Replacing HDD on 2012 MacMini with SSD - anything to watch out for?

[krs]

Hello Everyone,
I plan to replace the original 500 GB HDD on my 2012 MacMini with an SSD.
Short history -
Existing internal drive on the Mini is the original one, so it's about 8 years old. No problems with it.
A few months ago I saw a very good deal on a 500 GB external SSD (Seagate) and decided to upgrade from ElCapitan and run the Mini using that external in the interim until I find a good price on a 1 TB SSD internal.
Works without any issues on the 500 GB external, just not very convenient when I move the Mini having that extra external box.
Right now there seem to be reasonable deals on two 1 TB internals I have hadon my radar to replace the 500 GB spinner in the Mini:
The Samsung 1 TB EVO, and the
Crucial MX300
These are both 3D NAND drives and from what I read technically pretty much equivalent - difference is that the Crucial is $40.- less than the Samsung at this point.
Two things I'm wondering about for this swap:
1. Is there a temperature sensor associated with the original 500 GB HDD that somehow has to be swithed to work with the replacement 1TB SSD
2. What about TRIM with the replacement SSD?
And would one of the two drives I'm considering be a better choice?
Plus anything else to consider?
Has anyone on the forum done that swap on a 2012 Mini and can comment on it - the physical swap seems very straight forward.
No code has to be inserted here.

 

[MacInWin]

I suggest you check at ifixit.com for that model and drive replacement. That will show you if there is a temperature sensor or not. As for TRIM, it sort of depends on the upgrade in the OS you mentioned. What did you plan to upgrade to? Somewhere along the line the OS started supporting TRIM automatically.

 

[pm-r]

I plan to replace the original 500 GB HDD on my 2012 MacMini with an SSD.
...
Two things I'm wondering about for this swap:
1. Is there a temperature sensor associated with the original 500 GB HDD that somehow has to be swithed to work with the replacement 1TB SSD

I did not notice Macsales mentioning anything about any heat sensor with their SSD drives if they are anywhere close to what you are looking at:

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits For Mac mini 2012

Get everything you need to upgrade your 2012 Mac mini SSD for a total system performance and capacity boost. Includes a lifetime warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

BTW: Did you check out their pricing or their SSD drives???


- Patrick
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[krs]

Thanks Jake,
I had looked at ifixit already - they only cover replacing the HDD,but there is no mention of a temperature sensor for that replacement so I assume it's the same for the SSD - no reason to assume it should be any different. I just remember comments about an external temperature sensor attached to some laptop Macs.
As far as TRIM goes - I plan to stay on Mojave at least for the short term.
No plan to go to Catalina ever with this Mini.
Reading up a bit more about TRIM and the decision to enable it on the Mac or not.
There are some comments on the net about enabling TRIM on Linux causes problems with very specific SSD's and people then suggest that the Mac would have similar problems. Turns out the Crucial MX500 is one listed as having problems.
Crucial had this to say about TRIM on OS X

TRIM and OS X operating systems

This articles contains a video showing a benchmark with Trim enabled, then with Trim disabled. You will see fluctuations in speed in both cases, but these fluctuations would not be noticeable under normal use.

www.crucial.com

I think I will leave TRIM disabled for now.

 

[krs]

BTW: Did you check out their pricing or their SSD drives???

Yes, at $US145.- pretty pricey for Canadians.

 

[krs]

I looked at three instruction sets explaining step by step how to replace the hard drive on a 2012 MacMini.
What surprised me was how different they were.
The one at imore.com seems the least risky since they require the least cables to be unplugged and re-plugged.
Unplugging these small connectors create the biggest chance to break something.

ifixit is next - they suggest unplugging the wireless shroud

And the OWC video goes one step further telling one to also remove the RAM, no idea why.

 

[chscag]

Unplugging these small connectors create the biggest chance to break something.

Nine chances out of ten if something gets messed up, it will be with cables and connectors. If you can swap out the hard drive with the least amount of cable removing and disassembly, that's the way to go.

 

[MacInWin]

At ifixit.com, don't just look at the steps, read the comments about the steps, too. If something can be avoided, you'll find it in the comments.

 

[krs]

I read some of the comments on ifixit.com yesterday afternoon, then read more comments last night.
This was a bit of an eye opener.
A lot of strange comments since it seems people think replacing the hard drive on a 2012 Mini is the same as replacing the drive on a 2012 Mini Server.
Then also very valid comments that it is not required to actually disconnect the fan cable or the antenna cable - the only cable that has to be connected (obviously) is the SATA cable.
But also comments that suggests that all 2012 Minis are not identical, people claim they need different size Torx screwdrivers than specified.
The hardest part seems to be seating the replacement drive and then fastening the final two screws - especially with an SSD drive which tends to be slimmer than the existing HDD.
I received the 1 TB MX500 today - I'm glad it was manufactured in Mexico and not China.
The USB 3.0 SATA enclosure should be here Tuesday to start the conversion process.

As far as replacement instructions are concerned - I'm going to have to create my own based on the three instruction sets I have and the very large number of comments at ifixit.com.