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iFixit releases kit for a second hard drive in the Mac mini

by Mike Schramm Aug 16th 2011 at 6:00AM

I just went fiddling around in my old school Mac mini the other day. I put some extra memory in, sneaking inside that tiny extra bit of space to pull out the old sticks and punch in the new ones. But the newer Mac mini is even smaller than mine, which makes it all the more impressive that iFixit has released a kit that will allow you to add your own second hard drive without a ton of trouble. Well, there will at least be a little bit -- Apple doesn't want just anyone rooting around in its tiny little desktop PC.

iFixit makes it about as easy as it's going to get if you don't want to pay someone to do it for you. There's a full guide here if you want to see how it all works. Though the kit is out of stock at the moment, when it's in stock it'll only be $70 plus the cost of whatever storage media you want to install.

I found dipping into my Mac mini pretty rewarding. As long as you follow instructions and are as careful as you can be with all of the components, you could have an even nicer mini than you've got right now.



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I just went fiddling around in my old school Mac mini the other day. I put some extra memory in, sneaking inside that tiny extra bit...
 

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macserv

Very cool, but it would probably be a very challenging project for most. It involves taking the entire machine apart, down to the empty aluminum case— 26 steps, and that's before you begin actually applying the kit parts and reassembling.

August 18 2011 at 7:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alpha-Sphere

Cool that they're bringing out a kit for that. Personally i'd go the external route just because it's cheaper but it is messy with all the wires and another brick. I think more people will get it if the price goes down to $50,-

August 16 2011 at 8:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alpha-Sphere

Cool that they're bringing out a kit for that. Personally i'd go the external route just because it's cheaper but it is messy with all the wires and another brick. I think more people will get it if the price goes down to $50,-

August 16 2011 at 8:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
patrick@evilplatypus.net

@Barry, I agree mostly. But I'd still prefer Medium SSD + Huge NAS personally.
Also, I am aware that Apple related products are usually premium priced, but calling $70 just is pushing the definition a but, especially since you need to add the harddrive still so this is only a flat-cable and some grommets and screws.

August 16 2011 at 7:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to patrick@evilplatypus.net's comment
ianlogsdon

give it time, the chinese factory manufacturing these will make them available for cheaper in time, that's why I was able to get the DVD to SSD converter for my Macbook Pro for $6

August 16 2011 at 8:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to ianlogsdon's comment
Roberto

Give it time, the chinese factory manufacturing these will plagiarize iFIxit's idea in time and save the US economy.
Fixed.

August 16 2011 at 12:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down
Barry Crayon

Small SSD + Large HDD = Win!

August 16 2011 at 6:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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