A true story · A practical Mac manual

Do You Think This Project Is Overkill?

The Little Mini Who Wouldn’t Quit

One tiny screw. One forgotten computer. An entirely unreasonable solution.

The true story of resurrecting a forgotten 2012 Mac mini to download motorcycle dashcam videos without removing the camera’s memory card. The tiny screw incident happened approximately two years before the Mini came out of its box on a garage shelf.

Read the Story

The Little Mini Who Wouldn’t Quit

The humorous, true-life account of a small computer’s second chance.

  1. Chapter 1 — It All Started With a ScrewPublished
  2. Chapter 2 — The Little Computer on Death RowPublished
  3. Chapter 3 — A Perfectly Reasonable IdeaPublished
Read the Technical Manual

The Little Mini Resurrection Manual

Practical Mac resurrection instructions, from hardware preparation to a bootable installer.

  1. Chapter 1 — Introduction and Project OverviewPublished
  2. Chapter 2 — Assessing and Preparing an Older MacPublished
  3. Chapter 3 — Creating a Bootable macOS InstallerPublished

Latest Updates

: The opening three chapters of the story and their three companion manual chapters are available.

Release schedule

Future paired installments are planned for Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Automatic scheduling is not active.

Only supplied and approved manuscripts will be released. Publishing an installment early will leave later installment dates unchanged. Chapters 4 onward are not scheduled or published.

Email Updates

Join the Official Little Mini Fan Club

Follow the adventures of a fourteen-year-old Mac mini that refuses to retire. Receive one announcement for each published update after confirming your email.

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What Has This Ridiculous Project Cost?

Current actual expenditure$23.00
Projected net expenditure$39.00
Running project expenses
ItemAmountStatus
Wired keyboard and mouse$23.00Purchased
Replacement keyboard$29.00Planned
Amazon keyboard return−$13.00Credit pending

Projected net expenditure assumes the replacement purchase is completed and the $13 return credit applies to the original purchase. Pending credits do not reduce actual spending.

“Fourteen-year-old Mac mini: Free. Getting it to cooperate: $39 and counting. Never touching that tiny screw again: Priceless.”