UPDATE:See comment section below this post.
This guide is so complicated because the iMac's 27' Mid 2011 SuperDrive doesn't recognise the windows install disc. It's useless.
IMPORTANT: Unplug all external and physical hard drives (where possible) that you won't be installing to to avoid accidentally erasing them. Also make note of which drives and partitions remain (e.g. System and Storage hard drives), and be super careful to not erase the wrong one.
RECOVERY: If you nuke your machine, restore your time machine backup. Instructions here.
Sep 13, 2019 Boot Camp / Dual Boot on an iMac 27' Mid 2011. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets. I had to remove the windows 7 from boot camp I did that, and update to the mac os to El capitan - fresh installed. BTW I also installed Windows 10 but Im getting BSOD when bootcamp is trying to Install the intel graphics and no sound. Dec 19, 2019 To repair the Boot Camp drivers, follow these steps: Repair the Boot Camp drivers. Start your Mac and boot into Windows. Insert your Mac OS installation disk. If the installer window doesn’t appear automatically, click the a. Start button, click Computer. Click the drive that contains the Mac OS disk. Double-click the Boot Camp folder. Sep 25, 2016 He installed Windows 10 on his i-Mac using bootcamp as instructed by Apple. The sound is fine when in Apple mode, but when booted up in Windows 10, all seems to be fine except that there is no sound from the internal speakers. The i-Mac uses a cirrus sound chip, we can't find a Windows driver for it anywhere on line.
It goes without saying that one must install the Boot Camp drivers for many functions to work under Windows on this machine. The version of Boot Camp I am using is 5.1.5621. If you are on Windows 7, the driver version is 4.0.4033. By the way, Bluetooth audio streaming never worked under Windows 7 on this machine no matter what I tried. Apple recommends Boot Camp-Support-Software 5.1.5621 for mac mini 2011 but it seems to be for Win 7 and 8.1, also it is from 2014. There are newer versions like Boot Camp-Support-Software 5.1.5722.
Windows 8.1
UPDATE: Because of the issues listed later on, I've decided that Windows 8 via Boot Camp is futile. Trying Windows 7 SP1 instead.
- Remove your firmware key by restarting, holding alt, choosing recovery, then in 'utilities' choose 'firmware assistant' or something
- Download the 'bootcamp drivers' from here, as of 15 September 2014, for the iMac Mid 2011, these are the latest
- Create a Time Machine Backup
- Create a mac bootable windows usb drive by either (windows install dvd will not boot on EFI systems):
- Using 'Bootcamp Assistant' on your Macbook Air
- Or by modifying your iMac's Bootcamp Assistant using
sudo vi /Applications/Utilities/Bootcamp Assistant/Contents/Info.plist
and adding it to the HAR listing, the USB listing and the EFI listing. Remove 'Pre' from the USB and EFI listings if it is there - Create the partition by either:
- Using 'Bootcamp Assistant'. Then to avoid the error
Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.
usegdisk
to delete the 'Hybrid MBR' setup that 'Bootcamp Assistant' created, gdisk instructions here - Using 'Disk Utility' to resize the OSX partition and leave the free space free
- Boot into the installation media by restarting, hold alt key, and selecting 'EFI'
- Install windows on the partition
- To avoid the error
Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install Windows, restart the installation.
later when installing, delete the first partition calledEFI
on the partition screen1. UPDATE: This is likely the cause of Issue 1 - On the partition screen delete partitions 4 and above and use the unallocated space for the windows partition
Issues
- Once all installed. Windows can boot to OSX, but OSX and Windows cannot boot to Windows (error
No bootable device -- insert boot disc and press any key
). Instead you must use the 'alt' on startup technique. Doing a Windows Repair & Diagnose Startup Problems does not fix the issue.- Other possible fix. this one works
- Audio doesn't work. Updating to latest Realtek drivers doesn't fix it. May be related to Hardware updates with Windows Update. Could be AMD drivers instead.
- Only 2.5GB of Memory is available out of my 16GB. I have four 4GB sticks inside the iMac and running Windows 8.1 x64. Can not figure out how to fix this.
Windows 7 SP1
- Doesn't work when using the Macbook Air's Bootcamp Assistant to create the USB Drive. Errors with:
No bootable device -- insert boot disc and press any key
error - Testing via unbootin now.
Ubuntu
- Don't use the 14.04 AMD64 MAC image, it doesn't boot! Ironic and ANNOYING! Same annoying result for unetbootin on GUID, MBR, and via dd, and dcfldd methods.
- Instead use the 14.04.1 AMD64 image, it does boot. Tested with unetbootin on GUID and MBR, both work.
Troubleshooting
- Install rEFInd, it's the next version of rEFIt. It will show all the available boot devices, even ones that can't be booted (
No bootable device -- insert boot disc and press any key
error). Often the 'Fallback' boot device is the one you want. You always want the EFI boot device. - There is a 'EFI Boot' that is a Windows 8 Recovery still persistant, even though the entire HDD has been wiped and reinstalled via the OSX USB Install.
- This guide which uses diskpart's
clean all
works for getting rid of that recovery sector.- If you then install windows 8.1 ontop of the new cleaned partition it still has the audio and memory issues as before. Seems like it could be an EFI thing.
- This guide which uses diskpart's
- This may be a better install guide than the usual ones.
- This may work for booting from the external superdrive.
- Without Bootcamp (just the alt on startup) just get a black screen with blinking cursor
- Have not yet tried with bootcamp.
- This tool or this tool may also work.
- Rufus EFI only on ? only boots, but doesn't load. Just hangs on boot.
- Refus EFI&BIOS on MBR doesn't boot, shows windows logo then does the
No bootable device -- insert boot disc and press any key
error - Microsoft's tool doesn't detect the USB drive (tried on VMWare Virtual Machine and on a Windows Physical Machine)
- This guide could work for using VMWare to get the initial setup going.
- This guide could work for getting Windows 7 to boot on EFI.
- Didn't work. Had the same hard freeze issue as Rufus EFI only had.
Apple Mac mini 'Core i7' 2.0 (Mid-2011/Server) Specs
Identifiers: Mid-2011 - MC936LL/A - Macmini5,3 - A1347 - 2442
All Mac mini Models | All 2011 Models | Dynamically Compare This Mac to Others
Distribute This Page: Bookmark & Share| Download: PDF Manual
The Apple Mac mini 'Core i7' 2.0 Server (Mid-2011) features a 32-nm 'Sandy Bridge' Quad Core 2.0 GHz Intel 'Core i7' (2635QM) processor with four independent processor 'cores' on a single chip, a 6 MB shared level 3 cache, 4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-10600) memory, dual 500 GB hard drives, and Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB of memory shared with the system. It does not have an internal optical drive, although an external one could be purchased for US$79.
Connectivity includes a Firewire '800' port, four USB 2.0 ports, combined 'audio line in (digital/analog)' and combined 'audio line out/headphone (digital/analog)' minijacks, a 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, an SDXC card slot and an HDMI port as well as a new 'Thunderbolt' port that is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort and likewise supports an external display at 2560x1600 and passes an audio signal as well. Thunderbolt also supports other peripherals that use the Thunderbolt standard which provides up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth in both directions.
Compared to its predecessor, the only external difference is the aforementioned Thunderbolt port, although it is a bit heavier, too. Internally, however, it has a faster processor, architecture, RAM and graphics as well as improved wireless capabilities.
Compared to the non-server Mac mini 'Core i7' 2.7 (Mid-2011), this model looks identical, but is equipped with a more powerful quad core processor and dual hard drives and shipped with a pre-installed copy of Lion Server.
Also see:
Connectivity includes a Firewire '800' port, four USB 2.0 ports, combined 'audio line in (digital/analog)' and combined 'audio line out/headphone (digital/analog)' minijacks, a 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, an SDXC card slot and an HDMI port as well as a new 'Thunderbolt' port that is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort and likewise supports an external display at 2560x1600 and passes an audio signal as well. Thunderbolt also supports other peripherals that use the Thunderbolt standard which provides up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth in both directions.
Compared to its predecessor, the only external difference is the aforementioned Thunderbolt port, although it is a bit heavier, too. Internally, however, it has a faster processor, architecture, RAM and graphics as well as improved wireless capabilities.
Compared to the non-server Mac mini 'Core i7' 2.7 (Mid-2011), this model looks identical, but is equipped with a more powerful quad core processor and dual hard drives and shipped with a pre-installed copy of Lion Server.
Also see:
- What are all the differences between the 'Mid-2011' Aluminum Mac mini models? Which is best for my needs?
- What are all the differences between the 'Mid-2011' Aluminum Mac mini models and the models replaced?
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- Tech Specs
- Ports
- Global Original Prices
- Popular Q&As
Click on a category for related details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. Asterisks (*) reference data in details fields.
Boot Camp Sound On Mac Mini 2011 Video
Introduction Date: | July 20, 2011 | Discontinued Date: | October 23, 2012 |
Details: | The 'Introduction Date' refers to the date a model was introduced via press release. The 'Discontinued Date' refers to the date a model either was replaced by a subsequent system or production otherwise ended. Also see: All Macs introduced in 2011. |
Details: | Also see: All models with a 64-Bit processor courtesy of EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Sort. |
Details: | Geekbench 2 benchmarks are in 32-bit and 64-bit modes, respectively. These numbers reflect an average of user provided 32-bit and 64-bit results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit and 64-bit Geekbench 2 user submissions for Macs with the Macmini5,3 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare Geekbench 2 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 32-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the Macmini5,3 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare 32-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 64-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 64-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the Macmini5,3 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare 64-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
Details: | These Geekbench 4 benchmarks are are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. All Geekbench 4 benchmarks are 64-bit. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all single core and multicore Geekbench 4 user submissions for Macs with the Macmini5,3 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare Geekbench 4 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
Processor Speed: | 2.0 GHz | Processor Type: | Core i7 (I7-2635QM) |
Details: | This model is powered by a 32 nm, 64-bit Intel Mobile Core i7 'Sandy Bridge' (I7-2635QM) processor which includes four independent processor 'cores' on a single silicon chip. Each core has a dedicated 256k level 2 cache, shares 6 MB of level 3 cache, and has an integrated memory controller (dual channel). This system also supports 'Turbo Boost 2.0' -- which 'automatically increases the speed of the active cores' to improve performance when needed (up to 2.9 GHz for this model) -- and 'Hyper Threading' -- which allows the system to recognize eight total 'cores' or 'threads' (four real and four virtual). Also see: How fast are the 'Mid-2011' Aluminum 'Unibody' Mac mini models compared to the 'Mid-2010' models replaced? |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | The processor is soldered directly to the motherboard. |
System Bus Speed: | 5 GT/s* | Cache Bus Speed: | 2.0 GHz (Built-in) |
Details: | *This system has a 'Direct Media Interface' (DMI) that 'connects between the processor and chipset' in lieu of a traditional system bus. Intel reports that it runs at 5 GT/s. |
Details: | N/A |
L1 Cache: | 32k/32k x4 | L2/L3 Cache: | 256k x4, 6 MB (on chip) |
Details: | Each core has its own dedicated 256k level 2 cache and the system has 6 MB of shared level 3 cache. |
Details: | Supports 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMMs. Also see: How do you upgrade the RAM in the Aluminum 'Unibody' Mac mini models? How much RAM of what type do they actually support? |
Details: | By default, 4 GB is installed as two 2 GB modules. *Officially, this model supports 8 GB of RAM, but as first discovered by OWC, it actually is capable of supporting 16 GB of RAM using two 8 GB modules. In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells memory -- as well as other upgrades -- for this Mac mini. In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac mini. In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells RAM and other upgrades for this Mac mini. In Germany, site sponsor CompuRAM sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac mini. In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac mini. In Southeast Asia, site sponsor SimplyMac.sg sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac mini. Also see: Actual Max RAM of All G3 & Later Macs. |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | This model has an Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics processor that shares memory with the system. Also see: What type of video system is provided by the Aluminum Mac mini models? Which are integrated and which are dedicated? Can the video be upgraded? |
Details: | *Apple reports that this model shares 384 MB of memory for graphics use with the system. Please note that this is the minimum graphics memory usage but the memory available to Mac OS X 'may vary depending on graphics needs'. With more RAM installed, more will be used for video function. If upgraded to 8 GB of RAM (or more), 512 MB will be reserved for video function. |
Display Support: | Dual Displays | Resolution Support: | 1920x1200* |
Details: | *This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI display or a DVI display using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter and 2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port). |
2nd Display Support: | Dual/Mirroring* | 2nd Max. Resolution: | 2560x1600* |
Details: | *This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI or a DVI display (using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter) and 2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port). |
Standard Storage: | 500 GB HDD x2 | Std. Storage Speed: | 7200 RPM |
Details: | This model also could be equipped with dual 750 GB, 7200 RPM hard drives for an additional US$100, a single 256 GB SSD for an additional US$400, a 750 GB 7200 RPM hard drive and a 256 GB SSD for an additional US$550, and dual 256 GB SSDs for an additional US$1000. Also see: How do you upgrade the hard drive(s) in the Aluminum 'Unibody' Mac mini models? What type of hard drive(s) do they support? In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells storage upgrades for this Mac mini. In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells storage upgrades for this Mac mini. In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells SSDs and other upgrades for this Mac mini. In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit sells storage upgrades for this Mac mini. In Southeast Asia, site sponsor SimplyMac.sg sells storage upgrades for this Mac mini. Also see: SSD Compatibility Guide for All G3 & Later Macs. |
Storage Dimensions: | 2.5' (9.5 mm) x2 | Storage Interface: | Serial ATA (6 Gb/s) x2 |
Details: | Regardless of the storage pre-installed, this model supports dual SATA II (3 Gb/s) 2.5' hard drives or SSDs that are each up to 9.5 mm thick. |
Details: | *This Mac mini does not have an internal optical drive. Site sponsor Adorama offers the external Apple USB SuperDrive for US$79. It writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL at 4X, DVD-R and DVD+R at 8X, DVD-RW at 6X, DVD+RW at 8X, reads DVD at 8X, writes CD-R at 24X, writes CD-RW at 16X, and reads CD at 24X. Site sponsor Other World Computing also has a variety of compact external optical drive options that may be of interest, including some with Blu-ray capability. Also see: What are the full capabilities of the external SuperDrive? Can it be used with other Macs? |
Standard Modem: | None | Standard Ethernet: | 10/100/1000Base-T |
Standard AirPort: | 802.11a/b/g/n | Standard Bluetooth: | 4.0 |
Details: | 802.11n (802.11a/b/g capable as well) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 standard. As a minor point, Apple quietly stopped referring to the wireless networking (802.11n) as AirPort Extreme with this Mac mini. Also see: What is 802.11n? How is it different from 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a? |
Details: | Four 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire '800' port. |
Details: | This model has an SDXC Card slot. In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells a wide variety of external expansion options and hand-picked accessories like external storage, stands, keyboards, cables, adapters, speakers, and more for this Mac mini. In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit offers an extensive selection of external expansion options and accessories like docks, stands, chargers, keyboards, security products, and more for this Mac mini. |
Details: | No Mac mini systems ship with a keyboard or mouse. |
Details: | Uses a tiny case -- milled from a single block of aluminum -- that is 7.7 inches wide and deep and 1.4 inches tall. |
Details: | The Apple order number should be unique to this system. |
Apple Model No: | A1347 (EMC 2442) | Model ID: | Macmini5,3 |
Details: | Please note that these identifiers often refer to more than one model. Also see: All Macs with the A1347 Model Number, the 2442 EMC Number, and the Macmini5,3 Model Identifier. For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section. |
Details: | N/A |
Pre-Installed MacOS: | X 10.7 (11A2061) | Maximum MacOS: | X 10.13.x* |
Details: | *This system fully supports the last version of OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' as well as OS X 10.9 'Mavericks' with the exception of the 'Power Nap' feature. It is compatible with the last version of OS X 10.10 'Yosemite' and OS X 10.11 'El Capitan' as well, but advanced feature support is limited to Mac-to-Mac AirDrop and AirPlay Mirroring. Other major features are not supported. It is capable of running macOS Sierra (10.12) also, although it does not support the Universal Clipboard, Auto Unlock, and Apple Pay features. Finally, this model is capable of running macOS High Sierra (10.13), and it supports HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding), but it does not support hardware accelerated HEVC. It is not compatible with macOS Mojave (10.14) or later versions of the operating system. Also see: Which Macs are compatible with macOS High Sierra (10.13)? What are the system requirements? Which Macs support HEVC? |
Minimum Windows: | 7 (32-Bit)* | Maximum Windows: | 8.1 (64-Bit)* |
Details: | *Apple's Boot Camp 4 supports the 32-bit version of Windows 7 on this model and Boot Camp 5 supports the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Earlier versions of Windows are not supported. Although Apple does not support Windows 10 via Boot Camp 5 (officially or otherwise), this system meets Microsoft's hardware requirements and it very well may be possible to boot Windows 10 on this Mac. If you have installed Windows 10 on this system (successfully or unsuccessfully), please share the results of your experiment. Thank you. |
MacOS 9 Support: | None | Windows Support: | Boot/Virtualization |
Details: | Also see: Are there any third-party programs to run Mac OS 9/Classic applications on Intel Macs? Site sponsor OHS specializes in heavily upgraded Macs capable of running both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 applications. For more on running Windows on Intel Macs, please refer to the exhaustive Windows on Mac Q&A. |
Dimensions: | 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 | Avg. Weight: | 3.0 lbs. (1.37 kg) |
Details: | In inches - height by width by depth, (3.6 cm, 19.7 cm, 19.7 cm) |
Original Price (US): | US$999 | Est. Current Retail: | US$500-US$700 |
Details: | Please note that on average the estimated current retail pricing of used systems is updated twice a year (please refer to the date on the bottom of the page for the date last updated). Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. |
Click on a category for additional details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. The icons correspond with the icons for each port on the computer.
Details: | *1 HDMI and 1 Thunderbolt port. Supports dual simultaneous displays -- 1920x1200 on an HDMI display or a DVI display using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter and 2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with adapter). Thunderbolt is backwards-compatible with Mini DisplayPort-equipped displays as well as adapters that are compatible with Mini DisplayPort (DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI). It also can support other peripherals that use the Thunderbolt standard, which provides a maximum theoretical 10 Gbps of bandwidth in both directions. |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | Four 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire '800' port. |
Details: | Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 standard. |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | Combined 'audio line in minijack (digital/analog).' |
Details: | Single combined 'audio line out/headphone minijack (digital/analog).' |
Details: | N/A |
Details: | 100V-240V, 85W maximum. |
Global original prices for the Mac mini 'Core i7' 2.0 (Mid-2011/Server) in 34 different countries and territories follow; organized alphabetically by region.
For global original prices for Intel Macs in one particular country on a single page, please refer to EveryMac.com's Global Original Prices section.
Original Prices - North & South America
Mexico: | MXN $14,999 | United States: | US$999 |
Original Prices - Europe
Denmark: | DKK 7,599 | Finland: | €999 |
Ireland: | €999 | Italy: | €999 |
Norway: | NOK 7.990 | Portugal: | €999 |
Switzerland: | CHF 1049 | United Kingdom: | £849 |
Original Prices - Asia
India: | Rs 54,900 | Indonesia: | Rp 9,799,000 |
Malaysia: | RM 3,099 | The Philippines: | PHP 50,990 |
Thailand: | THB 33,900 | Vietnam: | VND 24,499,000 |
Original Prices - Australia & New Zealand
If you have additional original prices for this model, please get in touch. Thank you.
Ten of the most popular Q&As about the Mac mini models follow.
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