Running The Mac Mini Non-stop
Does anyone have experience or an opinion on running the Mac Mini continuously non-stop for long periods of time (e.g. months)? Let's assume that sleep mode is disabled.
How will this affect the reliability of the machine?
I do this to my PC and they seem fine. Just wondering if the Mac Mini will do okay.
Mac Mini Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz; 2 GB RAM; OS X 10.4.6
A few quick items:
1) I agree with all who posted. You should have no problem leaving the Mini on indefinitely.
2) Go to your System Preferences and select the Energy Saving Option (It looks like a light bulb). Check off to turn the Hard Drive off when possible, Select Sleep, Never and set your monitor to power down when you want it to.
3) If you have a broadband internet connection where it is always on, you want to make sure your firewall is up. Go to System Preferences, select Sharing and then select Firewall. Turn it on for your protection. You probably don't need it if you have a router, but just in case.
Good luck!
Similar Messages
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Setting up the Mac Mini (non server) with RAID 1
I have a regular Mac Mini (Mid 2011) with Lion OS. I would like to change the hard disk to 2 1TB drives and use RAID1 to add some reliability to my data. Is this possible in the non-server Mac mini? Do I need to remove all my data to convert the system to RAID1 (assuming I can)?
Yes- Colin Jeukens posted step by step instructions back a couple of months ago. Here it is again...
Out of the box the mini comes without Raid. You have two identical HDs of 500Gb.
I have just set it up as Raid1. You can't do this when you use the startup disk from the mini. And as you don't have a Superdrive ... you need to be creative. You need another Mac with Firewire.
Step 1: Start the Mini in Target Mode. Press the T during start. In a few seconds the firewire logo will appear on your screen.
Step 2: Go to your second Mac. Connect the firewire cable between second Mac and Mini.
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 tou 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.
Here is a link to the original post...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2213470&tstart=0 -
my wife and i both have an itunes library installed on to our separate pc's, we are now de-commissioning the pc's and are moving over to a single mac mini, can we install both libraries on to the mac mini and run them as separate libraries?
graham218 wrote:
are moving over to a single mac mini, can we install both libraries on to the mac mini and run them as separate libraries?
Generally YES.
It's possible to hold separate iTunes library's on a single machine.
Generate two new folders inside the Music folder of the Mini and name them differently; e.g. man and woman.
Copy your whole library into "man" and your wifes into "woman"
Go to sharing in the system settings of the Mini and share the Music folder in your network.
After copying the whole library's to the Mini you may point iTunes to the new location at startup by holding the option key (alt) at the keyboard.
iTunes will then ask you where the library is located.
Point it to the matching library on the Mini.
That's all.
Lupunus
PS ... If you both use only the Mini you have to setup a user account for each and just copy the whole library to the Music folder in particular.
Message was edited by: lupunus -
I downloaded and installed the: Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.6 on my mac mini running 10.8.1, was I correct in doing this ?
I didn't see this update come up in "Software Update"
If I was not meant to install this update, would it cause ANY damage at all to my mac ( this is my second as I dropped the first )
If I were to re-install ML would this fix any errors that this may have caused ?
The bottom of the page I link to says:
Boot ROM or SMC Version Information: MM51.0077.10
But when I click on "About this Mac" it says:
Boot ROM Version: MM51.0077.B10
SMC Version (system): 1.75f0
What does the additional "B" mean?
My mac mini is the Mid 2011 Model.
I am sorry if I am sounding super paranoid about this, but I don't want to have caused any permanent damage.Hello,
It's somewhere between almost impossible & impossible to install the wrong EFI Update with all the checks it does!
Mac mini (Mid 2011) with Intel graphics
Macmini5,1
MM51.0077.B10 (EFI 1.6)
Mac mini (Mid 2011) with Radeon graphics
Macmini5,2
MM51.0077.B10 (EFI 1.6)
Mac mini Server (Mid 2011)
Macmini5,3
MM51.0077.B10 (EFI 1.6)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237
Not sure what the B means.
If I were to re-install ML would this fix any errors that this may have caused ?
No, Firmware is unaffected by any OS change or re-install. -
On the mac mini 2011 how can I run windows 7pm bootcamp without an optical drive. I watch lots of football on sop cast and other such windows based programmes but can't work out how to do it.
Actually Windows can be installed and booted from an external drive if the drive is connected eSATA (external SATA), since the drive is treated as if it's an internal HDD. I used the same method previously to dual-boot from 2 different HDD instead of partitioning.
Most PC motherboards come with them as standard so it's pretty much plug and play but I don't recall seeing a recent Mac with eSATA connectivity though, so that might not be an option for you. -
Hdmi sound on my mac mini has stopped working after I upgraded the OS
I just upgraded the iOS on my Core i5 Mac mini to 10.8.5 and my hdmi sound on my monitor stopped working. I have tried rebooting and adjusting the Audio midi settings and nothing seems to work. I know the mac mini speakers are working and the monitors speakers are working. What do I try next?
Resetting the NVRAM / PRAM, as per > About NVRAM and PRAM
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys. -
Run HD and VGA from the mac mini
Hi, i am looking to run a HD signal and a a VGA adapter out of the mac mini but i was told you don't have dual adaptors to do this. It is either one signal or the other. Could you please help
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Cheers
PaulWelcome to Discussions!
It would help to know which exact model of mini you have, but if you've placed your question in the correct section you should be able to run dual displays in the combination you would like. What type of connection do you mean by 'HD'? -
I am going to buy a mac mini i7 with 3 thunderbolt displays for forex trading. the question is if i use bootcamp and run windows on the mac mini will the displays still run the same way as if i was running it on Lion?
No idea if Windows will do it, but you can run Windows without Bootcamp & have OSX available at the same time, which should give you all the Monitors that OSX uses.
Parallels...
http://www.parallels.com/
VmWare Fusion...
http://www.vmware.com/mac -
I am considering purchasing the Mac mini for home studio audio production using Adobe Audition and a USB microphone. Will the base mini model run these programs?
The base mini has 4GB and a 5400 RPM hard drive. It is slow to start up and slow to launch large application such as Word (and I'd assume Adobe Audition) due to the slow drive. I've not used a new 4GB model, just the 8GB model, and the 8GB model (except for the slow drive) handles everything I've thrown at it, including running Photoshop, Word, Safari, and Mail at the same time but there is sometimes a delay switching between programs as the swapfile is updated. Overall I was not happy with the 5400 RPM drive (perhaps because I have MBA and iMac with Fusion drive) so I eventually upgraded it with an SSD. Now the mini is truly a warrior.
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I run a Mac Mini 10.6.1 and a G5 10.4.11 - they share a screen. Yesterday the contrast on the Mac Mini went mad. Very very heavy contrast and now its impossible to retouch with Photoshop as I cannot judge the colours accuratly. The G5 is fine. I keep the screen image I get on the G5 good and accurate with Huey. I believe I cannot use this with the "Intel Inside" Mac Mini. Does anyone know how I can restore the great screen image I got up to yesterday on my Mac Mini? Thanks. John Suffolk England.
Likely caused by one of the following: a bad cable, maybe a bad connection or (my guess) bad graphics hardware.
To rule out the software, see if booting from an installer DVD shows better color.
Swap the cables and check the connections.
Then call your hardware support provider. -
Mac Book Pro - Mac Mini; sharing stopped working after IP/Net change
I apologize in advance for the length of this, I've got a complex issue that I've been unable to diagnose with the usual published notes...
I have a Mac Book Pro and Mac Mini. I previously had sharing and screen sharing working between both systems.
About a month ago I switched internet providers (to AT&T U-verse) and their router required me to make major changes to my internal network as listed below.
Since those changes the Mac Book Pro can not access the Mac Mini in any way via Finder options, but still shows it in Finder->Sharing. I can access the Mini via shell access (telnet/ssh, ftp, www) but nothing via the normal automatic Bonjour type accesses (file sharing, screen sharing).
Conversely, the Mac Mini has no difficulty accessing the Mac Book Pro in any way.
List of the significant changes that were made:
1) My main router was replaced by the AT&T router.
2) The AT&T router does not allow any fixed IP addresses within the network, requiring all of my network shemes to get re-done (I used a mix of fixed and DHCP previously).
3) The IP range changed for all computers due to the router.
4) Both Mac Mini and Mac Book Pro were and still are on DHCP.
5) The Mac Mini's wireless was disabled and it was plugged directly in to the Ethernet port on the main router.
The behavior of the system is as if the Mac Book Pro is locked on the old IP address (but only in the context of the Bonjour services). Although I can't prove this, there was a brief period where both the old and new router and ethernet and plugged connections were all active on the same network and during this period the Mac Book Pro accessed the Mini without difficulty (the old IP was bound to the wireless port on the Mini).
Unfortunately it wasn't until after I had exchanged this other router that I realized that things were not working correctly.
Another unusual clue, the Sharing used to say use afp://<mininame> to access from Windows and now it says afp://QVT_529. I have to assume this is something to do with the DHCP from the AT&T router but all of the AT&T system screens show the <mininame> properly bound to the active DHCP port and nothing hinting at what the QVT_529 references. Going to this address fails and I can't ping it from terminal.
I've been scouring the net for the last month trying different things with absolutely zero results on any front. All settings check out perfectly. No firewall changes were made. No evidence that anything is out of place.
However, I can still only connect in one direction. It just doesn't make sense.
Some things I don't know that I think might help me resolve the issue:
1) Any recommendations with how I might be able to get a better view of what Mac Book Pro might be trying to connect to via the Finder->Sharing link to the computer?
2) Any way to probe the Mac Mini's file or screen sharing features from the terminal (going around the Finder link)?
3) Any possible issues with local networks that might interfere with these services? (there are several switches/hubs between and other devices on the network, but everything checks out at the IP flow level)
Thanks in advance,
BarneyThis is just a stab in the dark since I haven't run into this and I don't know all the steps you have taken (or researched.)
It seems to me that since it is working right from the mini->MB Pro, then the problem should reside on the mini's broadcast side or the mini's OSX firewall. If your firewall is set correctly (as you said), my guess would be that network or firewall preferences have been corrupted by combining multiple, conflicting settings for the same preference due to hardware changes. If I was experiencing this (assuming that every setting on the routers/switches and the firewalls (router/OSX) etc were 100% correct), I would create a new user account and verify that the problem is still manifesting itself. If this solves the problem, I know it is the user account that is messed up and not the OS. If this doesn't solve the problem, I turn off any sharing services, delete the resident Locations (by the drop-down menu in the Network System Preference) as well as the list of Connections (left pane of Network SP) and restart the machine. I then set-up new network, sharing services and firewall settings after the restart. This has solved all of my network sharing issues on my equipment, home and work. (Permissions not with-standing.) If this hasn't solved my problem, my next step would be to reset NVRAM, PRAM and clean system caches (using OnyX.) Reinstall of OSX commences then. I don't know enough of UNIX to be comfortable in terminal so if my steps above failed, I would be coming here to ask or, if I thought the problem resided on non-Apple hardware, the offending hardware support channels.
I don't know if this helps, but I hope so.
D. -
Lion server on Mac mini server stop responding to ssh and VNC (other services like mail, ical works well)
Version is Lion server 10.7.4
When I attach a monitor to it, I saw all the buttons and menus stopped responding too. I can only push and hold the power button on the box to shutdown.
It only started happening recently.
Anyone has any clue?
Thanks for the help in advance!!!Found that the second hard drive is broken. I have to go to the apple store to have it replaced.
I had to press the power button to turn the server off for several times, then the broken hard drive went disappeared. After that, I had to disable the Spotlight. Then the server went back to work normally.
Now I made a CCC copy of the primary hard drive, and would like to have the server run on the external raid disk (connected through thunderbolt). Does anyone have previous experience with it? Any expectable drawback or issue with this setup? -
I have Photoshop CS2 for the MAC and it stopped working on my MAC. I recently bought a new MAC, an IMAC and it doesn't work on that either. There appears to be no way to contact Adobe. What do I do? Thanks, Ed
That because the activation servers were retired. Now for the good news:
Adobe has provided a non-activation version of Photoshop CS2 free of charge for their CS2 license holders.
Download the Mac version of Photoshop (not the suite) and copy down the serial number next to it. Do not use your original serial number or cs2 disc.
Download Acrobat 7 and CS2 products
Uh... one more thing CS2 is PPC only. OSX 10.6.8 has Rosetta to run legacy PPC products. 10.7 and above will not.
Good luck,
Gene -
Logic Nope With G4 Mac Mini (Non-gigabet version)
Does anyone know if that will work? One of the genius' at the apple store said I need gigabit and the only thing I could do was to buy a new Intel Core Duo Mac Mini. (Oh BTW, does anyone have predictions on when the Mac Mini will go core 2 duo) Does anyone know of any non-gigabit to gigabit converters out there? Thanks!
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.8)you can in theory run logic node with less than gigabit ethernet, but the word is that it's too slow to make it worthwhile.
also, there's no such thing as a non-gigabit to gigabit ethernet converter. a datsun to porsche converter would be nice too.
you can probably get a gigabit ethernet PCI card to add to a machine, but mac minis don't have PCI. honestly you're best off just getting a machine that has gigabit ethernet built in. -
How Well Does the Mac Mini handle Garageband?
Hi, I'm wondering about how well the mini handles garageband. My sister may finally be leaning towards getting their first mac for her family. They are long time old version windows users, I think they have a 6 year old HP running Win2k still. So they don't do a whole lot with the pc as it is. They are a musical family, very involved with their church and school. She has finally realized that macs are widely used in music creation (even though I've been telling them that for years and she's starting to do some research on garageband. I recommended the mini since budget is a big priority for them. Am I setting them up to be disappointed? I've already told them to wait until the intel version is released since it will most likely be faster/more effecient. After spending say $800 for mini and non-apple lcd and 1gb of ram, would going the extra $500 to get the imac instead be the smartest route. Just concerned its either going to be not enough power (mini) or more then they're ready for (imac). Any thoughts?
Hi Leandro
I use GarageBand 3 on my mac mini without a hitch
what so ever and I can even have several other fairly
intensive apps up and running without it
complaining.
Considering that your sisters family are using the
system that they currently own without really feeling
that they are falling behind, the mac mini will be a
fantastic advantage to their lifestyle. It's plenty
powerful and it's pretty much silent meaning that it
would make a great "first mac" for them to
experience. With regards to the intel mac mini, we
don't know that there is going to be one as of yet.
Steve Jobs did however, announce that all Macs were
going to be purely running on an Intel Core by next
year, meaning that if Apple don't discontinue the mac
mini line, it would be of a greater advantage. There
is no indication as to when an intel chip will appear
inside a mac mini, so you could well be waiting
anything from a matter of days to months or even
never!
At the end of the day, the current mac mini, some of
which are now shipping with a 1.5gHz G4 processor and
64MB Graphics will be the perfect solution for your
sister and her family.
Hope this helps
-pos
thanks for the quick reply. I am concerned about them having a positive first experience with a mac, I've been preaching it to them for a good ten years now! Her husband is the real stubborn one, he would need the most convincing. Good to know that it runs well on the mini and with such praise. Which model do you have and did you max the ram? I told her about the hard drive/hub stack kit which would have a faster drive to boot from. I forgot about the 1.5's. I was sure it was a rumor. Didn't know about the 64mb video card though...that would be a great boost as well!
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