Wiping 2011 MacMini - Which OS to install and how?

Tech Support
1

Thanks to the new episode of MPU I’m finally wiping my 2011 Mac mini and converting it to a file server. HOWEVER…which OS should I install so it doesn’t feel like it’s crawling? Also, HOW do I do it. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this and back in the day I just used the disks but now everything is downloaded and Apple removes access to previous OS’.

Thanks in advance!

2

I would suggest installing High Sierra/10.13 as Mojave/10.14 is not supported. Upgrading to 8gb of RAM is relatively inexpensive for your mini currently.

My goal is to swap a SSD in my 2010 mini as a similar project to yours.

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3

I have 8 gb of ram and a 128 gb and a 1 TB SSD in it and running high Sierra. I really want to nuke and pave this thing to just clear out the cobwebs that might be lurking.

4

High Sierra ran fine on my 2011 Mac mini that I’d upgraded with an SSD.

5

So HOW do you do a fresh install???

Easy version… visit an Apple store after making a Genius Bar appointment, should take less than 30 minutes.

Self Serve version… Restart your Mini while holding Command+R keys. This allows you to boot into the Recovery partition. From there you can choose Disk Utility, select the Volume that should show Macintosh HD and choose Erase at the top of that window. After it finishes, go ahead and quit Disk Utility. Now choose the Reinstall OS (2nd item in the window) and follow the prompts. You will need to be connected to the internet during this process. This should take 60-90 minutes.

Now you are ready to setup the Mini fresh or from a Time Machine backup. Best of Luck!

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6

Awesome.That’s what I did (self serve) and it worked like a charm. My 2011 MacMini is running faster than it’s run in years!

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7

I have a mid 2011 i5 Mac Mini. I put High Sierra on it and it goes well. Unfortunately it will not take Mojave…

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8

Same here but it runs well enough.