Install fails? Mac Mini won't work??

I partitioned my Mac Mini, giving it 15GB of space. Went into install and I get:
Setup is inspecting your hardware configuration_
for maybe a second. Then I have a black screen. Anything particular I'm doing wrong? I've heard that you may need an Apple Cinema Display to install Boot Camp on the mini... true?
Dell Display thru Mini-DVI to VGA cable
Fully updated 10.5.8 Mac Mini (2 days old)
Windows XP SP2

scratched disk

Similar Messages

Mac Mini won't start after installing OS X 10.6.3

My Mac Mini won't start after installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3. When I turn it on, the Apple logo appears and the initialization line starts to fill, but it suddenly stops. It does that again and stops at the same point, but this time it shuts down. What should I do?

If you are coming from 10.5.8, hopefully you backed up your important data first. Your mini will need at minimum, 1 GB of RAM to install Snow Leopard and at least 5 GB of storage remaining on your boot drive.
I treat 10.6.3 as a fresh, full install over a 10.5.8 system. That means I choose Disk Utility from the Installer's menu and repartition the boot drive as a single partition, Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) format, and use the GUID partition scheme from the options button. At this point, while still in Disk Utility, I would verify the drive under First Aid.
Then I turn the installer loose, and reboot into a working 10.6.3 system, ready for the software updates that take the machine to 10.6.8.
So, following the above guidelines, reinstall 10.6.3.

Mac Mini won't boot after failed XP installation

Recently upgrade HD to 320GB 7200 rpm and 3GB ram. Running 10.5.8 fine.
I tried to install Windows XP through Boot Camp, but wasn't successful, I terminated the installation. Then Mac Mini won't boot up. When powered on, you heard the chime, then grey screen showed and stayed. Tried starting with "C" (boot from CD), "OPT" (boot option), "T" (target), and reset PRAM. None of them worked.
What should I try next?
Thanks
Message was edited by: Yijian Cao

If you install XP on Bootcamp, your startup disc will be changed to XP Windows partitioned you did. To restore your startup disc back to Mac OS, make sure your Mac is turned off. 1. Plug the power back and press the power button ON. When you hear the power On sound, press and hold the ALT key on your keyboard until you see the hardrives. 2. Select the HD that says MAc OS, then your mac will boot back to Mac OS.
Let me know if you have more problems, maybe I can help.
Abel

Mac mini won't mount in Firewire target mode

I connect one non-booting Mac mini to one working Mac mini and tried to get the data off the non-booting one, but it won't mount.
When I try to repair the disk using the Disk Utility from the working mini, it says:
Verify and Repair disk “disk1s3”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Invalid node structure
Invalid node structure
Catalog file entry not found for extent
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because
of an error
How can I get my data off the computer. I can reinstall the OS, but I have data in Application Data folder that I want to save too. Also, does Archive install save the whole user directory including Application Data?
I also have some files made in GarageBand saved in the Music folder.
I hope that someone can help me!

If Disk Utility cannot repair the drive then you may want to consider investing in a product like Alsoft's DiskWarrior…
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
Given your symptoms I doubt you'll be able to do anything at all, barring an erase and install, in the drive until you get the disk repaired.

My Mac Mini won't get past the initial startup screen with the Apple logo. What can I do?

After a long distance move, my Mac Mini won't startup past the logo screen. What can I do?

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
     a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, boot from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Mac Mini Won't Boot or Internet Restore - Hard Drive Boots on Macbook

Late 2012 Mac Mini. I cloned my 10.10.2 installation of Yosemite over from my Macbook pro 6,2 to a 1TB Samsung 840 SSD. It booted with no issues besides the keychain being lost and all passwords having to be re-entered.
After a week of going perfectly, it stops recognizing the USB keyboard after I unplugged it and plugged it back in. So I rebooted and get the dreaded stop sign after the boot failed. Oops. I enabled trim before I cloned, but forgot to check if it was working in the cloned drive (seems it was in the end). Since there was no recovery partition, I booted into Internet Recovery, but that hung using both WPA and WPA2 router logins. It obviously was syncing with router, but I got error -2002f in every configuration I tried. It also didn't seem to recognize an ethernet connection. Weird stuff.
I remembered I had an issue with a previous Mac Mini of the same model and the permissions after a clone. I repaired permissions and that was that. This is different because it wouldn't boot into Safe Mode. Resetting the PRAM did bring back an audible chime at least.
I pulled the SSD out of the Mac Mini and alt booted in from my Macbook 6,2. No issues (except the keychain thing again( and it loaded quickly. Nothing seemed to be wrong.
Then I put it back in the Mac Mini and tested it with known working RAM. Still the same thing. So now I am going to sleep on it and try to figure it out. It is unlikely to be a hardware failure as the Mac Mini was made in May 2014 and I bought factory refurbished. It seems to be an issue relating to the SSD as it boots other drives.
Any ideas?

Fix The Bugs Please wrote:
It is unlikely to be a hardware failure as the Mac Mini was made in May 2014 and I bought factory refurbished. It seems to be an issue relating to the SSD as it boots other drives.
Any ideas?
Is this SSD an additional drive added to your Mac Mini or did you replace the HDD with it? If it's an additional drive and since it's a Samsung, depending where you purchased your drive doubler kit (iFixit or OWC) you can try swapping the drives in the bays. I know for a fact that Samsung SSDs do not work right with the iFixit drive doubler kit's SATA cable. But it does work correctly with the Apple supplied SATA cable. If it's the OWC SATA cable, I know for a fact those are much more reliable with Samsung, OWC, Intel, Crucial SSDs. Another thing, I would NOT enable TRIM (my opinion) using a 3rd party trim enabler if you're running Yosemite. There are issues with trim enablers and Yosemite. Just let the built-in Garbage Collection take care of things.
If it's not an additional drive that was added, does your Mac Mini boot and work fine with the stock drive that it came with? Even though it's a 2012 model, if you purchased it refurbished from Apple in May 2014, you're still under warranty (same 1yr as new Macs) and if it's having same or similar issues working with the stock drive, you can take it to a local Apple Store for warranty repair. You would need to have only the stock drive installed (no SSD) before you setup an appointment.

Mac mini won't boot anymore

My Mac mini won't boot anymore. It's been running fine for months.
It's running Leopard Server 10.5.2 Build 9C31
It starts to boot, I get the first spinning gear with the gray screen, then the blue desktop blinks, then a second spinning gear on a gray screen and it appears to hang (the gear stops spinning).
I booted off the install DVD, ran disk utility, repaired the HD, repaired the permissions: the behavior is the same.
Safe mode doesn't work (same hang as above).
Single user mode does work.
I can connect to it via Server Admin while it appears hung.
The last few lines of the system log are:
May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: uid = 0 gid = 0
May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: opening /Library/Logs/EventMonitor/EventMonitor.error.log
May 15 18:38:59 server kextd[23]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym
May 15 18:39:09 server KernelEventAgent[59]: tid 00000000 received unknown event (12)
May 15 18:39:20 server kernel[0]: display: Not usable
May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[126]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.ATSServer[125]: FODBCheck: New annex file created
May 15 18:39:21 server ARDAgent [130]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
May 15 18:39:21 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[132]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
May 15 18:39:22 server ARDAgent [130]: call logout from LoginLogoutProxyCallBackFunction
May 15 18:39:22 server com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.RemoteDesktop.agent): Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
May 15 18:39:24 server loginwindow[58]: Login Window Started Security Agent
May 15 18:39:29 server servermgrd[53]: servermgr_calendar: created default calendar virtual host
May 15 18:39:31 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
May 15 18:39:32 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Ready******
May 15 18:39:33 server mdworker[109]: (Error) SyncInfo: Boot-cache avoidance timed out!
May 15 18:39:54 server Python[47]: CGImageSourceCreateWithData data parameter is nil
May 15 18:39:54 server com.apple.wikid[47]: Thu May 15 18:39:54 server.jeff.carpenter.name Python[47] <Error>: CGImageSourceCreateWithData data parameter is nil\n
May 15 18:39:56 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - bad packet received. length: 1440, packet status bits: MII error
May 15 18:39:56 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2: 00000000,00000001 sk98osx sky2 - - sk98osx_sky2::replaceOrCopyPacket tried N times
May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSWRITEDATA SBF /dev/dtracehelper 13 (seatbelt)
May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /dev/autofs_nowait 13 (seatbelt)
May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /usr/sbin 13 (seatbelt)
May 15 18:55:12 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - bad packet received. length: 23, packet status bits: MII error
Any ideas?

Yes, it's been running Server since I purchased it.
I doubt the serial number is in use elsewhere: I purchased the 10-user version at a retail store in a sealed package and I've only installed it once.

My Mac Mini won't start. The Power light blinks continusly (not pulses)

My New Mac Mini won't start up. I bought it online from J&R a week ago. My monitor says "no input detected" and the power light blinks. I recently fed it the gray mac os x install disk one, which it won't give back. Holding the mouse button when it turns on doesn't have any effect. So now i can't put a disk in or start it up.

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
No video with the power light blinking once per second means either bad or no memory. See this Apple note: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303083 . Specifically, below is from that note:
If the computer detects no SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) or the RAM installed does not meet the appropriate specifications, the screen will remain black but the power LED on the front of the computer will blink once per second to signal the error. This error condition may be due to physically damaged RAM, installing the incorrect type of RAM, or not having RAM installed.
Has it ever worked since you got it? If not, you should call J&R and tell them they sent a dead on arrival system, and ask for a replacement (ask them to send a will call tag or prepaid label to send the non-working machine back).

Mac Mini won't boot up.

Mac Mini won't boot up! Just getting blank white screen, any ideas why? No apple, just a blank screen. It worked fine last night.

Have you tried booting into the Recovery HD by pressing/holding COMMAND+R at system start or the Option/Alt key and choosing Recovery HD to boot into?
If you can get into the Recovery HD, open Disk Utilities and Verify Disk. Repair if necessary.

Photoshop Elements 11 installed on Mac Mini OS X 10.9.5. Application running successfully on bot main user and administrative accounts for considerable time with no warning messages. When established a new user account on same computer and try to call up

Photoshop Elements 11 installed on Mac Mini OS X 10.9.5. Application running successfully on bot main user and administrative accounts for considerable time with no warning messages. When established a new user account on same computer and try to call up elements receive message “Some ot the application components are missing from the Application directory. Please reinstall the application.” How do I correct this problem without disturbing application in main user account?

Brooks lansing if you create a new Administrator account does the same issue occur? If so then it is likely that there is a file permission failure and file permissions have been set for the existing Users instead of the groups they belong to.
Have you removed and reinstalled Photoshop Elements 11? This may reset the file permissions to the correct state to allow it to work under new accounts.

Mac Mini won't start and constantly makes disc ejecting noise

My Mac Mini won't start. It was working fine, then just locked up and won't start again. When I push the start button it just makes this repeated disc ejecting noise from the DVD drive. It doesn't make the chime noise or display anything on the monitor. I've disconnected the optical drive, but it didn't help. Then it just doesn't start at all. I thought that if I would disconnect the optical drive, that it would ignore it and just boot off the hard drive, but nothing happened. The power light comes on. Then, if I hold down the power button for 10 seconds it shuts down. The fan operates. It just never attempts to boot up. I can't put in a system DVD because the optical drive is just in eternal eject mode.
If you have any suggestions let me know. Thanks.

I have the same situation.
I think the drive thinks it has a disc to eject or part of the mechanism is stuck and can't return to it's resting position. I was going to disconnect as you tried but now I think I'll try to disassemble the drive to see if there might be some debris jamming things up.
Please let me know if you solve the problem.

2010 Mac Mini won't sleep

Hello, everything was working fine until I accessed my mac mini from my old iMac G4 to share some files. Now my new Mac Mini won't sleep. Here is what I have done. Ejected the Mac Mini on the iMac. Turned off the iMac, stopped sharing everything on the Mac Mini including files, my printer and iTunes media and reset the PRAM. Still the Mac Mini won't sleep. It's set to it's defaults of 10 minutes to sleep the monitor and itself but only the monitor goes to sleep after the 10 minutes. Very frustrated...

Hello Euchre and thank you for replying. I have unchecked all the boxes within the "Sharing" options that I checked some time ago. When I did that, sharing was automatically turned off. Still I am having the issue. I'll try putting the monitor at 9 minutes and the computer at 10 to see if that works. I'll be back. Thanks again, Ed

TouchScreen Monitor + mac mini = don't work

There is a big monitor with TouchScreen. It works fine connected via USB with any computer with Windows XP or Windows 7. But it doesn't work with mac mini. What I have to do to force it to work normally?

alvacom wrote:
I use USB wire which was together with monitor. Any other computer with Windows works fine with this USB wire. Anybody knows why mac mini doesn't work?
When you say it does not work, what do you mean? Do you mean no video appears? If so you need to connec tthe monitor to the Mac via VGA, or DVI, or HDMI, or Displayport, etc.
If however you are referring to the fact it does display an image but the Touch screen capability does not work, then this is almost certainly because your Mac does not (at this point) have the right software drivers installed to enable this capability. The reason the Windows computers work is either because they already have the drivers installed or because Windows has automatically downloaded and installed the drivers.
You also don't detail what make and model of monitor you are referring to. It is possible some makes and models can be made to work with the right software (for Mac). However be aware that some makes/models only support limited touch capabilities, for example most HP Touchscreen displays only support two finger touches and not three or more.
In response previously to someone else who wanted to use a HP Touchscreen with a Mac I found this website http://touch-base.com/download.asp which has drivers for various makes and models of touchscreen display.

Mac mini won't connect to my wireless router!

I just bought my mac mini server then connected it to wifi, then after 2 weeks I had to go abroad for a week so I just turned off the switch connecting to my mac, without switching off my mac mini server. then when I get back home my mac mini won't connect to my wifi. I tried everything from manually setting up IP and DHCP nothing works. What happened?
thanks for help,
Jakarta

I didn't reset the machine/router itself because 2 of my computer is still connected to wifi-and working perfectly, but the mac mini server cannot connect to wifi.
what I did was to set up the "networking utilities"-having said that, what I did was to connect all over again to wifi, this did not work. I did tried to change from DHCP to manually set up IP, neither of these didn't work.
I'm now stucked!
Message was edited by: asea

While trying to re-install Mac OS X, appears the following screen: Install failed Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer The installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacture for assistance. C

While trying to re-install Mac OS X, appears the following screen:
Install failed
Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer
The installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail.
Contact the software manufacture for assistance.
Click Restart to restart your computer and try installing again.

You should be able to install Mac OS X 10.7 or later on your 2011 MacBook Pro without issue, if it came with 10.6.3 as your signature suggests. Mind you, any 2011 MacBook Pro must use the original 10.6 installer disc labelled MacBook Pro if it desires to have 10.6 installed on it. The retail installer disc will not work on that model, nor will one from another age MacBook Pro, or other model labelled installer. Also
10.7 came both on USB Flash drive and Mac App Store installer versions. Both required either 10.6.6 minimum be pre-installed, or no Mac OS X operating system on the drive or partition it was to be installed on.
10.7.1 through 10.7.5 combo could be installed only once 10.7 had been installed. A combo update is available for installing on top of any version of 10.7. Otherwise only the preceding version could be updated to the next.
10.8 came only on Mac App Store installer. It is available only to 10.6.8 and later users.
10.8.1 to 10.8.5 combo could be installed only once 10.8 had been installed. A combo update is available for installing on top of any version of 10.8. Otherwise only the preceding version could be updated to the next.
10.9 came only on Mac App Store installer. It is available only to 10.6.8 and later users.
Both 10.9 and 10.9.1 had a serious security vulnerability, which only 10.9.2 addressed.
10.9.2 combo could be installed only once 10.9 had been installed.
For all three Mac App Store releases, the partition to be installed on had to be GUID partition formatted according to Apple Disk Utility.

Install fails? Mac Mini won't work??

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for