SSD and second hd on 2014 Mac Mini?

Hi. I did this today and can confirm the following. Ordering a SSD/flash only option from Apple means you will be left with an empty 2.5" hds bay with support for up to 9.5mm of height.

You will need to byo rubber grommets, sata flex cable, and patience. Not to mention the T6H screwdriver.

I have this setup with the 256gn SSD and I out in a WD 750GB 7400rpm drive.

Thanks @viv3karya,

That's good to know!

I'm very glad that you succeeded in installing a second HDD in the mac mini 256 GB SSD only version.

I wanted to do this but I was waiting for some more information to surface on the net.

For now, I am using an external which contains my music and videos. However, the mac mini is so quiet that I'm annoyed by the noise the external drive makes...

I'm planning to add http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Travelstar-2-... to my mac mini.

Is it possible for you to tell me what I need to buy in order to open and install the drive successfully?

So far, it seems I will need the following in addition to the new HDD: SATA flex cable, Rubber grommets, T6H screwdriver, Tools to open up the mac mini.

Is it possible to post some links to where I can buy all these items? Are the ifixit tools to open up the mac mini 2012 valid for the 2014?

Thanks in advance!

@Nick, sorry I skipped over this comment. As long as your new HGST is 9.5mm in height or less (i.e. 7mm), your post have every thing you'll need. The only recommendation is to buy longer depth screws if you prefer your HDD to be screwed down. (see my post below).

My recommendation is to take the disk bay, grommets and HDD to a hardware store and pick your ideal screws. Note - I couldn't screw my HDD in, but I was happy with just the grommets, as this held my HDD securely in place.

I think most of your items you need could be had from amazon. I'm in Australia, and shipping times are long for us, so I paid extra to buy everything locally. If you're in the States, I'm sure your shipping times from OWC, Amazon and others should be fast :)

Hope that helps.

Ok, thank you. I guess i know what to do this weekend!

But what if it is custom ordered with PCIe storage only? Will it have the sled for the HD, making it easy to add a second drive?

@good2no. Yes if you buy just the pcie ssd you will get the dual disk caddy included but you need to buy your own 2.5" drive (up to 9.5mm) and sata flex cable. Ideally get the ifixit pack as it includes rubber grommets. You'll need a t6h screw driver too.

@viv3karya,

Could you post the link to the data flex cable? I had a little trouble pinpointing it.

Thanks!

Hello @viv3karya! How do you know it's 9.5mm max? Have you teared it down and seen there is no more space or have you just noticed the default HDD is 9.5 mm thick? I'm considering buying 15 mm but in doubt it will fit in. Thank you in advance.

Good question!

In short YES it's the same. I used the OWC MacMini kit which is similar to the iFixit kit.

Here is what I used: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIM...

But here is what I also recommend Mac mini Dual Drive Kit

I did run into a slight road bump. The rubber grommets provided in my OWC kit did fit in the disk bay, but they didn't allow for my HDD to be screwed as the screw length became too short. So I just left my HDD in without screwing it in - which i'm happy with. (As the grommets allowed for zero movement)...

Note I also used a 7200rpm hdd (WD 750GB), so you can feel (if you touch it) and slightly hear (not loud) the 7200rpm disk spinning.

Note - You must also obtain a T6H screen driver to get into the 2014 MacMini.

Hopefully that helps.

Thanks viv for filling in the missing info

I'm confused on your comment here, this is a different series (Mid 2014) this question is about.

As to your comment for a Mid 2011 series, I've not had any problems adding a second HD or SSD (I've done over 40 upgrades on the minis) so I don't understand the problem you encountered. Maybe it would be helpful if you created your own question with your details.

I am also confused by your comment.

Time Machine is only wedded to the original hard drive when using File Vault encryption in my experience, I have cloned many Apple boot drives and continued to used TM as normal after the upgrade.

You also need to state what type of SSD you are referring to, SATA or PCIe interface?

I came here to find out if it is possible to install 2 SATA interface 2.5" drives into a 2014 Mac Mini as was possible with the earlier 2011/12 models and if so does it use the same dual drive kit?