I have a great old Mac mini and wanted to see if I could use it as an additional external storage, however small the storage capacity is. IF NOT: what are my options? (only removing the hard drive and frankensteining a small external storage device?)
Are there any other useful and productive options if I were to connect my Mac mini?
iMac Pro
Yes, you could connect the mini to the iMac as an external drive using Target Disk mode, but I would think that inconvenient if you shut down your Mac regularly. You'd have to put the mini into target mode each time you reboot.
The other option you mention - removing the mini hd and putting it into an external case - is certainly doable and inexpensive.
Maybe you could use the mini and an large capacity external drive attached to it as a media server at home?
Or reformat it and reinstall a clean OS and pass it on to a someone who could use it??
What model year is the mini?
Yes, you could connect the mini to the iMac as an external drive using Target Disk mode, but I would think that inconvenient if you shut down your Mac regularly. You'd have to put the mini into target mode each time you reboot.
The other option you mention - removing the mini hd and putting it into an external case - is certainly doable and inexpensive.
Maybe you could use the mini and an large capacity external drive attached to it as a media server at home?
Or reformat it and reinstall a clean OS and pass it on to a someone who could use it??
What model year is the mini?
I’ll second using the old Mac Mini as a media server instead of a slave drive for the iMac. If the Mac Mini is a 2010 or later, it is easy to upgrade it to a larger drive and connect it to an HDMI TV or Stereo System.
The model is a mini-15/8GB/500GB. (2011 version I believe).
So you are saying basically to hook it up via a TV and use as an alternate input to our DVD/CABLE/internal smart apps?
Will it play well with a Smart TV?
thank you,
Brian
Yes it will. I using the same 2011 Mac Mini as a media server for Movies and Music. I upgraded the old HDD to a 1T SSD and have it connected to a 43" Samsung TV.
Can I daisy chain my Mac mini to my iMac as an external hard drive?
