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Home » Service Parts & Repair » Apple Mac mini » Apple Service Parts

OWC DIY Installation Kit
Includes: OWC Data Doubler Mounting Kit for Mac mini 2011 and 2012 Models

Upgrade for Mac mini
Get more storage when you add a second drive into your Mac.
Includes a mounting kit to add a second internal drive into your Mac.
This kit includes the cable and mounting set only. Mac mini, Toolkit & Logic Board Removal Tool not included.
Add a second internal drive
Running out of storage space in your Mac mini or looking to improve performance with an OWC SSD? Now you can add a second 9.5mm or smaller 2.5" SATA Hard Drive or Solid State Drive (sold separately) to your 2011 or 2012 Mac mini.

This kit does not include the tools required for performing this upgrade. If you need the full upgrade kit with tools, you want to purchase this OWC 'Data Doubler' SSD/2.5" Hard Drive installation Kit.

The kit includes the following:
The Right Tools for the Job
Before attempting to perform this installation, please watch the following instructional video in its entirety to determine your ability to perform this complex procedure. OWC assumes no responsibility for damage that may occur during the install. Technical support for this DIY product consists only of this video:

NOTE: Before you begin, you will want to determine the configuration of your Mac mini's drives. To do this, open Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app and click on the grey drive icon at the left-edge of the window. If you see "Lower" after the "Connection ID" at the bottom-left corner of the window, you may proceed using the standard installation instructions. If you see "Upper" then you have a special configuration which will need additional components, and you will need to also refer to the Addendum video.
Yes, You Can Do-it-Yourself
OWC is committed to your success. If you need a bit more guidance, simply contact OWC's award-winning U.S. based Technical Support. We'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
OWC NOTE:
While OWC encourages the DIY philosophy, this is a challenging install that requires advanced skills. If, after watching the how-to video, you are not fully confident of your ability to perform the installation, you can choose to have OWC "Do It For You" via our OWC Upgrade Service for Mac mini.

Includes


NOTE: This kit contains consumable and/or one time use components and therefore is not covered by any warranty. If you have any concerns about your ability to perform the upgrade, you can return the unopened kit for a refund.
This kit is compatible with... Learn how to find your Mac's model ID
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Late 2012)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: Macmini6,1 & Macmini6,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz
Detailed specs
Install Videos
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: Macmini5,1 & Macmini5,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.7GHz
Detailed specs
Install Videos

Customer Ratings

Write a Review 4.8 / 5 163 out of 174 (94%) reviewers would recommend this product
1 2 3 4 5 6
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Professor Location: Upstate NY Age: Over 65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 New Life to Old Mac Mini September 4, 2016 MacSales/OWC has upgraded 2 Mac Minis for me and has done excellent work - maxing out RAM and replacing HDDs with SSDs. The process was efficient and timely; sent in the old Mac Minis and they were returned with these upgrades quickly - everything working fine! Been dealing with them for years - I wish other tech companies were as good as MacSales/OWC! 5 stars ***** !

I would recommend this item to a friend! Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer Top 100 Contributor
Reviewer: Mdwycyoff Location: Indiana Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Doubled internal HDD storage using this kit August 13, 2016 In June 2016 I purchased a brand new late-2012 Mac mini 4GB 1TB 2.3Ghz quad-core i7 from the Apple.com Clearance site to use as a single repository for family photos, music, and videos. I purchased a late 2012 Mac mini rather than a dual-core 2014 Mac mini model precisely because I could still add a second internal drive using this OWC kit, and upgrade the socketed factory RAM (from 4GB to 8GB for now, and eventually to 16GB) myself. I wanted more storage capacity, but I don't need SSD speed for this machine, so I replaced the single 5400rpm 2.5" 1TB factory drive with two 7200rpm 2.5" HGST drives. Disassembly and reassembly of my brand new Mac mini took less than 30 minutes, using great care to locate, identify, disconnect, disassemble, and then reconnect and reassemble everything, following the included booklet with comprehensive illustrated installation instructions. I also watched the OWC videos available on their YouTube channel on my MacBook Pro as I proceeded, because sometimes watching someone do a task is better than looking at printed words and still photos.

As an added bonus, I was very pleased to discover that OWC included the copper-foil tape needed to minimize USB 3 interference with Bluetooth on late 2012 Mac minis at no additional charge!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models.. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Boston, MA Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 Works as advertised but had some problem with the SSD! August 4, 2016 I purchased the data doubler to increase the storage in my Mac Mini. I first installed a 1TB Crucial SSD but I had some strange behavior in that the drive would disappear after a few hours of use and the Mac would crash. Specifically, if I booted from the Crucial/data doubler, i.e. was the boot disk, the Mac would crash. If it was a data disk, I would not be able to see my data disk. I later bought a Mercury SSD sold by OWC. I was told by technical support that it had something to do with the way the other vendor's SSD went to sleep. There was a non-zero probability, it would not wake up until the power was cycled. The Mercury SSD was just fine. The data doubler was easy enough to install.

This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Bainbridge Island, WA Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Just what I needed August 4, 2016 I wanted to expand my Mac Mini to hold my ever growing media library. This kit and the related 2TB 2.5" drive did the trick. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. The tolerances in the Mac Mini are tight and the OWC parts fit perfectly. Took about an hour and a half and I was up and running. One must be careful, but you can do it with this kit.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Camarillo, CA Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 OWC DIY Data Doubler kit for Mac Mini July 29, 2016 A must need if one is adding a 2nd hard drive to Mac Mini.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Camarillo, CA Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 OWC Data Doubler for Mac Mini July 29, 2016 A must need if you are adding a 2nd hard drive to your Mac Mini. The OWC videos make the process that much easier as well.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Seattle Age: 25-34 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Upgrade Successful! July 26, 2016 I picked up a Macmini (late 2014 model) with the integrated PCIe SSD drive. Having only 250 gigs on it, i found myself lacking space. Ordered this little kit, along with a standard 1TB 5400RPM HDD and installed it. Installation instructions are slightly different, but they are 90% accurate for the 2014 model mac mini. Did that installation, and made a fusion drive. Boom. Done. Good Times. The only thing that would be nice to add for the kit to accommodate for the 2014 models would be a fastening plate and screw to better secure the connection at the board (there is a spot for it on the mac mini mobo). I am typing up this review on that computer, so i can say that its working great. No noticeable speed loss on the machine either which is nice.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer Top 100 Contributor
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: new brunswick n.b. canada Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 4/5 great works fine July 22, 2016 I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Beogad,Srbija Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Essential for Mini July 8, 2016 Bulletproof packaging with all explained in words and pictures, about 30 min of work and my Mini is faster and expand for serious job + serious problem with USB 3.0 and Bluetooth finally fixed with one stripe. All tolls for future work and software support is just perfect

All in all R e c o m e n d e d!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Michigan Age: 45-54 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 5/5 Simple, Simple Simple! July 8, 2016 My Mac Mini is a 2011 model, so it was already setup to accept another drive. I used this kit to hold a new SSD which I then transfered (using Time Machine), the OS and all of my data. It was almost TOO easy if that's possible.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer Top 100 Contributor
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Arizona Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 4/5 Do your self a favor and get the full kit with the tools June 11, 2016 I wound up having to order the pack with the tools. I would have done better to purchase the tools right at first. but....OWC got the tools to me more in more of a matter of hours than days. Get the full kit with the tools.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Arizona Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 5/5 Get the tools June 5, 2016 I initially thought I had enough tools to handle this on my own so I purchased just the ribbon adapter. After getting in there I realized that Mac Mini is very delicate and so I went ahead and ordered the tools. Do yourself a favor and either get the tools or pay OWC to do it for you. Mac Mini is nothing like a Power Mac or a Mac Pro. Its very very delicate inside.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Tricky install, but worth it! May 21, 2016 First of all. This is not for newbies. Have you not opened and put together a computer before, I would say this is not for you. Call a friend though! ;)

One does not have to be a professional but pretty experienced, there are simple step by step instructions (with photos) on how to disassemble your Mac Mini, install it and – YES – the instructions take you step by step on putting it BACK TOGETHER as well. That is unusual, so this is a great feature by OWC. However there are steps that might need a bit of twerking, creative thinking and lots and lots of patience.

You will need to take the Mac Mini apart to the last piece. Which is so much fun! :)

This product is just great. Who would have known Apple actually designed the Mac Mini to fit two drives in the first place. All you need is the extra cable (included), tools (included) and some rubber and screws (included). And the drive of course.

I took an extra step: MOVED the original spinning drive to the second place, and installed a NEW SSD as the first disk. I think OWC should have this in their instructions as an extra optional sidestep. And there are some small steps that could have more detailed images and tips. Perhaps it comes in an updated manual :)

For Swedes: NO moms or taxes was added on my import :)

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Adelaide SA Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 Great product May 13, 2016 This is great way of utilising that extra space in the Mac Mini.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" HDD/SSD Upper Drive ALT Bay Installation Kit for Mac mini 2012..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous
Rating: 5/5 Great ! May 5, 2016 Made My Upgrade Easy Now I Run 2 ssd Drives One OSx And One Windows 10

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Bali, Indonesia Age: 25-34 Experience Level: Hobbiest Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 The dual HDD-SSD really worthed April 28, 2016 I really want to have a big large space for my mac mini 2012... but I want it fast with SSD... SO this is it, I placed an order in early April and choosed the mail shipping. Today it came with a bonus inside, thanks OWC the instalation is the same as the manual guide... there is also video on OWC and youtube... I got what I want, my mac mini is fast with SSD and it big because 1TB hdd... Thanks

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Barcelona, Spain Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Excellent product and instructions April 11, 2016 I Received my Kit last week and was looking forward to the weekend to do the upgrade. But was a bit worried after reading the instructions and watching the videos and thought it would be too dangerous to do.

It was perfect! I followed all the instructions and changed my old Mac MIni 500GB HD for a 2TB drive and a 120GB Flash drive.. it all went great and in less than 1 hour I was working with the new 2 HD MacMini.

Would highly recomend this product to anyone looking to upgrade their Mini.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Ottawa, Canada Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Like a new computer April 9, 2016 I took my old Mac Mini that I was getting close to replacing and thought I would try a 240Gb SSD for my OS and use my old hard drive for extra storage. Along with this I went from 8Gb to 16Gb of RAM.

It's really like a brand new computer that just flies. I should have done this years ago.

Switching out hard drives is not really for the non-technical but the video tutorial is very complete.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous
Rating: 5/5 Excellent April 8, 2016 Instructions were solid and made it much easier to install.

This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous
Rating: 4/5 It would be otherwise impossible. April 6, 2016 This is not for the faint of heart and there is definitely patience, R'ing TFM and a suitably Zen approach to taking your mac to bits involved. That being said the kit did everything possible to help including specialist tools and *really* *good* instructions.

Only four stars because the experience itself is really quite trouser filling.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Vermont Age: 45-54 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Good product, tricky install February 21, 2016 I did it. So that's about the best review you can get I guess. It went together and booted up! I was so happy to hear that Apple Mac bootup chime.

One tiny mistake I made was this: OWC gives you a bluetooth antenna deflector shield (a tiny piece of sticky-back aluminum). I made a note in the instructions where to install it (it's not in the ORIGINAL instructions, but an addendum piece of paper). Sure enough, I slid the motherboard back, attached the power wire (the hardest wire to detach in the entire operation), turned the page and saw the note that said "but wait. before you attach the power wire...". Anyway, I had to remove the wire again, which as I said is the hardest part of the entire thing.

Another thing to remember: To format an El Capitan hard drive for Raid, you can't use the standard "hold option while booting" method. That particular version of Disk Utility doesn't include raid!! You have to press Option-Control-R. THAT version of recovery is actually an older one (from Mavericks) that DOES include the RAID options. I did mine in Raid1 stripe mode. Disadvantage: if one drive fails you lose everything. Advantage: it's faster and you get a larger drive.

The key to this kit is the EXCELLENT instructions which really make it worth doing. Also, watch the video before you start.

P.S. I once replaced the battery in an iPhone5 (using a kit from iFixit). That was much harder, for anyone familiar with the iPhone. The screws inside the mac mini are HUGE in comparison to the ones inside an iPhone.

I made an El Capitan boot disk from instructions found on the google, on MacWorld website. http://www.macworld.com/article/2981585/operating-systems/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-installer-drive.html

Very handy boot disk to have, especially if one of my drives dies and I have to rebuild it again.

Good luck!.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer Top 50 Contributor
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Austin, TX Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 4/5 just as advertised February 19, 2016 includes everything needed to add a 2nd hard drive to a mac mini. the video provided by OWC was also quite helpful.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Switzerland Age: Over 65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Contained everything I needed to accomplish the task. February 14, 2016 It's a pretty fiddly job, but the tools, the additional parts and the documentation allow it to be completed without too many problems.

Getting the old HDD back into its correct location turned out to be the biggest problem. If the locating studs do not go fully back into their holes in the case it is not obvious, but the last stages of the installation can't be properly completed. Using a thin piece of plastic (I used an old ruler - thin and non-conducting) under the disk helped lift it enough to allow the studs to find their holes.

This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New York Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 5/5 Challenging to install but works great February 6, 2016 I bought this to add a 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD as a Fusion Drive to my 2011 Mac Mini and couldn't be happier. The instructions that come with the kit are good, but the video on the web site it exceptional. I'm not sure I could have accomplished it without the video to refer to. Understanding the direction that parts come out is very important. There are a lot of small connections that must be carefully disconnected and then reconnected and the plastic tools in this kit really came in handy. Overall it was challenging, but straight forward to accomplish if you follow the video closely. I can highly recommend this kit to those who posses intermediate skills.

One more thing. Make sure that you buy the correct kit. Some 2011/2012 Mac Minis have the default hard drive in the opposite bay and require additional parts. I ordered the wrong kit at first but realized it and was able to contact OWC and they promptly changed my order. Customer services at OWC is outstanding!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" HDD/SSD Upper Drive ALT Bay Installation Kit for Mac mini 2012..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Sussex NJ Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Be Careful!!! January 16, 2016 Please, PLEASE read the booklet AND watch the video several times BEFORE beginning any upgrade aside from adding RAM. I've done surgery before on numerous Macs & PCs over the years and felt moderately confident after watching the video & reading the booklet. The I/O connector, well noted in the documentation, broke clean off the logic board w/ only slight effort. I could not get a good pry point to separate the wiring from the connector. Off to the Apple Store to replace the logic board, $391 for the item. Unless you've been inside these before, the shade tree mechanic is not qualified to really poke inside. If you want to swap the HD for a SSD or add the SSD alongside the HD, do the right thing and send the Mini to OWC and let them do it because 98% of us really don't have the proper experience to do this correctly.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation Kit for Mac mini 2011 - 2012 models..

OWC 'Data Doubler' SSD/2.5" Hard Drive installation Kit Mfr P/N: DIDIMM11D2 OWC SKU: OWCDIDIMM11D2 for Mac mini 2011 or 2012 Models
Does not include tools. 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty Ships: Same Day
Reviews (174)
Only $34.99OWC Price $18.99
Add to CartOther World Computing DIDIMM11D2 In Stock, Click to Buy Now
Additional Options & Kits: Lower Drive Bay Populated Special Tool Kits Upper Drive Bay Populated
Related Items:
OWC Mercury SSD OWC Mercury SSDs Up to 960GB from $39.00
Data Doubler for 2009 Apple Mac mini also available from $19.75
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