Can I install Snow Leopard on the new Mac Mini

I know it's a little late in the conversation, but is the Snow Leopard that is desired for installation on the i7 quad mini-server the Client or Server version?

Sorry for the obtuse question.

Thanks.

The normal ( client ) version works fine on the mine server.

Full instructions for installing Snow Leopard 10.6.8 on a 2011 Mac Mini, v1.0.

This is an assembly of what has been discovered and posted by newfoundglory, Kasper E, and others, with much detail added.

The problem: The 2011 Mac Mini ships with Lion (10.7), which is unusable for many users. Snow Leopard (10.6.8) can be installed, but without some alterations it will be slow and will have the Phantom Display* issue.

To do the installation, you'll need the following:

1. A second machine, preferably (and confirmed by several posters, including me), an early 2011 MacBook Pro (prior to Lion), and the original 10.6 install DVD that came with the machine. I'll use 'MBP' to refer to the second machine in these instructions. Other machines may work, one user (CarloBandini) even reported success using a hackintosh and the original 10.6.0 install DVD.

2. A Firewire cable. The Mini has FW800, so you need either a FW800-FW800 or a FW800-FW400 cable, depending on the second machine.

3. 10.6.8 Combo update, downloaded to the MBP.

4. A few kernal extension (kext) files from 10.7 and 10.6.8 (specific versions). Available here in a folder called "MacMini2011 Snow Leopard kexts":

MacMini2011 Snow Leopard kexts

Install Snow Leopard:

1. Start Mini in Target Disk Mode (TDM) by holding the T key, connect to MBP with the Firewire cable. The Mini's hard drive will show up on the MBP's desktop.

2. Boot MBP from the Mac OS X install disc it came with, 10.6.6 for 2011 MBPs. The next several steps will be performed on the MBP.

3. Use disk Utility to erase the Mini's HD (you can't install over 10.7)**. You may want to use a different name from the MBP's HD, so you don't get them confused. In any case, the Mini's HD will have the Firewire icon.

4. Install 10.6.6 on Mini's HD. Be sure customize the install to add Rosetta and QT7.

5. The reboot at the end of the install will boot from the Mini't HD. If for some reason this doesn't happen, option-boot from the Mini's HD.

6. Create a new user, again still on MBP booted from Mini's HD.

7. Install 10.6.8 combo update v1.1.

8. Shut down MBP and Mini, and remove the Firewire cable.

9. Now connect Mini to a monitor and boot from its own HD. It should work, but it may have Phantom Display issues.

10. (optional) For good measure, and to make sure no drivers were missed, Install 10.6.8 combo update v1.1 again, this time directly from the Mini.

Fix kernal extensions:

1. Copy the "MacMini2011 Snow Leopard kexts" folder and these instruction to the Mini's desktop and open the folder.

2. Also open this folder:

/System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources/

An easy way to do this is to open a new finder window, copy the path above (from first to last '/'), and choose Go to Folder from the Go menu, and paste the path.

NOTE: in step 3 and a few other steps, you'll be required to Authenticate.

3. Drag Macmini5_1.plist, Macmini5_2.plist and Macmini5_3.plist from "MacMini2011 Snow Leopard kexts" to the Resources folder.

4. Now open this folder:

/System/Library/Extensions/

5. Find AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext and AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext, and move them to the trash.

6. Drag AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext and AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext from the "MacMini2011 Snow Leopard kexts" folder to the previously opened Extensions folder. After a several seconds you may get a warning, but you can ignore it.

7. Open the Terminal app in the utilities folder, and type the following:

sudo su -

It will then ask for your password.

8. Paste the following into terminal:

cd /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources
chown root:wheel Macmini5*
chmod 644 Macmini5*
cd /System/Library/Extensions
chown -R root:wheel AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext
chown -R root:wheel AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext
chmod -R 755 AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext
chmod -R 755 AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext
kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel
kextcache -system-caches
exit
echo 'Finished'

the last steps will take some time (a minute or so), and you will get an error about a modem that you can ignore.

9. Now reboot your Mini, and you're done!

Known problems:

Bluetooth may not work as well as it does in Lion.

*Phantom Display issue:

The Phantom Display is a duplicate of the main display (the computer thinks there are two identical displays attached), and causes the following:

1. Cursor updates are erratic.

2. There's an extra screen off to the right that you can move windows to. And if you play with it, the extra screen can become the only one displayed.

3. Monitor wakup from sleep can fail.

4. The second monitor port (Thunderbolt) won't work.

**Installing over Lion

Of course the prudent thing to do, and to preserve the recovery partition, would be to boot from the Lion install DVD that came with your Mini and...

Dear David, thanks for posting thhe full detailed instructions. I would like to make two further clarifications.

1. In my experience, an offical SL retail DVD 10.6.3 also works fine (so long as the host hardware can boot that version of SL. See point 2.).

2. I used an "Early 2008" MBPro running 10.5.8 as the FW host machine. It works fine so long as all the updates are then run and the modifications made exactly as you describe.

3. From reading the thread, I think that only Mac minis with the HD3000 card (2.3 i5 and 2.0 i7 server) may require the updated Intel kexts for the graphics card (although they probably don't hurt). All models appear to benefit from the 5_1, 5_2, or 5_3 plist files.

I think these details are important, as many people with a new mini may not have access to an early 2011 MBPro and the 10.6.6 restore DVD.

Although I cannot exclude that there will be future problems I uncover with my installation, using the retail SL 10.6.3 and potentially any host FW mac that can boot 10.6.3 seems to work fine, and is a much more flexible solution.

Cheers, Matt

Matt,

I'd be happy to update my instructions. Regarding the points:

1 and 2. I'd like to be as certain as is reasonable that the instructions will work. If you've been reading this thread from the beginning, you'll see that even the best posters have declared victory but then later found a problem. I was cautious because I had not seen a post that indicated full testing. 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.

3. Regarding the Mini 2.5 with AMD graphics, as you say I don’t think there’s any harm in using the correct driver, and there could be a very subtle problem with not using it. The intel HD3000 graphics is integrated into the CPU, so the hardware is still there. For example, the wrong driver might not put the HD3000 GPU in a full sleep state. I don’t have a Mini 2.5, so I can’t test it. Including all three Macmini5_* files is similarly not harmful (take a look at the contents of that folder).

Thanks, David

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.