Mac Mini Mid 2010 Festplatte austauschen

Schritt 1

Entferne folgende drei Torx Schrauben:
Eine 5,0 mm T8 oder 2 mm Inbus Schraube
Eine 16,2 mm T6 Schraube
Eine 26 mm T6 Abstandsschraube

On mine I needed to remove the 26 mm T6 Torx standoff during step 3

philipashlock - 29/06/14

Schritt 2

Ziehe sorgfältig an den Drähten der beiden Thermosensorkabels an der Festplatte, um ihre Stecker aus den jeweiligen Sockeln auf dem Logic Board zu lösen.

BEWARE! Gently pulling one thermal sensor wire up from its logic board connector caused wire to rip loose from connector, leaving connector still in logic board socket. Using spudger on other connector caused same result. Even after wires ripped lose, it was impossible to get connector out of logic board socket (using spudger and needle nose pliers the connector came away in pieces). Connectors almost seem glued/fused into sockets and the wires will apparently break lose before the connector will release. What a terrible design. Here's hoping the mini will run without HDD thermal sensors :( I am experienced with repairing laptops and am kind of ticked because I am sure this damage was not due to incorrect/rough handling during attempt to disassemble.

emcnally -

Followup Note: Ending up with disconnected HDD thermal sensors due to breakage apparently causes the main system fan to run at full speed all the time. This is extremely loud and pretty much defeats the purpose of the Mini form factor. Going to have to try to rig something up with actual solder or adhesive tape.

This is just stupid. A computer where logic board connections get broken while replacing a frickin HDD. All in an attempt to do something about the pathetic and feeble hard disk the vendor includes with their crap hardware (50MB/s transfer--what is this 1998?). Last Mac Mini I will ever buy. Slow, yet expensive and fragile.

emcnally -

Not sure what emcnally is talking about but mine came off fine. I have a 2010 mac mini and just upgraded to a 500 gig WD drive. Everything worked went great and was easier than I thought. My connectors pulled right off with no damage.

Dave -

tell the people to remove the superdrive’s thermal sensor as well! i just broke mine.

Simon Meisinger -

WARNING! Remove superdrive thermal sensor as well from the connector, or it will break in step 16.

Laszlo Nyirfa -

The plastic part broke for me. Barely putting any pressure on the connector and the thin plastic covering the metal connectors broke and the wires came out leaving the plastic connector in place. I was able to get the connector out without any more damage. Can I purchase a new thermal connector for this? I can't find the part listed anywhere.

In the meantime I'm going to try and get the wires rigged to the board some how. Super glue them to the connector maybe. But I'm not sure if there is a polarity concern. Can the wires go to either pin on the board?

Darrel Tenter -

I was able to get the plastic connector back in place, and fit the wires into it. Polarity is needed. First time I got the fan running full. Switched the wires and now I think the fan is running normally.

But I don't trust this connection over and time would like to find a replacement hard drive thermal sensor wire assembly.

Darrel Tenter -

Each of the hard drive temperature cable connectors have tiny little tabs on the sides. I found success using a small needle to carefully push under and pop the tab out.

Leon Roy -

Thanks, that's a nice way, works really well for me. Just try to stick a needle on the side and lift it up, if it has come up a little you can gently pull the cable and it will come off with very little force on the cable.

gertjan - 27/10/16

These connectors are fairly easy to unplug. You can pull up on the wires GENTLY to remove them. I used a wooden spudger to pry gently and the connectors popped right out. Putting them back in is easy just make sure they are right side up and they snap right back in.

info -

This is where I got in trouble too. No problems on the first of my Minis, but this time one of these sockets had poor soldering and just came off the board. Basically no solder connection to the posts that are there to hold the socket in place. I ended up using a pin to pry the rest of them off, in case the others were also poorly connected. The outside of the socket is U shaped, with 2 small tabs at the lower end of the U. I inserted a pin next to these tabs and it let me lever the connectors out easily. Now I get to practice my soldering!

moecastleton - 30/08/16

I used a pick (like a fine ice pick - available at Harbor Freight) to pry up the plastic clips while gently pulling at the wires with tweezers. They pull straight up. There are tiny tabs on the sides that kind of lock them in. I would not try just pulling on the wires. Everything is tiny and yrying to fix wires pulled out of the connectors would be very difficult.

Steve Dollar - 02/10/16

The pin method is definitely better. I used the pin to slightly spread the "wings" of the connector on the board. Then I levered out the part that is attached to the wires. All done with the aid of a magnifying loop.

Fred Cat - 18/11/16

I broke mine as well, did not replace the thermal sensor for the HDD, fan runs at full speed and is noisy. Went ahead and downloaded software fan control to reduce fan speed.

Harish Ananthakrishnan - 26/02/17

With all the good comments above, I was extra cautious, my two connectors have solid black covers and I couldn’t find the tabs for the needles. So I read ahead a few steps. I was able to skip this step 13 and steps 15 and 16 and take out the drive without force. Step 14 worked as described. I have a mid-2010 without an optical drive so there was only a hard drive connector.

jstraath - 14/12/17

Hi, i just used the flat end of ifixit’s plastic spudger to lift the tiny connectors without any tugging on the wires. First, i was a trained auto mechanic for 10 years then i got my electrical engineering degree! Started fixing macs in 1979 with an oscope, soldering iron and the ic circuit handbook plus chips from apple.

Apples construction methods have sure gotten more and more fragile over the years. Glad i still have great eyes! Rossmon

Ross Elkins - 19/01/18

Thanks for the wonderful story, incredibly helpful to anyone reading it. A definite must for those upgrading their Minis. Perhaps an autobiography is in store for the future? I can only hope… I'd die knowing my life was complete if Im lucky enough to read such an intriguing story. OMG, and if it was hard back, I'd pass it down to the generations succeeding me so they too will grace this life changing experience. BRAVO to you sir !??

AJ GREEN - 21/03/21

I broke the connector too, but was able to make a secure connection despite this. You will need a good magnifier glass/visor and fine tweezers. I added a drop of Crazy glue to secure it. Photo: https://ibb.co/ZcsnvNC

Gustavo Delfino - 15/03/20

After the plastic of the connector of the thermal sensor falls in tiny little parts after manipulating with pludger, tweezers and all I can find in my home I just let the connector in place on the logic board. Like written down in step 15 and 16 I pulled the whole logic board just a little bit out of the housing, so there’s just enough room for pulling the old HDD out of the housing. Put away the different adhesive tapes HDD (main connector and thermal sensor). Put away main connector and the thermal sensor from the HDD. Then I put everything in place to the new SSD and stick the thermal connector with the the old adhesive stribe at the SSD. I never would try to disconnect the thermal sensor again from the logic board!!!

Hanjo Lindenthal -

I highly recommend TG Pro to solve this absurd hard disk temperature problem. After replacing my HDD with an SSD, the fan ran nutso just like everyone else’s. Sensors are in place on the drive, but they don’t seem to work. I even tried thermal paste, but no luck. While I could try replacing the temperature sensors, what’s the point? Having a quality SSD should remain far cooler than any HDD, regardless of the conditions.

My Samsung EVO SSD has its own internal SMART temperature sensor built into it. TG Pro detects it fine. The reason I recommend TG Pro is that I tried others. TG Pro is top-of-the-line quality, imo. It even allows total override of system fan control, solving the runaway fan problem once and for all. While this is hypothetically a safety issue, since I began using the software 3 years ago, I’ve come to trust it more than whatever is built into my Macs. (I own three MacBooks in addition to my Mac Mini.)

My 2010 is considered out of date, but with an SSD, it’s still a great little music server.

AnnoniMoose -

Schritt 3

Löse die Verbinder von Festplatte und optischem Laufwerk mit dem flachen Ende des Spudgers aus ihren Sockel auf dem Logic Board.

I skipped this step as well as step 15 and 16.

What I did, was just wiggle the drive out of the pc. Just pull it a little bit up and towards. Might need a little bit of force. But it should come out. Then, just remove the tape from the sata connector and then remove the sata connector from the hdd. Then you can replace the hdd like mentioned in this tutorial.

And I removed only the left thermal sensor. The right one can stay on unless you need more room.

gertjan - 27/10/16

Schritt 4

Um genug Freiraum für das Entfernen der Festplatte zu haben, muss das Logic Board ein Stück weit verschoben werden. Dazu müsste zwei zylindrische Stäbchen in die rot markierten Löcher eingesetzt werden.
Wenn du irgendwelche Instrumente in andere Löcher als die beiden rot markierten einsetzt, kannst du das Logic Board stark beschädigen.
Setze das Mac Mini Logic Board Removal Tool in die beiden rot markierten Löcher ein. Schiebe es durch, bis es das äußere Gehäuse unter dem Logic Board berührt, das ist wichtig, bevor du weitermachst.
Wenn du kein solches Werkzeug hast kannst du probieren zwei 2,5 mm Stifte in die Löcher einzuführen.
Ziehe das Werkzeug vorsichtig in Richtung der I/O Platine. Diese Platine und das Logic Board sollten etwas aus dem äußeren Gehäuse rutschen.
Höre auf zu hebeln, sobald die I/O Platine sichtbar vom Gehäuse getrennt ist. Entferne das Removal Tool.

One MASSIVE hint to do this step: DON'T pull the tools towards you; rather, lever the top ends of the tools towards you, at and angle (so that the bottom of the tools don't move). Took me a while to figure this out!

jon jon -

Didn't have that special tool. Used iPhone repairset screwdriver. Worked fine with sticking it in to the holes verticaly and then push it towards me a bit, then changing holes and repeating that step.

Alexander Kogler -

I suggest to pull the wires for the cd drive thermal sensor and and the infrared sensor upward to lift their connectors up and out of their respective sockets on the logic board ((highlighted in red in the third picture of step 16).

Riccardo Zulian -

Two 3/32" drill bits work great at replacing the tool. Place the shaft of the bits into the holes.

iceman -

I had to watch a youtube video to see how this works. Then I realized you are just using the tools to pull the main board out toward the back of the mini.

info -

A couple of small screw drivers will do. Just make sure they go far enough into the hole to be able to lever against the bottom as you pull them towards you. Without this I started to damage the logic board slightly.

David Jackson - 04/10/14

How much pressure is necessary? Is it hard? Mine seams stuck.

douglaslondrina - 08/11/16

Sliding the motherboard forward is not really needed to remove the hard drive, but it sure makes it a bit smoother. Just need to persuade it to go over the memory bracket.

Lying Bastard - 01/10/18

NO NEED to slide the board out if there is already a 7mm thick SSD installed, as it comes out easily. Also don’t need to unplug the DVD SATA connector if not sliding the board out (Rt most SATA), or unplug the DVD heat thermal sensor, since you’re not moving the board. The less you unplug, the less chances of breaking a connector. However, with original or any 9mm HD, lifting it over the memory bracket would be very difficult IMO, w/o moving the board out ~5mm.

amiller770 - 17/01/20

I did NOT move the logic board. The original hard disk could be taken out with a little(!) force. The new replacement SSD was much thinner and was not problem to slide in.

Christof Dallermassl - 16/10/20

I used two thin screwdrivers. As they said, put them stright down the holes, and they seem to fit into something on the back side that holds the ends in place (eg. a shallow hole) in the top case or something).

Then lean them both towards the back of the Mac (towards the ports etc.), and you’ll push the logic board AND the black part of the case, finally popping the black ports/rear free from the aluminum. Only needs to slide ~5mm as they said to get the needed clearance.

Demis John -

I tried so hard to just pry it out a short way, but so much force was needed that I ended up bring it out almost 1cm (ie the clips of the black rear ports fascia popped out of their recesses). This yanked the wires out of the optical drive thermal sensor. I was able to reinsert them with tweezers and hopefully the contact will be good enough to carry the signal. Wish I’d spudged that thermal sensor off the board when I was doing the other two (Step 10). After reading the warnings in step 10, I thought I didn’t need to worry about that until step 16.

Andrew Boden -

Schritt 5

Drücke gleichzeitig die zwei Plastikrasten ganz rechts und links am I/O Board in Richtung Mitte und ziehe das I/O Board etwas vom äußeren Gehäuse weg.
Ziehe die ganze I/O Board/ Logic Board Einheit höchstens 5 mm weit aus dem Gehäuse heraus. Wenn du weiter ziehst, kann der Verbinder des Infrarotsensors beschädigt werden. ( Im dritten Bild markiert).

I found that when removing the logic board out a bit that the IR sensor was not so much of a problem as was the HDD temperature sensor located next to the IR sensor.

My logic board accidentally popped out rather quickly and pulled out the sensor for the HDD.

I don't know why it's not mentioned in the earlier step to just use the spudger to pop this cable off. Since it is mentioned in other guides for removal when replacing other parts.

This would have been really helpful and most likely I would not have been left with loose cables and now looking for a new sensor cable.

So fo any others out there replacing/upgrading your HDD and have some what of a hard time getting the logic board to budge just a bit, use the spudger to pop the cable off, it's not hard and pops back on as easily as the others. That's just an FYI and a preventative measure.

tdowse1 -

Ifixit note, Mac mini mid-2010 step 16

@tdowse1 I agree completely. I take issue with this guide because I believe it has an error. With just one of two changes I wouldn't have destroyed my ZIF sensor connectors:

1) Issue the warning BEFORE or even with the instruction. Following the instructions step by step and not reading a step ahead, you don't realize you can damage your cable irretrievably. Even if you read the entire guide first, you can't be expected to memorize all warnings BEFORE you act on the instructions.

2) Instruct the user to disconnect ALL of the ZIF cables first. This is truly the only safe thing to do.

LelandHendrix -

Schritt 6

Hebe die Festplatte am Rand gleich am Logic Board hoch und entferne sie vom Mini. Achte dabei auf den RAM Sockel und darauf, dass sich keine Kabel verfangen.
Achte beim Zusammenbau der Festplatte darauf, dass die beiden Torx T8 Zapfen am anderen Ende in die beiden Gummipuffer passen ( im zweiten Bild rot markiert), bevor du das Logic Board zurück an seinen Platz schiebst.

The new drive, being thinner than the old one, was a bit tricky to get seated into the rubber grommets. I found that temporarily screwing a couple of screws into the top mounting holes on the drive helped with getting a grip on it. This, and standing the unit up on its end so that the drive would "fall" into the rubber grommets, worked OK for me.

Fred Cat - 18/11/16

Great tip @ Fred Cat!!

Vevek Lochub - 23/01/18