The optical drive ("superdrive") is an

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H:

Firmware Revision: 3AHB

Interconnect: ATAPI

Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)

and is shown by the system as "grayed out".

I want to replace the drive with a second HDD, but hesitate to buy the parts before knowing why it shows this problem!

I need to know the bay wiring and controller interface are okay...

All help would be appreciated!!

Thanks, Craig

⟐ Commented 2月 23, 2024 at 7:24 GMT-7

I have question about a Mac Mini which I recently got from a friend.

As I turn the Mac on the boot sound chims and the fans as well as the CD Drive turns on. But whatever I try, I can’t get any video signal out of it. I tried different Cables (I even used different mini Displayport to HDMI adapters) and also tried to use my TV as a screen. None of it worked.

Any idea what I can do to still use this old piece of hardware?

Best regards

Valentin

⟐ Commented 12月 18, 2023 at 12:57 GMT-7

Anny video or pictures guide?

Adrian

⟐ Answer accepted 12月 10, 2022 at 10:13 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 5月 27, 2020 at 20:45 GMT-7

Do you know if i can do this with my Mac mini 2010?

Thank you

En français: Oui j'ai posté sur votre site puisque j'ai voulu upgrader ma carte wifi/Bluetooth de mon mac mini A1283 Core2Duo 2,53Mhz pour y mettre la carte du macbook pro 2012 BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX

Mais voilà avec 1 peu de bidouillage j'ai pu l'installer et brancher le Ribbon mais je n'ai pas réussi a connecter les 3 atennes J1 J2 J3 donc comme vous me l'avez dit 2 wifi 1 Bluetooth

C'est pour cela que je voulais savoir si les câbles d'antennes était les mêmes entre le mini 2009 et 2010 ?

Puisque d'après les photos sur votre site les câbles du mac mini 2010 s'apparente bien avec ceux du macbook pro 2010 !

English: Yes, I posted on your site because I wanted to upgrade my wireless card / Bluetooth from my mac mini A1283 Core2Duo 2,53Mhz to put map macbook pro 2012 BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX.

But, now with 1 bit of tweaking I was able to install and connect the Ribbon, but I have not managed to connect the 3 atennes D1 D2 D3 so as you have told me 1 2 wifi Bluetooth.

That's why I wanted to know if the antenna cables were the same between 2009 and 2010 mini?

Since according to the pictures on your website cables mac mini 2010 is similar to those of well macbook pro 2010!

⟐ Answer accepted 11月 26, 2016 at 5:37 GMT-7

Can the motherboard be repaired? If so, can anyone recommend a company to do this?

Thanks.

⟐ Answer accepted 2月 04, 2013 at 19:37 GMT-7

I encountered a very odd problem recently while trying to upgrade my mothers Mac Mini. I wanted to install a SSD drive and first purchased a Crucial M4 128 GB. Following the excellent manual provided on this website it took me just 15min to do so. Mac OS installed perfectly but the Mini would always shut down while installing Windows 7 via Boot Camp. Thinking this was an issue with the Crucial SSD, I exchanged it for a Samsung 840. The installation of Windows 7 worked, but once I wanted to install drivers, the Mini shut down again.

I discovered that when the SSD is in the Mini, the fan won't work and the sensor correctly reads 0 rpm. Bootcamp seems to have a higher cpu load so that it shuts down quicker. When I did a quick stress test in Mac OS, the mini would shut down after a few minutes too. (Apple Hardware Test (AHT) also tells me that the Fan Motor does not work)

Now comes the strange part. First I assumed I broke a cable or the temp sensor (although I used extreme caution and would describe myself as experienced with these kind of tasks).

However, when I reinstall the old 160GB HDD, the Fan will work perfectly, without any errors in AHT.

Does anyone have a clue why the fan spins normally with the original HDD installed and won't even start with 2 different SSDs? I want my mom to profit from the superior SSD speed, but when the fan simply won't work, this is not an option.

Kind regards from Germany,

Daniel

⟐ Commented 8月 11, 2020 at 18:50 GMT-7

I hope you're all doing great. Here's my problem :

The situation :

I tried to change many components in my mac mini a1283 to boost its performance. I followed the guides to install those followings:

Hard drive : intel ssd 520 series 120GB

RAM : 2x 204-pin SODIMM ¤ DDR3 1066MHz CL7 (2 x 4GB, product from Corsair )

Unfortunately as i couldn't follow the instructions but on my smartphone i didn't notice the part where it said not to touch the thermal cable (now it's not broken but apart of the circuit, i'll be able to fix it).

The results for now:

Now the computer won't turn on, i just have the lights on the device and a beep that repeat itself. So I looked on the internet and found it meant that there was no RAM (but the new RAM is inside). Thinking that 8GB was too much i tried to put the old ones again (with the old ATA hard-drive too), still the same result. Nothing on the screen just the one beep that repeat itself. Despite the old RAM that were working before the manipulation, there's just nothing at all for the mac.

What can I do?

⟐ Commented 9月 09, 2020 at 8:29 GMT-7

⟐ Answer unaccepted 11月 10, 2023 at 12:00 GMT-7

Input: AC 100-240V, 50-60Hz

Output: DC 18.5V 6.0A

Power: 110W

Outlet: 3-prong

Model: MA407LL/A

Condition: GENUINE/ORIGINAL New Apple Mac Mini PowerPC Adapter, with replacement power cords.

otherwise there is an 85 watt for the model a1105 (i dont think this is the right one though) Can anyone please verify if the 110 watt cord will be the right one??

thanks

⟐ Commented 6月 14, 2018 at 18:45 GMT-7

I cleaned memory, and hard drive slot, but it still not working.

I swaped memories betwen slots, tried only one by time.

The Power supply gives 19v.

No LED Light, Fan works silently, No START at all, no video, no beep.

⟐ Commented 3月 06, 2018 at 19:30 GMT-7

I'm upgrading this mac mini with 8 GB RAM and the 256 GB Sandisk X400 SSD. Computer runs fine and boots normally off of original hard drive which has Yosemite installed with 8 GB RAM installed.

I've been trying to get the SSD working and it now has El Capitan with latest updates. I've not been able to get this SSD drive working in the internal slot. System boots normally off the old drive in the internal slot, the system boots El Capitan from the Sandisk SSD if it is put in an external inatek enclosure. System will boot normally with the SSD in the external enclosure, with no drive in the internal slot. So long as the SSD is connected from the external enclosure, everything is fine, system runs El Capitan, and shows 8 GB RAM installed.

If I put the SSD into the internal slot, I get a grey screen. No question mark, no nothing. The only boot key sequence it seems to recognize is reset NVRAM, which I have tried multiple times. No other boot key sequences are recognized. Can't bring up boot manager, can't boot off DVD, nothing. I tried downloading an old EFI firmware update recommended elsewhere. Booted into El Capitan, it says this update is not needed.

I could just run this off the external enclosure, but would prefer to get the SSD working normally in the internal slot.

Any ideas?

⟐ Answered 11月 07, 2025 at 7:06 GMT-7

Main goal is to be able to use the same apps (Adobe CC2017) in both Macs. So i am thinking of an SSD and perhaps more RAM, but i have no clue what type of Ram modules i need and most importantly if it is worth making the overall upgrade.

I upgraded the memory with 2x4GB and when i boot, it will continuously starts beeping without being able to boot..

⟐ Edited by author 7月 28, 2021 at 1:02 GMT-7

Regards

Simon

⟐ Answered 1月 17, 2021 at 8:50 GMT-7

broken connector

board after connector broke off.

I was trying a memory and drive upgrade, 8gb and a 250gb ssd. I used the iFixit disassembly steps, but I referred to the Apple Dollar video for tips in reassembly. Plugged the new power supply, pressed the power button and … nothing, no fan and no picture. Before disassembly I at least got the beep for no memory. So I removed the memory one stick at a time. No change. Then the drive came out. No difference and it was back to the way it was before disassembly. Nothing, not even a beep. I checked that the ribbon cable in the back to see if it was seated and it was. Double checked the seating of the board going into the slot on the main board.

I know no one can direct my hands to the exact place and problem. I’m looking for the next steps to troubleshoot. What to do and what to look for. I must have missed something in the reassembly and would like your expertise in how you would work this.

The pictures might show the problem. Seems that the power on button has a connector linking it to the main board. Klutzy me must have snagged the wire in lifting the chassis out. It broke the connector and the link to turning it on.

I have two picures one of the logic board one of the connector. I won’t make excuses. I was attempting a fix and the part of the connector affixed to the main board broke off. Then I tried. removing the main board. I had to remove the sleep light connector. It too broke off. It’s going to be a tricky soldeer that I’d rather send to a pro. Unfortunately I don’t know one.

⟐ Answer accepted 1月 09, 2021 at 17:10 GMT-7

I have a 2009 mac mini running 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) have a backed up copy of my old iPhone4 on it in iTunes 11.4 (18).

I just got a new iPhone 7, this is not compatible with the iTunes on my old mini.

Lost my old iPhone 4 but, like I said, I thought I was safe because of the backup I had just done. This old mini can only accommodate OS-X El Capitan.

Question: If I do the system upgrade will it be enough to restore my old iPhone 4 info onto my new iPhone 7?

Can this even work?

yes, it can. as long as the old info has been saved off. install el cap and then plug in your new phone.

⟐ Edited by author 10月 15, 2020 at 7:26 GMT-7

Thanks!

⟐ Answer accepted 4月 15, 2020 at 8:38 GMT-7

In our store I'm win two 2gb modules of DDR3 1333mhz RAM (so-dimm). This memory can work in this mac mini (A1283)?

Thanks!

⟐ Commented 3月 07, 2020 at 17:56 GMT-7

Apple says to pull the very thin power cable straight up from the motherboard that connects it to the rear shelf button. What happened to me was the motherboard flat plug BROKE at both pins flush with the logic board. The is nothing to solder to.

Is there a workaround to reconnect the two line cable from the rear power button to the motherboard? I see nothing to solder to on the motherboard with no protruding pin parts as I had hoped to see.

Thanks! W. Li

Dan

Here it is.....

⟐ Commented 3月 21, 2019 at 21:09 GMT-7