OCTOBER

28

GUIDE PROVIDED BY

W W W . J U S T I F I E D W E B D E S I G N . C O M

O W N E R : J A C O B S H A W

2014

Upgrade Ram on
Mac M ini
A s t e p - b y - s t e p g u i d e t o u p g r a d i n g t h e r a m
i n y o u r M a c M i n i . ( L a t e 2 0 1 2 M o d e l )


B y

J a c o b S h a w

OCTOBER 28

2014

WARNINGS

Installing R am w ill v oid all m anufacturer w arranties. A pple i s a

strong advocate a gainst u ser u pgrades. F or t hat r eason y ou
should o nly i nstall ram if you understand t hat Apple may n ot
fix your computer e ven i f y our computer is still w ithin t he term
limit.

Dont use v arying sizes o f r am ( memory) in t he Mac Mini. I f y ou

are g oing t o u pgrade t he r am y ou s hould u pgrade t he r am i n
both s lots. V arying s izes w ill a ffect t he p erformance o f your
computer n egatively.

Mac Mini m odels d o n ot s upport more t han 1 6gb o f r am. Install

16gb m aximum i n M ac M ini m odels.

This g uide i s n ot valid w ith 2 014 Mac Mini models. T hese

models d o n ot have u ser r eplaceable ram.

Install r am at your o wn r isk. J ustified W eb Design, its o wners,

founders, and p artners are not r esponsible f or a ny damage o r
harm in result o f t his g uide o r o ur video t utorial. T his g uide is
provided a s is. B y u sing this guide you accept t hat t he g uide is
provided a s is and a gree n ot t o hold J ustified W eb D esign o r
any o f i ts related p arties l iable.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction

Page 3

Equipment

Page 3

Instructions: Steps 1 -3

Page 3

Instructions: Steps 4 -11

Page 4

Instructions: Steps 12 -21

Page 5

Troubleshooting

CAUTIONS

Page 6

WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS

Page 7

DO NOT install, remove, o r t amper w ith t he access p anel w hile

the M ac M ini i s p lugged i nto a p ower supply. T his may cause
injury o r d eath.

Follow ALL instructions, w arnings, c autions, a nd material

provided by A pple a nd t he m anufacturer o f t he r am.

VIDEO TUTORIAL:
WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/JUSTIFIEDWEBDESIGN

Troubleshooting
MY MAC WONT TURN ON..
Make sure all w ires are s ecurely attached to t he c omputer and
are p lugged into a live p ower s upply. You m ay n eed t o r einsert
the p lugs into t he c omputer a nd into t he w all f or a s olid
connection. I f t his s till doesnt w ork, r emove t he easy a ccess
panel a nd confirm that all r am i s s ecurely attached. If t he r am
was s uccessfully installed but t he computer w ont t urn o n, t he
ram m ay b e damaged. Contact t he r am m anufacturer.

Introduction
This guide will help you upgrade your Mac Mini computer ram
from 4gb to 16gb. This guide is specific to the 2012 Mac Mini.
This guide does not aid users in upgrading the ram in Mac Mini
models following the late 2012 model.
READ WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING
(PAGE 7)

Equipment

MY COMPUTER IS NOT RUNNING FASTER..

A common misconception o f r am is t hat i t i mpacts o r increases
the s peed o f your computer. R am increases t he m emory t hat
programs o n y our computer u se. B y increasing t he m emory
available t o p rograms allow you t o r un a g reater n umber o f
programs simultaneously. If you are looking t o increase t he
speed o f your c omputer as a w hole you should l ook i nto
installing a s olid-state hard d rive. M ost s olid-state drives w ill
increase t he s peed o f y our computer by 2 1x o r more depending
on t he m ake and m odel.

SOME PROGRAMS RUN GREAT BUT OTHERS RUN SLOW..

After installing n ew r am y ou m ay n eed t o designate t he
amount o f r am t hat p rograms are p ermitted t o use. T he Mac
Mini w ill c ontinue t o f ollow t he m anufacturers a llotted ram
usage p er program. You should n otice t hat p rograms run
smoother w ithout changing t he a llotted u sage. T o change t he
allotted usage refer t o apple.com.

Apple Mac Mini: 2012 Model Quad Core i7

OWC DDR3 Ram 16gb (Two 8gb Chips)

Instructions
1. Turn off Mac Mini and disconnect all wires.
2. Flip the Mac Mini over so
that the back access door is
facing towards the ceiling. Make
sure to sit the Mac Mini on
something soft so that the finish
is not scratched by the work
surface. (Refer to Image 1)
3. Turn the black access door
counter clockwise approximately
half an inch. You will turn the
black access door from the closed
circle to the open circle.

Instructions Continued
4. Remove the panel and locate the ram. Locate the small
levers on each side of the ram. (Refer to Image 2)
5. Simultaneously press the
levers away from each other to
release the ram from the
housing.
6. Once the ram has been
released from the housing it will
hang out of the housing at a 30-
degree angle. If the ram is not sticking out of the
housing at an angle repeat steps 1 through 5.
7. Remove the ram by carefully pulling the ram out at the
same angle it sticks out at. Pulling the ram out at any
other angle may damage the ram or the computer. Pay
careful attention to the angle that you remove the ram.
You will insert the new ram at the same angle.

Instructions Continued
12. Install the final ram chip into the upper seating of the
Mac Mini (replacing the ram chip that was removed
first). Remember to insert the chip at a 30-degree
angle.
13. Once the chip has been inserted snug, press straight
down on the chip. You will hear a click. The click means
that your ram has been successfully installed.
14. After both chips of ram has been installed place the
back panel back on the Mac Mini.
15. Turn the back panel clockwise so that the panel is lined
up with the closed circle.
16. Plug your Mac Mini back up to the power source and to
a monitor.
17. If your Mac Mini boots up, the ram has been
successfully installed.
18. You may also
check to see if the
ram is functioning to
its capacity by
following these quick
instructions.

8. The second chip of ram will be removed the same way

as the first (top) chip of ram. Follow steps 1 through 7 to
remove the second chip of ram.
9. After both chips of ram have been removed successfully
collect the new chips of ram.
10. Start by inserting the first chip of ram in the bottom
seating. This new chip will replace the 2nd chip that you
removed from the lower seating. Remember to insert
the chip at a 30-degree angle.
11. Once the chip has been inserted snug, press straight
down on the chip. You will hear a click. The click means
that your ram has been successfully installed.

19. Click the Apple

Icon in the top left of
your desktop.
this Mac.

20. Click About

21. If it shows the appropriate ram (16gb) the ram has been
installed and is available to functioning at its capacity.