Can I install Snow Leopard on the new Mac Mini

David Amis wrote:

If you feel you’re up to the task, many would be grateful if you could test all of the hardware and report on it. I will certainly update the instructions. All hardware includes: intel HD audio in/out, SD card slot, Thunderbolt as Thunderbolt, Firewire, Bluetooth, Airport, etc.

Things I can confirm:

HDMI and mDP work as expected (I have only tried with a Dell U2711 display).

I get: 2560x1440 from mDP >DP cable; 1920x1080 from HDMI > DVI; 1920x1080 from mDP > DVI.

Airport works (connecting to Eduroam network).

Bluetooth works (I am using a magic trackpad).

Firewire works (external WD my book 2x1GB RAID 1).

Ethernet works (Eduroam network).

Internal SATA: SSD is seen as 3Gb device

Audio out: Headphones work.

Memory: Both RAM slots support 2x 2GB 1333 MHz (as shipped) or 2x4GB 1867MHz (Kingston RAM).

USB: detects keyboard, mouse, external MBAir Superdrive; Flash drives and USB hub inside Dell monitor.

Untested:

SD slot: as yet untested, but does appear in system profiler as:"Built-in SD Card Reader; 2.5 GT/s". I can test this tomorrow.

TB port: No idea if it is actually outputting a TB signal (I would need the AppleTB display or a similar hub). however, it is listed in System Profiler where it reads: Firmware 25.1; No devices connected, Link status 7; Port micro firmware version 2.1.1

Geekbench 32bit = 9173

The 2.5 gHz i5 mini with the ATI card doesn't need the graphics kext files. It works perfectly after adding the macmini5_2.plist file.

My mini server needed the kext files to work. And the SD card reader works on both models.

The only bug I noticed is on the mini server. When I restart, my 30 inch ACD keeps black. ( it's connected with the MDP-to-DualLinkDVI connector ). If I shut down, and than manually power up, the screen works fine. It only stays black after a restart.

Firstly, Thank you guys so much for all of your work solving this issue for those of us who certainly couldn't have done it ourselves.

I have a question that I don't believe was answered in this thread (I think i read every post from top to bottom).

During this install of SL, is it necessary to wipe the mac mini's HD completely, or is a partition containing SL on the Lion machine a possibility? If so...would adding the appropriate SL kexts cause problems...since Lion would still be a bootable option? I guess i'm asking if the kexts are global or based within the OS of a particular HD.

I'm only 23% tech savvy...but looking forward to trying this downgrade out.

I just want to make sure I do it right.

Thanks again for all the help.

HI OdeToBob,

I partitioned the main HD (the SSD) using disk utility and called the new partition "Snow Leopard".

When I mounted the mini using FW Target Disk Mode (using the 2008 MBPro) I can see four HD: THe MBPro's, the Lion partition on the mini, the "SL" partition on the mini (with nothing in it yet), and finally the second HD in the mini.

I then chose to install the 10.6.3 DVD onto the prenamed "SL" partition.

Once the entire process is completed, I have the option on the mini of booting into Lion or Snow Leopard (or the Lion recovery partition) by simply holding down the "Option" key during the boot process. Bear in mind that bluetooth devices do not seem to work for me on this basic boot screen, so you will need a wired keyboard or mouse to select the appropriate boot partition.

The only downside I have is that the default boot partition (no "Option" key pressed) is the Lion one, but I am sure I can adjust this with a setting somewhere (perhaps reordering them in disk utility would help?). If someone can point a simple solution out to me that would be useful.

I have no issues with booting between the two partitions, but I am NOT trying to use the same data in both. I have keep the Lion partition simply for testing purposes, where I intend update Lion as Apple improve the OS to see how it is improving over hte next year or so.

I'm not sure how it works if you want to dual boot and use your data in both (i.e to access features of iCloud perhaps?). A prior thread suggested that this IS possible, but you must make sure that the number and names of all users are IDENTICAL. I would proceed with caution and seek advice elsewhere to avoid possible file permission corruption.

Every system is "closed", a modification in Lion is only for Lion and the same for SnowLeo.

I use an external drive with two partitions with Lion and the modificated SnowLeo - no problems.

If you plan to use Windows/Bootcamp, there are only two partitions "allowed" on one drive: MacOS + Windows

If you have 2 internal drives, of course you can use one drive for MacOS 10.7 and one drive for MacOS 10.6 + Windows

(With Lion you can't install WinXP)

I just tested the SD card reader and it worked fine on the server (installed from 10.6.3 retail DVD). Peaks of 30MB/s transferring approx 4GB of photos into iPhoto.

In activity monitor, up to 4 threads showed as being used at upto 100%, and after a minute or so, the fans sped up, then calmed down again after the import was finished. So power/cooling also seems to behave well.

Normally the mini is just barely audible (a little quieter than my 2008 2.4GHz non unibody MBPro).

dimoe wrote:

Every system is "closed", a modification in Lion is only for Lion and the same for SnowLeo.

I use an external drive with two partitions with Lion and the modificated SnowLeo - no problems.

If you plan to use Windows/Bootcamp, there are only two partitions "allowed" on one drive: MacOS + Windows

If you have 2 internal drives, of course you can use one drive for MacOS 10.7 and one drive for MacOS 10.6 + Windows

(With Lion you can't install WinXP)

It is worth pointing out though that the Lion partition is visible as a mounted HD when booting into SL. So I assume you could accidentally corrupt things (or start saving files in the wrong place).

Not sure if there is a way to prevent mounting of the Lion partition?

I suppose you could always unmount it after booting into SL.

With "Startvolume" you decide what is your Standard Boot-Volume.

With "alt" at starting you can decide what system you want to use

With TinkerToolSytem (for example) you can except a volume to mount at startup

Vincent,

Keep in mind that what we're doing with the HD3000 graphics kexts is replacing a version that is known to have problems with a version that is known to work. I'll bet the driver is being loaded anyway, since the hardware exists. Have you checked in IORegistryExplorer? Look for IGPU.

ZX48

The reason I had erasing in the instructions is that you can't install Snow Leopard on top of Lion without erasing first. How exactly did you partition the drive, and did you then reinstall Lion?

I'm still doing some testing, I'm having a problem with a monitor being treated as a TV.

To partition boot drive there appear to be two options I found to work:

1/ Boot into Lion, launch disk utility, click on the root of the HD (i.e. 251GB APPLE SSD or 750.16GB APPLE HDD). Do NOT select the Lion partition. Click on "Partition" tab. Drag the Lion partition smaller. Click the + button to fill in the created space with a new partition - name it "Snow Leopard". Apply.

2/ Essentially do the same thing whilst booted from FW target disk mode. Note that in this case you will need to relaunch Disk Utility (and/or remount the drives) for it to recognise the newly created partitions.

I, too, am having that problem with a 23" LCD monitor (native 1920x1080). System Preferences > Displays is showing me only TV resolutions (max. 1600x900) for choices to set this monitor.

I've got the original SL drivers installed -- haven't yet done the driver replacement for the displays...

iX

Clarificatin: After partitioning there is no need to reinstall Lion. The original Lion install is still there and boots if selected. It is just smaller. Press "alt" during boot to select boot drive.

Ofcourse, if you want to free up space, wipe the Lion drive, but I think it may be wise to retain the Lion-bootable partition for emergency or for future testing purposes.

Unfortunately, I don't have any good ideas for yor TV problem. Perhaps just a specific display incompatibility? Are there any drivers you can download? Or a driver disc that came with the display?

Hey guys,

One more question:

Why would I not have the

ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext

Have I done something incorrectly?

I followed the instructions to great success with a 10.6.3 Bootable USB Drive

Snow leopard seems to be running fine on the partition within the new mac mini. (no Phantom Display issues...no erratic cursor problems.) But I'd like to update the kexts to make sure things are running optimally.

Thanks for all the research and testing done so far...

I couldn't have gotten this far without all of your help.

I've improved the full install instructions to version 2 (next post), here's what's changed: The installation part was rewritten to better match what you would have with a new machine, and the process is somewhat streamlined. Migration can now be part of the install. ZX48's input was incorporated (Thanks!). The Lion recovery partition is preserved, and the Lion install can be preserved. 2011 MBP as recommended 2nd machine dropped. Several details were corrected or clarified.