The cover on the Mac Mini is held in place with small clips that must be dislodged with the putty knife. Your current drive (if it's still functional) can be backed up using a program like Apple's Time Machine or the free utility SuperDuper. I also recommend picking up a can of compressed air to clean out the dust that has built up throughout the years. Pre-2010 Mac Mini models support a single Serial ATA drive with speeds of 3 GB/s. You will need a putty knife or small paint scraper to remove the Mac Mini's casing, a Phillips head #2 screwdriver, a pair of tweezers, and either a replacement 2.5-inch solid-state drive or a hard drive with a height of no more than 9.5mm. Apple redesigned the Mac Mini line in 2010 to include a removable cover that gives users quick and easy access to the hard drive and memory.

Here's what you need to know: Note: This how-to guide is for Mac Mini models from 2005 through 2009. Rather than spending $600 on a newer model, you can swap out your full or faulty hard drive for a newer and faster one. There isn't a real need to upgrade, though. We were one of them, but wouldn't you know it, the hard drive in our 2009 Mac Mini has taken its last breath. Given that Apple doesn't give Mac Mini owners many reasons to upgrade, there are a still a good amount of happy customers using older models. In fact, the latest model hasn't even been updated to include Intel's newer and more efficient Haswell processors, despite the iMac, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro receiving updates. Since it first debuted in 2005, the small computer has only seen one major redesign in 2010, and is often left out of the company's dazzling press events. The Mac Mini is like Apple's forgotten stepchild.

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