Upgrade Mac mini

Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I have a late 2012 Mac mini. I think that the video is dying because I woke it up this afternoon & the entire display was gray. A month or so ago the display was green & grainy.

I've read that the 2014 mini is next to impossible to upgrade but the 2012 mini is easy to upgrade.

I want a desktop & I don't want to spend the money on an iMac. I'd rather connect an external monitor & keyboard & mouse.

According to support.apple.com, the 2010 mini is considered obsolete. So, my mini will probably be considered obsolete in the next couple of years.

Do you happen to know how long Apple will produce the 2012 mini? I can buy a 2012 mini at Experimac. I think that Best Buy sells the 2012 minis. I suppose that Apple will eventually stop manufacturing the 2012 mini. I'm wondering what my options are if Apple eventually stops manufacturing the 2012 mini. I suppose that the only option is to connect my laptop to my external monitor.

I have a 2013 MacBook Air. It has a Thunderbolt port. I'd need a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter. I can connect an external display to the Air or some other Mac laptop. But the Air doesn't support Full HD (1080P).

Perhaps it's not worth repairing my mini when it does die. Or even buying a 2012 mini.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,208
Reaction score
1,411
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
I've read that the 2014 mini is next to impossible to upgrade but the 2012 mini is easy to upgrade.

In this case better terminology would be "easier to repair". If you were to replace something that's faulty...that's not an upgrade...that's a repair.:)

Do you happen to know how long Apple will produce the 2012 mini?

2012 Mac-Mini's were discontinued when the 2014 Mac-Mini was released. I'm pretty sure Apple has not produced 2012 Mac-Mini's for a longtime. If you're seeing 2012 Mac-Miin's for sale...they're either used, refurbished, or NOS (New-old-stock).

Perhaps it's not worth repairing my mini when it does die. Or even buying a 2012 mini.

Depending on what the exact problem is...yes...many times it does not make financial sense to repair an older computer.

-Nick

p.s. Apple did continue to sell the 2012 Mac-Mini for an extra long while...same for 13" 2012 MacBook Pro's...mostly because they were tha last models to have a built in optical drive. But pretty sure Apple stopped prodcuing them long ago.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,485
Reaction score
1,531
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
But pretty sure Apple stopped prodcuing them long ago.


Even the latest and last minis were produced almost exactly four years ago which is quite a long while in computer years.





- Patrick
======
 
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
There are 2 rumors about the mini. One is that Apple will drop the mini & the other is that Apple will come out with a 2018 mini. I hope that it's the latter rather than the former!

I know that I can hook up my MacBook Air to an external display. I have a 23" display. I found out that the Air does support full HD on an external display even though the Air's display isn't full HD. I went to Best Buy today & got a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter. I unplugged the HDMI adapter from the mini & plugged it into the adapter & plugged the adapter into my Air. I fired up the Air &, lo & behold, the laptop display showed up on the 23" in full HD! YAY!

When the Air was plugged into the 23", I tried to use the external keyboard & mouse but they didn't work. At first I was puzzled but then it dawned on me that the keyboard & mouse were plugged into the mini & the mini was off. DUH!!! I know that it's possible to close the cover on the Air without turning it off. How do I do that? Do I need to use a Terminal command? If I want to use the external keyboard & mouse they need to be plugged into the Air, correct? Would there be a conflict between the internal & external keyboard? What about using a Bluetooth keyboard & mouse in place of the laptop keyboard & trackpad?

I want to get a 27" display.

It is a bit awkward & confusing seeing 2 displays.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,208
Reaction score
1,411
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
There are 2 rumors about the mini. One is that Apple will drop the mini & the other is that Apple will come out with a 2018 mini. I hope that it's the latter rather than the former!

Isn't it lots & lots of fun when this happens??...really makes it fun trying to make plans & decisions!;)

Kinda like one year it's "bad" to eat eggs & butter...and the next year it's perfectly ok! lol

- Nick
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,208
Reaction score
1,411
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I read that Apple will consider the 2011 mini obsolete either this year or next. So, my 2012 will be considered obsolete in a year or so. What exactly does that mean? I suppose that it means that Apple will no longer support it. If I tried to do a clean install on an obsolete mini, will the install abort?

Best Buy sells the 2012. I don't know why they don't sell the 2014. I want to buy a new mini. I don't know if Apple will come out with a 2018 mini or not. If not, maybe a 2019 mini. I doubt if my mini will last another year. When I click on Firefox on the Dock, the icon bounces & bounces & bounces & finally opens. It's taking longer & longer to boot. I have a feeling that it will die the same way that my MacBook Pro died. I started it & even after 20 minutes, I still saw the boot screen. I suspect that the hard drive died on my MBP.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,696
Reaction score
1,152
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
No, when Apple designates a device "obsolete", it usually only means they will no longer service them. You will still be able to use your Mac, and anything you were able to do on it, before it became "obsolete", will still be possible.
 
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
Does that also apply to authorized Apple repair stores?

I called the local Apple store today & was talked thru diagnosing problems with my mini. I ran disk First Aid & everything checked out. I started the mini in safe mode; I reset the SMC & the NVRAM. The mini seems to work faster. Only time will tell.
 
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
Yesterday, I nuked the hard drive & did a clean install of Mojave. This morning I turned on the computer & saw the Desktop! Before the install when I woke up the mini, I could see the Desktop, but it was like looking at it thru a grey fog. Then the monitor screen went black & the Desktop appeared. I assumed that it was a software problem. I would think that if it were a hardware problem, the fog would be persistent. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,208
Reaction score
1,411
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Yesterday, I nuked the hard drive & did a clean install of Mojave. This morning I turned on the computer & saw the Desktop!

Sounds like some positive feedback...thanks for the update!:)

If you haven't already...use the Mac-Mini to do some normal day to day stuff and let us know if everything is stable & normal.

Thanks,

- Nick
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,446
Reaction score
3,800
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
I think the "fog" is the blurry background on the login screen on wake up. It's blurry until you log in, probably as a security measure.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,485
Reaction score
1,531
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
I think the "fog" is the blurry background on the login screen on wake up. It's blurry until you log in, probably as a security measure.


Maybe the "fog" is there to mimic many users who are in that state when they first wake up and before they've had their required coffee to wake up.





- Patrick
======
 
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I know what you are referring to. It's not the login screen. I set my mini to bypass the logon screen & go directly to the Desktop.

I've had my mini for almost 6 1/2 years. It's only in the last month or so that I've had problems with it.

Before I installed Mojave when I woke up the mini, I could see the menu bar & the Desktop but not clearly. It was like looking thru a translucent material.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
Ok, so let me ask for clarification on a couple things:

1. Do you just have the 1 monitor that you're hooking the Mac Mini and MBA to (the 23" display)? If so, then from your comments, I gather the MBA works fine with that monitor, so that would make it clear that your monitor is not faulty.
2. Are you using the same video cable to hook up both computers to the monitor (at separate times, obviously)? If not, have you tried using a different video cable with the Mac Mini to verify that the cable is not the issue?
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,485
Reaction score
1,531
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
Before I installed Mojave when I woke up the mini, I could see the menu bar & the Desktop but not clearly. It was like looking thru a translucent material.


Did you try enabling or de-enabling the "translucent" option setting??? It can cause a blurry effect, especially on the menu bar.

And also, is the display set to its native resolution??? If not, that can cause a blurry foggy effect.





- Patrick
======
 
OP
D
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
203
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I had a 23" monitor. (I still have it.) I bought a 27" monitor.

I noticed the grey appearance with both monitors so that rules out the monitors.

I haven't tried a different HDMI cable.

- - - Updated - - -

Where is the translucent option setting? I read about that somewhere.

Both the 23" & the 27" have a 1920 X 1080 native resolution.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,485
Reaction score
1,531
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
Where is the translucent option setting? I read about that somewhere.


The one for the translucent menu bar, at least in Mavericks and if Apple has still kept it, it should be in the Desktop & Screensaver System preference pane.

But it is mainly only for the menu bar and when one is using a custom desktop picture.


I haven't tried a different HDMI cable.
Definitely an advisable thing to try and often a cause for poor video display (and audio) problems.






- Patrick
======
 
Last edited:

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top