I need help with a MAC

[YeOldeStonecat]

So I did a huge Ubiquiti Unifi install for a client, one of the purposes was to get a good wireless network for their new point of sale system, TouchBistro.

The "server" that Touchbistro sent them was a MAC MINI. I helped them set it up while I was doing the first part of the network install, and I noticed that they had to force reboot it once or twice..the graceful "reboot" didn't seem to work well for them. It's like it fell into a sleep mode that it could not wake up out of.

The next day, it "crashed" on them. They told me they were on the phone with Apple support and they had to reload the whole OS.

I was there a few days ago doing more work on the network...and we went to reboot the MINI...and it took a loooong time. And once desktop appeared...launching the TouchBistro server took a loooong time. The spinning wheel just took too long, had to basically force close the TB app and try it again..worked the second time.

So I suspect the hard drive as being faulty. Looking at the part number, JA0AB5D0, it's a Hitachi 1TB drive, just 5,400 rpm from what I can tell. I'd love to see them get an SSD...I'd love to quote upgrading to one for them. But I don't know what will work for cloning. I'm used to cloning Windows rigs every week with Acronis, or using our StartTech Drive Goblin drive duplicator machine. The Golbin only duplicates to equal size or larger...so I'd have to quote a 1TB. And hopefully it's actually equal or larger than the Hitachi 1TB. (you know how drives can vary by a few megs). And I'm guessing Acronis can't clone MACs.

How difficult are those MAC minis to take apart to get the drive? I'm hesitant on actually offering/quoting to clone to SSD...I don't know what to expect with cloning a MAC OS. Or what is best to use.

 

[PBComputer]

If you backup with time machine. Then fit the ssd. Reinstall osx then you can do a recovery from time machine and it will restore the apps and documents. Did two last week like this.

 

[RoadRunner]

I'm a windows/acronis person as well and cloned my first ever Mac the other day using superduper software. It's free and takes 5 clicks to clone. Was a MacBook and cloned from 500GB to 1TB no problems. But I'm sure the people from the dark side know more tools.

 

[Mike McCall]

If you backup with time machine. Then fit the ssd. Reinstall osx then you can do a recovery from time machine and it will restore the apps and documents. Did two last week like this.

^This!

 

[kwest]

Couple things.

Mac mini is easy to take apart.

Not sure I would clone a bad drive to a new one

For cloning you can use superduper which will run right inside of Mac. So install the ssd. Plug in the old drive as an external. Boot to external. Run super duper and it will clone. Check option to boot to clone when done.

Second option is to use disk utility from Mac installer. Click and drag partition over to the new drive partition that you make. And it will copy the entire partition over to the new drive.

Third option. Fresh install and do a migration assistant over to the new install this way it doesn't bring over errors and issues

 

[Markverhyden]

If the MacMini originally came with 10.7 or greater then the recovery partition is built in to the firmware and not the drive. Personally I'd not use a Time Machine restore if it came from a machine with so many problems. Just like any OS it could bring along everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.

So just pop in what ever size SSD you want, power up holding down Command + R, partition the drive in disk utility and then install a new copy of OS X. Make sure you are connected via Ethernet and not wireless. Then the provider can download and setup their apps remotely.

How long have they had this? Sounds like very recent. If so I'd be all over the vendor about getting a new machine. Some Apples really are lemons. LOL!!!

 

[timeshifter]

You don't just pop a drive into a Mac Mini like you do on a PC. They're a bitch to get to.

On the plus side, they're super easy to clone using SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner, as RoadRunner pointed out.

Another thought: you can run a Mac that has booted off of an external drive. I wouldn't want to do much with a USB connected drive, but a FireWire or Thunderbolt external may work well.

 

[Mike McCall]

If the MacMini originally came with 10.7 or greater then the recovery partition is built in to the firmware and not the drive. Personally I'd not use a Time Machine restore if it came from a machine with so many problems. Just like any OS it could bring along everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.

So just pop in what ever size SSD you want, power up holding down Command + R, partition the drive in disk utility and then install a new copy of OS X. Make sure you are connected via Ethernet and not wireless. Then the provider can download and setup their apps remotely.

How long have they had this? Sounds like very recent. If so I'd be all over the vendor about getting a new machine. Some Apples really are lemons. LOL!!!

I would have done a clean install and restored from Time Machine. I was not aware that with 10.7 the recovery partition is in the firmware. Good to know.

 

[Markverhyden]

I was not aware that with 10.7 the recovery partition is in the firmware. Good to know.

I bring this up as people run into machines with the latest OS and then is surprised when they put in the new HD and there is no recovery mode. That's because they cannot upgrade the actual firmware on 10.6 and earlier machines to make the recovery mode work. So they stored it on a separate partition on the drive during the upgrade process.

 

[kwest]

I bring this up as people run into machines with the latest OS and then is surprised when they put in the new HD and there is no recovery mode. That's because they cannot upgrade the actual firmware on 10.6 and earlier machines to make the recovery mode work. So they stored it on a separate partition on the drive during the upgrade process.

Just make a USB installer

 

[Markverhyden]

Just make a USB installer

I have one for each version of OS X.

 

[NviGate Systems]

One important piece of info is how old is this Mini. If it's brand brand new, you cannot change the hard disk, all current generations of Mac Mini no longer have replaceable parts. I would check that first. If the system boots, click the Apple in the top left and click about this mac, then click support. It should tell you the model and year of release. If not booting, enter serial number on Apple's warranty check page, it will tell you what year it was.

Be careful about touching another Vendor's equipment. If this is a vendors who offers full support for the server as part of the fees they pay, let the vendor handle the request. If you make a mistake or something happens and you touch it, you can be left in a very bad situation. You may not be at fault but the client or the vendor could throw you under the bus, no matter how helpful you are trying to be.

When clients try and pressure me to "fix" things another vendor has setup I explain it's up to the vendor to fix these issues and if I get involved, the vendor may decide to not fix the issue or charge them. I don't say it exactly like that but I explain that each company has it's own rules, and if I were to go and fiddle with things, it could affect the level or cost of service the company is willing to provide.

I've learned the hard way over the years that as a technician, you never try and be the hero. It always has that nasty ability to backfire, often because end users are not tech savvy and may not give the correct wording when talking to support teams. They may say something like "another tech looked at and couldn't fix it" and the vendor assumes you had the whole thing apart and basically washes hands over the matter.

Not trying to be the nay sayer, but get some more info about this POS, who owns it, is there a service contract/warranty on it. That's always the first route. It may be tough, but remember, they decided to buy this solution and any support that it entailed.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Thanks for all the input guys.
The point of sale vendor does not really support it...only their software. So they just told the client "Call Apple"
It's probably 1x month old..basically brand new out of the box.

My client took it with him to New York City today...to the Apple Store..and they told him they would "replace it". I told him to make clear to them that he needs a backup, and he said he would do Time Machine backup....and I told him to have the store check that backup.

I believe he is doing this at the Apple Store tomorrow (Tuesday).

So...it appears that the latest Mac MINI do not have replaceable parts. So swapping the turd 5,400 rpm drive to an SSD is not an option.
I guess the external SSD, via USB3 or Thunderbolt..will be his only option. I may reach out for help here if that is the case....

 

[HCHTech]

The point of sale vendor does not really support it...only their software. So they just told the client "Call Apple"

Wait - the Vendor sent it to them but don't support it? Wow - awesome service, guys. Does that mean they paid the vendor (no doubt an inflated price) for this thing? If so, I'd ask for my money back and send it back, then get another machine locally that you can support.

 

[timeshifter]

One important piece of info is how old is this Mini. If it's brand brand new, you cannot change the hard disk, all current generations of Mac Mini no longer have replaceable parts.

You can't upgrade the RAM as it's soldered to the board. But you can replace the hard drive. It's not easy, but it can be done.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Late+2014+Hard+Drive+Replacement/32815

 

[Markverhyden]

1 month old, or so, machine is still under OEM warranty, especially since Apple said they will replace it. As we all know OEM's do what they can to avoid warranty repairs on machines that have been serviced by non-OEM. So changing hardware, especially on something like this, is not recommended.

A huge hole in Apple's service's business is businesses. Based on my experience they will not perform a TM backup or any other type of backup. You can tell them to move it to a new machine. Not sure what method they use. And maybe they've upped their game on that sector. Make sure to check the machine with the copied image.

Time Machine is great for backups but is far from infallible like all backup systems. In situations where I do not have known good backups I'll make sure a TM backup has been made to a USB drive. USB drives are cheap, 1tb's under $100 each and they can be used for TM rotation afterwards. So I'll use a second drive and use disk utility to make another image. Two totally different backups on two drives which can then be recycled for a rotating TM backup system.

 

[Krynn72]

Also I'm pretty sure Apple just says no to doing a backup when swapping systems. They'll likely get back a refurbished machine with no data, so they need to make REALLY sure that the backup is solid.

 

[NviGate Systems]

If you are doing a full image backup with Disk Utility, yes it's not good practise to blindly restore on other systems.

You can however mount such backups or use a Time machine backup and Migration Assistant will convert those to the running system. Of course before you do that ensure your software is installed and fully patched.

Full image backups are good for snapshots of a system when coupled with a recovery usb.

I use to create recovery media by partitioning a 32GB usb drive into two parts, 1GB and then the rest of the drive. The 1GB would be imaged using Apples Recovery utility, and the rest of the drive would contain an image of the system. No internet required, quick simple.

 

[lcoughey]

If you are replacing the drive and just want to restore the user settings, data and applications from the old drive, you need not do it from a Time Machine backup. It will work with the original drive, too, assuming that you don't connect it to the system via USB until the point during the installation where it gives you the option to restore from previous install.

But, that said, if there is important data on the patient drive and you think it might be failing, you may be wise to get a full backup of the drive just to be safe...but it need not be a Time Machine backup...a simple clone will be fine.