19th Jul 2005
Mac mini’ed, Modded
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am holding off on any major Mac purchases until the Intel versions come out. We just got a Mac mini for my daughter though … and that lead to slight mods, which are always fun.
When I went to order, my idea was: don’t pay California sales tax, get 1gb RAM, and get the faster processor with airport + bluetooth. If you start shopping around, you’ll notice that retailers generally have airport + bluetooth, but with 512mb RAM, or they have everything with a SuperDrive, and it’s more expensive, and so on. Ordering direct from Apple was out - lots of sales tax!
So I ordered a Mac mini with 256mb RAM, and an airport + bluetooth kit which would usually be sold to some species of Authorized Hardware Tech. I went to Crucial.com for a 1gb RAM chip. No sales tax. Parts to put together.
I won’t post photos of the surgery here. It’s pretty easy to track down various bits of Mac mini disassembly. The basic idea is to look at the pretty pictures that others have posted, have tools handy (2 putty knives and a very small philips), a clean surface (terry bath towel), and lots of patience.
Hints on Mac mini modding:
- Try not to. Oh? You want to save some money and you like 3 dimensional puzzles? Ok, that’s different. I will warn that it’s a bit non-trivial, and it should NOT be the first computer you’ve ever opened up.
- Disclaimer: You can do some serious damage to your mini, and / or get shocked (seriously). This is a two beer job, but don’t drink both beforehand!
- Start first beer.
- The bit about opening the case with a putty knife … I say: use two, and sharpen them first (scrape on concrete to get a nice edge, and then definitely clean off / dry the blade) Wedge them in slightly on either side before pulling back, otherwise you’ll have one side popped open, and no seam to work with on the other …
- For the airport + bluetooth card, you will need to remove the drives and fan unit. That uses three screws. Be careful to unfasten the tape to the power wire, so that you can pull the assembly off cleanly. Study the pictures (MacWorld) and (JohnWaller.org) before plunging in.
- Start second beer.
- Once you have the drive unit off, might as well swap the RAM chip. Don’t wait till later, when an antenna will be blocking the path.
- The kit comes with two tiny screws. You’ll use them to fasten the airport + bluetooth daughtercard (be sure that card is seated properly - do not spill beer onto motherboard). Take your time.
- Figure out how you will route the two antenna cables. Look at the pictures to see how they end up. Be gentle with rotating the cables where they connect to the daughtercard.
- When repositioning the drive assembly and tightening its screws, take care not to pinch off the antennas or other cables.
- When putting the case back on the mini, be careful with alignment, and don’t force the metal tabs on top of the ports. It all fits, but it’s not a brute force deal.
- Finish beer, boot, check for 1gb ram, airport, and bluetooth!
