Mac Mini 2,1 max OSX version?

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Level 1

11 points

Mac Mini 2,1 max OSX version?

I have a new Mac Mini and a MacBook Air running on Mavericks and an older Mac Mini 2,1 1,83Ghz Core 2 Duo 2Gb RAM running on Snow Leopard 10.6.8. I use back to my Mac a lot with my Air to my new Mini when traveling. The old Mac Mini is built into my boat and I want to use this one on Back to my Mac too but it's not available for Snow Leopard :-(

So I'm considering an upgrade. Back when Lion came out I upgraded the Mini to Lion but that was a complete disaster. It became sooooo slow!!! So I downgraded it to Snow Leopard again and everything is back to normal. It's a snappy computer which only runs some navigation software, e-mail and internet. And even VMWare Fusion with a Windows partition.

But... I want Back to my Mac.... -back- So my question is: is it advisable to upgrade the thing to Mountain Lion? Or Mavericks? (if even possible) Or will it get as slow as it was on Lion again? I need to know... I don't feel much for an experiment and then downgrade it again. Any ideas? Would a RAM upgrade help? What's the max RAM for this thing?

Thanks....

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 12, 2014 10:29 AM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,453 points

May 12, 2014 10:44 AM in response to blauw777

Your Mini only support Lion. You need more tha 2 GB of memory to make it usefull as your already found out. Your Mini support 4 G total of RAM

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Answer 2

blauw777 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 12, 2014 10:55 AM in response to lllaass

Thanks! And do you have any idea if it will run Lion with 4Gb as good as it runs Snow Leopard now?

(by the way... it's offering Mavericks in the update menu of the Mac AppStore. strange)

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,453 points

May 12, 2014 11:08 AM in response to blauw777

I have a white MacBook that goes as high as Lion with only 2 GB of memory and it is OK after I replaced the rotating HD with a SSD.

I thnk with 4 GB it will be fine. Add an SSD to and it will be better.

To install the new stuff see:

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini_06-08/

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Answer 4

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

May 31, 2014 12:55 PM in response to blauw777

In addition to maxing out the RAM on your MacMini2,1:

Partition the hard drive or add an external drive and install Lion there. Then use the "dual-boot" method (System Preferences:Startup Disk) to determine which flavor of OS X you will boot into and run.

Use Lion only when you need to Back to my Mac; otherwise use Snow Leopard.

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Answer 5

Lanny

Level 6

13,207 points

Jun 1, 2014 9:31 AM in response to blauw777

Thanks! And do you have any idea if it will run Lion with 4Gb as good as it runs Snow Leopard now?

First, note that you can install 4 Gigs of RAM, but it can only use 3 Gigs of RAM.

Whether Lion will run better with 3 Gigs of RAM compared to Snow Leopard with 2 Gigs of RAM would be a close call. However, Snow Leopard with 3 Gigs of RAM will be better than Snow Leopard with 2 Gigs of RAM.

Considering the age of the MacMini, the RAM limitations, the OS X limitations, and the expense of an SSD, you might want to just save up for a newer Mac.

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