10.6 Server + Mac mini = Fail City, U.S.A.

Flashback: I had a dual 800 MHz G4 server running 10.5 Server. This is at my home, the server was acting as a file server plus dhcp server, router, mail server, light web server, netboot, etc. Then I got a Mac mini to replace the G4, so I could cut the power consumption of my setup by more than half, AND add media center to list of server tasks. 10.5 is Universal, so the drives went from my G4 to my 9400m mini without skipping a beat. Well it did skip one beat, eventually I had to spilt the mirrored raid, repartition one drive do GUID (from APM), then restore the remaining slice to the newly reformatted volume. Then erase the second volume and add is as a secondary to the first. That was only because some software updates don't like to run on an APM partition of they're on an Intel Mac.
Fast forward a few months.
I've been using my home server more and more to play video. 10.6 is supposed to use the video card for h264 decoding. So even though playing even HD video barely uses any CPU at all, I figured it would be a good time to upgrade to 10.6 Server. Then it would use even less CPU, plus I'd get a little snappiness.
Now the horror begins:
I'm not going to recount everything. But it was 48 hours of downtime, where every possible little thing that could go wrong, went wrong all at the same time. The short version is that the upgrade failed. So I restored from my Time Machine thinking I'd just try it again some other time. Turns out time machine doesn't backup your mail server. (THANKS FOR TELLING ME, APPLE) So then I figure I have everything ELSE backed up, and I still have all my mail on the clients. So then I reformat and do a clean install of Snow Leopard Server. Fail. Repeat. Fail. Repeat. Fail. <- more on that in a sec, but at this point, I'm deciding to just go back to 10.5 and be done with this "upgrade". But theres a problem, my 10.5.0 OS X Server disk won't boot this new Mac mini. Remember where this mini's drives came from? It was already on 10.5.6 or newer (forget) when they got put into this mini. So then I had to get an external drive, hook it up to my mac pro, install 10.5 on that, then netboot my mini off my macbook, and image the installed server over to the mini. Nightmare. But as of right now, I'm back on 10.5.8 and I've been running fast and stable for many hours now. So I believe the nightmare has ended.
But back to 10.6's problems . . .
The primary problem was this: My mini would connect to the cable modem and to my LAN. It would run fine for a few hours. Then it would drop it's DHCP IP. And it would not get it back. EVER. Reboot modem, reboot computer, delete interface, re-add interface, delete location, delete networking prefs. NOTHING and I mean NOTHING would get it back. It was like the computer freaked out and broke it's ability to connect as a DHCP client. The modem connects to an Apple USB Ethernet adapter, but even plugging directly into my modem, the ethernet port wouldn't grab an IP any more. With my macbook set up as a temporary DHCP server, the mini wouldn't get an ip from IT over ethernet. Other macs on the network did no problem. It was complete, unfixable DHCP failure. So I'd do another clean install, start over. Everything seemed good, but after an hour or so, suddenly the mini would drop it's IP and that was the end of that installation of OS X. Keep in mind the whole time this was happening, I could plug the USB ethernet adapter (thats connected to my modem) into my MacBook and it would get an ip in seconds. I even left the mini connected overnight while I slept, hoping it would straighten itself out by morning. Nope. Also, this happened under 10.6, then 10.6.2, then 10.6.1.
Now, I've been running 10.6 server on my MacBook Pro for a long time. I occasionally use it for DHCP Serving/Netboot Serving. It has always worked like a charm. So my theory at this point is that 10.6.2 Server seems to have some critical incompatibility with Mac minis. Which is a real ball buster considering the new Mac mini Server. I wonder if that new server has a slightly newer build of OS X Server on it.
So thats my story. I still want 10.6 on my home server, but now I'm kind of afraid of 10.6 server.
Heres another fun tidbit. My mini server is in one room, with it's keyboard, mouse, many connections to an external drive tower, modem, switch etc. But it's monitor is my television, thats in a different room. I've always used remote desktop to manage. But when the network itself is having problems. . . It's NOT fun when theres no easy way to move the TV or the Computer close to each other . . .

To say that 10.6.2 doesn't like Mac Minis seems a bit of a stretch to me. No one else is reporting similar issues, so that hints towards something in your setup more than Mac OS X Server.
What's missing from your post is any hint at what the logs have to say about this.
Mac OS X Server is pretty good about logging problem events on the network and I'm sure there'd be some kind of hint there.
The other critical piece of information is what else is attached to that USB port. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you've got some external storage device attached to the USB - the same USB that's trying to manage your network. If that external drive is going to sleep it could cause a USB bus reset, and there goes your network!
If that's the case, it's arguable that the server should just re-establish the link, and it probably should, but you're also asking it to perform under flaky conditions so unexpected things could happen. Again, the logs should make it pretty clear if that's what's going on.

Similar Messages

My mac mini failed to burn a playlist onto a blank cd, and now it will not eject the blank cd. what can i do?

my mac mini failed to burn a playlist onto a blank cd, and now it will not eject the blank cd.
leonardfromlancaster

If you can't eject a CD or DVD or open the drive tray
How do I eject a defective DVD?: Apple Support Communities
How to eject a CD on a MAC mini with PC keyboard and mouse « FAQforge
How force eject disc: Apple Support Communities
Download ForcEject Tool for Mac - Force-ejects discs stuck inside SuperDrive. MacUpdate.com

FileMaker Server problem on Mac Mini Server - Mac Mini won't boot

I just installed a brand new Mac Mini Server today, and also FileMaker Server 11. A first-timer for both Mac OS X Server and FileMaker Server, I made an error as explained below, and right now I don't know how to get back on track with the system. It won't boot.
So, how did this happen?
At first everything was proceeding according to plan. I configured the pre-installed Mac OS X Server on the Mac Mini with users, groups and services. This was tested from clients and this seemed to work just fine. Then I installed and configured FileMaker Server. This was also tested from a client, and the example database that came with FMS was served up just fine.
The problem arose when I tried to install my existing FileMaker databases. I simply checked to see where in the file system the example database was located, and then copied my old databases to that location (I think it was Library > FileMaker Server > Data > Databases or something close to it - can't check it now...). I had the FileMaker Server Admin Console running, and hit the Refresh button hoping that this would make FileMaker Server find the databases.
This was my first error. I should have read ahead in the instructions to see that one is supposed to use an Upload Database assistant instead...
What happened when I hit refresh was that the FileMaker Server Admin Console became completely unresponsive with a spinning ball as cursor. I left it for about an hour hoping it would terminate, but gave up and tried to shut it down. It wouldn't close, so I force quit it from the Finder. Then I tried to shut down FileMaker Server, but I needed to force quit this as well. After this I thought it would be best to reboot the Mac Mini, so I shut it down, but now it won't even boot, it just stays on the screen with the spinning wheel for ever!
I have tried all the keyboard options while booting, but nothing seems to help. In safe mode, the grey progress bar just grows to about one third, then disappears and leaves the eternally spinning wheel.
The server version of the Mac Mini doesn't have an optical drive, only two internal hard drives. I tried to reinstall from scratch using the optical drive on another Mac on the network. The startup disk appeared when I tried to boot the Mac Mini holding down the option key, and after about 20 minutes or so of the spinning wheel I could actually access the discs. I started by running Disk Utility to check disk permissions. There were a lot of repairs concerning permissions and groups, especially on "Library". It said "ACL differs on Library", I don't know what this is but this was repaired. I then ran Repair Disk. The volume appeared to be OK.
When I tried to reinstall Mac OS X Server however, this failed with the message
"You can't upgrade this version of Mac OS X because a newer version is installed. Mac OS X Server couldn't be installed on this disk." I don't know how this can be, but I may have run software update earlier today.
What should I try next? Should I erase the primary HD and try to install again? Or should I install the system software on the secondary HD? Or should I just try to reboot as is in the hope that the disk permission repairs did the trick...?
Any helpful pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Hello there, I came across your post when browsing the forum for passive advice. I am in the same boat as you and am a first timer for both of these tools. I work for a company who now needs to expand its network and database capabilities. I have been assigned this task and these are the tools i have opted for. I have not yet purchased them and i am pleased to find someone who has my desired setup. Could you please advise on the simplicity of the setup and whether an advanced knowledge is required.
I want to use it in a mixed operating system environment. Is this possible?
Regards
Matthew

Setting up a vpn on server Mac mini

I am trying to setup a VPN on a Mac Mini with OS X Server. I am able to connect via my internal wifi system but not external. I had to setup my modem to port forward but should it go in or out on the port forwarding.

Okay I will try that, when I was over my parents house the other day and they have the same internet supplier. I noticed that they have the exact same IP address as I do and I live 20 miles away. I also found in my modem that I can change my static IP address to something different if this is a better way of doing business. I am now wondering if this internet supplier is using the same IP for everyone will I be able to connect to my network? Thanks for the help, this is the first time I have tried to create a VPN.

Fresh Home Server, Mac Mini 2014 or older?

Hello Again,
I read all discussions dot apple dot com server posts title since friday's announcements on ac Mini and searched too on top of web searching reviews, but I wanted to hear from you gals and guys.
I do not do Big Photos or Movie professionally, just Apple Deployment of carts, apps and books.
I want a Mac Mini to mostly practice Yosemite Server and some newer devices.
For a simple Home Server with only few devices, would it be better to get the previous refurbed Mac Mini and throw on Server 4.0?
A short why is welcomed.
Merci,
Francois.

Server really doesn't put much of a load on the machine. I have it running on a Mini from 2010, and it's working just fine. You could get a refurb and it'll do the job.
Most of Server's features are low demand on RAM and CPU. Networking is where it feels the most strain if you are moving a lot of files or using it as a proxy. If you're just using file services, Xcode, DNS, and Mail, a Core2Duo with 4GB RAM can easily handle the load.

Mac Mini fails to detect Aluminum Keyboard at Boot, Aka Support Keys

I've recently had the misfortune of diagnosing a failing hard drive on a my Mac mini. This is a First Gen Intel Mac Min, 1.6ghz, so its about 2 years old now. I have recently purchased a new Aluminum Keyboard, as my older white Apple keyboard had started to have issues, ( some of the keys weren't working any more).
When I started to go through the diagnostics I was concerned that my Mac mini was further in trouble than just a bad HD. As with each boot, the Mac would fail to recognize the standard startup keys, CMD+S, V, Or Even C, D. Nothing I tried could I get the Mac Mini to startup in any mode other than normal startup, which at this point was failing.
I managed to dig out the original White apple keyboard, and plug it in, how ever with only partial keyboard access, trouble shooting was extremely limited.
So the question that I have, is there a way to correct the Mac Mini so it recognizes the Aluminum keyboard during start up, or do I need to find a working white keyboard on E-bay?

The thread has been 'archived' meaning that it dates from a long time ago (two years) and has not had any posts in the intervening time. Threads in that situation are archived so they can be searched and reviewed, but no further contributions added. The exception to no further contributions is that the OP of the thread can add to it - the intention being that OPs can return and mark threads as solved and award stars, also add commentary to clarify their resolution if they need to. Sadly in some instances OPs have added comments which are misleading or inaccurate, but of course no-one else can add further posts to say so!
If you use the 'report this post' link and ask the Hosts to unlock the thread to correct an erroneous addition, they can do so (though they may not of course!
Your comments would have made a welcome clarification I think!

Convert Server Mac Mini to Vanilla Mac using OSX upgrade

I have a new Mac Mini with the server software loaded, which i have disabled, but is it possible to convert the Mini to a "Vanilla" Mac by choosing a specific way to upgrade the MAC OSX?
Thanks
John

John... wrote:
"I assume that other partitions i have configured shoudl remain intact and useable after the new load?"
As long as the new install is done on the OSX partition,
the others should be fine. Make sure you make backup
of them just in case.
Just to be safe, I would get an external drive and do the install
on that. Then boot to that drive (make suree all is well), wipe the
internal OSX partition, then clone the external to internal.
"And not sure how i get a new load of Lion these days."
Unfortunately you will need to buy it at the app store
and download it in order to get the Lion without server
components. Installing via Recovery HD on a Server
will install Lion + Server.

Can I use the macbook air superdrive with my non server mac mini?

I recently removed the optical super drive from my early 2009 mac mini to switch to a 2 HD setup. I have an opportunity to get a macbook air superdrive (external) for a really good deal, but I am unsure whether or not it will work. The specs say that it will work with a min that has no optical drive, but does it matter if I removed the drive myself instead of buying the server version of the mini?

Ahhh, you did not say that you don't have one yet. Perhaps you should csll an Apple vendor in your area and ask. Although it is supposed to work with a Mini, I don't know about a Mini from 2009 since the optical drive was not released until the 2010 MBA came out, I believe.

Convert Snow Leopard server mac-mini to basic Snow Leopard Mac-Mini?

I have recently purchased a Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server installed. I have decided not to use it as a server and just maximise its capacity by using it just with Snow Leopard. How do I reformat to install basic Snow Leopard software? Thanks

Without an optical drive of its own, a Mini Server model would require the use of an external optical drive capable of supporting OS X installation and booting. This could include another Mac capable of supporting Target Disk Mode and the use of the second computer's optical drive. Or a supported external optical drive.
Another question may arise in the fact you would not be able to use an older OS X install disc older than the version shipped with the computer; the date of the Snow Leopard version's retail install disc would have to be newer than the SN OS X 10.6.x install DVD the machine shipped with in order to use it.
There may be a way to do a Custom installation from the Snow Leopard Server version DVD you have. This would likely be the best bet if possible. Given the higher level tools and processes available to the Server version of OS X Snow Leopard, being able to use that is a better preference overall than Client version.
You may be able to upgrade an internal hard disk drive to a larger capacity unit, or get and use a supported externally enclosed hard disk drive capable of supporting OS X booting and clones; these options could expand the basic use of the computer no matter what version of OS X you have running within it. Later on should you decide to experiment, a second drive for dual booting 10.6. & 10.7 could be a way to go forward.
The accessory use of a more dedicated external optical drive for the Mini Server edition is recommended; as well as the use of an external enclosure for an additional hard disk drive for backup purposes.
Depending on the version of standard retail Snow Leopard install DVD you may have, the ability to perform an Archive and Install should be available to you. Or perhaps a custom installation to nullify some of the more advanced parts of the Server version may be a possibility to investigate. I'd read up on what advantages a Server version of OS X can provide you, before leaving it.
When Lion 10.7 arrives, if your computer is supported, it should be relatively easy to upgrade & install the standard version (vs Server) via an upgrade where you keep user account settings etc from the previous OS.
Anyway hopefully this helps...
Good luck & happy computing!

Brand new Mac Mini failing to start

I got my Mac Mini 2 days ago (brand new direct from Apple, with Lion install) and everything worked fine until last night when I downloaded and attempted to install various Apple software updates (including a security update). I left the computer alone for about 5 minutes while it restarted and when I came back the screen was off and the computer was unresponsive to keyboard/mouse input. The Mac's fans were clocking at very high speed and the unit was hot so I powered off by pressing the power button for a few seconds.
I came to switch the computer on this morning and although it powered up and the indicator light came on, immediately the fans kicked in to a very high speed and there was no signal to my monitor.
I've tried all the steps recommended in the FAQ (resetting the PRAM, the SMC etc) and now I don't even get the indicator light.
Are there any tips/suggestions you can offer before I contact customer support?

With a brand new computer like that, I would take it back to Apple and ask them to fix it.
Allan

Mac mini fails to startup after 10.5.8 upgrade

Hey All,
I just finished downloading the new update and my Mac Mini wont start up. It just stays on the white screen with the apple and it blinks the prohibit sign. I read everything I could on trying to get this baby back up and here's what I have tried.
I started up from the disc and under disc utility I repaired permissions & repaired disc-after repairing, both showed that there was nothing to repair.
I tried reseting PRAM by holding down command, option, p & r. Nothing
Is there something else I'm not trying. Do I have to reinstall....the sound of that makes me shutter. I'm one of those jack ***** who hasn't backed up my hard drive.
Thanks for your time in this frustration.

but...I was able to archive and install.
Great!
I'm gonna have to wait and figure out why 10.5.8 did this and maybe attempt another update later.
More then likely, there was some corruption in your hard drives directory that you didn't know about or Disk Utility could not repair. Then when you applied the update it got magnified. This happens often if users don't +Repair Disk+ before installing an update.
Then follow this procedure;
Download the Combo update from this site (yours may also have been corrupt), not +Software Update+, disconnect all firewire + USB devices except keyboard + mouse,Repair Permissions, re-install update, Repair Permissions again + try.
Sometimes downloads from +Software Update+ have issues so I always download the Combo Update.DALE

Mac Mini fails to restart after 10.4.5 update!

Hi,
Updated my Mac Mini to 10.4.5 this morning and restarted... now I'm getting the grey "panic" screen telling me I need to restart my computer. This can either happen virtually instantly or, as on a couple of occasions, when the OS X startup screen appears. Haven't tried anything else yet, but has anyone got any ideas before I start re-installing etc.?
Thanks in advance,
JF
Mac Mini 1.42 GHz Superdrive OS X 10.4.5 - nearly

OK... a bit further into the problem... booted to the DVD, the disk did need both a Repair and Permissions Repair.
At this point I re-verified everything, half way through the permissions verification, the same thing happened - now this is starting to point to a hardware issue.
So far I've had more luck, getting right into a full re-boot before the same thing happens.
At the moment I've started creating a disk image to an external firewire drive to make sure I can save everything, but I'm not even sure it'll finish that!!!
No problems whatsoever before the 10.4.5 update.
Any further ideas??
Is it possible that there's been a Bluetooth firmware update that may have snarled things up?
Thanks
JF

Mac Mini fails to accept input from aluminum keyboard during boot.

This is unbelievable. Support knew nothing of this. I tried ⌥, ⌘-S, ⌘-V, ⌘-⌥-P-R, and nothing. SUpport thought my keyboard was broken and was suggesting I take to the Apple Store. This is utterly mazing that people could be left without any recourse in trying to troubleshoot their Macs if they did not have another keyboard lying around. I wonder what the percentage of users is that have extra non-aluminum keyboards lying around. I suspect not high.

This has been a known issue since the release of the Alu keyboards, and there is absolutely no doubt that Apple do know about it - I'm aware of a number of reports that have been submitted to them on this issue, and there has been a significant level of discussion about it here (and elsewhere). Given the time that has passed since it was first reported, it seems pretty obvious that Apple either can't, or don't intend to, fix the issue since they have had plenty of opportunity to revise either the keyboard or the mini.
That said, this is sadly not the first time an Apple support worker has indicated no knowledge of a commonly known issue when a customer has called. It doesn't indicate anything much more than that either the individual worker was not aware of the problem, or couldn't find mention of it in the standard script. I'm not surprised that you were therefore given the standard fallback of taking the item to an Apple Store, but there is little excuse in the end to these people either not being correctly informed, or sufficiently monitored that cavalier responses to customers are better discouraged.
Boece makes the point that almost any USB keyboard will suffice in the circumstance that you need to modify the boot sequence on your mini, and sad to say that remains the only real fix. The Alu keyboard is an excellent device, but is not fully compatible with a number of Mac systems.

NAT won't start on 10.7 Server Mac Mini

I'm new to OS X Server (started with Lion) and I'm learning a lot by trial and error so bear with me please!
I'm running a mini with 10.7 server who's currently sitting behind an Airport Extreme Base Station. I wanted to let the server do DHCP and and let the AEBS do NAT but apparently the AEBS doesn't allow it (I've tried this workaround but it didn't work for me) so the plan was to experiment with setting the AEBS as a dumb bridge and let the server do DHCP and NAT.
The DHCP portion seemed to work fine (Server Admin tool is showing the DHCP clients) but NAT just won't start.
When I click on START in the GUI or try from the command line (serveradmin start nat), I get this:
Aug 5 00:18:24 helios servermgrd[4310]: servermgr_nat: nat config:Error:Could not create Mobile Internet Sharing config}
Hours of googling around yielded nothing.

Had exactly the same problem with 10.7.5, and all I could Google was this (and the copy over at Stack Exchange), and an article in Czech
Long story short: the Czech article led me to 'pf' which led, via apple discussions, to this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5215
Instructions for setting it up by hand (as the lower apple config files do not exist on my system, I presume they're the 'Mobile internet config' file that couldn't be created).
I'm typing this from behind the NATWall, so it def works.
Also, something else broke it in 10.8.2:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4418

How do I install Mac OSX Lion client on the new Mac Mini Server?

If Apple would have had the quad-core processor option for the non-server Mac Mini, I would have just bought that, but I wanted the quad-core. I do not, however, need the server software. I found this article talking about how to disable the server functionality, but this article highlights how little that method actually does.
Ultimately, I just want to do a clean reinstall like I used to do prior to Lion. This process used to be so easy. Create a disk image of the desired operating system on USB, option boot, and you're done. Now it appears that Apple purposely impedes this process, as every time I boot from the USB I created with Mac OSX Lion client, I get a circle with a line through it. Is there any way around this restriction? Editing firmware, editing .plist files, etc?
Very disappointed that Apple is limiting what used to be such a simple process on Hardware and Software that I paid for but now can't get the functionality I want.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but what I don't think you can do what you're asking for. Closest thing is going to be disabling the server components like it says in the article, but again, that doesn't do much.

10.6 Server + Mac mini = Fail City, U.S.A.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for