Internal hard drive size limit on Mac Mini?

am thinking about getting an intel mac mini as a music (iTunes) server.
I see that Apple offers them with internal drives of either 80 or 120 GB.
Since I intend to use it with a large library, I wanted to ask if there is a maximum capacity for the internal drive. Assuming that I can replace the internal drive (I would be surprised if I couldn't), I was hoping to be able to use a 500 GB, 750 GB or even a 1 TB hard drive inside.
I was under the impression that since the Mini uses SATA drives, I can put one in of any size. Tell me if I'm wrong.
also: I would imagine that replacing the hard drive on a mini is more involved than doing it on a standard desktop, but I'm sure that there are helpful instructions (with copious illustrations) as to how to do it.
(I can always go with external drives - although, unfortunately, I believe my choices are limited to FW and USB; it would be nice if the Mini could use eSATA and PCI slots.)
thanks for your input.
w

I can't imagine how one would hack a mini in such a fashion - but I don't know anything about their architecture.
I have done something like that on a linux pc machine - it's fairly simple to attach an external eSATA drive to an internal SATA port, you just need a special cable to do that & power it externally. But I wouldn't imagine that the mac mini has SATA ports that are both accessible and available...
where might I find a step-by-step guide to replacing the internal drive?
thanks
W

Similar Messages

  • Hard Drive Size Total - Intel Mac Mini

    I've got a 1.66 Intel Duo - running a lowly 512 of RAM and 60GB Internal HDD.
    I'm looking at upgrading it myself - I want a new iMac but can't afford one at the moment.
    So I know I'm after a 2.5" Internal disc, and can upgrade to 7000odd rpm, I already have a 500GB external HDD, but in music production etc the read rate is painful, so I want the biggest internal HDD I can get! - Reading everything it seems to be 500GB - can I run 1TB? And I guess the RAM will only go upto 2GB?
    Cheers - Tristan

    Hi Tristan and welcome to Discussions,
    sounds like your Mini is the Late 2006 model.
    See here for the tech specs: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP29
    2GB RAM is indeed the limit.
    I would suggest to use the Memory Advisor from Crucial http://www.crucial.com/mac/index.aspx to get the correct RAM modules.
    To my knowledge only Seagate has a 500GB 7200rpm harddisk out at the moment: http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=st9500420as-momentus-720 0.4-sata-500-gb-hd&vgnextoid=70f4bfafecadd110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&vgnextchan nel=819a2c74f15dd110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&reqPage=Model
    1TB harddisk for laptops (2.5" size) are not avaiable right now.
    You can't use a desktop harddisk with a 3.5" form factor, it's simply too big.
    2.5" form faktor harddisks with SATA-connector and a max height of 9.5mm is what fits into a Mini.
    Hope it helps
    Stefan

  • How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

    How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

    Mac Pro tower can support drives up to 4TB is size.
    If running 10.8.4, 10.8.5 or 10.9.0, there is a bug in Disk Utility that precludes proper erasing of drives over 2.2TB as Internal drives

  • Is there a hard drive size limit  that can be hooked to the airport extreme

    I am trying to connect a 2TB HDD to my Airport Extreme but it doesn't see it. It is a Mac formatted drive I have been using as my backup drive but want to put it on the Airport Extreme to share some other stuff that's on it. When I hook in a 500GB drive it works just fine.
    There are no windows machines (god forbid) that will share it, all Mac.
    Thanks!

    Is there a hard drive size limit for G5 imacs?
    No.

  • I dropped my macbook pro and the screen is broken can i still use it with an external monitor? Or can I or how do I transfer hard drive files to my mac mini?

    I dropped my 17" macbook pro and the screen is broken. Can I still use it with an external monitor? When I plugged it into a monitor I had used it with before, I'm not able to see anything on the macbook screen to control it. It came on but I just got the blue screen with nothing else after typing in my password. (Didn't see the password form just assumed it was there somewhere and it did go from space to blue screen but no desktop icons, files, dock strip at top or anything else, just blank blue screen) so I can't access the system preferences.
    Or can I / or how do I, transfer hard drive files to my mac mini? If not salvageable as is can I pull out the hard drive and make it an external harddrive? In otherwords is anything salvageable? It seems it's coming on I just can't access anything. BTW I was told it would cost aprox $1000 to replace the screen! I paid almost $4000 for this thing and it was running great - makes me sick to lose it!

    I'd like to promise you that everything will be fine if you just get the monitor going - but it's hard to know what the hardware damage might be. It might be the monitor, or the damage might be greater.
    Your best solution would be visit your local Apple Store and let them know what your situation is. They have access to diagnostics you don't, and they might be able to the best way to save your data and keep you computing. It's still not covered, but they can tell you what your current options are.
    Um, you might consider investing in a backup drive.
    And there other repair options, too. Powerbook Medic http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/pages.php?pageid=67 offers reliable repairs, and quotes prices well under Apple's.

  • Can I add a larger hard drive to my 2009 mac mini

    can I add a larger hard drive to my 2009 mac mini. It has a 120GB now. Can that be replaced with a much larger one?

    Up to 2TB per the following: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/

  • Why do new hard drives keep failing in Mac Mini OSX Server?

    Why new new hard drives keep failing in Mac Mini OSX server?

    If it only failed in 8 days.. I just return the drives back to newegg and get a different brand like western digital. NewEgg has a 30 day return policy.
    If you deal with any hard drive manufacturer now, they will give you a refurbished item and not a new item that you are entitled.
    As for testing  hardware....
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
    even if it still passed Apple tests.. it does not mean logicboard is fine..... it just means it passes the tests.
    At this point, If i were you, I would just go back to NewEgg and send back the Seagates letting know they are bad and prefer a different brand such as Western Digital.
    Install the Western Digitals and see how long they last. If they fail again in a a short amoung of time, it's the logicboard then.
    This is based on experience in dealing with repairs with Macs, PCs, and other various kinds of Servers and computers over the last 10+ years.
    In fact, One of my clients who has a Dual 4-core Intel Xeon Server with a Supermicro logicboard, one of their SATA drive ports are bad. Every 4 months like clock work the Mirror RAID Drive would degrade on that port. Then after figuring out that the drives are not necessary bad, I swapped to using another spare  SATA port and since then no problems.

  • Is there a hard drive size limit for G5 imacs?

    I recently added a 1.5 TB firewire drive to my father's iMac. Since then the system has been hanging frequently and I have not been able to restart the machine remotely using either Timbuktu or ssh sudo reboot.
    Is this drive too big for leopard to handle on the G5?
    Message was edited by: Chester Wood

    Is there a hard drive size limit for G5 imacs?
    No.

  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) - Maximum internal hard drive size and speed?

    What is the maximum size of hard drive and speed for an internal hard drive to my Macbook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009), please?
    I bought myself a Technics 1TB, 7200 rpm internal hardrive. Made a clone successfully in Super Duper.
    It fits, but It is not available for starting up my Macbook Pro. Not available in System Prefs, but visible and grey in Disc Utility.
    Although it starts up my Mac Pro just fine.. but not my Macbook Pro.
    Is there a limit of hard drive specifics?
    What is the maximum size of hard drive and speed for an internal hard drive to my Macbook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009), please?

    Thanks for the reply
    I cloned the Technics HDD ( 2,5" HGST Travelstar 7K1000 - 1 TB : HTS721010A9E630) from the MBP.
    I tried to boot it up with my Technincs ( 2,5" HGST Travelstar 7K1000 - 1 TB : HTS721010A9E630) installed in my MBP (as my internal hard drive).

  • Replacement hard drive not recognized in mac mini

    Hi folks,
    I have an issue similar to several threads that were active during 2007 and 2008, but the information and answers given then do not solve my problem.
    The original 80 GB Hitachi drive in a 1.5 Mhz PPC failed. I replaced it with a Western Digital PATA 320 GB ide drive and reassembled the Mac Mini.
    The original Apple OS X was put in the optical drive and the computer was started with the "c" button pressed when powered on, but repeatedly the disk was ejected after a short time.  Since the mac mini does not boot from the proper install cd, I cannot use disk utilities to partition and format the WD drive per the other thread messages.
    The WD drive is not formatted for Apple yet. I connected the headless mac mini to an older ibook with a firewire cord and I attempted to boot the mac mini in target disk mode.  The ibook never mounted the mac mini as an external drive, an icon did not appear on the desktop, and running disk utilities on the ibook did not recognize the mac mini connected by firewire as a mounted drive.  I mounted an Acom hard drive connected by fire wire as a test of the ports and wires and that device was recognized in disk utilities and an icon for it  was seen on the desktop.
    Back to the issue at hand.  What else can I do to partition and format a new hard drive installed in an older mac mini where 1) the install disk is kicked out of the optical drive and 2) the unformatted drive cannot be accessed via target disk mode from an ibook?
    Is 320 GB incompatible with a PPC mac Mini?
    Thanks in advance for offers of help and correct answers.
    Mich

    Hi Mich,
    the older PPC computers are usualy limited to 128Gb max. HD size.
    You need something like this:
    "MacOS X 10.4.x and Earlier Hi-Cap Installer.app"
    Its available for $25 here:
    http://www.intechusa.com/

  • Replacing Internal DVD Drive with HDD in Mac Mini?

    Has anyone tried replacing the internal DVD drive with a hard drive, giving you TWO internal hard drives? I think you need a cable to match up the SATA connectors. Then you could use a USB external enclosure for the DVD.
    Thanks.

    Very interesting, thanks el Duque. Too bad MCE doesn't make a carrier for the Mac Mini. I wonder if one for a Macbook Pro can be easily modified to fit?
    I have just learned that the SATA connector on the logic board for the optical drive in Macbooks and the Mini is called a "Slim-SATA" connector. Instead of the power side of the connector having 15 pins, it only has 6, with both types of connectors having a standard 7-pin data side. Both power and data hook-ups are achieved in a single connector -- a power side and data side.
    Since the ports on 2.5" hard drives are "standard" SATA connectors, AND they don't match up to the logic board's connector location (like with the connector location on the optical drive), a cable is needed to run between the HDD and the logic board connector.
    Unfortunately, such a cable is not available -- yet. Instead, one has to be fabricated out of two types of SATA cables -- a Molex 4-pin to SATA 15-pin power cable and a combination cable that looks like this:
    http://www.byteccusa.com/product/SATA/SATA-XP118/SATA-XP118.htm
    The fabrication involves replacing the molex 4-pin power end of the combi-cable with the SATA power end of the molex 4-pin to SATA power cable (cutting and soldering). The BIG question now is whether a HDD will work with just the two-wire power cable (of the combi-Sata cable) that an optical drive normally uses? Anyone know if it will? Thanks.

  • Switched internal hard drives from G4 to Mac Pro - not being recognized

    I just transfered to internal hard drives from my G4 MDD OS Tiger and my Mac Pro isn't recognizing them in the bays. Jumpers were removed for slave option. Are the older drives not compatible with the newer computer? What am I missing?

    I did, and it bent a couple of the pins in the drives. I'm going to try to put them back in my G4 to see if they still work. In the meantime I went to Best Buy and talked to the Geek Squad who set me straight. I bought an SATA drive and now it's up and running with time machine.
    I just wish they were a little more descriptive in the type of hard drive to install.
    Thanks for your help!
    Pat

  • External hard drive not visible on Mac Mini

    I just purchased a Mini with Lion.  The Seagate Freeagent external hard drive is visible from finder on the Mini but it is "read only" and it is not visible on the wireless network to my macbook.  How can I make the external hard drive read write and make it visible on the network?

    OS X can read an NTFS formatted drive, but not write to it.
    Sharing drives | Utilities - Page 1 | Macworld
    If you want to use the drive for sharing files between Window's and Mac's, then MS-DOS / FAT-32 works fine, except that it has a 4GB single file size limit.
    If you are going to use the drive exclusively with your Intel Mac's for sharing, backup and booting, then use GUID Partition Table / Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the Partition Scheme and Format.
    Format a Drive to Boot Intel Macs | Tips | The Mac Observer

  • I'm attempting to transfer files, address book, etc from an external hard drive to my new Mac-mini using migration assistant.  The external drive is showing up on my desktop but Migration Assistant is not seeing the drive when searching for devices

    I'm attempting to migrate files, address book, maile, etc to my new Mac Mini using an external hard drive and Migration assistant.  I followed the instructions on using Migration Assistant to do this but Migration Assistant is not seeing the external drive, which is displayed on my desktop

    I've been chasing this problem all afternoon. I had to reformat my internal drive on my MBP and reinstall Mountain Lion   Start up assistant wouldn't see my extrnal drive with the Time Machine files on it.  After many tries, I skipped the restore there and let the system boot.  I could see my external drive from Finder and the files looked OK.  I was told to use Migration Assistant and it had the same problem.
    I saw a hint on one of these posts that the icon that you see and is label Macintosh HD is actually your backup disk and it is telling you that it has a copy of your internal Macintosh HD.  I went ahead and told it to continue and it started to restore my apps, settings, and documents.  It's been going for a couple of hours, and is close to being done.  I expect to see my old system restored when it is finished.
    Wish that Apple would put some type of note that it is seeing the backup. That is most confusing and seems to be a problem for lots of users.
    It's been a month or so since your post  Did your get it to work?

  • USB Hard Drive Size Limit

    Is there a TB size limit for external HDDs connected via USB on a mac?
    I have both a 3 TB and 4TB external 3.5" drive that will not mount via USB. They are currently connecting via a hdd dock (with USB 3, FW, and ESATA ports) to a 2009 Mac Pro running latest version of Yosemite. They will however mount via esata, the internal sata drive bay and FireWire. Also, it seems that smaller sized HDDs ~1TB and under will mount (I haven't tried 2TB since I don't have one available, but I suspect it will work).
    Note that this is not exclusive to the 2009 Mac Pro as I have tried it on the newest Mac Pro Cylinder and got the same results via USB 3. I found this was an issue in Mavericks too and tried Snow Leopard on an old iMac with the same result.
    When I inspect the disk in disk utility via USB disk utility reads that the HDD is MBR when I know that it is GPT (GUID) and all the other connections read this correctly.
    Any insight into this?
    Thanks.

    One of the drives is (connected via USB3...  )
    Drives are drives, and SATA. Know what you meant.
    Some people have taken their internal drives, put in a USB device, formats properly, then return to use internally where the full capacity is seen and not an issue.
    Why is DU treating internal drives on the SATA controller used an issue? really strange - and bad. But then Apple Pro RAID controller also limited drives to 2.2TB and would format as 800GB otherwise if they were larger.
    Still points to the drive  case.
    And in using 3rd party PCIe USB3 controller, that could play a role as well.

Maybe you are looking for