Can I install Snow Leopard on the new Mac Mini

Hi Vincent. According to the apple site the are two i5 minis (http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html).

The base 2.3 has the HD3000, the 2.5 has the ATI card. Can I confirm that the working TB port you have is the 2.5?

It is not clear whst Colacin's i5 is, but given these results I suspect it is the 2.5 i5 too.

That points to the missing driver being the one for the HD3000 which in newfoundglory's method is addedd correctly, but not in the method myself and others have used.

I wonder if others can chime in: Has everyone with display anomolies got a mini with the HD3000? i.e. either the server model or the 2.3 i5.

Question for Newfoundglory: Does the DP output work on your mini server? (i thought I read one of your posts where you reported that it does). For Vincent (above) even doing an install from a 2011 MBPro did not enable the DP to work for the mini server model.

I wonder: With your MBPro, did you incrementally update to 10.6.7 using the MBPro-specific release of 10.6.7? I was searching recently and saw that there was a general 10.6.7 release and two "model-specific" releases - for the early 2011 MBPro and the early 2011 iMac (both of these are Sandy Bridge computers with Thunderbolt).

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1368

http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1383

I had an idea that if I could install the 10.6.7 MBPro update onto the mini server it might contain the necessary DP drivers (that you may have). Of course it failed because my host machine for the Target disk mode is a 2008 MBPro and the installer refuses to run the model-specific 10.6.7 update (even when targetting the mini server's hard-drive via target disk mode).

Interestingly enough, the 10.6.7 general update is not sufficient to boot the mini server (even though the MBPro-specific 10.6.7 can run a very similar set of hardware). Does this suggest that the MBPro 10.6.7 release is substantially different from the general 10.6.7 release?

Ok, I got this tip <a href="http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20111107064435227">here</a>. The article is about editing the drivers with hex fiend, but that did not work for me. In the comments below the story is this little gem about editing a plist file to get the drive to work (by the way the file com.apple.Boot.plist exists in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration, if you don't have it on your snow leopard boot partition you can just create it, but it was there for me):

here's a much easier way to do this without hacking OS files. This works for me on Lion and Snow Leopard, I haven't tested older OSes.

The trick is to add "mbasd=1" to the Kernel Flags in com.apple.Boot.plist. com.apple.Boot.plist exists by default in Lion, but not in earlier OSes.

There are multiple ways to edit a plist, I'll use TextEdit since every user has it. Since Lion already has com.apple.Boot.plist there are two subsets of instructions, one for Lion and one for all other OS Xes.

Bottom line: com.apple.Boot.plist will look the text between the starred lines when done:

*****************************************

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>mbasd=1</string>

</dict>

</plist>

*****************************************

Dear Rossfuru.

You are nearly there, BUT the standard 10.6.8 installation lacks drivers for a number of things. The most obvious (that you have found) is for the Thunderbolt/DisplayPort ouptut. If you connect the Mini via the HDMI socket (HDMI>HDMI or HDMI>DVI), I think you will find that you can get a useable display output.

However, you will still lack correct driver support (you will likely experience a second ghost display and random pointer issues). In addition the correct preference files for the Mac mini 2011 need to be instlaled to get full performance from the i5/i7 chipset.

Please refer to the detailed instructions linked further up to add the necessary modified kexts. I'll add the link here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?answerId=17429168022#17429168022

David carefully and accurately explains everything necessary to get it to work.

rossfuru wrote:

after a very late night of trying to downgrade to SL on a 2011 2.3 mini, i gave up, defeated.

I followed the directions to the T, twice. even delta upgraded to 10.6.8, but when I plugged in the mini to my Viewsonic 24" led via TB/DVI adapter, I got a white screen, apple, then blank.

I had to go back to Lion last night/this am because the machine needs to be in use.

the mini worked fine when targeted to a Imac core 2 duo, but on it's own failed to muster the will to work.

has anyone else run into this?

here's what i did.

1. targeted the mini to the imac

2. booted the imac to a SN 10.6.3 retail

3. Disc utlitied the mini to a new GUID partition

4. Installed SN to mini

5. when restarted, installed the 10.6.8 combo.

6. tried to boot up to TB/DVI on the viewsonic, white screen, then no signal.

weird.

Your geekbench results are "normal", I think your Mini is a server?

My Mini i7 had 1700 to 7000

I think you missed newfoundglorys help:

Install his package and everything works well

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?answerId=17829389022#17829389022

Why did you personally have to do all of this: "(I had to remove 16 .kext-files afterwards: BJUS...kext, 14x HP...kext, Lexmark...kext)" ?

I got popups, that these system-extensions are not usable:

see: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?start=446

and below

After 6 month with Leopard on my MacMini I build in a SSD in the mini (three weeks ago) and made exactly these things:
- start the Mini in FireWire-Target Modus

- install SL from an other Mac on the empty SSD

- migrate the user and applications

- install ComboUpdate 10.6.8 from an other Mac

- reboot the Mini and install NFG-package

- remove the wrong system-extensions

- reinstall the ComboUpdate

- repair permissions

Geekbench: 32bit ~ 7000 and 64bit ~ 7600

System boots in12 seconds

DeepSleep works well (eight seconds after booting)

With this System you should be able to boot every 1-4 year old Mac

(In Firewire-Target-Modus or with a clone on an external drive)

Beside:

I made a test with SnowLeo and MountainLion (with "real" drivers for the Mini) on my MacMini:

Handbrake 0.96 > Apple TV: Mountain Lion is 5% faster

Artlantis 4.1 > Rendering: Mountain Lion is 10% faster

Cinebench 11.5: Mountain Lion is 7% better

but Geekbench is 5% faster with SnowLeo!

MountainLion has some improvements (i.e. you can use "save as" in Textedit or Preview again!)

But of course MountainLion doesn't support Rosetta.

And some other little points are missing, which I easily can use with SnowLeo.

I will use SnowLeo as my main System.

Hi mesa3077boogi,

Are you only getting popups because you are using the i7 dual core Mini and the NFG package was i7 quad core specific?

no, these kext are for a Lexmark printer and a HP-Printer that I don't have.

Even "josefromaldea del fresno"got these popups: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?start=474

that you used your time machine to copy over different versions of extensions

I just posted something old, because you asked what's about the kexts.

I didn't change any kext know, because everything works fine now.

By "repair permissions", do you mean boot from the Mini running 10.6.8 and open disc utility, select the drive or partition that SL 10.6.8 is installed on and simply click "repair permissions".

That's it

Question: ...

I said in my post above:

"With this System you should be able to boot every 1-4 year old Mac

(In Firewire-Target-Modus or with a clone on an external drive)"

Maybe someone will add .kexts for newer hardware, but at the moment this seems to be the "newest" System 10.6 which is possible.

I did perform these steps three weeks ago, because I wanted a clean System on my SSD,

but I could have used a clone.

Scott Bennett wrote:

I returned the unit yesterday. Here is the information that is on the receipt: Mac mini/2GB RAM/ 500GB HD/Airport/Bluetooth SC07GKA2HDJD0. I'm not sure if there are zeros or O's in the serial number. The characters look almost identical in the receipt. I wish the US would adopt the slash zero character.

Apple registration numbers and Apple hardware product serial numbers may sometimes contain the number "0" (zero), but not the letter "O"

Cathy Fasano's technique:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?start=285&tstart=0

scroll down...

Yes I do understand your offer of a full clone on memory device. I thank you very much for that offer. If I can't do this in 24 hours I'll probably take your offer.

Cheers.

Wondering if any of the heavy hitters in this thread know if it's possible to simply add a partition to a 2011 Mini and restore a Snow Leopard (10.6.8) CCC clone from my Late '09 iMac, and then move over that package of kexts (found here)?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209335?answerId=17429162022#17429162022

http://lowendmac.com/2013/best-macs-for-running-both-snow-leopard-and-mavericks/

Would still very much appreciate hearing from any of the main contributors to this thread about just restoring a clone of 10.6.8 to a Mini partition and then moving over the kexts package, as linked above, and per the lowendmac article.

Since there has been an irrelevant and unnecessary post bringing this discussion to new page, where my original question may not be seen, I am re-posting that question.

Wondering if any of the heavy hitters in this thread know if it's possible to simply add a partition to a 2011 Mini and restore a Snow Leopard (10.6.8) CCC clone from my Late '09 iMac, and then move over that package of kexts (found here)?

I've seen the posts you mention from NFG plus quite a few others in this very long thread and elsewhere, but what I'm asking is if it's possible to simply restore a 10.6.8 clone (which I have from a Late '09 iMac) to a second partition on the Mini 2011, plus add the needed kexts, instead of installing through Firewire TDM from a 2011 MBP, which has purportedly the same basic hardware configuration, or by way of a "vanilla" image with InstalDMG, which may also do the job.

As far as I can tell, no one ever discussed the possibility of getting there by restoring a 10.6.8 clone, and if one of those guys is still around, that's my question.

I mentioned before about parallels server for the mac mini -- we demo'd parallels server (on a mac pro) earlier in the summer, and were very impressed with how it just worked.

If you have a 2011 mac mini and any mac running Snow Leopard Server (not client) then you could contact Parallels and ask them for a demo for parallels server for the mac mini.

• Take your 2011 mini back to Lion.
• Install the free demo of Parallels Server on the mini
• install Snow Leopard Server on a virtual machine inside of Parallels Server, using your existing Snow Leopard Server machine.
• Report back to us if it works!

(Note for migrating from an actual to virtual machine -- we installed mac os x server on the virtual machine, then booted the existing server into target disk mode and used SetupAssistant to transfer it over. They have a procedure using a TimeMachine backup, but it didn't transfer over a bunch of stuff.)

(Further note -- Snow Leopard Server costs $500, and Parallels Server for the mini costs $200, so this is not a cheap solution if you otherwise have no use for these things.)

Ok, I think the answer is here, but I've sort of lost the thread. For the mac mini buyer who MUST run Snow Leopard now, but will eventually upgrade to Lion, I see two choices --

• buy a 2010 mini from somebody who still has one around, or ebay, etc., upgrade it to Lion when ready
• buy a 2011 mini, downgrade it to SL now, upgrade it to Lion later

Clearly, once you get to Lion, you want the newer, faster 2011 machine. So the question is this -- what is the speed of a 2011 mini running SL vs a 2010 mini running SL? We already know that the 2011 running SL is a lot slower than the same machine running Lion, but that's not the choice.

So is the 2011-hacked-to-SL slower than the 2010-running-SL, and if yes, how much slower?

The 2010 mini is NOT cheap -- $849 from amazon -- so the question is how big a hit is the downgrade on the 2011 compared to the 2010?