Don't waste your money... (M4 Mac mini upgrade)

[@nicknology]

Why does Apple charge so much for storage? Am I right? 😅

[@jefferymiller30]

Wow this is so helpful! Thank you. I just bought SSD and hoping to follow your steps. I haven't even unboxed my Macmini! Excited

[@nicknology]

@@jefferymiller30 That's amazing to hear!! Enjoy it man, it's such an amazing little machine. If you have any further questions just let me know here in the comments

[@Kevin-sl2yw]

Those who can afford it will pay for the convenience as opposed to those who will find ways to save money. Apple will do it because they can get away with it if they made it difficult or almost impossible to upgrade by soldering on the storage chips like they do on the iPhone. The drawback of the external storage as your home directory is it can get disconnected accidentally or the enclosure can be damaged. Add in a secondary admin account so you can have access to the Mac Mini for recovery

[@thesparebox9511]

@@Kevin-sl2yw Create an other account to login, make sure yout backups are done

[@pan6593]

One thing worth noting, this is not moving the system drive. It is moving the home and applications folder. System does actually stay internal. Which saves a lot of headaches, actually.

[@nicknology]

Yes something I’ve noticed is when I install 3rd party software it still goes onto my MacintoshHD but this setup has been amazing thus far for my workflow, super glad I went about it this way. Next is the M4 Ultra Mac Studio, I’ll have to sell a kidney for it when the time comes but it’s gonna be insane 😂

[@RealEverythingComputers]

Awesome video thanks so much!

[@nicknology]

It’s what I do, glad you liked it!!

[@Kevin-sl2yw]

Remember to add another admin account but don't move it to the external drive.

[@nicknology]

This is a key point I forgot to add into the video yes 🙏

[@jababy8817]

great video. easy sub.

[@nicknology]

❤️

[@gentlemenking2973]

buy or increase or customize the GPU and CORE instead... right??? storage we can buy external drive. cheers!!!

[@nicknology]

If you can afford it go for it! This is just a guide for saving on the storage upgrade in general but definitely spec out anything you can afford ☺️ I’m on a very tight budget so I went for the base model

[@rossjones2439]

i subscribed because you asked and your awesome. thanks so much for the very well presented info.

[@nicknology]

Thank you for the kind words! I hope you enjoy my latest upload and what’s to come ☺️ welcome to the family 🫶

[@miguelelias2449]

¡Nice video! Directly to the point. New subscriber

[@nicknology]

💪💪

[@davidsalisbury9465]

Great video clear and succinct. I've heard and read a lot that the internal 512Gb drive is considerably faster than the 256Gb. Seems that it might be worth the $200 to get the performance improvement and extra headroom while still going with your external NVME home folder route for data and apps. Any thoughts?

[@nicknology]

The 512 upgrade is definitely faster but you can still achieve better speeds with an NVME enclosure as long as you buy a 40gbps enclosure and use the thunderbolt 4 port. Thanks for watching!

[@davidsalisbury9465]

⁠​⁠@@nicknologyI’m considering the 512 upgrade for breathing space plus a thunderbolt 4 (just 1TB) NVME for the home folder as you suggest. What are your thoughts on the 16GB RAM? I mainly use Photoshop and Lightroom. Will 16 be enough or should I consider going to 24? I agree Apple’s storage and memory prices are almost criminal but the purchase is a one-shot deal and I don’t want to regret it later - many thanks for your help and advice

[@nicknology]

@ that plan sounds like a great one! And 16 will be more than enough for you trust me. It’s only when you get into really really intense video editing, 3D rendering, or massive coding projects that you’d wanna have a minimum of 24. Just do the 512 upgrade and you’ll be all set imo!

[@davidsalisbury9465]

@@nicknologytop man thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll be going shopping very soon

[@michaelg6686]

I just subscribed. I'm sure some issues will be addressed on other Videos.I also ordered the base model. it looks like it performs great.

[@nicknology]

You're going to love the base model! It's amazing! If any issues come up for me with the external method I've setup for mine I'll be sure to make an update video but, so far so good! I'm loving it!

[@3L3V3NDRUMS]

That's cool man! I'll do that with my Mac Mini M4 for sure! Can't wait to get it for doing logic in my room. Actually I can only use Logic in our drum studio. Keep it up man!!!

[@nicknology]

Handles my Ableton workflow perfectly as well! I did a test in my new video if you wanted to check that out, I’m excited to make some new tunes with this little beast. Thanks for watching! And best of luck with your production sessions! 🤘🥁

[@3L3V3NDRUMS]

@@nicknology Thanks! I'll check that out! We've got a Mac Studio in my drum recording studio. But it will be so much cooler having Logic with my eKit (Roland TD17) too and being able to try out more songwriting stuff with a keyboard and my guitar.

[@andrefelixstudio2833]

Thank you for the information its great insight really appreciated

[@nicknology]

It’s what I do! Thanks for watching

[@BlitzkriegGT]

thanks i saw other method to move the system folders to another external drive and install apps outside of the mac

[@kebab_boi]

What happens if I want to turn off my mac to save power? Will it damage the external SSD?

[@nicknology]

Nope! I’ve turned mine of several times even though most of the time I just put it to sleep, which by the way pulls barely any power.

[@kebab_boi]

@ that’s perfect, thank you so much!!

[@bjornbeckphoto.111]

Can i just use a normal external SSD like a samsung t7, or does it have to be that type of SSD with an enclosure?

[@nicknology]

Just make sure your SSD is supported by MacOS and you should be good to go! I only went with the nvme for the read and write speeds

[@yefan8929]

so after ive done this can i just use migration assistant and transfer my data to the new mini with no issues? (my old mac has around 500gbs and the new 256gb, im worried something will go wrong)

[@nicknology]

I haven’t tested this but I recommend just transferring whatever files you want to your new machine either with a drive you have lying around or a cloud based service! Always best to start your new system fresh, it’s kinda fun to set stuff up on a fresh new machine as well and then just put your existing files from your old computer onto your new one and organize them however you please :)

[@jamizashenning]

To people who can afford it : “Its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it”, i mean the performance

[@LeahT6317]

Quick question once you set the external hard drive as the home drive is it okay to migrate files and apps from say your old Mac? The directions are very clear and helpful I just not clear on the migrating part once everything else is set. Thanks in advance!

[@nicknology]

I would do that on your own via a service like iCloud or a USB drive you have lying around. I don’t have a definitive answer for you about using the Apple migration assistance tool since I started fresh when I did this process and I have most of my data and files on a NAS I have setup on my network. But you could easy just toss whatever you want on another drive and plug it into your new Mac that you’ve done this process too and transfer the files onto your new external home drive, hope this helps! If you have anymore questions just ask and I’ll give the best advice I can ☺️

[@JamesBond-cj5qj]

Great video but should you create a guest account just in case something going wrong?

[@nicknology]

Create a 2nd admin and name it “Backup” if you’d like just to be extra safe. Thanks for watching!

[@JamesBond-cj5qj]

@ Thanks

[@Diegutzo]

Is not working anymore Apple did something so moving home folder to an external is not working anymore.

[@nicknology]

I’ll have to look into this to confirm as my system is still functioning perfectly with my home folder being external, thanks for the comment!

[@Diegutzo]

@ that would be awesome, thank you!

[@HoundDogMech]

Tell us guys that already set their NEW M4 Mac Mini up How to accomplish moving things to the External Drive. I watched Someone else explain thr Process but What ever I did Wasn't right.

[@nicknology]

Typically this process only works properly when initially setting up your Mac. To still be able to do it I would suggest transferring all of your important data somewhere else and doing a fresh factory reset. Hope that helps!

[@HoundDogMech]

@@nicknology Nothing on it yet that isn't on my PC so maybe I'll do a Factory Reset.

[@nicknology]

@@HoundDogMech There you go! You're all set than

[@jefferymiller30]

Question: I plan on using Final Cut Pro. Does that mean the actual app will be in my SSD and all my projects will be saved in there as well If I follow these steps?

[@nicknology]

That’s exactly what it means yes! I use Final Cut as well and it’s on my external SSD

[@lockhart1895]

Hi just a question I do plan on doing this down the line in like 5 months in the meanwhile can I set it up used and factory reset it once I’m ready to go forward with it ?

[@nicknology]

That’s exactly what I did so yes you can! ☺️

[@Worthfishing]

Thanks, I just subscribed Btw Can you put a link to the external hard drive that you have?

[@nicknology]

I’ll add it into the description today after work :)

[@Worthfishing]

@ thanks

[@IPULCOLUMBIA]

Do I need to do a separate account in case something does happen.. not sure I’ve seen some videos on that as well??

[@nicknology]

May be a good idea to setup a 2nd user as backup and that way that 2nd user will have its normal internal home folder intact 🫶

[@bjornbeckphoto.111]

@@nicknology should I add the 2nd account after this whole process or before?

[@bryans8656]

Great content yet I see you need a lot more subscribers so I just added my name to your list.

[@nicknology]

Channel is still brand new, thanks so much!! 🫶

[@TankTheSpank]

External ssd speeds are limited. Honestly not worth it

[@nicknology]

Over a thousand mb/s faster than the internal you get with the base model actually! All depends on the drive and enclosure you get

[@TankTheSpank]

@ not possible usb-c 4.0 has limits

[@nicknology]

@@TankTheSpank Thunderbolt 4 supports up to 40gb/s and I've done tests comparing the internal drive read/write to my nvme and it's about 1500 mb/s faster.

[@Kevin-sl2yw]

Use a thunderbolt enclosure and a really fast NVME SSD. It costs more but still cheaper than what Apple charges for internal storage upgrades

[@nicknology]

@@Kevin-sl2yw Exactly! Thanks for commenting

[@blbhansel8226]

pls i have a question , when u use this external ssd , can u shut down the mac mini and unplug the drive and later plug it in and it still works the same , example if i was to travel and had to pack the mac into my bag and unplugged the ssd while it was off .so will it still work after i plug it and then turn on the mac ?

[@nicknology]

Yes you’d be fine! When you so just make sure you actually shut it down and not sleep it and then just make sure the SSD is plugged back in before you boot it up again and you’ll be good to go

[@blbhansel8226]

@@nicknology thanks ,

[@ashutosh8899]

@nicknology A follow up to this question, If we do boot it up without the SSD is there a major issue? Or can we have a home account on the main device itself so that we can boot sometimes without the external SSD?

[@nicknology]

@ You can only have one home folder assigned at a time but you can create a backup user. What that will do is you’ll have a separate user entirely that has its own home folder internally so that if anything happens to the external drive or you just want to boot it up without any external like you mentioned, you’ll be able to boot into that backup user and it’ll all work as it normally would. You can name this 2nd user account anything you want. Hope that helped :)

[@nicknology]

@ You can only have one home folder assigned per user* is a better way to put it.

[@prestonvwicks8451]

Thanks on the external storage drive set up

[@nicknology]

Happy to help!

[@garyarias-f2f]

nice

[@nicknology]

Thanks

[@pawesidoryk431]

You tell people to use the external drive as a system drive? It looks dangerous. I would not recommend it to anybody.

[@nicknology]

It’s been very reliable for me thus far with 0 hiccups. If you want to create a safety net for yourself you could simply make a 2nd user as a backup where it would have its home drive still internal. The savings make this is a very viable solution and I can attest to how well it works.

[@drewsim_]

you cant use any of the apple intelligence features if your home folder is external though.

[@nicknology]

Is this 100% confirmed? If so I personally don’t mind as I wasn’t too impressed by Apple intelligence thus far but if that’s the case that’s good to know!

[@dhellis19498]

From what I have heard, you can still use Apple AI if your home folder is on an external drive, however you can not use it if you boot to the externals drive

[@davidsalisbury9465]

@@dhellis19498spot on. Home folder external but OS and boot up from internal and everything works fine

[@dan44762000]

I upgraded from the M1, it’s worth every penny, base models, your title is nonsense

[@nicknology]

Congratulations for upgrading! The M4 is incredible.

[@zolingpak]

❤

[@nicknology]

🫶

[@greghudson9717]

One upgrade ALL users should do is tick the box for 10Gbps LAN. You will save hours or DAYS copying files !

[@nicknology]

Only truly beneficial for network based transfers but yes 10Gbps is insanely fast. Would help me a lot since I use a NAS.

[@pan6593]

Only for people that have ANY 10Gb based network storage. Not a standard scenario. You shouldn‘t convince people into adding that. That‘s the sweet spot for people who try to save money.

[@TYLERBALLADS]

Just get a pc this is ridiculous…. They work just as good some even faster and more efficient than the mini M4. I want the M4, but this is ridiculous. Their prices and you get nothing. Why does everyone keep paying this Apple?

[@nicknology]

Simply isn’t possible to get the performance you get from the base model m4 mini out of a windows machine for the $599 price tag.

[@jacksprat2333]

I recently spent almost £5,000 on a custom built gaming PC with the best quality maxed out components available. It was huge, it was heavy, I could hardly find room to put it anywhere, once those fans started up it was as loud as a Hoover and the heat generated was insane.The thing crashed every minute with endless errors and eventually died after just a week. My iMac on the other hand has lasted me for 10 straight years of intense work being used up to 12 hours a day and it's never caused me a single glitch or problem.