Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

SSD in new Mac Mini urgent help needed!

A

Ahead123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 31, 2012
29
0
Hi, in another post I was telling my story installing an SSD (Corsair Force Sata III) in a new Mac mini. Everything went well except that after cloning OS Lion to the new SSD I would get a Kernel panic at boot.

I thought the cloning went wrong so I re-installed OS X Lion from Apple servers (14 hours download), only to be greeted this morning by the same Kernel panic which is "Unable to find driver for this platform: \"ACPI\"

I am now totally stuck without a clue on how to proceed. I am new to Mac. I can't keep downloading and trying again because it takes so long. Any help very much appreciated!!

(I also upgraded the RAM to 16Gb at the same time of the SSD upgrade, could this be a RAM related error?)
 
Ahead123 said:
Hi, in another post I was telling my story installing an SSD (Corsair Force Sata III) in a new Mac mini. Everything went well except that after cloning OS Lion to the new SSD I would get a Kernel panic at boot.

I thought the cloning went wrong so I re-installed OS X Lion from Apple servers (14 hours download), only to be greeted this morning by the same Kernel panic which is "Unable to find driver for this platform: \"ACPI\"

I am now totally stuck without a clue on how to proceed. I am new to Mac. I can't keep downloading and trying again because it takes so long. Any help very much appreciated!!

(I also upgraded the RAM to 16Gb at the same time of the SSD upgrade, could this be a RAM related error?)
Click to expand...

First rule of change management: change one thing at a time and make sure everything is okay after each change. That way you won't have to try to figure out which change you introduced might be causing the problem.

I would make sure the RAM is properly seated and try to boot again. If that does not work I would back out the RAM upgrade as that will be the easier of the two changes to undo. See if that helps.

If you still have the same problem you can try to boot into Safe mode and run disk utility to check file permissions, etc. See the following for Safe mode:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
 
I have rebooted pressing SHIFT which should be safe mode, however, it rebooted in the Lion welcome screens (time, username, location etc.) and then I was greeted with the standard Lion desktop. So I do not believe it's in safe mode? Sorry for these silly question I got my 1st Mac three days ago.
Also the case is quite warm at 95 F (35C) degrees, I can not hear any fan - is that normal? How do I run some diagnostics??
 
Ahead123 said:
I have rebooted pressing SHIFT which should be safe mode, however, it rebooted in the Lion welcome screens (time, username, location etc.) and then I was greeted with the standard Lion desktop. So I do not believe it's in safe mode? Sorry for these silly question I got my 1st Mac three days ago.
Also the case is quite warm at 95 F (35C) degrees, I can not hear any fan - is that normal? How do I run some diagnostics??
Click to expand...

shut it down now. you effed the fan up!!! here is the fast check for the fan.



turn the machine upside down . lie it on a soft cloth remove the black cover. plug in power and boot look for a spinning fan if the fan spins cool if not turn the machine off and let us know.

I will look for the photo on the fan connection and post it.



http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/25C5Ye3RCQIpcttO.huge


this is the connector and the photo is

WRONG!!!


never pull by the wires ifixit should fix that photo. that connector is really delicate. Let us know if it is loose
 
Last edited:
All of a sudden the fan started (quite noisy!) and the case is not so warm at the touch anymore. I have been running the hardware test downloaded from Apple for 35 minutes, yet the "total time testing says 3 min 45 secs" - I believe it's stuck.
 
Don't disconnect fan.

It's not hard to change the disks in the mini without disconnecting the fan. Much safer.
 
If the Fan ends up not being the issue, since you mentioned the RAM, you may want to try the stock ram just to see if the error goes away.
 
12 hours later I am still here with ACPI kernel panic at boot. Original 4Gb ram has been replaced and tested ok. I tried disk utility. I re-downloaded Lion with no luck. I tried verify disk (OK) and verify permissions (errors, apparently fixed).

The funny thing is if I boot with Option (alt) pressed and pick SSD, it boots, everything is there, OS and all. If I boot normally, I get panic kernel error.

I am starting to hate this thing. Not having a CD rom with an OS CD to boot from is just stupid.
 
Ahead123 said:
12 hours later I am still here with ACPI kernel panic at boot. Original 4Gb ram has been replaced and tested ok. I tried disk utility. I re-downloaded Lion with no luck. I tried verify disk (OK) and verify permissions (errors, apparently fixed).

The funny thing is if I boot with Option (alt) pressed and pick SSD, it boots, everything is there, OS and all. If I boot normally, I get panic kernel error.

I am starting to hate this thing. Not having a CD rom with an OS CD to boot from is just stupid.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the cause could just be your Solid State Drive, generally I find Kernel Panics are caused due to bad memory.. But since you've tested out with different sticks.. I'm guessing the SSD may be the problem..

If I were I'd either try the original Hard Drive to make sure or update firmware for the Corsair SSD.. I know It'll be a pain to open it up again..

I've also got an SSD Installed on my Mac Mini 2011, and have not experienced any issues..
 
Thanks I was thinking the same...the firmware is not the latest, but it worked on my Linux pc. Anyway, Corsair does not offer a firmware upgrade utility for Mac (window only!) so I would have to open it up, find a Windows machine (I am a Linux user), upgrade the firmware, re-install the SSD again, 20hrs re-download fuc... Lion etc. ...and I am not even sure that's the cause. :mad:
 
Ahead123 said:
Thanks I was thinking the same...the firmware is not the latest, but it worked on my Linux pc. Anyway, Corsair does not offer a firmware upgrade utility for Mac (window only!) so I would have to open it up, find a Windows machine (I am a Linux user), upgrade the firmware, re-install the SSD again, 20hrs re-download fuc... Lion etc. ...and I am not even sure that's the cause. :mad:
Click to expand...

Just wondering, Did you move the SSD to the first SATA cable slot and the stock drive to the second SATA slot? Not even sure it makes a difference but figured I'd just ask
 
I left the original HDD where it was and installed the SSD underneath it (that would be the top position when the Mac mini is in working conditions). One can choose the startup drive so I don't think it makes a difference.
 
Ahead123 said:
I left the original HDD where it was and installed the SSD underneath it (that would be the top position when the Mac mini is in working conditions). One can choose the startup drive so I don't think it makes a difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not sure, just figured I'd throw it out there. I'm new to mac so basically just shooting out ideas. I moved my Boot drive first SATA cable slot and the spare to the second.
 
Ahead123 said:
Thanks I was thinking the same...the firmware is not the latest, but it worked on my Linux pc. Anyway, Corsair does not offer a firmware upgrade utility for Mac (window only!) so I would have to open it up, find a Windows machine (I am a Linux user), upgrade the firmware, re-install the SSD again, 20hrs re-download fuc... Lion etc. ...and I am not even sure that's the cause. :mad:
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately the firmware cannot be updated from a Mac, I actually had to open up my Mac Mini aswell for a SSD firmware update..

Another thing you can try is, installing Mac OSX Lion on a External Hard Drive or USB, and If you don't experience any Kernel Panics etc.. Then the problem might be the SSD..

It could also just be compatibility issues with the Corsair SSD..
 
Macs have very good power management, so if you can get it to turn on with the Alt option at startup, just leave it on and let it standby when not using.

Alternatively, you could install Windows via boot camp and update your SSD firmware that way.
 
Corsair says the drive controller must be in AHCI mode, don't think it's possible in a virtualized environment ? (I also have Fusion). Then again I can't even boot so how do I install sofware.
 
Ahead123 said:
Corsair says the drive controller must be in AHCI mode, don't think it's possible in a virtualized environment ? (I also have Fusion). Then again I can't even boot so how do I install sofware.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately updating firmware through Bootcamp or Virtualization will not work, I actually tried it myself on Windows 7 for my SSD and although the software will run, upon restart you'll find the firmware is unchanged.. I had to use my brothers computer to update the firmware..

Anyway the best thing I can think of is installing OSX on a USB or External Drive if you have one lying around, I know It'll be a big pain, you should probably do the install overnight.. After booting from the USB/External Drive if you find there are no errors, then the problem lies in the SSD..
 
I just wanted to see if you had got any further in discovering what the issue is... I'm right on the cusp of ordering a SSD for my mini and it's making me really hesitant before I pull the trigger to make absolutely sure I use a brand that I know will work.

Has anyone put a Samsung SSD in their mini? I'm planning on running a bootcamp copy of Win7, so I can probably update the firmware when needed, but it might suck to have it freak out before I got there :)

I was thinking of doing exactly what the OP tried - add SSD and keep the original drive in there as a 2nd.
 
I gave up because of constant Kernel panic screens at boot. It would only boot in safe mode. I removed the Corsair Force 3 SSD and put it in a Windows 7 machine to update the firmware to v. 1.3.3 (it was 1.2), I then re-installed the SSD, same thing again! :mad:

It is now used as a secondary drive. Performance also sucks because it has pretty much the same speed as the 750Gb HDD (I was told the Mac mini 'sees' Sata 3).

I suggest not to use a Corsair Force 3 SSD with a Mac Mini because it does not work. The only positive aspect from this disaster is that I can now fully disassemble and re-assemble a Mac mini in <5 minutes :D
 
xheathen said:
I just wanted to see if you had got any further in discovering what the issue is... I'm right on the cusp of ordering a SSD for my mini and it's making me really hesitant before I pull the trigger to make absolutely sure I use a brand that I know will work.

Has anyone put a Samsung SSD in their mini? I'm planning on running a bootcamp copy of Win7, so I can probably update the firmware when needed, but it might suck to have it freak out before I got there :)

I was thinking of doing exactly what the OP tried - add SSD and keep the original drive in there as a 2nd.
Click to expand...

I have done quite a few samsung will work. the 830 or the 810 models even the 800 models all work fine.
 
I suggest not to use a Corsair Force 3 SSD with a Mac Mini because it does not work. The only positive aspect from this disaster is that I can now fully disassemble and re-assemble a Mac mini in <5 minutes :D[/QUOTE]

I have put the Corsair Force 3 series SSD into my Mini last December,
and it works perfectly...
Read speeds around 470 mb/s
Write speeds around 465 mb/s
It has really made a world of difference... My Mini really flies now...
I have also upgraded the RAM to 8 GB.
Maybe you got a faulty one?
 
This SSD was in a Windows XP machine, then a Windows 7 machine, then it's been working flawlessly in a Ubuntu PC for months. I don't think it has any problems. This is what really pissed me, since I was sure it would have worked. Plus, ACPI error at boot (power management driver? it doesn't make any sense).
 
Ahead123 said:
This SSD was in a Windows XP machine, then a Windows 7 machine, then it's been working flawlessly in a Ubuntu PC for months. I don't think it has any problems. This is what really pissed me, since I was sure it would have worked. Plus, ACPI error at boot (power management driver? it doesn't make any sense).
Click to expand...


I have that identical SSD, and it works fine...
What really confuses me is that you said that your speeds are almost the same
as the 750 GB HDD...
That should never happen with a SSD if it's functioning properly, even if it was
only a SATA 2 SSD it should still be much faster than a HDD.
Not to mention that yours is SATA 3, which a 2011 Mini can utilize fully...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back