Mac Mini - Best RAID option?

Hey all,
I have two 500GB hard drives in a 2012 Mac Mini.
I'm thinking on each drive I make a 100GB partition and a 400GB partition and mirror the 100GB partitions and stripe the 400GB partitions, because I want speed but also have a small amount of files I want to have backed up.
My question is, if one hard drive fails, obviously the striped partitions are gone, but will the mirrored partition on the good hard drive still be retirevable?

Two questions
What programs do you works with that such high data rate?
How would the RAID 1 be implemented?
If the programs need data at higher rate then is available from a hard drive and the RAID 1 is implement in a way that can present the data at faster rate then it might be worthwhile.
In the past when I was still using a Power Mac G4, I did implement a RAID 1 array so that Photoshop had better access to the data. Shortly after doing that I upgraded to Aperture and Power Mac G5 which did not have the same need for that high data rate si I did away with the RAID array.
Allan

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Mac Mini - best option for adding video streaming to existing HDTV setup?

Hello, new to the Forum but not to Macs - currently enjoying my 1yr old iMac, far cry from original 128k Mac I bought in 1984...
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Welcome to  Discussions!
The mini as a media center is an excellent idea in general. You've already gathered that the most critical concern is the compatibility of your particular TV, although it isn't really as bad as it may seem here. Remember, judging based purely on the threads here is like making an assessment of the viability of the human race by looking at patients in hospitals.
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Mac Mini Server RAID 1 Disc Problem

I tried configuring my new Mac Mini Server (with the help of my MacBook Pro's superdrive) in RAID 1 as outlined in previous discussions by:
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Step 3: On the second Mac start the disc utility. The two identical drives on your mini will show. Create a new Raid set (mirrored = Raid 1). Include both drives. Confirm the warning that all data on the mini will be lost.
Step 4: Make sure your second Mac has CD/ DVD sharing option installed. This is to use the superdrive to install OS X Server on the mini.
Step 5: Shutdown both Macs
Step 6: Start your second Mac in target mode. Make sure the firewire cable is still connected.
Step 7: Start the Mini with the option key pressed.
Step 8: Insert the OS X Server install disc in your second Mac.
Step 9: wait till the drive logo apears om the Mini. Continue the install. Will take about an hour.
But when I get to Step 9 the mini's drive logo does not appear. I tried reformatting the mini's drives again in Disc Utility but still the same outcome. What did I do wrong? How can I fix it?
Thanks!!

Never mind, was able to do the install with the Remote Install Mac OS X utility.

Mac Mini with RAID - 4x USB Drives

I've got an older Mac mini 2007 Core 2 Duo machine that isn't doing much since I got the MacBook so I thought about using it to replace my Windows Server.
I did want to have some form of redundancy attached to this server so I hoped to use 4 USB drives of 4tb capacity. I hoped to use two drives "doubled up" to get the capacity I needed (8tb) and another two to "mirror" the first two for redundancy.
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Thanks both for your thoughts.
I'm now having a rethink myself as USB2 does have limitations I want to avoid, and have come up with options:
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or
A standalone NAS box. Is there a NAS that could do all three jobs? I guess it would have to natively format HFS+ because of iPhoto...and have an iTunes server and be Time Machine compatible. A tall order?
Thoughts?

Mac Mini HTPC Output options?

I have the new Mac Mini for use as the primary HTPC. The configuration is a bit specific and Im trying to decide on output options. I have a main-viewing LCD, between two additional smaller LCD's in portrait (so three total monitors). I would like to be able to view content on the main LCD in the highest possible resolution using the HDMI, but additionally I would like to extend content onto the side LCD's. I've considered the Atlona USB to HDMI converters for both sides, but is there any way to extend higher resolution to the side monitors using the mini display port? Id prefer the content on the side monitors not be mirrored... that is the kicker. So straight splitter is out.

Well, you could drive two of the displays with the two built-in display connections and possibly the third with a USB video display adapter. But realize that the performance of the USB device may not be as strong as the built-in video.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/VIDU2DVIA/

Two mac mini and raid 1

Hi All,
Two mac mini with thunderbolt cable connecting, the second mac as external hard drive.
Set on the first mac RAID 1 with the second mac...
When the first mac fails, the second one can directly be started.
Is that even possible?
Thank you!
michael

Yes it is.
You will need to boot from a third temporary drive to first setup both Mac minis as a RAID 1 mirror.
Note: This will destroy any data on both Mac minis.
After building the RAID 1 then you can install Mavericks on to the RAID.

Mac Mini using RAID won't sleep

I have an Intel Mac Mini with a 100GB internal drive and a 250GB external Firewire drive (miniStack v2). I have configured it so that the internal drive (sans a small Boot Camp partition) is in a RAID1 mirror with the first partition of the external drive. When I do this, the Mac Mini stops sleeping well; the drives won't spin down, and "Safe Sleep" (using "pmset -a hibernatemode 1" or the "Deep Sleep" widget) stops working. Any ideas why? Only the RAID seems to cause the problem; I reformatted everything and tested each step of the setup (partitioning, Boot Camp, etc.) and only the final step (creating the RAID) caused the sleep issue.
[Before the backup mafia comes after me, I know that RAID isn't backup. That's why the second partition on the external drive is a bootable static backup, and a second 40GB external drive is used as a fail-safe backup of the critical user files. I use the RAID because it speeds up disk-limited operations like app startup, login, and boot, which is a big boost for the Mini, because its drive is slow.]
Output from "diskutil list", poorly formatted:
/dev/disk0
#: type name size identifier
0: GUIDpartitionscheme *93.2 GB disk0
1: EFI 200.0 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_RAID 84.0 GB disk0s2
3: Apple_Boot Boot OSX 128.0 MB disk0s3
4: Microsoft Basic Data 8.8 GB disk0s4
/dev/disk1
#: type name size identifier
0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *84.0 GB disk1
/dev/disk2
#: type name size identifier
0: GUIDpartitionscheme *232.9 GB disk2
1: EFI 200.0 MB disk2s1
2: Apple_RAID 84.1 GB disk2s2
3: Apple_Boot Boot OSX 128.0 MB disk2s3
4: Apple_HFS Backup 84.1 GB disk2s4
5: Apple_HFS Aux Storage 64.2 GB disk2s5

Nope, I never fixed the problem. I bought a new monitor because I couldn't deal with the no-sleep issue. That was after trying both an HDMI-to-DVI adapter and a Mini DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter, to no avail. My replacement monitor allows me to select between "TV" or "PC" modes, so the display sleeps properly. My Windows 7 partition still does all kinds of funky overscan glitches when I change out of the native resolution, but beta AMD drivers seem to have cured that problem.
I wish the industry would leave computer protocols for computers and keep the consumer A/V stuff separate. Between that and the awful television aspect ratios they're forcing on us, it's getting annoying. (That was one of the things I loved about the Hanns.G 28" monitor -- those extra 120 height pixels make a difference!)

Mac mini portable display options

Pretty certain by reading through every forum in the world that the iPad cannot be used as a reliable primary monitor for the new Mac Mini.
Soooooo....
Can I use one of those USB touchscreen monitors like the Toshiba or Mimo as the ONLY monitor on the Mini?
I'll use the Mini at home with regular a regular monitor and input devices, BUT I'd really like to use the Mini also for Mainstage with just a small 10"-12" portable monitor. The only monitors I can find are those brands I mentioned (which are both USB) and though they SAY they're Mac-Compatible, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Mini can use ONLY a USB monitor for the primary display.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Stewart

I can confirm that the Mimo can NOT be used as the only monitor. I don't think any USB monitor can be used as the only monitor, even the USB video adapters.
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http://sz-lilliput.en.made-in-china.com/product/uoAxqXMcAeYO/China-7-Touch-Scree n-LCD-Monitor-with-DVI-HDMI-Input.html
http://www.gasgoo.com/auto-products/audio-navigation-540/1251430.html
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How small of a monitor do you want? You may be able to find 15" non-wide screen LCDs for really cheap.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category…
Those are new, but somebody locally may have them cheaper (or free. ) While not the most portable, hard to beat the price if you can find someone upgrading and throwing away their old monitor.

Best RAID option for old video

I want to create an inexpensive RAID for old video and data. The stuff is very important to me, but I don't need performance, as this is "deep storage." In order to save money, I'm thinking of using 2 500 GB drives and Disk Utility.
What would be your preferred RAID option and why? Thanks.

I would say RAID 1 "mirrored".
Your data would be stored on both disks and if you had a failure with one disk.
quote from Disk Utility Help:
+About mirrored RAID sets+
+To help protect your data against disk failure, you can create a mirrored RAID set, also called RAID 1. In a mirrored RAID set, your data is written to two or more disks at once. If one of the disks fails or is disconnected, your computer can still access the data from the other disks. If you reconnect a disk you disconnected, the RAID set can rebuild it in the background so that it contains the latest data.+
+You can add spare disks to the set, called hot spares, that aren’t written to unless another disk fails or is disconnected. The RAID set then rebuilds one of the hot spares. If you reconnect a disk after the RAID replaces it with a hot spare, the reconnected disk is treated as a hot spare.+
+You can choose to have the RAID set rebuild a reconnected spare disk automatically. Otherwise, you must rebuild it yourself.+
+You still need to back up your data regularly, even though you have a mirrored RAID set. Mirroring protects you from some types of hardware failure, but not from user errors or software corruption. If you delete a file, it’s deleted from the mirror as well. If software corrupts a file, it’s also corrupted on the mirror.+
Message was edited by: David Altonaga

Mac Mini HTPC Audio Options?

I'm going to convert my Mini (early 2009) into a home theater PC. I need to know what audio options I have for getting 5.1 sound out of it.
I'm a little confused about the audio out jack. Is this jack a standard stereo headphone jack, or is it a digital audio jack?
What other options are there? I do see an external solution from Sound Blaster (Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi External USB – 5.1). I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this under Snow Leopard?

the TOSlink cable will fit the bill on those models, but I STRONGLY urge you to get a right angle plug on the TOSlink cable, if not, you will have about an 1 1/2-2" of cable sticking out the back of your Mac..it is a little heavy for the 3.5mm plug adapter to hold it in. The right angle plug can easily rest on the video cable and you don't have to worry about the cable sticking out the back.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?item=SP-TOC-RA&sourc e=froogle

Dual display options, Mac Mini

I have connected an 1440x900 LED display via the Thunderbolt port and have set it up to be a secondary display with a DVI display 1920x1080 as primary . However, using the Thunderbolt port for a VGA interface seems like a bit of a waste! Is there any better way to achieve dual monitors on the Mac Mini?

Another option...
Up to 4 additional Monitors via USB...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/VIDU2DVIA/
Supports resolutions up to 2048 x 1152.

Need to boot broken Mac-Mini using retail Snow Leopard 10.6 DVD

Hi,
In Summary:
==========
I have Mac Mini (late 2009) which does not boot anymore and I need to install Snow Leopard using retail DVD (version 10.6). The OS/installer from the DVD does not seem to boot either. I always very much appreciate the efforts of true geeks. So please, any casual beginner, please do not demoralize with something like "cannot be done" etc.
The complete story:
==================
The start of the problem:
1. All of a sudden, one fine day, on start up, my Mac Mini strated to shut itself down without no apparent reason to me. When trying to boot, it would show a progress bar for about 5 minutes - I am assuming that was disk-consistency check being performed. My best guess is that right after the use of Carbon-Copy Cloner (but I am not 100% sure) it all strated to happen.
2. Performed Mac's Disk-Util check and [Verify Volume] used to display "invalid directory item count, should be 31 instead of 29". Surface scan said disk hardware is 100% fine. Volume Repair never worked, since OS X was installed on the primary disk. I lost the DVDs that came with this Mac Mini, so the option to boot from that DVD and launch Disk Util etc. was not possible.
TechTool Pro - No Help:
3. Started googling and had to choose between [TechTool Pro] and [Disk Warrior], opted for TechTool Pro. Tried its bootable DVD only to learn that TechTool Pro cannot fix it. Again, it's surface scan suggested disk hardware is 100% fine. Sent the details to TechTool Pro support team, they couldn't help either after a couple of e-mails+data exchange. (How do I claim my lost money with TechTool Pro - suggestions appreciated as well).
Googling / Mac Forums:
4. Started looking into forums, learnt that someone had successfully repaired this problem using Ubuntu 11.04 install DVD (i.e., without installing the Ubuntu, but just using its 'try from DVD' feature). I had that handy, but forgot to disable HFS+ journaling before attempting to fix the problem. Anyway, attempting volume repair that way couldn't fix the problem as well. However this step took away my ability to boot from Mac.
5. However using Ubuntu's bootable disk, I could access Mac-HDDs contents - and was able to successfully back-up *all* my important data.
6. Googled and learnt that just attempting to boot using Ubuntu DVD can take away ability to boot using Mac bootable media - possibly due to EFI internals. Suspecting EFI is now corrupt, I tried other 'hacks' like:
6.1 eEFIt Boot Disk - which does not work at all,
6.2 Empire EFI w/ Chameleon - not sure how to proceed with options presented - trying either does not work,
6.3 Super GRUB2 - boots fine, but attempting to boot from Mac-HDD fails after a couple of seconds,
6.4 Boot-132 - boots fine, prompt asks for input, but then I cannot eject/replace the DVD due to Mac-Mini (lack of) design,
6.5 Ubuntu 11.04 / 11.10 - still boots fine - just that I cannot go into Mac-OS-X from here,
6.6 TechTool Pro bootable DVD - which used to boot fine earlier stopped to boot.
As you can see, none worked successfully. So I didn't yet try other popular rescue media - as I suspect that is not the direction I need to go into.
>> Looks like most of my problems are due to the fact that I have Mac-Mini which does not allow eject/replace of DVD from command prompt / out side of Mac-OS-X.
7. Tried emptying EFI partition, playing with EFI/Mac-OS partitions boot flags, Zapping the PRAM, nothing still allows me to boot either from Mac-HDD or any Mac-Bootable-DVD.
Current State:
8. Now while boot time, Mac displays a gray screen for a few seconds, and then a blinking prompt on black background. That's it!
Snow Leopard 10.6 Retail Install DVD:
9. Went to Mac store and bought this DVD only to witness that I can't boot from it as well. (This is a huge shocker, how is Apple able to sell these DVDs if these don't work on genuine MacMini itself. After all we are able to boot from and install Windows/Linux on a variety of Machines).
I am hoping for a very small step/fix that I am missing, since I can still see and access all Mac-HDD contents after booting from Ubuntu bootable DVD. However I am prepared for a good amount of exercise as well - assuming someone posts a valid/verified fix.
Things available right now:
==========================
A. Genuine Mac-Mini (Late 2009) who lost it's ability to boot either from its HDD or Mac-bootable DVDs (TechTools Pro, Mac OS X retail DVD)
B. Mac OS X 10.6 Retail DVD
C. NOT AVAILABLE - DVD that came with this Mac-Mini
D. Variety of rescue DVDs, listed in section 6 above
E. Another machine/PC with Ubuntu 11.04 - giving me ability to access internet
Thanks for reading.
Zita

I had a similar discussion recently with another user.
Your Mac mini (late 2009) originally came with Mac OS X 10.6.2 build 10A432 or build 10C2234 see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1159 it would have come with an original install disc specific to your model of Mac which you could use to run Disk Utility from or to do a complete reinstall.
The retail boxed copy of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) was originally intended for older Macs which had previously come with Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.4. It would have on it a version of Mac OS X 10.6 or 10.6.1 which would be able to boot these older Macs, but had no need to boot newer Macs which were released after the launch of Mac OS X 10.6 since all those newer Macs already shipped with their own discs.
So it is normal that the retail boxed Snow Leopard installer does not work on your model Mac mini. You should be using the one that shipped with your Mac mini instead. I am guessing you have lost it.
Assuming you have lost the Mac mini original disc, I can suggest the following options to try and workaround this.
If you have another Mac, an older Mac, one that will be bootable using the retail Snow Leopard install disc you have, you could do either of the following.
Connect an empty external GUID partitioned hard disk to this other Mac
Boot from the retail Snow Leopard installer
Install on to the external disk
Once the install is complete, update it using the combo update not the one via Software Update to Mac OS X 10.6.8. This will add all the newer drivers needed to allow it to work on your newer Mac mini. You can download this combo update from here http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
You can now disconnect the external drive and connect it to your Mac mini and boot from it by holding down the Option key when you turn the Mac mini on
or a similar process if you want to wipe the Mac mini and reinstall directly on to it
Boot the Mac mini in FireWire Target Disk Mode (see http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661 )
Connect the Mac mini as an external hard disk to the other older Mac
Boot from the retail Snow Leopard installer
Install on to the external disk
Once the install is complete, update it using the combo update not the one via Software Update to Mac OS X 10.6.8. This will add all the newer drivers needed to allow it to work on your newer Mac mini. You can download this combo update from here http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
You can now disconnect the Mac mini and boot from it as normal
Note: While the Mac mini is connected in FireWire Target Disk mode to the second Mac, you could backup (if you don't already have a backup) any files you need to retrieve.
If you don't have a suitable second Mac you may have to either borrow someone else's, or get the help of an Apple Store if one is in your area.

Clean Install on Mac Mini Server

I just purchased a Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server and used Target Mode from my MacBook Pro to repartition the disks. I first thought I would set up the 2 disks in the Mac Mini as RAID Mirrored. I tried to perform a clean install of Snow Leopard with the install DVD in my MacBook Pro. But the OS Install program would not let me past the restart stage because the computer with the Optical Drive was a laptop. I left the Firewire connection in tack and the DVD in the MacBook Pro's optical drive.
I then tried the Remote Install procedure, with a monitor & keyboard, while holding down the C key, but all I got was a folder with a "?" on my monitor. I also tried a startup using the "option" key and the "shift" key. I tried this again with the Firewire connection removed. I then tried to use Server Assistant on my MacBook Pro and complete a Remote Install. Still no luck, folder with "?" on the monitor, and Server Assistant could not find the Mac Mini Ethernet address.
I concluded that the RAID configuration was causing me the problem and used Target Mode to remove the RAID configuration and repartitioned the 2 disks into 2 partitions each, for various purposes. I then repeated all of the attempts above to reinstall Snow Leapord Server Software with the same results as above.
Can anyone give me some guidance?

Page 38 of the manual http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Mac_mini_Late2009_SL_ServerUG.pdf has worked like a charm. Follow the steps here.
Hope this helps

How can I get Mac Mini to accept bootable installers for Mountain Lion ? They work fine on MB-Pro

I've had a Mac Mini (late 2012) for the past week and need to do a complete reinstall to get rid of very mucked up Server.app settings that I can't get rid of even though I uninstalled Server.app and what I thought were all of its Library files. I need to get the Mac Mini back to pristine, factory default to start over. Then I'll be able to put Server.app into a VM so I can trash it if need be without mucking up the rest of my system.
I have both a bootable recovery partition on an external hard drive (My Book firewire) and a USB bootable installer with a fresh edition of Mountain Lion. I know the USB installer works just fine because I used it to do a clean install of my MacBook-Pro just last night. Went like a charm.
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Late 2012 Mac mini uses a special Mountain Lion version that it's only compatible with this Mac and you can only get on Internet Recovery because it's not available in the App Store. If you want to reinstall Mountain Lion, press Command, Option and R keys while your computer is starting

Mac Mini 2011 - Monitor Problems - Help

My picture is not sharp... just blury. Icons, pictures, text, mostly everything is bad except high quality video files.
I just purchased a Mac Mini 2011 second option and a Samsung TA531 monitor that arrived today. Hooked it up and to my surprise, it is blury and bad quality no matter what kind of resolution i use. I also try to text smoothening through terminal.. nothing helps.
My setup:
Mac Mini 2011 - second option stock
Samsung SyncMaster T27A531
Cable: HDMI
After reading about this issue, some people recommends to use a DVI or VGA cable and claims that HDMI is not suitable for computer monitors, especially Samsung.
Please, feel really sad and lost among a lot of new computer equipment that doesn't work properly

I had the same issue and didn't want to give up my Thunderbolt port, so I opted to get a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus. What this does is make the CPU think an HDMI display is attached so that your graphics CPU 'unlocks' and full speed is back. The Gefen box can either 'learn' the code of any HDMI display in your office/home, or you can preset it as a stock 1080p display. TOTALLY solved my problem... even though it did cost $85.
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http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-hdmi-edidp.jsp?prod_id=8005

Mac Mini - Best RAID option?

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