Cracking open a Mac mini safely
Hi,
Just saw this on slashdot, hope im not reposting.
"Smash has a video showing the technique for cracking open a Mac mini safely. Upgrade the RAM and hard drive yourself and save a bundle (ain't that the point of the mini?)" And if you don't plan to take one apart yourself, parvenu74 points out the pictures of exploratory Mac mini surgery on mini-itx.com, writing "From a post: 'The board itself is slightly smaller than Mini-ITX at about 160mm square by our estimations, and includes Ethernet, Modem, DVI/VGA, 2 x USB, Firewire and Audio connectors (sadly not optical).'"
http://www.smashsworld.com/2005/01/t...ini-how-to.php
http://www.mini-itx.com/news/13909018/
Apple states that as long as you do not BREAK your Mac Mini while working on the inside, it is still covered under warranty. A quote from this article, which compares the Mac Mini to a cheap Dell PC... a very interesting read.
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/edit...nges/index.php
Cheers
/Copse
Just saw this on slashdot, hope im not reposting.
"Smash has a video showing the technique for cracking open a Mac mini safely. Upgrade the RAM and hard drive yourself and save a bundle (ain't that the point of the mini?)" And if you don't plan to take one apart yourself, parvenu74 points out the pictures of exploratory Mac mini surgery on mini-itx.com, writing "From a post: 'The board itself is slightly smaller than Mini-ITX at about 160mm square by our estimations, and includes Ethernet, Modem, DVI/VGA, 2 x USB, Firewire and Audio connectors (sadly not optical).'"
http://www.smashsworld.com/2005/01/t...ini-how-to.php
http://www.mini-itx.com/news/13909018/
Apple states that as long as you do not BREAK your Mac Mini while working on the inside, it is still covered under warranty. A quote from this article, which compares the Mac Mini to a cheap Dell PC... a very interesting read.
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/edit...nges/index.php
Cheers
/Copse
Comments
Originally posted by Copse
Apple states that as long as you do not BREAK your Mac Mini while working on the inside, it is still covered under warranty. A quote from this article, which compares the Mac Mini to a cheap Dell PC... a very interesting read.
Where does Apple state that?
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/edit...nges/index.php
The Mac mini includes a video card with dedicated memory, and you can upgrade the Mac mini?s RAM to 1GB?contrary to rumors around the Internet, Apple has told Macworld that you can even do it yourself without voiding your warranty ?unless you break something when you open it.?)
/Copse
Very interesting, and thanks, but that video shows only how to crack it open, not how to take out the parts and replace them.
*shrugs* oh well.
Originally posted by Gene Clean
Very interesting, and thanks, but that video shows only how to crack it open, not how to take out the parts and replace them.
*shrugs* oh well.
If you need assistance in replacing the parts mabe you should let Apple do it. I can't imagine it would be difficult, ever heard of screw driver?
Originally posted by Relic
If you need assistance in replacing the parts mabe you should let Apple do it. I can't imagine it would be difficult, ever heard of screw driver?
Plus the RAM slot is just a standard DIMM slot left right out in the open. Here's to hoping that the airport card slot is out there too. The optical drive shouldn't be too difficult considering its right on top- where is the hard drive at? Under the optical? Its so small it doesn't seem like it would be that complex to take apart and upgrade.
**runs to Ace Hardware to buy a putty knife**
Thanks
Now certain people can stop whining about how hard it is to open a mac mini.
How do I play those stupid Quicktime files?
I extra downloaded Quicktime from apple (actually, they say it's included with itunes), but it won't show the video (just the audio).
Plattform: PC/WinXP
thx!
David
I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Are you trying to view it through your browser or something? The best thing to do is probably save the movie file, and then open it with Quicktime itself. I think I had a similar problem as yours one day, when I was on an XP machine. However, this is just an idea. I hope you figure it out. Furthermore, I hope in the future you will learn to love Quicktime, especially if you're on a Mac!
Originally posted by Relic
If you need assistance in replacing the parts mabe you should let Apple do it. I can't imagine it would be difficult, ever heard of screw driver?
My observation was that the video is somewhat useless when it comes to actually upgrading the Mac mini, because it shows you how to crack it open but thats it. How hard is it to crack it open anyway?
The real issue is to install things in it; change the hard drive, install bluetooth + airport, etc. Not everyone walks around with a screwdriver in their hands.
p.s. re: screwdriver. I can probably crack you open with a screwdriver, let alone the Mac mini... I used to train for a mechanic when I was younger, so...
Originally posted by Gene Clean
My observation was that the video is somewhat useless when it comes to actually upgrading the Mac mini, because it shows you how to crack it open but thats it. How hard is it to crack it open anyway?
The real issue is to install things in it; change the hard drive, install bluetooth + airport, etc. Not everyone walks around with a screwdriver in their hands.
p.s. re: screwdriver. I can probably crack you open with a screwdriver, let alone the Mac mini... I used to train for a mechanic when I was younger, so...
bluetooth may be a problem, the other items should not be an issue at all, acccording what i saw on the video. the all looked very standard.
Originally posted by ibook911
I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Are you trying to view it through your browser or something?
No, I saved the file to my harddisk (was .mp4), and opened it with itunes, which was said to include quicktime on the apple website.
I hope you figure it out. Furthermore, I hope in the future you will learn to love Quicktime, especially if you're on a Mac!
Well, I just wan't to use my avi and mpeg files ;-)
David
Originally posted by Gene Clean
How hard is it to crack it open anyway?
That should be the hardest part, like it was on old desktop pcs (about 15 years ago).
As far as I read, BT and Wlan just have onboard connectors zu just plug them in, so there should be no big deal.
And the ram is plug and play.
David
Originally posted by tonton
Apple sells the Airport Extreme card (for the Power Mac) separately, but unlike the Power Mac the Mini does not come with a built-in antenna (the iMac is probably the same). AEx for the Mini ships to the service center in a kit that includes the antenna. It is not sold separately. Therefore, you have two options if you want AEx for your Mini: Get it installed on order, or pay an extra $30 plus the price of the update to get it installed by an Apple authorized service provider at a later time.
Or hook an mac-compatible USB Stick on the back of the Mini ;-)
Anyway, I just changed my order to 256MB back again, and ordered a 512MB DDR-RAM module, which costs about the price of the upgrade. So I have the 256MB ram in spare and I can put that into my other pc.
David
Originally posted by tonton
Apple sells the Airport Extreme card (for the Power Mac) separately, but unlike the Power Mac the Mini does not come with a built-in antenna (the iMac is probably the same). [snip]
do you mean the iMac is probably the same as the powermac or the same as
Mac mini?
because the iMac has a rather large antenna built in the backpanel.
Originally posted by Incoming
No, I saved the file to my harddisk (was .mp4), and opened it with itunes, which was said to include quicktime on the apple website.
whoo boy, that was a good one...
Okay, sorry... well... iTunes DOES include QuickTime, but iTunes is an AUDIO app, of course.
So, to play the movie you're going to have to use the QuickTime Movie Player, for example: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/qt/
durandal
Originally posted by Incoming
No, I saved the file to my harddisk (was .mp4), and opened it with itunes, which was said to include quicktime on the apple website.
Well, I just wan't to use my avi and mpeg files ;-)
David
The itunes download does include quicktime, it is installed as part of the itunes installation process but it is still a seperate program... try browsing your start menu for quicktime player and load the video from that.
I personally dislike quicktime and mostly use Mplayer.
Thx, I downloaded the quicktime part and installed it, and it worked. But it doesn't seem to have a fullscreen button.
Anyway, now I know how to open the macmini, as I said, I changed my order at apple, and I will buy a separate 512MB stick, so I can use the 256MB in my pc.
David
Originally posted by ibook911
Quicktime free does not have full screen mode. You have to pay for Quicktime Pro, if you want that.
Not really. There are free players that can do this. For example, Cellulo is a very nice one.