Aging Mac Mini user

My mother has an old Mac Mini. It's a nice computer that's just right for her. But the computer is getting sooo slow, and I'm not sure what to do now. She would like to just get another Mini, but I don't want to get her a three year old computer at this point. I don't know which model of Intel processor is in the latest Mac Mini, but it's several iterations old at this point.

So what should I do? Macrumors has a definite "don't buy" on the Mini because it's been an insanely long time since the last release, but there's no word on whether they'll even have a new model coming down the road.

My mom has a perfectly good 24" monitor, so either she goes a step down with a 21.5" screen or she spends a huge amount for a 27" retina model. Even at the price of a refurb 27" model, she'd be better off buying the least expensive Mac Mini now and upgrading to whatever model they release later (if ever).

So what to do? I really can't bring myself to recommend three year old technology...

I got my mom one of the last non-retina 27" iMacs. They're great machines, and the 27" size is a great upgrade. Not sure if they still pop up refurbished, but should be easy enough to find used.

If the current unit has a spinning hard drive, consider upgrading it to SSD storage. And while you are in there, upgrade the RAM.

The price of SSD upgrades have greatly moderated over time.

Those two changes may provide enough improvement to make it pleasant to use again.

It would be helpful to know which era/model of Mac Mini she has. And what CPU and memory is currently installed.

Surely it's not getting slow because the hardware is wearing out, is it?

At the very least wouldn't a "nuke and re-pave" with the latest OS the hardware supports restore it to whatever performance levels it had when it was new?

tanstaafl.

MacOS doesn't generally need the occasional nuke and re-pave like Windows does (or did in the days before I switched) as a form of regular maintenance. Usually the slowness is caused by OS upgrades that demand more powerful hardware to run well, but are more or less necessary for security and software compatibility reasons.

I agree, stick an SSD in, max out the RAM and it will feel like a whole new machine.

A review of what software is installed on the Mac Mini may also be worthwhile. Perhaps there are unnecessary things running in the background.

There is some potential for malware to be resident.

My 09 MacBook definitely benifited from an ssd and ram upgrade a few years ago. But it's hit it's EOL. Newer OS versions won't run on it.

I suspect it's replacement will be one of the up to date iMacs.

I fear my Mid 10 MBP is headed for the same fate. At this point though, I've replaced the logic board, drive, battery, power connector board, display glass, and the optical drive. I've got a new keyboard on the way. Belize and children were really harsh on that machine, but it's still kickin' away. Although the case looks like I tied it to my bumper and dragged it down the street for a while.

Thanks, everyone. An SSD is a great idea. I think I added RAM about three months after she bought it. 4GB came with it and that was terrible. I'll have to check if it takes more than 8.

Apparently it's running a little better now after one last restart, so maybe something was running in the background. Not sure.

Anyway, an SSD upgrade is the perfect thing to get this thing limping along until Apple decides what (if anything) they want to do with the Mac Mini...

It seems they have...

Yeah I read that. "creative and interesting uses" doesn't sound like they're supporting the Mini very much. And it's been three years since the last one came out. I'd think there would be more news by now.

We'll see.

[quote=DignanApparently it's running a little better now after one last restart, so maybe something was running in the background.. [/quote]

There is a way to have a mac show all the boot messages. That can show if there are excessive timeouts taking place. Providing a clue about what is messed up.

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/08/17/how-to-boot-your-mac-in-verbose-mode/

Tim Cook confirms the Mac mini isn't dead

EDIT: sorry...I didn't realize that's a repost of the above story.

Thanks Glenn, I'll look into it. It seems that her computer works fine for about half and hour, and then beach-balls almost constantly until a restart.

I looked into an SSD upgrade and I'll be honest...it's pretty daunting. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable handling all those tiny connectors...

Could the beach balls be cause by a failing hard drive or the CPU throttling due to over heating? I looked at the ifixit guide to replacing the HDD on the 2012, not dreadful, but not easy, granted I've replaced a few phone batteries. Those little connectors are more robust then you think.

I've done it Matt. It's not as bad as it looks once you get in there and get comfortable, it's like any other computer. Just take your time and use the excellent walk-throughs on iFixit. The only advice is to take note of how all wires are routed during disassembly and route them exactly the same way before reassembly so that they don't get pinched and/or broken. Also, make sure you have the right screwdrivers, torx bits, etc. It can be an exercise in frustration trying to use flat head screwdrivers to remove the torx screws (although possible).

It's really no more difficult than any laptop, except the parts aren't always as accessible without a little work. Also the connectors simply lift off and on, so there's nothing really to worry about there.

YouTube video.

After restart, does it then work for another 30 minutes?

Wondering if the fan air flow is clogged or not spinning...

I'll try blasting it with some canned air first and see if that fixes things.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I might attempt a replacement.

John, that video was pretty good, but judging by another one I watched she skipped the removal of at least three connectors I think I found an iFixIt video though.

It has been a long time since I was last inside a Mac Mini, but I seem to recall the fan and heat sink arrangement were such that a proper cleaning required modest disassembly. Depending on the model/generation, it may be rather straightforward to open it up and blast the dust directly off the various parts.