0

I just got a Mac mini that I will use to play FLAC-files in my stereo (DAC to be bought). I have no idea how old it is. Might be from 2010?

The serial (on a sticker on the back of the Mac mini) is: XSVR-106-000-R-J8m-F82-PWQ-7RJ-WHJ-L-HJ-7

However, I have problems reinstalling it. There's a sticker on the back that says: MAC OS X 10.6 SRV UNLIMITED CLIENT

The install stops after a while saying:

No packages were eligible for install. contact the software manufacturer for assistance

...I'm doing a Recovery-install from some sort of Recovery-disk and using the Internet. I'm signed into App Store etc.

These are the options I have at the recovery:

Apple Boot Manager

It seems like this problem could have something to do with the date?

I tried setting the date to 2017 (some sources claimed that this would to the trick) by starting in Single user mode. But I get this: Common missing Bluetooth controller transport...

And can't even type in the terminal. Any ideas on how to restore this?

Improve this question
7
  • 2
    The first thing you want to do is get the make and model of your Mac mini...to do that, you need the serial number. It should be on the bottom of the mini or when you’re in the installer, go to “About this Mac”. Then put that number in this site: everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup. Post your model info into your question.
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 0:50
  • Is the Mini already installed with Snow Leopard Server? Can you clarify how you're installing by "network install recovery"? Do you mean Internet Recovery? Do you have a DVD installer? What has a sticker on it - the Mini?
    – benwiggy
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 7:40
  • @benwiggy som poor writing from me (I was tired when I posted): It's Internet Recovery, using CMD+R.
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 9:13
  • @Allan I've updated the question a bit. It seems like there's no "About this Mac" at the installer, but there's a serial sticker on the back. It says "Power Mac G5" on the site you linked. That can't be right?
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 9:33
  • @benwiggy I'm not sure what's installed on it now. I was a bit tired when writing, "network install recovery" is somewhat vague. I held down option when booting and got into the options on this image: i.ibb.co/Qr10Kbr/IMG-20200130-101817.jpg Unfortunately I don't hava a DVD-installer.
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 9:35

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

From your photo, it looks like the disk has two Recovery Partitions for different updates of 10.11 (El Capitan). It also looks to have an installer disk partition: like you would make for a USB stick in order to boot and install a version of MacOS.

I would select the first Recovery Partition (10.11.4), and from there launch Disk Utility and merge the other two partitions. Then install OS X from there.

If you've already tried installing from the Recovery Partition, and that's not working, then you could try Internet Recovery, which is what you do when the disk doesn't have a valid Recovery Partition. Option Command R.

Then try the same process from there: re-partition the disk and install the OS. It may install a different OS, but once it's done that, you can upgrade to whatever you like.

Improve this answer
4
  • I'm doing some sort of recovery install, which I came into by holding down option while booting. It's trying to install OS X 10.11, but it doesn't work. Apparently.
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 9:25
  • I think this one is too old for Internet Recovery? I already tried that. What difference does it make merging the partitions? I think I will give up on this one. It's probably too old. Getting an install DVD might be the only option?
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:11
  • Do you have any other Macs? There are instructions for how to make an install USB drive from the Apple MacOs installer app, if you can download one.
    – benwiggy
    Commented Jan 31, 2020 at 7:36
  • I made an El Capitan-installer from my iMac. It didn't work. I gave up on this one.
    – saturnusringar
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 11:05
0

Assuming you do indeed have a mid-2010 Mac Mini Server (didn’t see any comments confirming which model you have), it came with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6 (which you confirmed on the sticker)

If it came with its stock pair of 500GB hard disks, I’d replace the boot drive with a 240GB SSD. It’s fine to leave the other a spinny HDD - it’s been plenty fast for a simple media server. I now use the other 500GB drive to mirror the internal 500GB DATA drive every once in awhile (a 15 year old hard disk running 24/7 won’t spin forever!)

I’d also upgrade the RAM - mine came with two 2GB modules (total 4GB). I just bought this 8GB module and the machine has been running fine on 10GB (2+8GB) for the past 3-4 years (despite the tech specs saying it maxes out at 8GB)

If your goal is to make this machine useful again, you can go one of two routes:

  1. install Linux on the machine
  2. install macOS Catalina and use a patcher (eg. dosdude1)

Both will allow your machine to be a file server for your FLAC files or support a media server (eg. Emby) just fine.

While I went down the macOS route for a few years, I personally don’t recommend this option given how old macOS Catalina is right now as it leaves you open to security risks. I discovered over the last few months, this mini rocks Linux really well and is 10x more secure.

I installed Ubuntu Server 22.04.4 LTS on my mid-2010 mac mini server and use it without a monitor. CasaOS is a web interface you can add that does wonders to provide the same type of “simplified” toggle-switch server interface OS X Server once attempted to provide at a whole new level thanks to advancements in containerization technologies like Docker that didn’t start transforming the world until 2013. Fast forward 10 more years and you have an Apple-worthy interface (CasaOS) on top of a very robust system (Docker) for managing server components in Linux.

With a bit of tinkering, you’ll have your going on 15 year old machine back up in a jiffy ready to serve files, stream media, be backup server and not be stuck in the closet (or landfill!)

You also get 5 licenses of Ubuntu Pro for personal use to help keep your machine secure with live security patches.

Of course, if you are new to Linux, there will be a bit of a learning curve but I think it’s well worth your time to start learning if you haven’t already.

Have fun when you decide to come back to this project - long live in the mini! 🍎

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .