Windows on late '09 Mac Mini

[jaydee]

I was given an '09 Mac Mini (C2D, 4GB), that I would like to give to my wife to use downstairs (main computer is in the 3rd floor attic/office). Admittingly, a laptop would be more suitable to go between the 1st and 2nd floor, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity of a free small PC. I am content to even get just a year or two out of this and buy a laptop down the road if need be.

Problem being, we are not mac users and really have no interest in OSX, so some questions:

Am I better off with Bootcamp, or just installing Windows outright? The DVD drive is broken in this thing, but I assume I can install another OS (Win7 or 8 or 10 if I wait a couple months) via external DVD. According to this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204048 , Bootcamp will only offically support Windows 7, 32-bit. Is that Bootcamp exclusive problem, or would I also have trouble installing Win 7 (or newer) 64-bit outright on the hard disk? I'd really rather buy Windows (7, 8 or 10) 64-bit retail, so I could re-purpose the OS license in the future. Obviously the CPU is ok for 64-bit, just don't know about other hardware?

Finally, I want to buy an SSD, is there any restrictions on compatibility that I should be aware of? I was thinking a used Intel 530 or Intel Pro 1500 or Samsung 840. I know it's only SATA II, but it will likely serve another purpose in the future, so I'm looking at decent SATA III drives as long as there won't be compatibility issues.

Can someone help clear these things up? Thanks!

 

[mmntech]

Apple says it won't run a 64-bit OS but I know for a fact that it will. I have Windows 7 64-bit running on my Late 2008 MacBook. You may just need to update the EFI.

Bootcamp does two things, it partitions the hard drive and supplies the drivers. I'm not sure if you can install Windows outright. That I'd have to do some research on. Should be able to though. Personally, I'd just learn to use OS X if you're just using it as a light use computer unless you absolutely need a specific Windows app.

As for SSDs, Samsung drives usually offer good compatibility. That's what I use. If you upgrade to Yosemite, just keep in mind that it DOES NOT support TRIM for third party drives. It's pure BS on Apple's part since Mavericks did. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[jaydee]

Reason I am leaning towards not using OSX, we've always used Windows (well, I do Linux as well), and might only get a year or two out of this, after which, will be going back to Windows, so as slight as the learning curve may be, I'm not particularly inclined to "teach" my wife OSX for such a brief period. She's managing the home, we've got young kids, another one on the way, don't really have the time to "relearn" how to do basic functions, it would be more convenient for "things to work the way they've always worked".

That being said I am considering it, but rather not, and trying to evaluate my options.

 

[vailr]

My guess is: your plan should work. Treat the machine as a normal PC and install Windows using a bootable USB flash drive. There's a free Windows software "Rufus" that can prepare the bootable flash drive.
Although: I'm not 100% sure that method will work on Apple hardware. Worst case scenario: you'd need to do a fresh install of OSX on the SSD, then run bootcamp and install Windows on a 2nd partition or else on a bootable external USB-connected hard drive/SSD.

 

[iluvdeal]

You should give OSX a try, if you're willing to update Windows versions and learn the new version, OSX won't be any harder. It's not anywhere near as difficult as you are making it out to be.

Also learning new stuff isn't hard, I hope you aren't teaching your kids to avoid learning new things. Many tech companies use OSX as their company wide platform, I'd say giving your kids experience with multiple OSes would be good for them long term.

Also as a linux guy, you will feel right at home with OSX's terminal to do stuff, all the same commands are there to get stuff done on the command line are there for geeks like us. find, grep, etc. Working with my linux servers from OSX is thus easy as well.

 

[jaydee]

You should give OSX a try, if you're willing to update Windows versions and learn the new version, OSX won't be any harder. It's not anywhere near as difficult as you are making it out to be.

Also learning new stuff isn't hard, I hope you aren't teaching your kids to avoid learning new things. Many tech companies use OSX as their company wide platform, I'd say giving your kids experience with multiple OSes would be good for them long term.

Also as a linux guy, you will feel right at home with OSX's terminal to do stuff, all the same commands are there to get stuff done on the command line are there for geeks like us. find, grep, etc. Working with my linux servers from OSX is thus easy as well.

When we went to Windows 8, I did in fact get Start8 to maintain the exact feel of Windows 7.

Just don't want to be getting phone calls at work with baby and toddler screaming in the background with a frustrated wife that something doesn't work/print right, or can't connect to the network (which is separate from our internet), etc. It's not that I think OSX is difficult, just probably different enough to cause a fit every now and then for certain people. I'd rather this computer to be an afterthought once it's set up, means to end, not learning the system as end itself.

That said, maybe I'll play around with it first, see just how different it is.

As for my kids learning, this is perhaps besides the point, but I'm starting my kids on Debian Linux command line. We'll get to fancy stuff like mouse and desktop environments... eventually. I feel like the command line served me well, growing up, learning on a 386 with DOS.

 

[mmntech]

If you can use Windows, you can use OS X. The learning curve isn't as big as some people make it out to be. Most of the keyboard and mouse shortcuts are identical. Apple has designed it to be as user friendly as possible. If you can't learn how to use a Mac in a couple hours, you're probably mentally challenged.

Since it's also Unix-like, it shares a lot in common with Linux as well. Just without the stuff that makes Linux a PITA. OS X has a lot of power under the hood if you're willing to dive into the terminal.

 

[manly]

If he wants to use Windows, he'll use Boot Camp to install. It's not that she can't learn OS X, but he's pretty clear that they have no interest in doing so.

I'm confused why Apple didn't release Win7 64-bit drivers for 2009 Macs? Windows 7 64-bit will probably install, but won't it need proper drivers to work well?

I just realized "Supported" means official AppleCare support. As mmntech attests, it could work without official support so long as drivers exist. With a Mac mini, all you really need would be chipset INF "drivers." If Windows installs, it would probably work fine without device drivers since there's no custom hardware like on every other "all-in-one" Mac: MacBooks or iMacs. A WiFi (and BT) driver and you would be good to go.

 

[jaydee]

Ok, so I'm going to give OS X a shot real quick. I bought/installed the 250GB SSD.

How do I install OS X on a fresh hard drive? I have no DVD material, is there a way to download an ISO to USB, or install over the internet, or how does this work on a fresh hard drive?

 

[vailr]

http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/

 

[jaydee]

http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/

It's not working. I have a PC keyboard, and neither Ctr-R or Ctr-Alt-R seem to work (just a grey screen). It's as if the keyboard isn't even connected, because neither the Caps lock, nor the Num Lock will take effect during the grey screen.

Edit: one of the comments in that link suggest that internet recovery has only been availability in new Macs since 2011. This one is late '09.

 

[TheStu]

It's not working. I have a PC keyboard, and neither Ctr-R or Ctr-Alt-R seem to work (just a grey screen). It's as if the keyboard isn't even connected, because neither the Caps lock, nor the Num Lock will take effect during the grey screen.

Edit: one of the comments in that link suggest that internet recovery has only been availability in new Macs since 2011. This one is late '09.

Command isn't Ctrl, per se*. Try Windows+Alt+R. Still may not work, but it has a higher chance of working.


*per se because most Windows keyboard shortcuts are activated in OS X with cmd instead of ctrl. But, there's already a ctrl key on the keyboard, and if you dual boot, cmd maps to the Windows key in Windows.

 

[jaydee]

Still nothing...

My co-worker has a newer Mac Mini as well, I'll ask if he can run through this to create a bootable USB

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

 

[Compman55]

That machine if it is an october 2009 build, shipped with 10.6.2 or so. If you can get that installed, you can create a partition to install windows 7 x64 bit. You then install the windows vista x64 based bootcamp drivers from that era. They are fully compatible and the drivers perform great in W7x64. Shortly after you will get an apple update with will give you all legit w7 drivers.

Option #2, install W7 x64 in ACPI mode. UEFI mode does not seem to work on these old models. Skip the whole OS X think and just have windows. You will still need the bootcamp drivers to get everything working. Then apple update will get the fresh ones.

 

[vailr]

Option #2, install W7 x64 in ACPI mode. UEFI mode does not seem to work on these old models. Skip the whole OS X think and just have windows. You will still need the bootcamp drivers to get everything working. Then apple update will get the fresh ones.

How would you be able to use Apple Update, if you've skipped installation of OSX and running as a "Windows only" machine?
Also: how exactly does one select ACPI mode, instead of UEFI mode on Apple hardware?

@O.P.: there are used genuine Apple USB iMac keyboards available on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-USB-P...274?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e9cb2eb82

 

[ultimatebob]

If you can use Windows, you can use OS X. The learning curve isn't as big as some people make it out to be. Most of the keyboard and mouse shortcuts are identical. Apple has designed it to be as user friendly as possible. If you can't learn how to use a Mac in a couple hours, you're probably mentally challenged.

Since it's also Unix-like, it shares a lot in common with Linux as well. Just without the stuff that makes Linux a PITA. OS X has a lot of power under the hood if you're willing to dive into the terminal.

I think that you missed the keywords "wife" and "baby". I doubt that SHE wants to learn a new OS right now, she just wants things to friggin work and quickly!

 

[Compman55]

How would you be able to use Apple Update, if you've skipped installation of OSX and running as a "Windows only" machine?
Also: how exactly does one select ACPI mode, instead of UEFI mode on Apple hardware?

@O.P.: there are used genuine Apple USB iMac keyboards available on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-USB-P...274?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e9cb2eb82

1.) You will install bootcamp drivers, and if memory serves it will install apple update. If not, just install quicktime or itunes and it will be bundled. It will auto detect you are using outdated bootcamp drivers and will find newer ones for you.

2.) When OS X does not load, an ACPI emulator will be. The SMC does this automatically. Think of a new UEFI motherboard with the compatibilty module turned on to run W7 in ACPI mode.

3.) I was never able to get W7 or W8 to install in UEFI mode on apple.

 

[Rakehellion]

It's not working. I have a PC keyboard, and neither Ctr-R or Ctr-Alt-R seem to work (just a grey screen). It's as if the keyboard isn't even connected, because neither the Caps lock, nor the Num Lock will take effect during the grey screen.

Edit: one of the comments in that link suggest that internet recovery has only been availability in new Macs since 2011. This one is late '09.

It only works on newer Macs around 2011 or so. You'll have to download an installer.

 

[jaydee]

Thanks guys, got OS X installed, had to connect the old hard drive via SATA-to-USB adapter and was able to install it off the internet from there.

 

[jaydee]

So for now, we're running OS X, but on a high-res (25" 1440p screen), everything is too small. How do I globally scale everything to make icons, etc, bigger? Don't need to double, but mave 1.33x or 1.5x.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Tegeril]

Get application focus on Finder, go to the View menu and go to Show View Options.

You can change, icon size and font size for *that* there. I don't have a guess off the top of my head for system-wide scaling.