Welcome to Mac Mini Vault! There are a few quick settings that you’ll need to set prior to sending your mini to its new home. If you have any questions just reply to the instruction email. We’ll start with the system preferences. There are four preference panes that need changing, and we also included notes on shipping.
Energy Saver
Set the Computer Sleep and Display Sleep to Never. Make sure only these check boxes are enabled:
– Wake for network access
– Start up automatically after a power failure
Use the “Schedule…” button to schedule a ‘Start up or Wake’ Every Day event sometime in the middle of the night. This will power on a machine that’s accidentally been shut down outside of our free hands-on support hours. The schedule is ignored if the machine is powered on.
Network
Set the Ethernet configuration with the details included in your instruction email. Add additional IP addresses by clicking the “+” icon in the bottom left corner to add additional Ethernet interfaces. Additional IP addresses used for Virtual Machines do not need to be added here. Please also disable Wi-Fi.
Sharing
Enable Screen Sharing and Remote Login. Remote Management is used with Apple Remote Desktop (ARD). While ARD is a power tool in a lab/office environment with a lot of Macs, its stability has degraded with recent OS releases. Screen Sharing also has new features that allow clipboard sharing and drag and drop file sharing.
Users & Groups
Click on Login Options at the bottom of your user list. Set the radio button for “Display login window as” to Name and password. Uncheck the “Show the Sleep, Restart, and Shutdown buttons” option. This increases security to your login window.
Shipping
Box up your mini and send it to the address provided in the instruction email. Do not include the power cord, but we do recommend using the original Mac mini box. We’ll store the box and return it to you when your Mac mini is shipped back. Make sure to properly pad and protect the box by placing it within a shipping box. Also make sure there is an insured value on the shipment that matches the value of your equipment. Once the package is shipped reply to the instruction email with tracking details. If you plan on using an expedited shipping method (next day air, etc), please reply to the instruction email to arrange receipt of your Mac mini. Please note that the shipping/receiving department is not open on weekends or holidays. Once your Mac mini arrives we’ll process it and place it in the data center. You’ll receive an email when it’s online or if we have any questions.