OWC 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Installation... in stock at OWC

OWC DIY Installation Kit

Includes: OWC Data Doubler Mounting Kit and Tools
for Mac mini 2011 & 2012 Models

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.

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 & 2012 Mac mini.

The Toolkit includes the following:

OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit
Logic Board Removal Tool
4 Rubber Grommets
4 Hex Screws
Mac mini flex cable
Data Doubler for Mac mini (2011-2012) Installation Guide (4.9 MB)

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: A small number of 2012 units were shipped with the drive mounted in the upper drive bay rather than the more typical lower bay shown in this video. If you have a 2012 model, you will want to determine the configuration of your Mac mini's drives prior to ordering.

~To do this using OS X 10.10 or earlier~
Open Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app and click on the grey drive icon at the left edge of the window. If the "Connection ID" at the bottom-left corner of the window lists "Lower", you may proceed using the standard installation instructions. If it lists "Upper" then you have a special configuration which will need additional components, and you will need to also refer to the Addendum video.

~To do this using OS X 10.11 or later~
Open Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app and click on the grey drive icon at the left edge of the window. Next click the "Info" button on the toolbar. A window will open. Scroll to the "Location" item; if you see "Lower" you may proceed using the standard installation instructions. If it lists "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, so if you need a bit more guidance, we are available Mon-Fri 8AM-8PM and Sat 9AM-4PM with U.S. based technical support by phone or live chat.

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 Apple Mac mini Installation Service.

Includes

OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit
Logic Board Removal Tool
4 Rubber Grommets
4 Hex Screws
Mac Mini flex cable
Data Doubler for Mac mini (2011-2012) Installation Guide (4.9 MB)

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. The 5-Piece Toolkit (except for nylon pry tool) included with this kit is covered by a 1 Year NewerTech Product Limited Warranty.

Reviews

Gallery

This kit is compatible with... Learn how to find your Mac's model ID

Mac mini (Late 2012)

(October, 2012)

Model ID: Macmini6,1 & Macmini6,2

2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

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 / 5 135 out of 145 (93%) reviewers would recommend this product

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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! This review is from DIY Kit: 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Kit for Mac mini 2011, 2012 & Later Models. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: JoaoM Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Revived my Mac mini September 1, 2016 I have a 2012 Mac mini with 16GB of RAM. It was getting kinda long in the tooth, and a little bit of research suggested that a data doubler kit would be more effective than replacing it with a new one, at least for the kind of work I do. I went ahead and purchased the kit -- with some trepidation, as I am not particularly handy and this is a relatively complex install. But it's quite doable, and the video instructions are excellent. My Mac mini is flying again. Booting up, launching apps, Windows emulation are all dramatically faster.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 240GB Electra 6G SSD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 2012 models.. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Jorge231061 Location: Uruguay Age: 45-54 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: over 6 months

Rating: 5/5 This product has great features August 23, 2016 Excellent service MacSales

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 240GB Electra 6G SSD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 2012 models.. 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! Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Fradubio Location: Greenfield, MA Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month

Rating: 5/5 Wow, blazing fast! August 5, 2016 I managed to do the whole process pretty smoothly following the instructions. I actually did it twice, once after I installed it I got a larger capacity regular drive and replaced my original drive with the SSD and put the new drive where the SSD was.

I did experience some odd hangs with the SSD in the secondary position, but that was resolved when I put it in the original drive place (maybe? not sure if that was coincidental, but since I read about similar issues online, when I put in the new drive I went ahead and switched it).

Startup is not shockingly fast as are application launches. Very impressed... though it makes me wonder what would happen if I upgraded from my mini....

I'm primarily using the mini for audio recording using Digital Performer, so some heavy lifting, therefore any speed help I can get is useful.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 480GB Electra 6G SSD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 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.

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!

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! This review is from DIY Kit: 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Kit for Mac mini 2011, 2012 & Later Models.

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!

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! This review is from DIY Kit: 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Kit for Mac mini 2011, 2012 & Later Models.

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!

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!

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!

Verified Buyer Top 250 Contributor

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: The Netherlands Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 MacMini 1TB SSD Drive Bundle + 16GB RAM. June 17, 2016 Excellent solution to extend the life of a MacMini. Easy procedure to install. Performance of MacMini increased dramatically.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 1.0TB Electra 6G SSD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 2012 models..

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New Zealand Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 3-4 months

Rating: 5/5 Really happy with this SSD June 15, 2016 I bought a secondhand 2011 Mac Mini (2.3 Ghz i5, 8GB RAM) for my partner who is doing a nursing course. I updated it to El Capitan but found it was stalling constantly with the spinning beachball. I bought this data doubler kit hoping it would speed things up. Sure did! The Mini boots up in 25 seconds to the desktop, and no more stalling going on. I followed the OWC youtube video to install the drive and it was quite simple with the tools provided.

This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 240GB Electra 6G SSD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 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! This review is from DIY Kit: 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Kit for Mac mini 2011, 2012 & Later Models.

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!

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!

Verified Buyer Top 100 Contributor

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New York Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Great For Rejuvenating A Mac Mini May 16, 2016 My good old dependable 2011 Mac Mini had slowed down to a crawl when booting. I bought and installed the fusion drive with the provided tools and documentation. Now the Mac Mini is working great again, faster than ever! I kept the old drive inside the Mac Mini and use it for both backups and OS X beta testing. Happiness achieved.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 1.0TB Toshiba SSD/HD Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 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!

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!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Brooklyn, NY Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month

Rating: 5/5 Excellent product April 19, 2016 The data doubler kit fit perfectly, the instructions were very clear and the tools included in the version I bought were good enough to do several installations. Too early to know if the heat from two HD's in one enclosure will shorten the drives' lifespan but Apple did sell a version of the Mac Mini Server with two drives so am hopeful that it won't be an issue.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY Kit: Data Doubler + 2.0TB Hard Drive Bundle for Mac mini 2011 and 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!

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!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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

Includes

Reviews

Gallery

Customer Ratings

OWC DIY Installation Kit

Includes: OWC Data Doubler Mounting Kit and Tools
for Mac mini 2011 & 2012 Models