Chosen Solution
Is it possible to replace the optical drive in a mac mini A1176 with an SSD? The interface of the optical drive is listed as pata, but looks to be a 50-pin connector supplying power as well. Whatever that interface is, I’m looking for a sata ribbon adaptor for it.
The left hand column on this link to OWC shows upgrades for your machine including a SSD drive: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/
You are correct, it uses a PATA connection, and in order to use a modern (half decent) drive, you would need to convert the connection from a PATA to a SATA drive. Of course these are still IDE connections, just different interfaces given the project. A convertor like this would work: http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/seritek1… The issue is then compatibility. To be honest, I know that Apple has never truly supported PATA to SATA connections, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t work.
