Repair Guides

Mac Mini 1 TB Dual Hard Drive Upgrade

We learned that the Mac mini can handle two internal hard drives if you remove the optical drive! We wrote instructions for swapping out the optical drive for a second hard drive, and posted instructions for doing the Mac mini dual hard drive upgrade.

Our step-by-step guide shows how to:

  1. Swap out the existing hard drive for a 500 GB drive.
  2. Remove the optical drive and install another new 500 GB drive in its place.
  3. Enable Remote Disc to share the optical drive of a nearby Mac or PC.

Removing the hard drive from the mac mini

Swapping in a second hard drive for the optical drive is pretty easy. We put a kit together that includes everything you need. (Almost– some basic soldering is required to connect the power cables.) The kit is just $249.95.

Our terabyte Mac mini hard drive upgrade kit includes:

  • Two 500 GB, 5400 RPM 2.5″ SATA hard drives
  • 15 pin SATA power to 4 pin power cable
  • 6 pin SATA power and 7 pin SATA data to 4 pin power and 7 pin SATA data cable
  • Putty knife
  • #0 Phillips screwdriver
  • Step-by-step instructions online

This kit is available immediately. Now go max out your mini!