Appple now sells an official $5 plastic tool designed for opening the mac mini.
 

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Great tutorial, btw -- pics are excellent.
 

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Guys; your macMini install instructions were good BUT: I used a metal egg
turner (usually called a spatula)- which is thin and strong and it was easy to pop
the sucker open!! Also, is there no Cuda chip to hit? For so many years Ive been
used to hitting one.
 

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Thank you so much for the Mac Mini memory upgrade tutorial. http://www.methodshop.com/tech/articles/macmini-ram/

I just slotted in 2Gig, and my 1.5GHz Solo is like a totally new machine. :-)

Oslo, Norway.
 

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Thanks for your great tutorial on upgrading the Mac Mini's RAM. I just did it with the help of your tutorial, and I wouldn't have dared to do it without it.

Thanks for saving me money!

Great website.
 

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MethodShop rocks because... I never would've been able to upgrade my mac mini's ram without it. for real. your tutorial is way more detailed than others on the web. from exactly which screws to take out, to how exactly to lift off the airport antenna, everything is there. thanks a million.
 

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thanks for your tutorial on mac mini RAM. It's the best on the web.
I had a heck of a time putting the little battery plug back in, but I got it...

Computer works fine with new 1GB ram in one slot, original 256 in the other, but FAN is running all the time. Does ram generate a lot of heat? Did I bump something?
 

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Just upgraded the RAm in my wife's insanely slow 1.5 ghz Intel Mac Mini. Thanks so much for posting great instructions for disassembly. Inventing the wheel on this one would've been a nightmare, rather than the piece of cake it was thanks to you guys. You rock.
 

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THANK YOU!!! YOU ROCK - MINI MAC MEMORY UPGRADE

eVERTHING WORKED PERFECTLY. THE ONLY ISSUE I HAD WAS I WAS SURPISED THAT THE ASSEMBLY WAS CONNECTED TO THE MOTHER BOARD BY A BOARD SOCKET (SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS BUT I DIDN'T FLIP IT OVER I HAD SOMEONE HOLD IT). I HAD A LITTLE TROUBLE LINING IT UP ON THE REASSMBLY UNTIL I SAW IT.

FUNNY NOTE. I WAS VERY CAREFUL WITH THE LITTLE SCREWS BUT THE PEOPLE AT MAC WERE NOT! I FOUND AN EXTRA HARDDRIVE SCREW FLOATING LOOSE! ALSO ON THE MAC SITE THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE A NOTE THAT SAID TO TAKE IT TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. WHEN I SEARCHED FOR MEMORY UPGRADES I GOT NOTHING!

YOU GUYS ARE FANTASTIC.
 

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Hey, I just wanted to say that the Mac Mini ram upgrade article was a great help. I just bought the Mini yesterday to open my eyes to the Mac world (though I do have a G4 and had an iMac) and it's a great little computer.

I wanted to add that since I chew on my nails, I used thumb tacks to help get the mini open. They're really helpful since you can put them in multiple places to create a larger gap to slide in the putty knife.

Thanks for the article!
 

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Thanks for your information on installing new memory in the Mac Mini. We followed your directions and also found some plastic putty knives at Lowes. However, they were not thin or stiff enough to really enable us to pry open the lower case. The plastic putty knife would not fit down into the opening in the case, and was not stiff enough to pry with. We used a metal putty knife which worked fine and left minimal marks. Put in 1 GB and every thing went back together OK. Memory shows up in the Finder too!
 

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Great tutorial, thanks so much. I just upgraded two Mac minis from 512mb to 2gb in about 20 mins thanks to your tutorial. Wouldn't have dared without it, so thank a million!!!
 

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Great tutorial, thx. I upgraded from 512 to 2GB in about 45 minutes and my daughter was amazed that Dad could do this and it worked afterwards!
 

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i just upgraded my memory on my mac mini using your excellent tutorial - I just can't thank you enough
 

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Thanks so much, your tutorial really helped me out. It took a few tries of making sure the RAM was installed correctly and also making sure the PRAM was zapped but after I did, everything worked perfectly. Thanks again!
 

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Thanks for your fab article on replacing the RAM in the MAC Mini. http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/macmini-ram/index.shtml I'm a 4 day old Mac owner (switched from PC last Friday) and somehow that sticker that says "No user servicable parts inside" seems so much more intimidating on the Mac than on the PC even though I know on the PC it is B.S. I suppose because the Mac looks completely impenetrable with no obvious way in. Your article allowed me to upgrade my RAM myself and saved me a ton of money.
 

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Omg.. You guys have melted this little girl-geek's heart. Your tutorial on the Mac Mini memory upgrade is a LIFESAVER!
 

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Your notes on installing a RAM upgrade to the Mac Mini were really helpful. I managed it the first time. The only snag was that I disconnected the airport antenna. I thought I had broken a soldered point, but it actually plugs back in right where I saw it lying. Airport works! Everything works! Thank you!
 

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Thanks so much for your tutorial, would never had attempted my 2GB upgrade without you.
I had one problem and almost had a heart attack: i was really struggling to put the upper chassis back on the base/mobo...something seemed to be pushing up against it at the back, could get all for corners to line up flush...after many attempts, I realised that the WIRES IN THE BACK HADE SLIPPED OUT!!! Thats the falt connector connectinng the mobo to the chassis.
At this point I almost fainted. I then realised that I could sliip the flat connector back in what seemed to be the plug...did I rip it out of the plug or is that how it normaly holds? dunno...but i booted up and so far everything seems to work. finngers crossed.
So don't be a dork like me and be extra extra carefull when manipulating the upper chassis.
 

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Thanks so much. You saved me over $100, not to mention the guys at the Mac store said it would take 3 days to a week to get the mini back after I drop it off.

I was able to perform this operation in about 15minutes, very nice. NOTE: I was lucky and I have the old model, so I did not have to remove any screws, but I'd have never thought of just prying that case apart even to get started.

Thanks again!

Very satisfied,

Randy
 

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Your directions for RAM installation / upgrade on an Intel MacMini were great.

The one small deviation from them that I found was that after I removed the 4 screws and placed the black plastic+metal housing upside down on a book, the cable connecting the wireless antenna to the processor popped off. It was easy enough to reconnect, it was just super small and I have large fingers.
 

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I've done two of these and I have a few comments.

1. Don't be afraid to use force when it comes time to lift out the guts with the putty knives. You'll need to.

2. Plugging the little black plug back in is going to be a pain in the ass. Make sure you have a pair of tweezers handy.

3. One of the screws sits inside a deep well, I think it's the rear left one. Make sure you put the screw into this well before you put the upper part back together or else you'll never be able to get it into the well and in its hole without a magnetic screwdriver.

4. Both times I did this installation, I had problems with the rear (where the cables plug into) fitting flush with the case. The reason for this is that there are some metal clips that may get bent slightly the first time you try to put the case back on. If this happens, you'll need to bend the metal clips slightly, toward the inside of the Mac Mini. I had to do this several times before I got the thing back together properly.
 

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i'll need a shot glass for the whiskey. :(

http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/macmini-ram/index.shtml

opened up, replaced RAM, cleared PRAM, and, with case off, booted lovely, new RAM installed! thanks!

unfortunately, after i put the case back on, the mini is no longer starting, at all, case on or off. I had to have hurt something.

any thing come to mind?

j.
 

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For some reason a good textual tutorial is really hard to find! There are a ton of videos out there, but I don't find video to be very helpful for this sort of thing. See Homer Simpsion watching "The Half-Assed Approach to Foundation Repair" in the Simpsons episode "Marge Gets a Job" for how those tend to work for me. So thanks for being the one good tutorial I was able to find. My Mini is now running smoothly with 3GB of RAM.
 

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Absolutely excellent, many thanks. I first upgraded my Mini's RAM on Sunday to 1Gb and again today to 2Gb. The first time I followed the instructions carefully and had no problems. Today, I figured I knew how (!) and went quickly....only to disconnect the flat strip connector and the airport antenna.

Cue trauma!! Fortunately, I found the required info online and all is now well. So for £20 and 5 years shortened life expectancy, I have a 2Gb Mini! Thanks all.
 

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Hi all,
Congrats on all the successful upgrades.
I'd like to upgrade my Mac Mini Early 2009 model.
Are there any differneces?
Also wondering if I do this my self will the warranty still be valid.
Thanks and all the best
 

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Used a Hyde 1.5 inch metal putty knife to open the case of my 2007 Mac Mini. Now the 2 GHz Core 2 Duo is running with 4 GB RAM. Sweeet! Thanks, guys!
 

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