Connecting Mac mini A1347 to a MacBook Pro

Let's back up a step.

Which Mac mini do you have? Apple reused the model number A1347, and it can refer to any of these Mac minis:

• Mac mini (Mid 2010)
• Mac mini Server (Mid 2010)
• Mac mini (Mid 2011)
• Mac mini Server (Mid 2011)
• Mac mini (Late 2012)
• Mac mini Server (Late 2012)
• Mac mini (Late 2014)

The connections on these vary. E.g., the 2010 Minis had four USB-A (USB 2.0) ports, a FireWire 800 port, and no Thunderbolt port of any kind. The 2014 Mini had four USB-A (USB 3.0) ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports (using the old-style Mini DisplayPort connector), and no FireWire ports.

What are you trying to accomplish? The MacBook Pro cannot act as a monitor for another computer, if that might be what you have in mind. If you are trying to share data, transfer data, or migrate from one computer to the other, there might be several ways of going about it, so it would help to know what you are trying to do.

You might be able to use them as external storage if your connected them to your MacBook Pro in Target Disk Mode. However, you would have to leave them on permanently as it would take a wired keyboard to reboot them each time into Target Disk Mode.

That's really not the best application of the Mini or external storage.

Why not sell the Mini's and invest in external SSD drives. If you don't get enough to purchase external SSDs in their own enclosures you might try what I use:

This setup gets 500 MBs read and write which is plenty fast. I can open a 58,800 photo library on one in less than 2-3 seconds.

I have 4 such devices.

Just some food for thought.

Please read the following user tip and restate your question/problem in detail: 

     Writing an Effective Apple Support Communities Question - Apple Community

What year is your Mac Mini. The A1347 designation doesn't tell us enough. It can be any where from 2010 to 214 and each has a different maximum macOS system that it can run. But the model year will.

What you do want to achieve by connecting the two Macs together?

Do you want to connect them using the Target Disk Mode?

You need to describe what your end goal is in detail for us to be able to advise.

1) The Mac mini's are computers not raw storage devices.

2) The #1 backup solution for your MacBook Pro, is to use a USB External Drive.

If you want you can connect a display or HDMI TV to the Mac mini, setup Screen and File Sharing with the MacBook Pro, then save and share files with the Mac mini over your local network.

The white "mini" is not a mini at all.

It's an AirPort Extreme Base Station wireless router.

AirPort Extreme 802.11n (1st Generation) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

Yes, the other device is a mini, released sometime between 2010 and 2014.

Look for a copyright date in the info label for a better idea if exactly when it was released.

Or input the serial number at Apple's coverage lookup website here: https://checkcoverage.apple.com

Either way, both of these devices are obsolete and unsupported.

DeDollarDesigns wrote:

PS - where would be the best place to sell the Minis?)

Before you sell the Mac mini, be sure to carry out the steps outlined in this article:

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

If by any chance, you ever set a firmware password on that Mac mini, turn it off before you sell the Mac.

Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support

If, by any chance, the Mac mini is one of the 2010 models that is so old that it came with optical recovery discs, be sure to transfer those to the buyer.

DeDollarDesigns wrote:

And where do you think would be a good place to start looking to sell them?

Other World Computing / Sell Your Mac might also be a possibility.

Although it doesn't look like they'd pay much. I had the Web page give me a quote for a Mid 2011 Mac mini with minimum specs, just out of curiosity, and it said the machine might be worth all of $10!

Now that we know one of the devices is a old Apple router definitely you should try to sell them, get what you can and buy whatever you can in external SSDs.

Craig's List or eBay.

With Craig's List you can specify local sale only so you don't have to figure in shipping and require cash only.

I've never sold on either so it's all conjecture.