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SSD in Late 2012 Mac Mini "Upper" location

I

IffySituation

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 12, 2014
54
0
Minnesota
Hey I'm planning on installing a Crucial MX100 512GB in my Late 2012 MacMini. My mini shows the 5400HDD in the "upper" bay and am planning on using the correct version of the OWC kit for this upgrade, I also want to use the 5400 HDD for TM, a clone, or extra storage. My question is, should I just install the SSD in the lower bay (I will install Yosemite beforehand) or do I have to take the spinner out and put the SSD in the in the "upper" and reinstall the spinner in the "lower" bay?
Also for those who have completed this upgrade what are some caveats you encountered in your upgrade? It seems like a PITA, but the 5400HDD has to go.
Thanks
 
There are a lot of threads that will help you with this. Briefly, it doesn't matter where you put the SSD. I put mine in the empty upper one but it's much easier to get at the lower one so you're lucky. I would put yours there and leave the spinner where it is.

A tip is to use high-quality torx drivers as the ones in the kits are crap. You should be able to slide the SSD in without moving the logic board.

M.
 
Last edited:
I have been using owc mercury elite pro mini
With good results. I always use one that has its own
power, on the owc you need buy it as an add on .
 
Thanks, hopefully that should make it a little easier, but not by much.

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Dsnoops said:
I have been using owc mercury elite pro mini
With good results. I always use one that has its own
power, on the owc you need buy it as an add on .
Click to expand...

Im not sure what you mean by "the one with power" this is what I'm planning on buying from OWC
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIMM11D2B/
 
IffySituation said:
Hey I'm planning on installing a Crucial MX100 512GB in my Late 2012 MacMini. My mini shows the 5400HDD in the "upper" bay and am planning on using the correct version of the OWC kit for this upgrade, I also want to use the 5400 HDD for TM, a clone, or extra storage. My question is, should I just install the SSD in the lower bay (I will install Yosemite beforehand) or do I have to take the spinner out and put the SSD in the in the "upper" and reinstall the spinner in the "lower" bay?
Also for those who have completed this upgrade what are some caveats you encountered in your upgrade? It seems like a PITA, but the 5400HDD has to go.
Thanks
Click to expand...

As you will hear several times make sure you get the OWC kit for the lower bay. My Crucial M500 SSDs slip out of the lower bay really easy after only removing the fan, a shroud and the wifi screen. Once you've done it that is about a 10 minute operation.

You are lucky since the motherboard and power supply do not have to be extracted in order to access only the lower bay.
 
That makes sense, since I would be installing in the lower bay. I was unsure if Yosemite was going to give me problems as I've read in various forums about which bay to install the ssd.
So you're saying I wouldn't have to remove the motherboard to access the empty drive slot? None of the videos on OWC show my particular situation, something about addendum video on their site, but I was unable to find said video.

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https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1796518/

Just found this thread, maybe this won't be so bad!

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Also as a side question what are you thoughts on making both drives into a fusion drive? The majority comments I've read in these forums lean towards not making a fusion drive, given the possibility of losing one drive and losing functionality. If I were to clone the fusion setup on an external 1TB drive I could boot into that and be back up running until I replaced the bad drive.
 
The lower drive position can be accessed without "disconnecting" the fan or wi/fi antenna.
I googled around and found this info on youtube, where you just unscrew the fan and leaving it connected to the MB, carefully fold it back out of the way, same for the wi/fi antenna.
I've done it twice now, I like the fact that with care it cuts down on the chances some have regards to breaking those fragile connections off of the MB.
 
scottsjack said:
As you will hear several times make sure you get the OWC kit for the lower bay. My Crucial M500 SSDs slip out of the lower bay really easy after only removing the fan, a shroud and the wifi screen. Once you've done it that is about a 10 minute operation.

You are lucky since the motherboard and power supply do not have to be extracted in order to access only the lower bay.
Click to expand...

Thanks I'll order the kit for the lower bay from owc. 1 question are there screws to hold the SSD in place?
 
IffySituation said:
Thanks I'll order the kit for the lower bay from owc. 1 question are there screws to hold the SSD in place?
Click to expand...

The drive mounted in the "lower bay" (at the top when upside down for service) is secured with the 2 screws through the WiFi vent plate once replaced. There may also be some small peg-head bolts in the kit which screw into the back side-mount holes on the drive and then the protruding peg-heads fit into recessed holes in the case-bracket for support. If they aren't seated in the recessed holes, the screw holes won't line up with the vent plate holes properly.
 
Last edited:
Gjwilly said:
The kit you linked is the correct one if you already have all of the tools.
if you don't have the tools then you'll want this one
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2B/
The lower bay kit is for adding a drive to the upper bay and won't have the screws you need.
Click to expand...

Good point. I've never bought a mini with only the upper bay populated so I don't know if those come with the grill screws for the HDD secured by some other method since there is no lower bay drive to screw them in to.

Also, the OWC picture for the lower bay kit shows two little black things. They don't look like either the side pegs for the frame or the finished screws for the grill. The "includes" list applies only to an upper bay installation.
 
Er, the lower bay kit is for the lower bay (i.e. when the Mac was shipped with the drive in the upper bay, less commonly).

The key differences are (if you want two drives that is):

Upper bay empty - you need to mount one of the drives in the upper bay frame using the four rubber grommets and screws. You need the right SATA connector that folds to meet the logic board.

Lower bay empty - there are just two lugs to put on the case side of the drive. You need a SATA connector that folds to meet the other connector on the logic board.

M.
 
marclondon said:
Er, the lower bay kit is for the lower bay (i.e. when the Mac was shipped with the drive in the upper bay, less commonly).
Click to expand...

No, you've got it backwards.
Or let's just say that OWC has it backwards.
What they call the lower bay kit is for installing in the empty upper bay (most common).

DIYIMM11D2 is for installing in empty upper bay.
DIDIMM11D2 is the same kit, with hardware, but without tools.

DIYIMM11D2B is for installing in empty lower bay.
DIDIMM11D2B is the same kit, with hardware, but without tools.

And I'm fairly certain that the SATA cable is the same in both kits.
The only difference is in how it gets folded.
 
scottsjack said:
Good point. I've never bought a mini with only the upper bay populated so I don't know if those come with the grill screws for the HDD secured by some other method since there is no lower bay drive to screw them in to.

Also, the OWC picture for the lower bay kit shows two little black things. They don't look like either the side pegs for the frame or the finished screws for the grill. The "includes" list applies only to an upper bay installation.
Click to expand...

The grill screws come with the Mac. When there's no lower drive, then the screws are secured with nuts. That's why that OWC kit includes a wrench.
Those black things shown are the side pegs (actually set screws).
 
Gjwilly said:
No, you've got it backwards.
Or let's just say that OWC has it backwards.
What they call the lower bay kit is for installing in the empty upper bay (most common).

And I'm fairly certain that the SATA cable is the same in both kits.
The only difference is in how it gets folded.
Click to expand...

Well OWC doesn't actually call them a lower or upper bay kit - they just say either a data doubler (for the majority) or the one with 'upper drive populated'?

As for the flat cable, it's the length it extends back from the drive connection that's critical to meet each logic board slot - I'm not sure that you can fold it to both extents, just laterally. But you could be right - it may be a bit more squashed up for the nearest connector. I'm not taking mine apart to check...

M.
 
Gjwilly said:
The grill screws come with the Mac. When there's no lower drive, then the screws are secured with nuts. That's why that OWC kit includes a wrench.
Those black things shown are the side pegs (actually set screws).
Click to expand...

Hence another good reason to have bought a mini server when they were available. All necessary parts were OEM, just drop an SSD in the lower bay and be done with it. Ah, the good old days!
 
Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it. This is why the the macrumors forums are so great, good knowledgeable people willing to help, thanks!
 
Well, that was weird!

So, I finally broke down and bought some SSD's off Amazon.
A Kingston HyperX 240Gb for myself, with 8Gb memory upgrade.
A 480Gb version for the wife's Mini with a 16Gb memory upgrade.
The problem was, we bought both late 2012 Mini's on the same day with the same configuration. When I cracked my Mini up, there was a hard drive carrier holding the HDD in the "upper" location (when looking upside down, it was lower bay against the top of the mini). When I opened the other Mini, the drive was located in the lower bay (secured via the two screws in the WiFi shield and even with the mainboard). I swapped the drives in each Mini and plugged them back into thier original location. My question is, since one is plugged into the "second" SATA connector, is there any problem? My drive stats showed 289Mb write and 490+ on the read......
 
jthesssin said:
My question is, since one is plugged into the "second" SATA connector, is there any problem?
Click to expand...

No. But why did you take the hard drives out? For the Mini with the one already in the upper bay it would have been much easier just to put the SSD in the empty lower slot. And you would have more storage in the machine.

M.
 
marclondon said:
No. But why did you take the hard drives out? For the Mini with the one already in the upper bay it would have been much easier just to put the SSD in the empty lower slot. And you would have more storage in the machine.

M.
Click to expand...

I didn't buy the data doubler kit or anything so I didn't have the extra data cables to perform this....
 
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