[rossmcloch]

The guide in the FAQ gives a full step by step installation guide for an 8gb SSD. This guide is a huge waste of time. You can install os x directly onto the 8gb ssd. Here is how you do it:

Follow the guide here: http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/howto-i ... t1106.html

When you are installing, the trick to get it to fit on 8gb is to go to disk utility, repartition the drive as a GUID partition table, then erase the drive and format it as FAT. Quit the disk utility. Select to install on the drive. Click the option button. It should say something about reformatting to Mac OS X Extended (journlaed) during install. This is good. Go to the next screen. Select customize, uncheck except for what is required. Now it should just barely fit on the drive and let you install.

The next problem you run into is updating to 10.5.6. You need 2.1gbs free heres what you can do to get this:

1. Download and run monolingual.
- Choose Monolingual -> Preferences and check the /System box under Architectures and the Strip debug info when removing architectures box.
- Check everything in languages except for english and delete them.
- Select everything in Architectures except for Intel and delete them.

2. Go to /System/Library/Speech/Voices and remove all voices except Fred. Empty your trash.

3. Open a terminal and run:

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
cd /var/vm
sudo rm sleepimage

Restart with the boot cd

Download the 10.5.6 combo update from apples website (not the auto update). Now you should have enough free space to run it. (You might need to download the combo image onto an external drive or cd or something and run it from there. I dont remember if you have enough space to store the update and also run it).

Now you should have osx 10.5.6 running on your mini. Pick up where you left off in the other guide. You can also remove some more stuff to free up more space by following the instructions given in the 8gb installation guide in the How-Tos.

Sorry if this is a bit sloppy, Im just trying to save people some time installing everything.

edit. I forgot to mention, you might have to run:

sudo diskutil eraseVolume "HFS+" "EFI" /dev/disk0s1

before running the install script if you get an error about mount_hfs: invalid argument when you run the install script. I'm not sure if this was something caused by the fat format or if it was just a glitch in my installation.