I really do like the bumper with the iFixit transparent back!

Let me explain. The key moment of the story is when I used the updated Apple Store app on my phone to scan the barcode on the bumper package and pay for it online using my Apple account. No one in the store saw me do this, and I opted to receive my receipt through e-mail. I’m still not sure how Apple plans to keep shoplifters at bay.

Maybe I need to explain a little more what is happening here. Apple was one of the first companies to do away with fixed cash registers at the front of the store, opting for mobile payment devices in the hands of their “associates” on the floor. Now they have implemented do-it-yourself payment called “EasyPay” using the iPhone in just about every customer’s pocket.

"Thank you for walking out with merchandise without talking to us!"

The combination of in-store network connectivity, a high quality built-in camera, and perhaps the most complete database of customer credit cards in existence allows Apple to introduce a really revolutionary shopping experience. But is it revolutionary in a good way? I definitely felt like I was doing something wrong, even though I waited for my confirmation e-mail and PDF receipt before walking out of the store.

Supposedly, store management and associates are notified whenever a customer buys something in this manner. But how could they possibly know who it was? There’s no way they could locate a phone in the store with that kind of granularity, and I didn’t see any indication that the app snapped a picture or otherwise identified me. Maybe store security just isn’t looking out for middle-aged guys acting suspiciously with iPhone bumpers.

I’m still nervous about paying for things at the Apple Store in this way. But it’s hard to deny the speed and convenience of the transaction. I was in and out in just a couple of minutes and never once talked to an employee. Maybe I’ll get used to it, or maybe Apple will decide that it really wasn’t such a good idea after all. But I paid for my bumper. Honestly, I did. And it looks great with the new transparent iPhone 4S back plate from iFixit!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | A Nerve-Racking Revolution at the Apple Store
This post was categorized as Apple, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I installed an eSATA port on my iMac. I must be crazy!

My late-2009 27″ Intel iMac now has an eSATA port. I’m documenting how I did it here mainly for posterity. Although it works fine, I cannot recommend that others attempt to perform the same surgery on their own crazy-expensive Apple computers. eSATA mods like this won’t be satisfying to most users, and the operation is risky and destructive enough that non-crazy people shouldn’t attempt it!

Preparation: Options, Parts, and Courage

I suggest also reading my post, Four Ways to Add eSATA to Your iMac

The iMac is not meant to have an eSATA port. The case is fairly tricky to open, though once one gets the hang of it it can be accomplished in minutes. This is the first obstacle.

2009 models like mine include two SATA connections internally: One for the boot hard disk drive and another for the internal DVD SuperDrive. Mid-2010 models add a third SATA port, unused unless one specifies the expensive SSD and hard disk drive combination. So adding an eSATA port on a 2009 model means sacrificing the internal DVD drive. This is obstacle number two.

You need a male SATA cable to attach to the slimline DVD connector

That DVD SuperDrive SATA cable is soldered to the back side of the motherboard, so the cable cannot (easily) be swapped for one with eSATA on the other end. This is the next obstacle. It uses a standard female slimline SATA connector, however, and I was able to locate and purchase an appropriate male SATA (data-only) to eSATA cable at CPUstuff. Get the 10 inch length.

Since this eSATA port will sit behind the aluminum vent grill at the bottom of the iMac, the longer connector on an eSATA 2.0 cable is required. You want a Serial ATA 2.0 Cable like this one not one of the more common plain-Jane eSATA cables with shorter plugs. Watch out for cable length, too. Although this is an eSATA port mechanically, it does not have the higher power (and thus extended reach) of a real eSATA port.

No other parts are really required, though you will probably want something to attach to your Mac. I’m using a simple Kingwin EZ-Dock EZD-2535 but it’s not anything awesome. I plan to upgrade my 4-bay Drobo to a Drobo S with eSATA for some real data protection and performance. I’d also like to try a SATA port multiplier like this Addonics AD5SARPM on the port to see if it works.

Before you consider following these directions, know that the result isn’t all that satisfying. Mac OS X doesn’t support hot-plugging drives on this port, so you’ll have to reboot whenever you want to switch them out. There are also some potential issues with moved or added temperature sensors causing the iMac’s fans to run more noisily.

Then there’s the real fear that you will damage your expensive computer. Although Apple should still support other parts under warranty, they definitely will not cover issues you cause while mucking about in your computer!

Performing Surgery

The eSATA mod is actually quite straightforward. We will open the iMac, remove the DVD SuperDrive, and attach the male SATA to eSATA cable to it. We will route this through a hole carved in the ventilation grille at the bottom edge of the iMac. Once we put it back together, we will have an iMac with an eSATA port and no DVD drive.

1. Prepare for surgery
   1. Locate a broad, sturdy table and cover it with a soft cloth or two. You don’t want anything getting scratched or dropped.
   2. On a computer readily at hand, open up iFixit’s 27″ iMac teardown and use this as a guide
   3. You will need something to lift the screen glass. iFixit suggests strong suction cups, but I used a thin spatula.
   4. You will need a Torx T10 screwdriver, tweezers, and two paper clips to remove the LCD
   5. You will need a Dremel tool or other cutting device, along with a proper cutting disc and drill for use on aluminum
   6. You did buy that 10″ male SATA to eSATA cable, right?
2. Open the iMac
   

   I lifted the glass with a broad, slim spatula rather than suction cups

   1. Place the iMac on its back with the top facing your body. Lift off the glass using suction cups or gently pry it up from the middle with a broad thin spatula. Set the glass somewhere safe, clean, and secure. Do not touch the inside of the glass!
   2. Remove the four screws along each side of the LCD panel and watch for the magnets that hold the glass in. Use the tweezers to grab the screws if you need to.
   3. Bend the paper clips into J-shaped grabbers and begin lifting the LCD panel from the case by hooking them under the exposed corners. Do not lift far!
   4. Reach under the panel and unhook the four cables connecting it to the motherboard. Now lift the panel clear and set it in a clean, secure spot. Do not touch the face of the panel!
   5. Unplug the DVD SuperDrive SATA cable as well as the temperature wire. Remove the four Torx T10 screws holding it in place and lift the drive out of the case.
3. Carve the port hole
   

   We will locate our eSATA port between that black component and the RAM

   1. Locate the spot where the eSATA port will be placed. The best place is about an inch from the RAM hatch on the DVD side of the case. Watch out for the black component on the motherboard a little bit outward from this!
   2. Carefully measure the port hole and mask it off with tape and cloth to keep aluminum dust from getting all over the computer.
   3. Pack the inside of that spot with cloth, too, to protect the motherboard from dust.
   

   Drill, baby! Drill!

   4. Carve the long sides of the port hole using a cutting disc. I started with a diamond-coated disc but the aluminum case ate it up. I ended up using a fiberglass-reinforced cut-off wheel. It got very hot but did the job.
   5. Clip the short edges and pry the band of aluminum out of the case.
   6. 

      We'll clean that slot up a bit before installing the port

      Mark and drill the screw holes on either side. I used a standard sheet metal bit, but it was very hard to hold it steady so I attached the multipurpose cutting guide to help.

   7. Reshape and hone the opening to your satisfaction.
   8. Carefully remove the masking and clean out any dust.
4. Install the eSATA port
   1. Position the eSATA port behind the aluminum grille and screw it into place.
   2. Connect the male SATA connector to the slimline DVD SATA connector. I used some electrical tape to hold it in place.
   3. Tape the connected ends to the back of the case to keep them out of the way.
   

   We taped everything into place to keep it out of the way

   4. Pry the temperature sensor from the DVD SuperDrive and reconnect the wire to its port on the motherboard. Attach the other end somewhere in the space left by the removed DVD. I taped it to the back of the case. If you don’t do this the right-side fan will run full-speed all the time!
5. Reassemble the iMac

Stephen’s Stance

Don’t do this. I’m a storage guy, and I regularly test the performance of hard disk drives using my iMac, so it was worth it to me. I’m also pretty good with tools and computers, so I wasn’t worried about damaging anything. You’re probably not me, and you probably don’t want to go through all this.

Other World Computers (OWC) has a service offering to perform this exact modification to your iMac and guarantee the work. Although that’s much safer than performing surgery yourself, I strongly suggest that you consider whether you really want eSATA at all. eSATA is the fastest I/O channel an iMac can use, but Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire 800 are pretty fast, too. Although USB is too slow for some modern storage needs, even it’s 25 MB/s is plenty fast for most people.

Then there are the issues. Mac OS X appears to read the temperature sensor on some of my hard disk drives over SATA and run the internal fan faster (and noisier) to cool them off. But since they’re now outside the case, it can’t cool them so it just runs and runs. I have to power off the iMac and disconnect the SATA drive to stop this happening. And I can’t override the fans or tell it to ignore SATA temperature reports. So the only time my iMac runs quietly is when nothing is plugged into the eSATA port.

Mac OS X also does not support hot-plugging on these ports, and the “eject” icon is not displayed in Finder. One can eject through an option-click or right-click or using Disk Utility or diskutil from the command line, though. I have not yet located a way to tell it to rescan the SATA bus if a drive is connected or removed, so once a drive is ejected it’s time to reboot anyway. Sleep seems to do something for removed drives, but it doesn’t correctly read a new drive that has been attached. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated here!

In summary, the risk is probably greater than the reward for most people. Get a FireWire 800 device with RAID and call it a day, or upgrade to a Mac Pro or Hackintosh if you need more internal storage. But watch this space for news and updates from me!

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | How To Add An eSATA Port To An Intel iMac
This post was categorized as Apple, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Can you supercharge a Mac Mini?

Last week I reported my progress upgrading my Mac Mini’s RAM and hard drive to extract much more performance out of Apple’s little desktop. And indeed, adding a 7200 rpm high-performance laptop hard drive did make a noticeable difference in system responsiveness.

But a question came in via email asking, will Western Digital’s killer 10,000 rpm VelociRaptor SATA drive work in the Mac Mini? So inspired, I set out to find out just how far one can push a Mac Mini’s performance!

Pillars of Performance

As I noted in my last update, there are four keys to desktop system performance: CPU, RAM, storage, and graphics. The Mac Mini’s CPU is soldered in place and its graphics are integrated into the system chipset, so neither are upgradable. The best one can do on the CPU side is to order a built-to-order 2.26 GHz Mac Mini from Apple, adding $150 to the base Mac Mini price of $599.

Base Mac Mini: $599

2.26 GHz CPU upgrade: $150

Running total: $749

PC hackers commonly upgrade their systems’ performance by tweaking the system BIOS to overclock the CPU, memory, and system bus. But you can’t overclock a Mac Mini, or at least I haven’t found the secret yet.

More RAM always helps, but the Mini won’t accept more than 4 GB 8 GB of RAM. The graphics can also be improved slightly by installing more than 1 GB of RAM because the system will then use 256 MB of RAM as a frame buffer instead of 128 MB. Since we’re going to be opening the system anyway, we can save some money by upgrading the RAM ourselves. The Mac Mini uses 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMMs rated at PC3-8500 (1066 MHz). A nice 4 GB matched set can be purchased from Amazon.com for $60.

4 GB RAM upgrade: $66

Running total: $815

Your Apple Mac Mini is now maximally configured, with the exception of storage.

Update: The 2009 Mac Minis can now accept 8 GB of RAM!

Killer Storage

The only remaining upgrade is storage. And here, the Mac Mini is amazingly adaptable. About 2/3 of the vertical space covered by that aluminum and plastic exterior consists of a black plastic cage containing the DVD SuperDrive, hard disk drive, and cooling fan and serving as a support for the BlueTooth and 802.11 wireless antennas. This is your target.

The Mac Mini’s storage subsystem is up to date, with two SATA channels supporting 3 Gbit speed and advanced capabilities like native command queueing (NCQ) even though the stock Mini’s hard drive lacks these features.

The hard drive sits in a cradle immediately under the optical drive, face-up in an open cavity over the motherboard. Although it ships with a slim 9.5 mm high hard disk, my ruler says that the Mac Mini cradle can accept a 12.5 mm z-height disk. This is interesting from a capacity standpoint, since some higher-GB drives are 12.5 mm 3-platter units, including the popular TravelStar 5k500 drive from Hitachi.

However, the Mini was designed to have an air gap between the hard disk and DVD drive, and a 12.5 mm drive will press against the optical unit, potentially causing heat problems. And a larger 2.5″ drive will not fit, including the 15 mm mechanism from the Western Digital VelociRaptor.

Therefore, any crazy disk drive dreams that also include leaving the Mini and its DVD drive in the original case are right out. All is not lost, however! Apple kindly included the MacBook Air’s Remote Disc support, so the Mini doesn’t need a DVD drive at all if you happen to have another Mac or PC handy. Removing the SuperDrive leaves room for up to two 2.5″ hard disks!

Without the SuperDrive in the way, a 2.5″ Western Digital VelociRaptor hard disk drive should fit just fine. Although it ships with a massive heat sink, the VelociRaptor isn’t as power-hungry or hot as you might imagine. It might be a good idea to apply some cooling fins or add an extra fan, but I’m betting the Mini wouldn’t have any trouble driving this 10,000 rpm drive once the SuperDrive is removed. So the WD VelociRaptor is a serious option for the Mac Mini.

Another killer performance option is a RAID-0 set of internal SATA drives. Although the Mini’s second SATA channel (normally used for the DVD drive) does not have the proper connectors or mounting supports for a hard disk drive, iFixit sells a DIY kit to connect a second hard drive. This kit, which includes two 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drives, sells for about what a single 300 GB VelociRaptor costs, and should provide similar performance using RAID-0 striping.

WD 300 GB VelociRaptor hard disk or iFixit dual-500 GB kit: $250

Running total: $1,065

Conclusion

So there you have it! For just over $1,000, you can have the baddest Apple Mac Mini possible. But for quite a bit less, I suspect that a 2.0 GHz/4 GB/7200 rpm disk combo would be nearly as fast.

One more thing: If you decide to use RAID-0 on your internal drives, you must use Time Machine to protect your data! A stripe set of disk drives poorly mounted in a tiny chassis without a properly-engineered cooling or power system is a recipe for disaster. Your disks will fail, and your data will be lost!

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | How Far Can You Push a Mac Mini?
This post was categorized as Apple, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.