What Is the SD Slot on a Mac Mini?

The Mac Mini is the smallest form-factor Macintosh computer available. The Mac Mini's design is focused on being a space-efficient, inexpensive computing platform for the average user -- it is not a performance workstation. Mac Minis are often purposed as home theater PCs by virtue of their size and capabilities. According to Apple, the Mac Mini is designed so that the person using it can replace his computer and continue using existing peripheral devices like monitors, keyboards and mice.

SD memory cards are a type of flash memory storage device: they don't require moving parts to access and store data. Three SD card device generations offer increased capacity and performance over earlier generations: SD, SD High Capacity and SD Extended Capacity. The fastest, SDXC, was introduced in 2009. SD cards offer 2GB of storage capacity; SDHC cards offer 32GB; and SDXC cards provide 2TB of storage capacity. Mac Mini models with SD card readers support all three generations; however, SD readers can only use cards from the device's generation and prior generations. So an SDHC reader can't read SDXC cards, but an SDXC reader can read SD and SDHC cards.

The Mac Mini's SD card slot can work with microSD and miniSD cards, but the cards must be placed inside of an adapter. MicroSD and miniSD cards often include a full-sized SD reader adapter that looks just like a full-sized card but features a connection slot for the smaller card. The Mac Mini's reader is too large to work with miniSD and microSD cards, which may get stuck in the slot if inserted. Many mobile devices such as cellular phones and cameras use the smaller microSD and miniSD standards to reduce the size of the device by using a smaller card slot.

Any SD card properly inserted into the Mac Mini's SD slot will be recognized by the operating system as a USB storage device. Insert the card into the reader slot with the connectors facing down and towards the device. The card will slide in and click into place. The Mac Mini will mount and access the card automatically. Drag the card's icon into the trash to unmount the device before ejecting it to prevent data corruption. SD cards can be removed from a powered-down Mac Mini without a problem.