Introduction
Upgrade your hard drive for more storage space.
What you need
-
-
Power down your Mac mini, disconnect all of the cables, and flip it over.
-
Insert the Jimmy into the crack between the aluminum top housing and the plastic lower housing.
-
The Jimmy should reach a stop about 3/8" down.
-
-
-
Gently bend the Jimmy outwards to pry the crack open a little larger and lift the lower housing up a small amount.
Patience is your best friend.
Do not insert “jimmy in too far. Marking a line from tip upwards on the tool will prevent too far insertion, possibly breaking tabs or damaging internal components.
To prevent the cover closing back up, small strips of matchbook cover (os equivalent) can be inserted about half inch hold prevent closure.
-
-
-
Flip the Mac mini back over and lift the top housing off of the lower housing.
-
-
-
-
We will first remove the AirPort antenna, located in the lower left corner of this picture.
-
-
-
Slightly squeeze the two retaining arms toward each other and lift the AirPort antenna off its post.
Spring loaded
-
-
-
Grab the Bluetooth antenna nearest the port side of the computer by the edges of the board and pull it straight up off the internal frame.
On mine, at least, a considerable amount of force was required to get the bluetooth antennas up off the posts. In fact, I ended up pulling so hard one one of them that when it suddenly came up, I broke the antenna cable. Be careful!
They do need a fair bit of force. Best way for me was first finger and thumb underneath, either side of the post; and first finger of the other hand on top to prevent it "jumping". Then just move up in one smooth motion.
Brian -
Did you repair the antenna or just let it go? I broke my antenna too, and I can't tell if it's a 2-conductor coaxial cable or a single conductor that I could resolder.
Note on re-assembly - there is a "pin" formed from the top of the internal frame which needs to go through the corresponding hole in the antenna assembly. Although the antenna will clip down without it being exactly in place, the antenna will not be "sprung" and will probably foul the cover when it is replaced, probably causing damage.
As you almost certainly wouldn't notice this as you replace the cover, do check that this "pin" is aligned and that the antenna is floating on the spring, before replacing the cover.
I realized, that it made it easier when I grab and squeeze just a little on the spiral thing under the antenna while lifting it up.
A more controlled way of remove the bluetooth antennae: lever them gently off. The closer you are to the centre pin, the more force you will exert there, instead of wasting it bending up the board. You already have the tools - the putty knife & the spudger.
Put the putty knife gently under the board on the side of your non-dominant hand, and then the spudger under the board on the side of your dominant hand. Gently lift the handle of the putty knife and apply constant pressure. Then gently push and wriggle the spudger under the other side with your dominant hand and push constantly forward. The further you push forward, the more upward force you will apply.The antenna will pop up before you get the spudger all the way under, and it will only rise a few mm when it does.
Be aware of cable and Bluetooth antenna board upon reinstall. I attempted to reinstall the board as it faced the incorrect direction, and the cable was improperly positioned. The result? Upon snapping the board in, the cable got caught and portion of it was shorn off near the solder. So, be aware of the board and cable positioning on reinstall.
From what I've read elsewhere- the "spiral thing" under the antenna is a plastic clip that
needs to be pinched together with fingertips,to release the antenna from its post.
This should also be done when replacing it, to ensure the antenna will clear the case.
Seems like this detail was skipped in other instructions here.
-
-
-
Remove the antenna board near the front of the mini by pulling it straight up off the internal frame.
-
If necessary, remove the piece of tape securing the antenna leads to the internal frame.
On my late 2009 2.53GHz C2D, there's no tape holding the antenna wire to the frame but it *does* sit in a "clip" formed off part of the internal frame. There's very little slack in the wire for this BT antenna and so it pays to drop the wire back into the "clip" and re-insert the antenna in one motion.
-
-
-
Remove the following four screws securing the internal frame to the bottom housing:
-
Three 6.7 mm Phillips #00 screws
-
One 9.5 mm Phillips #00 screw
Be careful. There are 2 LONG screws and 2 short ones. Mark which got out where as the short ones do not fit in the long wholes.
Quote from Patrick Mast:
Be careful. There are 2 LONG screws and 2 short ones. Mark which got out where as the short ones do not fit in the long wholes.
I found one long screw. It goes in the corner right next to the fan.
Also, I would recommend taking the audio cable off nearest to the cd drive and not on the audio board. It's easier to see if it is lined up when reconnecting it.
The screw in the lower right is longer than the other 3
6.7mm and 9.5mm screws are equivalent to what size? PH00....PH0 what? 6.7mm is this PH screwdriver and 9.5mm is this PH screwdriver. Please answer.
P.S. I have your 54 Bit Driver Set and least your Phillips bits are labled as PH0 or PH000 not in a mm lable.
Thanks
Hey Vikingsgy! Looks like we forgot to say #00 in that step, but the tool required for this guide is a Phillips #00! The millimeter measurements are just for the screw lengths, to make sure they go back in the right spots!
It is mystifying why Apple chose not to have proper screw guides in their molded plastic frame, but one false move and you’ll be trying to shake the screws back out again. Make sure you have a magnetic screwdriver, makes reassembly a lot easier.
-
-
-
Lift the internal frame off the bottom housing, starting at the rear edge, until you feel the concealed edge connector on the motherboard disconnect. Then lift straight off, minding the bluetooth and 802.11 antenna cables.
Be VERY careful when reassembling that your wifi/bluetooth cables don't get caught between the internal frame header and its connector on the motherboard. They're so thin that you will hardly feel this (considering this connector requires a lot of pressure). If you then tighten the screws the connector and the stuck wifi cable will be severely damaged.
This damaged my mini's wifi cable and the connector that the internal frame plugs into. I was able to repair the connector by squeezing the plastic sides back together but it's never been quite right and my wifi cable was completely cut. I removed the wireless daughterboard completely now, as I didn't need it anyway and the mini is working again.
I know I should have checked but I didn't think of it. So this is just a word of warning to others trying the same :)
If you accidentally disconnect the antennas, see Mac mini Model A1283 Antennas Replacement to reconnect them.
I second the comment about trapping wires on reassembly, particularly the WiFi one. The cable's natural tendency is to trap itself between the black plastic airduct section of the internal frame and the corresponding moulding on the base / port side.
In the absence of a third hand, I found that resting the WiFi antenna on top of the optical drive as you lower the internal frame back into position helps position the cable in the right place, rather than leaving the antenna outside the port area.
-
-
-
Remove the two Phillips screws connecting the underside of the hard drive to the internal frame.
-
-
-
Slide the hard drive toward the speaker to disconnect it from the interconnect board.
-
Lift the hard drive from the edge opposite the fan and remove it from the internal frame.
It was super frustrating getting the drive aligned, and when It finally did align, I forgot about the temperature sensor and managed to yank the wire out of the board. Hopefully I can adjust the fans manually and not have to reattach the wire, which doesn't really appear possible.
Anyone ever do it?
I wonder if the wire was the cause of my issue from the beginning, as now that the wire is gone, the drive slips right into place. So, if you're having difficulty getting the drive connected, make sure the temp sensor wire is out of the way.
So, looking back, I now see that the sensor cable routs on top of the drive, not underneath.
When putting a new drive in you need the spudger to hold the bottom of the drive in place though the side opening while you slide it into the sata connectors with your hand or a dull side of a screw driver. It wont damage anything [edit] (the spudger through the side hole) although it seems like you're forcing it. I did it twice because of the same problem with the wire getting caught. Rather than pull on the wire I just removed the drive and realigned the sensor. It's easy with the spudger.
عالی بود ممنونم
-
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Cancel: I did not complete this guide.
636 other people completed this guide.
27 Comments
The Phillips required on this for me was a size 0, not 00, which was too small.
Step 13 is not needed and should not be attempted.
Ah no you need to remove it to get to the hard drive.
You don't need to remove the connector of the HD temperature sensor from the interconnection board, just detach the sensor from the drive. Then you can still get the drive out. My sensor connector unfortunately broke off completly. I managed to solder the sensor wires directly to the tiny contacts on the board :))
Step 16: Is the thermal sensor necessary if I am replacing HDD with an SDD? If so, where should it be attached?
I simply stuck it to the side of the SSD, the same way it was on the old HDD. No issues so far.
yes otherwise the fans will run at full speed all the time
I have a dual-drive (mirrored RAID) A1283 which I bought as a preconfigured Snow Leopard Server. The optical drive was omitted to accommodate the second drive. I have to replace both drives. I've been able to disassemble the machine fine but now all 3 of the antenna leads have become disconnected-- both Bluetooth antennas and the Wifi antenna. I can't figure out which goes where. The little board with the barcodes on it has three antenna sockets. With the back of the Mac Mini facing away from me, the Serial Number info reading correctly and the 3/8 inch wide copper ribbon cable on the left, there are two sockets on the right side and one on the left above the copper ribbon cable. My question is, which goes where? The plugs and sockets are all the same. The wires are as follows: Bluetooth closest to the back of the case, black/light blue; Bluetooth closest to the front of the case, silver plastic sheath; Wifi right rear corner closest to the back of the case, black and brown. Thanks in advance.
PS: I found this page about antennas (Mac mini Model A1283 Antennas Replacement) but the wire colors they mention are different.
OK, so the airport wire is short and the only place it looks like it goes is in the right side socket closest to the rear of the unit, also taking in account the kinks in the wires. I'm going with that but would appreciate if anyone can confirm. Thanks.
To get the new hard drive edge connector to mate, turn the chassis up on end, so the weight pulls it in the right direction.
I just completed this install on my 2009 mac mini. I installed a brand new Crucial M500 480gb SSD drive. When attempting to load the OS with a bootable usb I keep getting the No Entry icon on the screen.
Do I need to format the new SSD drive before loading the OS?
Yes. Initialise the new drive as GUID, MacOS Extended, Journaled.
Then install and all should go well.
on my install i had to initialize the drive in a ext case on another system. if you are going to install new os from a usb (ubuntu, osx) almost any format will do that assigns partition and a system type. then the system will recognize that the drive is there and permit loading of a system. that may work with a recovery drive as well. after the quick format i tested both my osx and my ubuntu usb loaders. system found both of them.
Buenas tardes Soy Domingo de Alcorcon-Madrid-España, hoy he recibido el disco duro, no le reconoce y existe una diferencia: el que me han enviado tiene un conector más que el mío no tiene.
No se como enviarles una imagen por aquí.
Un saludo
Hola Domingo! Envíe un email al support@ifixit.com para que puedan ayudarles. ¡Gracias!
No problem encountered at all following these very detailed instructions. Everything came loose easily, and I had it back together in no time. I think 15 minutes or something. It was my first time opening a Mac Mini (not my first time opening a Mac). I used a thin knife instead of the special tool to open the housing. I bought this mini second hand. I got the feeling it had been opened previously, which probably made things easier.
Everything went well following these instructions, thanks
Maybe someone can help me, my mini mac wont start it just stays in the grey screen loading forever. I tried the command R and rebooting it in safe mode, that dint work. I cant use my timeline options and I cant re install a new operating system nor can I use the repair disk options due to the fact that it says that the main hard drive is un repairable because of a S.M.A.R.T error.? Im going to assume that im loosing all my artwork and adobe programs that installed years ago :’( Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am replacing the two hard drives in my 2009 mac mini server. A small copper clip fell of in the process and I am not sure where it was or where it goes back. Its not visible in any of the pictures. Anyone know?
The copper clip fits into a slot to the right of the speaker, contacts the metal front of the case when everything is reassembled. Doubtful that it will be missed if you were not able to get it back in place before putting the cover back on.
If you are working with the 2009 mac mini server, the process is a bit different in order to get both drives out of the system. On page 114 of Apple’s official repair page http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/macmini/m... you can find a full disassembly guide for the HDD carrier.
A spackle knife makes these steps go much faster.
jouniseppanen - Reply
A double sided letter opener or a thin non-serrated butter knife will suffice.
To prenent cosmetic blemishes, place a matchbook cover or similar thin cardboard on the outer perimeter under the “jimmy”.
Mike - Reply
Despite mentioning recommended tools at the top I think it’s really worthwhile making a point about narrow Philips screwdrivers at this point before people start putting the case apart.
Matt D - Reply