Issues with installing apps on a late 2012 Mac Mini running Sierra

[Blue_E46]

Hi,

I’m a long time iOS user, but I’m brand new to the Mac ecosystem. My starter Mac is a late 2012 Mac Mini 2.5 GHz i5 running Sierra v10.12.6 with a 512GB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM. I have it connected to USB 3.1 miniStack external drive.

I absolutely love how quick this boots despite being almost a decade old. The problem I’m having is nothing wants to install from the App Store despite the mini meeting compatibility requirements.

An example being Ascendo’s DataVault. It only requires OS X 10.10 or later, but when I try to install it, it says installing and estimates less than a minute but doesn’t confirm the app was installed. Going into the Applications folder, the app shows up but does nothing when clicked... No spinning color wheel

Would upgrading the RAM and then the operating system solve this problem?

I’m also wondering if I should write over the Sierra install with Mojave or Catalina or if I should keep Sierra and put a newer OS on the hard drive.

I’m not looking to run anything like Final Cut Pro, just Ascendo DataVault, Word/Excel, Final Draft screenwriting software and stuff like Dropbox.

Thanks!

 

[Honza1]

Starting as new user with such museum machine and OS which is so old is asking for troubles. Simply because getting help will be difficult, very few people are up to date on that specific OS by now.

There is no confirmation when App is installed from App store. I just appears as icon and you can start it. App store icon changes to "Open" and you can click that - or icon. Now, in your case those Apps do not seem to start, which is problem you need to solve. Did you try installing some free Apple app? That is likely to work - so this would test if it is all Apps or just the few you tried to install. Just to check if it is App store issue or app issues... Those specs may be wrong.

Adding memory will be of no use at this point. Do not invest/modify this system unless things start working.

I would do few things...

Update to highest OS this Mac can take. Or at least High Sierra, I think that is still supported - at least that was better system than Sierra.
I would restart - and reset PRAM and SMC (google it for yoru system). If that does not fix app issues, log out and log in again in iCould and App store. May be credentials are issue and apps are not starting.

If you can get this running check what drive is in the system and if it is still HD and you are handy, replace it with proper SSD. Clone the HD to SSD using Carbon Copy Cloner or Disk Duper and then repalce. 1TB SATA type SSD is like $100, much better bang for bug than anything. Memory would help, but you may find someone willing to recycle some from dead machines, I have two similar vintage minis in my basement, so asking friends around may yield suitable working RAM.

 

[Blue_E46]

Starting as new user with such museum machine and OS which is so old is asking for troubles. Simply because getting help will be difficult, very few people are up to date on that specific OS by now.

There is no confirmation when App is installed from App store. I just appears as icon and you can start it. App store icon changes to "Open" and you can click that - or icon. Now, in your case those Apps do not seem to start, which is problem you need to solve. Did you try installing some free Apple app? That is likely to work - so this would test if it is all Apps or just the few you tried to install. Just to check if it is App store issue or app issues... Those specs may be wrong.

Adding memory will be of no use at this point. Do not invest/modify this system unless things start working.

I would do few things...

Update to highest OS this Mac can take. Or at least High Sierra, I think that is still supported - at least that was better system than Sierra.
I would restart - and reset PRAM and SMC (google it for yoru system). If that does not fix app issues, log out and log in again in iCould and App store. May be credentials are issue and apps are not starting.

If you can get this running check what drive is in the system and if it is still HD and you are handy, replace it with proper SSD. Clone the HD to SSD using Carbon Copy Cloner or Disk Duper and then repalce. 1TB SATA type SSD is like $100, much better bang for bug than anything. Memory would help, but you may find someone willing to recycle some from dead machines, I have two similar vintage minis in my basement, so asking friends around may yield suitable working RAM.

Thanks for the info.

I just bought this refurbished. Instead of pouring money and time into this, it’s easier just to return it and put the refund towards a 2021 model. I over paid for it in the first place: $395; if I add in the costs of having a shop upgrade the HD to an SSD (I’m handy enough to install RAM but not replace the HD) plus the cost of the RAM, I’m within $200 of the 2021 base model.

Yeah, I’ll lose 256GB of storage and only have 8GB of RAM instead of the 16GB I would have put in, but considering what I’m using it for, I’ll probably have no need for more than 256GB of memory and 8GB of RAM.

Thanks Again!

 

[Boyd01]

The 2012 Mini should still be a serviceable machine - I use a 2012 quad-core as a file and time machine server. Sorry, had to chuckle about your comment on how fast it boots, these Macs are really slow with the stock 5400 RPM hard drive. A SSD will be a huge performance boost.

You don't need to open it up to install an SSD. An external USB 3 SSD will be almost as fast on that model, I ran mine from a 1TB Samsung T3 (the T5 is the newer version) for a number of years with Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and other demanding software. Worked perfectly.

RAM upgrade is really simple, this is one of the last models where Apple actually designed it to be user-upgradeable. The 2012 officially supports all the way up to Catalina, that is what I'm currently running on mine. However, I ran Sierra up until last summer and the 2012 Mini works nicely with that. But there are no security patches available for Sierra anymore. Not familiar with your software, so I don't know why it won't work.

Nevertheless, you have the bottom of the line 2012 Mini and mine is the top of the line. I agree, $395 was no bargain for yours. There's no such thing as a 2021 Mini. The 2018 Mini is the last one with an Intel processor. The 2020 Mini uses Apple's proprietary chips so you should do some research to determine it will run the software you need before buying. In my case, it will not, because I need to run Windows and legacy MacOS virtual machines. I frequently run Sierra in a VM on my 2018 Mini and everything works just fine there.

 

[Honza1]

Thanks for the info.

I just bought this refurbished. Instead of pouring money and time into this, it’s easier just to return it and put the refund towards a 2021 model. I over paid for it in the first place: $395; if I add in the costs of having a shop upgrade the HD to an SSD (I’m handy enough to install RAM but not replace the HD) plus the cost of the RAM, I’m within $200 of the 2021 base model.

Yeah, I’ll lose 256GB of storage and only have 8GB of RAM instead of the 16GB I would have put in, but considering what I’m using it for, I’ll probably have no need for more than 256GB of memory and 8GB of RAM.

Thanks Again!

Ouch, $400 for 2012 mini with HD? You can get new M1 Mini with warranty for ~ double that price. And you have Apple warranty and support, if something goes wrong. Unless you need to run any virtualization of Intel systems (Win or Linux), get M1 mini. I have both current M1 and 2018. And I wish I did not need that 2018 i5 --- my M1 (8GB RAM) is running better and faster than that i5 (20GB RAM). I prefer the M1 when I can make a choice.

 

[Boyd01]

Unless you need to run any virtualization of Intel systems (Win or Linux), get M1 mini.

And even if you do need that, the base 2012 Mini would be a poor choice.