that was when i noticed that it first started with the reboot cycle. So the first thing i did was to install the SSD, and then try to restore from her most recent time machine backup, which was in Dec 2019. I was originally 'just' going to replace her 500 gb 5400 rpm drive with a 1TB SSD drive, and then use Time Machine to restore her mac to its previous OS. the second issue was that her 500 gb hard drive was 99.999% FULL, and the third red flag) and my former Apple Genius pet peeve) was that she had a TON of stuff on her desktop (3GB worth of junk). I was thinking of starting with the basics before i got my hands on her machine, but upon receiving the mini, the first thing that hit me was that she was running Hi Sierra. she tod me that her hard drive was making noises, and that her Audacity software would quit on her and force her to reinstall it often. I have my friend’s mid 2011 mac mini, 2.5 ghz i5, that was acting up on her after she moved to mexico to retire. All Mac Mini part replacement techniques should be close enough for anyone with computer knowledge to follow the guide and complete on any Mac Mini A1347 2010-2012 family. Therefor, this should be used as a concept guide. Some Mac manufacturer plants made Mac differently at different times.

Mac Mini A1347 Parts Replacement Step-by-step how-to video guide series.

A1347 logic board 2012