hard and I'm glad to know everything ends up working out better than you think when first starting it. I'm really stoked to do this. I was happy when I upgraded my MacBook's ram, but at that point the logic board hard already started failing and the Mac Mini will be able to use more of the ram. Do the screws go in and out easily everything go back together well? When I took the top casing off my MacBook I had a huge problem getting some of the screws back in and in fact, I couldn't even get four of them in.
Click to expand...

I think the hardest part is getting the top case off. Once you manage to get that off, getting to the ram is pretty easy if you follow the ifixit guide. I'd guess around 30-40 minutes for your first time.
 
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