Mac not formatted to display external drives on the desktop.Apple's Mac Mini, a small square-shaped desktop computer, starts at an affordable $799, but doesn't offer the level of performance needed by professional filmmakers and photographers. The Mac Pro desktop is a more powerful alternative, but with a starting price of $5,999, the model is too expensive for some creators.CNETs Brooke Crothers said it was rumored that the early-2011, MacBook Pro update would include some sort of new data port, and he speculated it would be Light.The Animaionic docking station aims to solve this problem by transforming the Mac Mini into a proper workstation. The model supports two PCIe graphics cards and up to four SSDs, according to the Kickstarter campaign, for up to 8TB of additional data storage capacity.More memory: Crucial 16GB RAM kit ($90 at Amazon) New storage: Kingston 480GB SSD ($56 at Amazon) Products used in this guide Here we'll walk you through breathing new life into your old Mac for not a lot of money. It remains Apple's last properly upgradeable Mac Mini, and even in 2020 can be a pretty handy little computer with the right bits inside.Right tools: ORIA Magnetic Screwdriver set ($18 at Amazon) A second hard drive: Seagate Firecuda 1TB ($63 at Amazon) The right cable: AmazonBasics miniDP to DP ($11 at Amazon) Pull away the black shroud and set it aside.Carefully pull the fan away from the logic board. Move the shroud to one side carefully, making sure you don't snap the cable.Remove the two screws on the fan and the single screw on the black shroud. The base should simply pull away, but may need prying with a plastic tool or even a credit card.Remove the screws on the wireless shroud. Data transfer speeds will be at least four times faster, and that will make a huge difference in the day-to-day running of your Mac Mini.Place your thumbs in the circular divots and twist the base anti-clockwise. Set aside a couple of hours, and you'll be able to bring your old Mac back to life.Better than using your fingers, this pry tool kit is worth having in your tool kit for those hard to remove and tiny parts.One of the best upgrades to make is to swap out the old mechanical hard drive for an SSD. On more recent models, users have been able to upgrade some bits, such as the RAM in the 2018 release, but in the 2012 model, you can go ahead and get really crazy.You can upgrade the RAM to a maximum of 16GB you can swap out the internal hard drive for an SSD, and even add a second drive for even more storage.None of these parts are particularly expensive, and none of the work is particularly complicated or time-consuming.
![]() Reconnect the ribbon cable to the logic board. Turn the SSD over so it's upside down and the screws from step 15 are facing the edge of the Mac Mini.Using a business card again for support, slide the new SSD into place until the screws lock into place on the bracket inside the Mac Mini. Connect the same ribbon cable to the new SSD's SATA connectors. Detach the ribbon cable from the existing hard drive. Detach the Torx T8 screws from the existing hard drive.Attach those same screws to the left-hand side of your new SSD. Carefully detach the SATA cable for the hard drive from the logic board.Pull the existing hard drive clear of the Mac Mini. Docking Station Mini 2011 Install A SecondYou could reuse the existing hard drive, but since it's over six years old, it makes much better sense to use a fresh one.You can use either a hard drive or an SSD, or as we have here, a Seagate Firecuda hybrid drive, not unlike the Fusion Drive Apple uses in some of its machines. How to add a second storage driveNot everyone will want to do this, but it is possible to install a second drive in the 2012 Mac Mini to maximize its storage potential. You'll be surprised at how clean the inside of a computer this old is, but it never hurts to clear it out while you're inside. Line the markings on the base up with the corresponding markings on the Mac Mini.One additional thing to do throughout this process is to use some canned air to blast out any dust. Slide out the retaining clip from the power supply.Turn the power socket 90-degrees anti-clockwise. Pull the logic board out of the rear of the case.Remove the two Torx T6 screws that hold the drive bracket and power supply in place. Disconnect the power supply cable from the logic board. Remove the final screw from the logic board with a Torx T6 screwdriver.Insert the logic board removal tool into the holes pictured.Gently pull the logic board away from the case. You will need to detach any remaining items from the logic board at this point, including the wireless shroud and the IR cable. Slide the power supply back into the case until it locks into the place. Place the hard drive bracket back into the case and line up the fixing holes. Ensuring the ribbon cable is facing upwards, screw the new drive into the bracketwith the screws from your installation kit. Attach the rubber grommets from the install kit to the holes on the drive bracket.Attach the ribbon cable from the install kit to the new drive. So the best you can do is grab a 16GB kit made up of a pair of 8GB sticks. Reinstalling macOSBesides adding an SSD, the next best thing to do to give your old Mac Mini some additional legs for present-day computing is to add more RAM.The 2012 Mac Mini uses 1600MHz DDR3 SODIMM modules and can accept up to 16GB across two slots. Follow steps 18-23 from the section above to insert the new main SSD and reassemble what remains of the Mac Mini.Once everything is back in place, and the Mac Mini is closed up, it's time to do a fresh install of macOS. Reverse the steps above to reinsert the logic board, all fixings, and connectors, including the new hard drive ribbon cable. Completely uninstall all adobe products osxIf not, you'll need to go back in and troubleshoot your installation one stick at a time. If it shows the amount of RAM you installed, all is well. Push down gently until they lock into place.To verify all is well, boot up the Mac Mini and check out the About This Mac information. Line up the new RAM sticks and push gently into the slots. Pry apart the metal brackets around the current RAM sticks. Our top equipment picksYou can pick and choose which of the upgrades you want to do, but here's a handy list of all our picks for the bits that went into our Mac Mini upgrade, along with the tools and accessories you need to install them. Don't overpay, though, for one that someone else has upgraded, when you can likely do the work yourself for less.Whether you buy or already have an old Mac Mini sat around doing nothing, with not a lot of money and a couple of hours of your time, you can turn it into a fantastic little computer to use in the present day. Still, if you're looking for a really expensive way to get into Mac computing, or want a solid secondary machine, you can do a lot worse than picking up a used 2012 Mac Mini and upgrading it.Where do you find one, though? That depends where you live, but the usual places like eBay and Craigslist are a great place to start. Ultimate performance will always be better on newer models. Pair it with a good monitorA new Mac is an expensive thing there's no denying that. If this is the case, the system won't post, so it's easy to spot.
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