Installing Snow Leopard on Mac Mini with only 512MB

[sogz]

Hi,

I have a Mac mini (Late 2006) with the following specs:

Processor: 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
Memory: 512MB 667 MHz DR2 SDRAM

The Snow Leopard manual says you need 'at least 1 GB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended)' though.

Does that mean I definitely won't be able to upgrade to the OS X Snow Leopard I just bought? If not, could anyone please help me on what to do to upgrade to 1GB of RAM?

Thank you

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi,

I have a Mac mini (Late 2006) with the following specs:

Processor: 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
Memory: 512MB 667 MHz DR2 SDRAM

The Snow Leopard manual says you need 'at least 1 GB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended)' though.

Does that mean I definitely won't be able to upgrade to the OS X Snow Leopard I just bought? If not, could anyone please help me on what to do to upgrade to 1GB of RAM?

Thank you

Your mini supports up to 2GB of RAM. You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:

• By visiting EveryMac.com: Actual Maximum RAM
• By selecting your model on the Crucial Memory Advisor™ Tool to find RAM information
• By using Mactracker
• By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model.
  (Be aware that some models can use more RAM than Apple shows. Check EveryMac to verify actual usable RAM.)

Some great sources for RAM for your Mac are OWC, Crucial and newegg.com.

Mac mini: How to remove or install memory

 

[paulrbeers]

If you flash your Mini to 2,1 you can even use 4gb of memory (although only 3gb will be usable). Go to ifixit.com to see how to install memory in your mini. I've done it probably a dozen times with no issues. The hardest part is taking the "top off"

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Definitely will not work. I had the same model, and rather than fiddling with removing the case myself I sent it in to OWC and had them do the upgrade to 2GB. It was a very smooth process: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/install

With 2GB you can install Snow Leopard, then download Lion for $19.99 from the App Store (App Store comes with Snow Leopard). That model will not run Mountain Lion however.