Generally, you
can't get into a minicomputer and expect it still to work,
some of the boards or power supplies would have to be removed in order to
create space. What you need is a mainframe. ;)
At last, somebody finally answers the question.
Is that the definitive differentiation between a mini and a mainframe?
I don't know if there was ever a definitive difference. I expect
different manufacturers used different definitions.
My personal one, which I think I got from a marketing leaflet for the
IBM 9370, is that a mainframe requires a computer room, while a
minicomputer shares a room with other equipment (office desks with
terminals, machine tools it controls, or whatever).
This is not to say that some users didn't put their minicomputer(s) in a
separate room; but the computers didn't require it.
Philip.