Connect mac mini to macbook to use as hard drive

I have a older mac mini that I would like to use as an external hard drive. How do I do that?

Need more details
What model Mac Mini?
What model of Mac are you connecting to?
what version of OS X on each?
Allan

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Mac mini server: Hardware test error on Hard Drive

Mac mini server: Hardware test error on Hard Drive
'checking for slow read failures': ERROR - Target device access failure - Test failed.
CAN I ACCESS HD (which is our data server) EVER AGAIN? IF SO, HOW?
Meanwhile we wonder if this is really a hardware error. It all happened during writing a time machine backup.
Probably while writing it, some data was relocated by accident, but we can not 100%-sure remember the sequence of actions :/
This is our trauma history:
- time machine got increasingly slower in writing a backup
- we quit the backup
- we switched off the mac mini (on power button)
- we switched on the mac mini
- we stopped time machine to the rules
- we shut down mac mini via command
- we booted the mac mini in save mode
- we see a loading bar
- no progress after 10th of loading bar
- switched off (power button)
- when we now switch on the loading bar below the apple-logo is all we see + the little wheel
- we started with cmd+alt+p+r pressed
- mac mini restarted but showed the loading bar scenario without progress again
- we started with 'd' pressed and did the hardware test (see above)
- we started with 'alt' pressed but it does not give us the recoverydrive to run the last backup
ANY IDEAS?
IS IT A SOFTWARE- OR HARDWARE ERROR?
THX IN ADVANCE!

BDAqua wrote:
I thnk Intenal 2.5" Drives for servers is silly, & Ithink the Minis & iMacs re poorly cooled.
I'd get Temprature Monitor & see what temps they're running.
Is Temperature Monitor an app or a device? If it's a temperature problem then that is essentially a design problem. Two drive failures in the same Mac mini server in four months combined with the fact that they're not really user serviceable already has me 90% on the way back to more pragmatically designed Linux servers. I think it would be foolish to waste any more money on these minis for my business hosting.

HT1338 how much is the mac mini A1347,i7,4GB RAM,1TB hard drive ?? and wat maximum upgrading for the ram ? thannks :D

how much is the mac mini A1347,i7,4GB RAM,1TB hard drive ?? and wat maximum upgrading for the ram ? thannks

go to Apples website and look. That's what anyone else here would do.

Connecting Mac mini to MacBook Pro retina?

Hello,
I just purchased a 13" macbook retina. I was wondering if I were to purchase a Mac mini, can I connect it to the MacBook Pro using that as a display through Target Display mode?
Thanks.

TDM is only supported in iMacs.

Connect Mac-mini to Macbook Pro to iPad 2?

Has ANYONE found a use out of connecting any apple device that isn't an iPhone?
I own a new Macbook Pro, iPad 2 and I just bought a mac mini for my flatscreen. I connected all three together via Bluetooth but after they connect and form a path they are no longer connected. They have a special path laid out for each device but they aren't actively connected.
At the same time I have a Bluetooth track pad and keyboard for the mac mini and they are both connected and working. Is there any way to have an active connection between the Mac mini, iPad 2 and Macbook Pro and if so is there anyway for it to be useful? File sharing, extended screen or anything?
Thanks for any help. With these top of the line techs I thought they'd work with each other better....

Probably easier with WIFI on your local network. Also, it depends on what you need it do with the Mini. OSX already has a screen sharing option that allows you to share screens and file sharing option to share files between each other, so if you want the Macbook to control the Mini for your media playback, you can. But then, it's probably easier for you to control all this via your iPad 2. The software you want to use it called Splashtop. It's a remote screen sharing software that not only duplicates the screen on both Macbook and Mini if both machines run the Splashtop server, but it also do sound as well. This way, you can use the iPad 2 to control your Mini, browse the net, watch Netflix, copy files, download movies from iTunes etc. I do this with my iPad 1 and my old Macbook Core 2 Duo attached to my flatscreen. Skipped Apple TV 2.

Connect mac mini to macbook

I have a macbook ( late 2008 ) and plan to buy a mac mini for office. I have a screen which can be used as an external diplay there. However, if i needed to work at home can I use my macbook or macbook pro as a display for mac mini?
Thank you
ASmac

HI, only way I know would be...
ScreenRecycler...
http://www.screenrecycler.com/ScreenRecycler.html

Mac Mini Help Please!!! - Hard Drive and Time Machine

Hello everyone,
I return once more seeking your support if I may...
I went down to the Genius Bar today, as my Mac Mini was having the multi-colour circle not-responding icon showing an awful lot, and it was struggling to perform simple tasks.
I bought my mac mini 2 years ago (12-Mar-11), and I was told there was an I/O error; and i needed a new hard drive.
I am currently backing up my machine, onto a WD My Passport 500gb.
When a new hard drive is installed by Apple, can I restore my files with my 'My Passport' backup?
I do also store other items on 'My Passport'; does this make a difference when trying to restore my files to my new hard drive?
One more question if I may...
Has anyone here had a new hard drive installed by Apple before, and if so, has the hard drive 'stood the test of time'
Many thanks in advance for your help
James

What utility are you using to backup your drive?
Apple buys hard drives from major manufacturers like Toshiba, Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital. The drives will last as long as any drive you would purchase from them. Some last long and some don't.
Suffice to say the drives carry a specific warranty. That should give you an idea how long the manufacturer thinks it will last on average.
You can restore files from your backup pretty easily in Mountain Lion. If you are using Time Machine then you can actually boot from a Recovery HD image that it places on your backup drive. To boot from it you must connect the backup drive, then restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears. Select the icon for the Recovery HD and then click on arrow button beneath the icon.

Does New Mac Mini Support Native Command Queing (NCQ) Hard Drives?

I have noticed the NCQ spec present in certain hard drives, like some Seagate drives. Does Apple support this in the 2009 Mac Mini?
Info available through Googling "Native Command Queing." Thanks.

Hi,
In most cases, if NCQ is enabled with a direct connect RAID configuration (like the internal Mac Pro bays) it does not provide significant additional performance. With some hard disk models having NCQ turned on will actually provide slower overall performance. You can see this when testing the HighPoint and Areca RAID controllers in the Mac Pro as they allow the user to turn NCQ off or on.
If you read the NCQ spec, it ibdicates performance will be significantly higher with NCQ enabled. I have grown to believe that most of this is in theory, as in real use NCQ usually provides overall negative performance results with a direct connect RAID set.
The one configuration that enabling NCQ provides a slight overall performance increase is with port multiplier (PM) enclosures.
While the Apple Mac Pro will support a hard disk with NCQ turned on. I have found hard disks with NCQ enabled will not provide measurably higher performance results than if the HD has NCQ turned off while mounted in the Apple Mac Pro.
Have fun!

Mac Mini not reading old pc ext hard drive

Have a five year old external hard drive from a previous PC. I connect it to my Mac Mini and the device listing shows it is there, but the letters are not black. They are light grey and i am unable to open the drive when i click on the listing.

Sounds like it is not mounted properly, damaged or perhaps is protected by some sort of windows encryption.
Open Disk Utility and see if you select the drive in the list of drives and then mount it using the blue Mount button. If not then disconnect the drive, restart the Mac Mini and reconnect the External Drive.
Now if it is still not mounting and/or you are unable to manually mount it using Disk Utility, it is either damaged and needs repairs or unencrypting using a windows computer. Of course I could be totally wrong about the windows encryption thing, because I don't use them all that much.

New Mac Mini OS X Server - 2 monitors & hard drives?

I'm considering a Mac Mini for my next Mac and am looking at the OS X Server version. I currently use 2 monitors on an old Mac Pro and would like to keep that set up. I also like that the Server version of the Mini has 2 hard drives, where I would probably install 2 SSDs.
My main question is about if it's possible to connect 2 monitors to the current 2013 Mini and if so, what's the best way to do so?
Also, how difficult is it to install a second hard drive if I purchase the Mini with just one to start with?
I'm also thinking maybe I should wait a little while in case a new Mac Mini is announced in the next few months.
Thanks

Hi, not quite sure why you're considering Server, but...
ideo Card:
HD Graphics 4000
VRAM Type:
Integrated
Details:
This model has an Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics processor that shares memory with the system. Also see: What type of video system is provided by the Aluminum Mac mini models? Which are integrated and which are dedicated? Can the video be upgraded?
Standard VRAM:
512 MB*
Maximum VRAM:
768 MB*
Display Support:
Dual Displays
Resolution Support:
1920x1200*
2nd Display Support:
Dual/Mirroring*
2nd Max. Resolution:
2560x1600*
Details:
*This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI or a DVI display (using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter) and2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port).
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-2.6-late-2 012-server-specs.html
Rather than rely on the slow internaldrives... lest you replace them with SSDs, I'd opt for external mTB drives to boot from.
I'm also thinking maybe I should wait a little while in case a new Mac Mini is announced in the next few months.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a Mini with Intel HD4000 integrated graphics, I'd wait to see if the HD500 is twice as bad, or Apple incluses a real Video card option in the next release... but I hold little hope for that.

Mac mini's best choice of external hard drive?

What would be the best way to back up a Mac mini; using a G-Tech,Lacie,Iomega, or something else?

Buy from a reputable vendor and try to keep to brand names that have a good reputation as well. I've been pleased with the Western Digital external drives as well as Seagate's. Maxtor has had some issues in the last 18 months and I'm not sure those have been resolved yet. For backing up FireWire is slightly more preferable because it tends to have better sustained write/read speeds than USB2 but heck, my backup is done in the background and doesn't affect my ability to surf or write so I really don't care one way or the other.

2011 Mac Mini - Boot up on 2nd internal hard drive?

Hi folks,
I just picked up a Mac Mini today, after I lost all patience with my circa 2007 MacBook Pro when it stopped booting up this morning. I ordered more RAM and am planning to install the recently replaced hard drive from my MBP into my Mac Mini. I'm just wondering, will that drive just show up as another hard drive, similar to the way that external hard drives appear? And more importantly, the old hard drive has an older version of Snow Leopard installed, as well as a bunch of software, including my Adobe CS software. I've already jumped through hoops with Adobe to get my software reinstalled on my MBP a few months ago, and I don't feel like dealing with that again. So if the drive does show up as a separate device, can I just run my Adobe software from that drive? Or do I have to reboot but select that old hard drive at startup (if that's even an option) to run all software on it?
Thanks!

I mention "if SL will run" for a good reason. Newer Macs have the EFI (similar to BIOS in PC) set to usually run only the OSX it came with.
I would not bet anything on the SL installation being stable in the macmini, especially as the device drivers are for a MacbookPro (trackpad, keyboard, graphics chips, etc) instead of for a Macmini. Macmini has no built-in keyboard/mouse so has slightly more adaptable installed keyboard and mouse controllers than a macbookpro installation would.
I would not bet any money on anything other than Lion being stable on that macmini.

Help with setting up mac mini w/keyboard,mouse and external hard drive

OK, first, I filled my mac mini with photos and music, so I bought an exteranl hard drive and thought I copied over my library, but only half of it shows up. (Another questions)
But, now that I have 3 things using the USB ports and only 2 USB ports available, how do I set this up. I tired a 4 port, but what ever I plug into the 4 port USB does not work.

If I understand the problem, you have a 4 port USB hub that is not working.
The obvious suspect is the hub. I trust it is a powered USB hub, i.e. one you have to plug it into an external power source. A hub that draws its power from the Mini is not a good idea, since that would be asking the Mini to provide power to the two built-in ports as well as four external ones.
(I have a Keyspan usb 2 four port externally powered hub hooked up to my Mini. It works flawlessly.)
Even if your hub is powered, it is still the first suspect.

Mac Mini won't book with new hard drives???

I have a late 2009 mac mini server running snow leopard server. I recently purchased 2 new hard drives as the I believe one of the hard drives was failing. I formatted the 2 drives and installed Mavericks OS X server on one.
When I put the 2 drives into the mac mini, the system won't boot. I just get the flashing folder. If I keep the old (snow leopard) drive in the system and connect the mavericks server disk as an external (USB connected) drive, it will boot and runs just fine.
Am I missing something??
Here are somethings additional facts:
When I have the snow leopard server drive in and it boots from that, it doesn't recognize either of the 2 new drives. Wants to either eject or initialize.
I realize that it can read the newer system.
I have to boot with the option key so that I can pick which drive to boot from.
Any thoughts would be helpful. I'm not sure why it works one way and not the other.
Thank you.

Did you set the Partition Map Scheme to GUID Partition Table before Formatting the Drives Mac OS Extended (Journaled)...?
You can check in a couple of places:
Apple > About This Mac > More Info > Hardware > Serial-ATA
Or in Disk Utility by highlighting the Drive and looking at the Drive info

Mac Mini writing data like mad to hard drive!!!

Any help on this would be much appreciated. Immediately after start up there is a massive amount of data being written to the hard drive. You can see it on monitor.app; the average write speed is about 12 Mb per second. In 15 or 20 minutes the disk is full and there is no more space for the startup programs. This obviously totally clogs the system and nothing will run properly. I can't even run the antivirus coz this looks and feels like a virus. When I switch off and boot again the capacity on the hard drive is free again (100 Gb) and the whole process repeats itself.
I am posting this from the MacBook which fortunately is unaffected.
I could try and reload OS from the disk but I'd like to understand first what the heck is going on.
Help!!!!!

I deleted Techtool Pro and Voila. Problem solved. Thanks a million!!!!!

Connect mac mini to macbook to use as hard drive

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