Mac mini core duo 1.83 hard drive upgrade

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I'd like to fit a new bigger hard drive to my mini core duo 1.83. Can you tell me if it's OK to fit any SATA 5400 2.5" drive and if not which models will work? And is there a max capacity? IT currently has the original 80 gig drive.

Thanks
 
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Pretty much any 2.5" sata disk will work, you should really just look out for 9mm high drives. Anything much bigger is a tight fit and may end up causing problems
 
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I bought a 160gb hard drive (SATA 5400) - and decided to check it before installing. So I put it in an external usb2 enclosure and the mac mini can't see it at all - not in finder or disk utility. The light on the enclosure is lit so it wasn't the usb connection. I checked Finder preferences (all ticked) and checked Finder Go - Go to folder - /volumes - not there.

I then reset the SMC - no change.

I attached it to a pc - which could see it in computer management - and then formatted it to FAT32 using EaseUS partition on one of my pcs and the mac still can't see it at all.

Is this because it's in an external enclosure or is there something else to consider? I don't want to install it and find I can't use it.

Thanks.
 
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have yo connected both USB connections to your Mac Mini? Just because the lights on doesn't mean it's getting enough power
 
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Talk about missing the obvious!

Many thanks - it's now showing in disk utility, so I'll partition it and format to Mac OS etc and go from there.

Cheers.
 
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You can do that as you do the OS install. No need to do it beforehand. Either way, make sure it's Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

On a disk that size I wouldn't bother partitioning it.
 
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New drive fitted - thanks for the help.

I ordered a Snow Leopard disk online last Sat but it still hasn't turned up. Postage £5 - this must be a record!! So clean install not done yet.

I also bought a core 2 duo 64 bit chip - a T5600. I see it's possible with a Core 2 Duo to install Lion, despite the 32 bit kernel, so I was wondering the same about the memory.

Do you know if the max memory will rise with the new chip or if 2gig is still the limit? I know the kernel stays at 32 so max would be 3gig I suppose.

Though I see that DDR2 is expensive, so maybe not worth it?

Thanks.
 
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The ram limit is down to the mainboard not the processor so the limit won't change
 

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