I just added more RAM (2 GB) to our Mac Mini Intel Core Duo. It wasn’t super difficult but tricky enough, that I wouldn’t be thrilled to do it again.

(Note that this post covers the Intel Mac Minis (Core Solo, Core Duo, and Core 2 Duo Mac Mini). These are not the same internally as the G4 Mac Minis.)

Instead of reinventing the wheel and listing all the steps here, I’ll just link to the steps I followed, and add some tips for the parts I found tricky.

The best guide I found is posted in the Mac Rumors Forum. It has clear photographs for each step.

Tools

You’ll need a putty knife, medium philips screwdriver, and a flat head screwdriver. Make sure the putty knife is metal and the thinnest one you can find. I found mine at a local hardware store for a few dollars.

I’d also recommend a pair of tweezers, a magnetic philips screwdriver OR add a glue stick, a towel, a bright lamp, and two books to rest the top half of the Mini so you can keep it attached to the bottom while you replace the RAM.

Replacing The RAM

The first step is to set the Mac Mini top side down on the towel so the case plastic doesn’t get scratched as you go at it with the putty knife. I had to wedge the putty knife between the computer and the case, pulling the knife away from the computer, bending tabs on the inner case to a rather unpleasant cracking sound. This took some time, and I actually broke off part of one tab.

Once the computer is free from the case, there are four screws to remove, one from each corner. This is necessary to separate the top half of the computer from the bottom half where the RAM is located. Two of the screws are no big deal but one was wedged in behind some plastic, and the other is recessed in a tube of sorts. It was at this point I wished I had a magnetic screwdriver or at least a glue stick (one tip I read was to rub a glue stick on the screwdriver to fish the screws out). I didn’t have either so I made do with a pair of tweezers. A goose neck lamp was also handy to light up the screw locations.

I also removed the Airport antenna (to get to the last screw) and one little black wire that attaches the fans to the bottom half of the computer. No big deal for either.

The next part was somewhat tricky - lifting the top half of the computer and swinging it away to expose the RAM. The steps say to remove an orange ribbon cable connecting the two halves, but I got around this step by carefully resting the top half on two books while I replaced the RAM.

At last, the RAM was exposed. The removal of the RAM and addition of the new chips was easy.

From there it was a matter of following the steps in reverse order to put the computer back together. Don’t forget to reattach that black cable. It’s also a good idea to test the computer just before putting it back in the case to make sure it boots, and visit About This Mac to ensure your new RAM is showing up. Once done, shut down your computer and slide it back in the case.

Conclusion

Although I didn’t screw anything up, this RAM upgrade was certainly the hardest one I’ve ever done on a Mac, even harder than my old 7100 that required pulling out the power supply to get at the RAM slots.

It’s common knowledge that the Mini wasn’t designed to be user serviceable, and I knew this when I bought it. Still, this experience only reinforces my polite gripe about the closed nature of some Apple hardware.

Apple has designed some Macs to be super easy for the average user to upgrade, most notably the PowerMac towers with their swinging doors, and the recent MacBooks and MacBook Pros where the RAM and hard drive is just behind the battery compartment.

But the Mac Mini, iPods, iPhone, MacBook Air, and the Apple TV all have particularly closed designs. With those products, the super-small form factor was deemed more important than user servicing. At the most conspiratorial, one might believe Apple wants people to junk this cheaper hardware and upgrade to whatever newer model exists instead of upgrading them to extend the product life, or pay extra to pre-install RAM (at a sizeable markup) or to other professionals to do the installation for them. The frugal geek in me doesn’t care for this idea.

Still, I’m very happy with my Mac Mini purchase and enjoying the 2 GB of RAM. If you have one, just be aware that the RAM upgrade isn’t exactly a piece of cake. Or perhaps I should say, it’s like frosting a cake with a very thin putty knife.

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

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