mac mini hdd ticking noise?

Some read and write noise is normal and some HDD's make more noise than others. Generally the 5400 rpm 2.5" notebook HDD's in the Mac Mini's are quieter than say the 7200 rpm 3.5" HDD's in the iMac's.

Which HDD does your Mac Mini have, the stock 5400 HDD or the Fusion Drive setup which is both an SSD and HDD?

I don't see any normal noise article for the Mac Mini's, but Apple does have one out for the iMac's.

see > iMac: Evaluating normal noises.

If you are worried, then I think that you should contact your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider and have them check out and listen to the Mac Mini.

see > Apple - Find Locations

Lastly, please don't forget to keep and run regular backups using Time Machine, CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

I have owned about 10 Mac mini systems though the years. For the most part, they are near silent. In my experience, the latest 2012 model with the 1 TB drive produces a ticking sound during disk read/write operations. The 2012 model with the 500 GB drive does not make the ticking sound.

Regards,

Ultrajones