Mac Mini OSX, etc. help

[Boyd01]

With a 2014 Mini, you might want to install an internal SSD. I have not done this (mine already has an internal SSD) but the installation looks very simple

This will give you about 700MB/sec performance but an external USB SSD is going to be more like 400 MB/sec. As @IngerMan indicated, his results come from a newer Mac that has USB-C ports which your 2014 Mini does not have. This is what I get from the internal SSD on my 2014 Mini

And this is a Samsung T3 connected via USB. The difference is pretty substantial, and if your Mini is "swapping" to disk due to low memory then you want the fastest possible SSD

Not really applicable to the OP, but FWIW, this is what I get with a Samsung T7 external SSD connected to my 2018 Mini via USB-C

 

[Lynne326]

Thank you, Fishrrman and Ingerman! I will re-read all this, digest it and try it out. Very much appreciate ALL the help! I'll post back with results.

 

[IngerMan]

if it was me, I would do that easy OWC SSD kit that @Boyd01 posted above. I did not know that was an option for the 2014. I just did a ram upgrade from OWC and it was more tear down to get to the ram on the 2018. This video shows how easy it really is and the kit comes with everything even the tools.

If 480GB is enough that's almost the cost of the adapter and separate SSD, the the internal SSD is by far faster and its a cleaner setup.

I see they have 2 options of this card, the 3 year warranty and the 5 year warranty. I would go the 5 year one. Its in the 700's mb/sec but it will run cooler then the 3year faster one.

OWC Aura Pro X2 480GB SSD for Mac mini (Late 2014)

Upgrade kit includes all needed tools and components to safely upgrade your 2014 Mac mini to a blade-style SSD. Up to twice as fast as the original SSDs.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Lynne326]

Thank you, Boyd! Lots to think about.

 

[Lynne326]

This is a video I found a few months ago when I was thinking of replacing the internal drive. It's about removing the drive from a Mac Mini Late 2014. It was very involved which is why I didn't want to go that route.

But, the drive type differs in this video from what is shown in the video above from OWC. Any ideas?

 

[brianmowrey]

That's the same distinction that I mentioned a page ago. Your 2014 Mac Mini keeps its 2.5" drive "below" the logic board, but has a space and connector for a blade SSD "above" the logic board.

Spending a half-hour reading the 2014 Mini SSD thread, or simply throwing your chips at the OWC link IngerMan posted above, will help get you the right kind of blade SSD. So, that's the "hard" part: learning what kind of blade SSD to buy. The blade SSD install itself will be super easy.

However, I'll muddy the water again and posit that even replacing a 2014 Mini HDD (as in the iFixit video) is an extremely satisfying lego project, that I don't think anyone would regret trying out.

 

[Boyd01]

Didn't watch it all, but they are replacing the original hard drive in the Mini. That involves major disassembly and is obviously quite different from the simple procedure in the OWC video.

 

[Lynne326]

Thank you all for this great information! After thinking about which way to go I decided on replacing the HDD with an SDD, as in the video I posted, rather than using a blade.

Does anyone know of a 500GB SSD that is not overly pricey to use? I don't really want to spend a lot since it's a secondary computer.

Thank you!!

 

[Fishrrman]

"Does anyone know of a 500GB SSD that is not overly pricey to use? I don't really want to spend a lot since it's a secondary computer."

Go back to reply #49 and reread what I posted there for you.

You'd better be sure of yourself before opening the Mini.
Lots and lots of folks who thought they could do that tried it... and ended up breaking something in the process...

 

[Lynne326]

Thanks Fishrrman. Right, I forgot you added those links. I appreciate that!

Yes, I do understand the risks. I've done a lot of work inside my MBP and torn down several PC laptops so I think I'll be ok if I'm very careful.

 

[Lynne326]

Fishrrman, if those drives you provided links for don't specifically say they are compatible with Apple, how would I know?

 

[brianmowrey]

Fishrrman, if those drives you provided links for don't specifically say they are compatible with Apple, how would I know?

Any 2.5" SATA SSD drive will work to replace the Mini HDD. There are no compatibility issues to worry about in that whole category

 

[Boyd01]

After thinking about which way to go I decided on replacing the HDD with an SDD, as in the video I posted, rather than using a blade.

Just realize that the blade SSD would be much faster and there will be less chance of damaging something during the install. See this thread:

Original PCIe SSD vs new SATA SSD

Hi so I'm looking at two 2014 mac mini's, both with 8gb RAM but one comes with the original Apple PCIe SSD which came as a optional configuration and the other had its original HDD replaced with a new Samsung Evo 860 SATA SSD. Since both cost the same price I'm wondering would there be much...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Lynne326]

Great, thank you!

 

[IowaLynn]

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www.xda-developers.com

 

[Lynne326]

Thank you, IowaLynn.

 

[Lynne326]

Hi everyone! I successfully installed a new SSD in my Mini. It was super easy and fun, too!

Just need a little help now on how to install an OS on the blank SSD. Then I would like to copy my files, etc, from a backup I have of my MBP. Would I use migration assistant, or something else?

Thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

Tell us WHAT KIND of backup you have. Is it...
- time machine?
- CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper?
- Something else?

You should be able to boot to INTERNET recovery using
Command-OPTION-R
...at boot.

Use an ethernet connection if possible.
If you are using wifi, you'll need your wifi password.
The utilities will take a while to load up, be patient.

When you get to the utilities, open disk utility.
Go to the view menu and choose SHOW ALL DEVICES.
You should be able to see the SSD in the upper left corner.
Click on it ONE TIME to select it, then click ERASE.

I'm going to GUESS that the installer will want to install Mojave or Catalina, so erase the SSD to APFS with GUID partition format.

When done, close disk utility and open the OS installer, and start "clicking through".

The OS install will take a while.
The Mini may reboot one or more times.
You may see a completely black screen for a minute or two. BE PATIENT.

When the OS install is done, you'll see the initial setup screen: choose your language.
BEFORE YOU START CLICKING THROUGH,
Get the backup drive and "have it ready to connect".
At a certain point, setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another drive.
YES, you want to do this.
Connect the backup and "point the way" for setup assistant.

Setup assistant will start "digesting" what's on the backup drive. BE PATIENT.
Setup assistant will present you with a list of stuff to migrate.
I suggest you just leave everything checked and "let it go".
The migration will take some time. BE PATIENT.

When done, you should see your login screen... just as it looked before.
Log in and look around.

Do things look ok?
You're done!

 

[Lynne326]

Hi Fishrrman,

My backup is time machine. When I follow your instructions to erase I don't have an option to select APFS, my format choices are:

Mac OS Extended (journaled)
Mac OS Extended (journaled, encrypted)
Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, journaled)
Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, journaled, encrypted)
ExFAT
MS-DOS (FAT)

 

[brianmowrey]

The first choice is fine. (Hopefully your TM drive is not connected yet so I'm not in any danger of telling you to erase your TM)

Are you about to install macOS High Sierra or later for the first time on the disk?
If you need to erase your disk before installing High Sierra or later for the first time on that disk, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). During installation, the macOS installer decides whether to automatically convert to APFS—without erasing your files.

 

[Lynne326]

No, I haven't connected the TM yet. Will I have a choice of what OS to download? Does it need to be El Capitan which is what is on my TM? I like El Capitan so if I can choose that OS that would be good. Otherwise, what OS would work the best with the new SSD? Thanks!!

 

[brianmowrey]

Holding ⌘-option-R at restart should grab the Catalina installer. If you didn’t hold option or if you added shift, then it might have grabbed an older Installer. You can’t really do any harm with whatever you pick, but installing Catalina will be smoother than an old OS followed by updating.

Setup Assistant and TM will work regardless.

 

[Lynne326]

Thank you for the information!!