Mac Mini RAM + HD
 

Hey, so I've got about zero computer knowledge. I picked up a used mac mini (intel dual core) last year

Anyway the machine is great, but I'd like a little more ram and more harddrive space.

Right now I think I have 1gb of ram, and only about 74gb or harddrive space total.

What kind or ram do I need? and do I need to buy it specifically from an authorized apple dealer?

Probably the same as a PC. DDR2, and a SATA drive will do it. MAC and PC use the same parts now.

http://www.applefritter.com/Mac_Mini_Take_Apart_Guide

It's not that easy taking the case apart!

I wouldnt be doing this myself anyway, I'd take it somewhere to get it done.
I'd rather pay a little extra and have the piece of mind knowing it was done right, than risk the chance of me fucking something up

The only real chance of fucking something up is if you break something while opening the case. Replacing the RAM and HD is very straightforward.

i just did the upgrade yesterday on my last gen mac mini. from 1gb ddr2-667 to 4gb ddr2-667 (~3gb usable due to memory addressing limits). it was ok - not easy not hard. the hardest part is prying out the case. i had no plastic putty knife so i just used a metal knife. scraped the hell out of the aluminum shell. bent many hooks and almost broke one while trying to forcefully pry it out. once the shell is off, its just a matter of screws.

my advice is: pry it with a plastic putty knife so you wont scratch anything. pry it slowly and gently. it'll come out eventually. or just go ask the genius @ apple for help.

any ddr2-667 sodimm will do. try and get matching ones so dual channel will work. for example, if you want to max out the ram, 2 of this will give you 4gb total. in your mac mini, only 3.3gb will work due to hardware limitation.
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...o&promoid=1006
any sata 2.5 inch drives will do. for max performance, a 7200rpm will definitely make your computer faster.

wrap the metal knife in electrical tape

Thanks guys, when I upgrade my harddrive, do they take out the old one and put in the new one? I dont want to lose anything thats on there right now

I've upgraded a Mac Mini once, and I actually used the wire method of opening up the chassis. It takes a lot more preparation time, but it worked very well. No physical damage to the case whatsoever...

http://headwedge.com/wordpress/2006/...i-wire-method/

Yes, they have to take the old one out to put the new one in. One option would be to clone the old hard drive to the new one... otherwise you can backup your files now and install fresh on the new one and copy files over afterwards...

Yes you need to take out the old drive, but you can clone the whole drive and don't need to install OS X again.
You will need a cheap USB case for the old drive. Then you can copy all the data over with Disk Utility. Another cool thing is that you can boot the computer off the USB drive if you need.

I don't recommend doing the wire method, just buy the putty knife it's way easier and saves a lot of time.

I got myself a mac mini and I upgraded my ram and hd myself

i use a metal spatula, and it was quite easy ... lolz