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BrokenRobot75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 7, 2024
5
0
RE ADDED OS to later 2012 mac mini runs very slow and wifi looking for connection please advise
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,751
12,860
"Can i use an external HDD instead which is not an SSD ? will that help?"

No.
That may make it run even more slowly.

It MUST be an SSD.
 

BrokenRobot75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 7, 2024
5
0
"Can i use an external HDD instead which is not an SSD ? will that help?"

No.
That may make it run even more slowly.

It MUST be an SSD.
Thank you for your help, greatly appreciated.
Is it better to change the HDD inside to a 1T SSD . or an external 1T SSD, will make it run faster??
Which is better??
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,794
4,667
New Jersey Pine Barrens
An internal SSD will be slightly faster, but you probably won't notice for day to day usage. I booted my 2012 quad-core Mini from a 1TB Samsung T3 USB SSD for a few years and used demanding software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Worked just fine for me. The only noticeable difference is that it takes the Mini much longer to boot from the external SSD.

Mine has an original internal 256gb Apple SSD and could boot into the desktop in around 15 seconds. The external SSD took more than 30 seconds. But after that, I don't think you could tell the difference. You have to do a lot of disassembly to put a new SSD inside the Mini. Personally, I wouldn't do that,there are chances of damaging something, especially on such an old computer.

This was a test of the original internal Samsung sm256e SSD on my 2012 Mini

mini_sm256e.jpg



And this is the external

samsung-t3-1tb.jpg
 
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BrokenRobot75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 7, 2024
5
0
Hello, sorry for a million questions . do i need to add the OS to the USB SSD before i install it into the mac mini?
 

DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,605
4,491
Delaware
Either way would be your choice.
But, I like the idea of installing the system while installed in an external enclosure before installing the drive in your Mac. The install works the drive pretty good, and (IMHO) gives you a chance to see possible major issues with the drive, such as read/write errors, etc.
Easier then to swap out with another drive, than needing to open up your mini - again - way too soon after the first swap.
(I had this happen with the first SSD that I used in my (also 2012) mini. That was 8 or 9 years ago, and I was trying to use a "free" SSD that a buddy had somehow damaged, and I didn't see the problem until after the mini was reassembled...
 
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fricotin

macrumors 6502
Sep 26, 2011
463
161
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
An internal SSD will be slightly faster, but you probably won't notice for day to day usage. I booted my 2012 quad-core Mini from a 1TB Samsung T3 USB SSD for a few years and used demanding software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Worked just fine for me. The only noticeable difference is that it takes the Mini much longer to boot from the external SSD.

Mine has an original internal 256gb Apple SSD and could boot into the desktop in around 15 seconds. The external SSD took more than 30 seconds. But after that, I don't think you could tell the difference. You have to do a lot of disassembly to put a new SSD inside the Mini. Personally, I wouldn't do that,there are chances of damaging something, especially on such an old computer.

This was a test of the original internal Samsung sm256e SSD on my 2012 Mini

View attachment 2386617


And this is the external

View attachment 2386618
How do you change the speed scale? I am getting a Read speed of about 400 but the pointer barely moves.
 

sotnas

macrumors newbie
Nov 19, 2022
7
3
I have one. Bought it refurbed in 2022. It is an i7 with 16Gb of RAM. I patched it and I use it at home, so I could have a full apple environment to access my work files.

In March or April, I bought an M2 entry level for 629€ (it had a discount of 100 from the original 729€). I can deduct the VAT fully (23%) so the Mini would get cheaper than that. Also, I had a credit of 5% in my customer card for future purchases. All in all It cost me 486,18€ which I thought it was a very good price.

The idea was to replace the 2012 Mac Mini. I set up the M2 and put it aside until now.

The thing is that the 2012 still does a very good job and I'm questioning myself about the usefulness of replacing it right now, because I think I will be able to use the old machine in the next couple of years. So, in that time, the Mac mini will have pretty much evolved in many ways.

I will probably sell the M2 Mac Mini. It is still under warranty and I'm confident that I won't lose (too much) money.
 

carylee2002

macrumors regular
Jul 27, 2008
242
65
Do you have multiple OS and drivers on the same partition in your system? If so that maybe the problem.
 
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