Intel Mac Mini question

Hello all:
I am sure this has been asked before. In replacing the hard drive and RAM in my intel mac mini, one of the battery wires at the point where it goes into the coupler broke off. I had seen elsewhere that warned if this breaks, you may as well toss the device. Is this the case? Can this be replaced by buying a new battery line?
Any help would be very much appreciated since I have my daughter's computer now out of commission.

Hi Chris
Sorry to hear about the accident with the wire. Don't despair - you don't have to toss the Mini!
If it was mine, I would first take a close look at the connector to see if it be dismantled so that I could re-solder/attach the wire. If not, and assuming the connector is unique to Apple, I would source another connector from an electronics shop (you don't need anything fancy - all you are doing is connecting two wires that run a fan).
I'm reasonably competent with a soldering iron, so I would unsolder the old connector and then fit the new one. If you don't have a soldering iron or aren't confident using one, you need to find a hobbyist or repair shop that will make the changeover for you.
This isn't high-tech stuff, so no worries about screwing up the Mini (although you do need to be careful to avoid static discharges while handling the opened Mini - but then you probably already knew that before opening the case).

Similar Messages

Thinking about switching to Intel Mac Mini... questions for the cognoscenti

Greetings:
I've been checking out the new Intel Mac Minis and I was thinking of purchasing one to replace my AV computer (PC) in the living room, which the GF currently uses. She's a typical user: watches video files/DVDs, uses iTunes excessively , sends web email and surfs the Net.
I've fairly decided on an Intel Core Duo Mini. Since I know the basics about Mac, I had a few questions:
1. What's an appropriate amount of RAM for a non-power user? Would 1 GB be more than enough or overkill? I'm used to running 1GB in a Windows machine. Plus, I'm also used to popping in memory when I needed to upgrade, and I see that's not really an option on the Mini.
2. How would I integrate it into a Windows network? Would the Mini be able to share files with a Windows machine and vice versa?
3. Regarding network integration: how easily would the Mini integrate into an existing Linksys 802.11g home network?
Lastly, this isn't really an (easily) answerable question, but how easy do you think it would be for an average computer user to get up and running on a Mac after having used Windows machines all their life?
Thanks, I look forward to your responses.
-Craig
Homebuilt Windows XP Pro 2GB PC 3500 RAM, 500GB SATA RAID (2x250), ATI AIW 9700 Pro, Athlon XP3200

Hello, I can only really answer Q's 1 & 3 as I've only owned a mini for the past 24 hours.
I purchased the Single Core after taking advice of the Apple Store staff in Manchester, they were quite helpful. I only really produce music (have used Ableton, Acid Pro etc on PC for quite a while), surf the web, do my banking etc so was advised that the Single Core with 512mb would be sufficent. I work for an ISP and have 10 years plus knowledge of Windows but I was prepared to listen and learn having never used a mac before. From my own experience, I'm used to having to use a pc with minimum spec ie min 1.2GHz processor, 1gb ram in order to produce music without any pops or clicks (latency), though sound cards also play a part. I've also had to keep internet activity well away from any PC that I produce music on in that respect. Anyhow, I'm going off on a tangent here but I was playing around with garageband last night and I've never known music production to run so smoothy on 512mb RAM, never known it before so was extremely impressed and certain I made the right purchase opting for Solo Core. You may not actually NEED the full 1gb though this depends what you're doing. To answer your other question, my mac slotted straight into my home nertwork without making any additional configuration.
i.e how long does it take to get used to a mac, I've found there is a learning curve but it's not THAT difficult, it's just the odd thing such as no right click of the mouse that takes some getting used to.

Intel Mac mini memory question

Hi,
I got an Intel Core Solo Mac Mini.
4 questions :
1- My mac has 512 mo. Is it ddr2-SODIMM memory (I think intel is different vs G5) ?
2- Is it 2x256 mo or 1x512 ?
3- I want to upgrade to 1 gig, do I have to buy 2x512 ou 1x1000 ?
4- Does this ram is compatible ? http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=221705 6&CatId=2268
It said "PC5400" but all the specs seems to be "PC5300"
thank you !
Intel Mac Mini Core Solo Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Intel Mac Mini Core Solo Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Intel Mac Mini Core Solo Mac OS X (10.4.6)

i recenetly purchases 2 gigs of memory off of ebay from approvedmemory
i called the apple store to get it installed, they do not intall 3rd party memory. so I called fry's and asked if they could do it. One store said no, but the Burbank, CA store has a guy who could do it. It took him 20 minutes to do it and it cost me $29.00
The 2 gigs of memory cost me $180 off of ebay.
The macstore/appleas store charges about $680.00 or so.... u do the math.
http://www.super-natural-films.com
http://www.naturalprinting.com
http://www.midimark.com
mac mini duo intel 1.66/2gb ram/80 HD Mac OS X (10.4.6) also own Mac, Mac Classic, Power PC, quadra 650, & G4 silver bullet... yay!

Intel Mac mini: upgrading questions...

Hi, I'm going to buy the new intel mac mini but I'm a little afraid for the graphic card inside the tiny machine...
What about music recording? (GarageBand, Logic Express...)
What about games? (Doom3, The Sims...) It's better than the nVidia 5200 that was inside the first gen of iMacG5?
What about video editing? It's the Mac mini fast enaugh to perform simple video operations or I need a more powerful computer? Maybe the new iMac?... Please help me!

I can't tell you about games, though if you scan through these Discussion threads in the next week or so I'd bet you'll find plenty of references to game playing on the new mini as people buy them and try them out. At the present moment, having only been announced a couple of days ago, there aren't many of the systems in actual use yet, so there's not much information to go on.
But it has to be said that it has always been a mistake to assume the physical size of the system reflects anything of it's capabilities. The PPC mini that has just been discontinued and which was slower and more limited than the new system appears to be was perfectly capable of running such things as Garageband, and doing complex video editing projects, so there's absolutely no reason to assume the new mini won't be more capable. The fact that it has an integrated graphics processor that shares RAM with the CPU has got a whole lot of people in a tizzy, but despite the comments some are making about it, they don't have any first-hand knowledge (as yet) and thus have no clue how well or badly it performs.
I'd urge you to find one of these systems in a local Apple store or retailer and play with it for a bit - I would expect you to be pleasantly surprised, even shocked, at how well it behaves. If you can't get access to one, watch these Discussions and read what actual owners and users begin to report, not what 'experts' are thinking.

Intel Mac Mini Core Solo - Kernel Panic on Boot

I was wondering if anyone who has purchased the Intel Mac Mini is having issues with Kernel Panics during the booting sequence?
I got a Core Solo from the local Apple store (couldn't wait to play, I'm waiting on the Core Duo I ordered online to come still ). The first thing I did was fire it up check it out for a few minutes, then I put the install disc in and reinstalled a clean OS, with less options because I'm planning on hooking it up to my TV so I don't need space hogs like Garageband etc on my TV computer. I got the updates that popped up, then shutdown the computer. I took it out to the living room and hooked it up to the tv and I got a black message about needing to restart (a kernel panic) right when the blue progress loading bar comes up on boot. I spent a while with it trying to figure out what was wrong, ran the Apple Hardware Test, booted it fine in Safe Boot. Finally I got tired of it and reinstalled the OS again.
It was fine for a day, working fine out on the tv. I brought it back in my room to play with a few things like Darwine, etc. Shut it down, came back an hour or so later booted it up and got the kernel panic on boot. Safe boot still worked fine. I spent some time trying to look for panic logs but didn't see any. I ran the disk utility and did a Full erase and it worked fine. I reinstalled the OS again. Ran MemTestOSX and it worked fine. I left it running the Apple Hardware Test for about 6 hours or more, and it performed perfectly.
This morning it still seemed ok, except sometimes on a cold boot when the blue progress bar screen should come on... my monitor just shows black and the light on the monitor goes inactive. So, I press the button on the back to sleep it, then bring it out of sleep with the keyboard and the OS is sitting there booted.
It seems like a weird combination of software and hardware problems, but maybe it's all hardware problems. I can't get past Safe Boot working when the OS stops loading. Right now the computer is working fine.
I'm waiting for my Core Duo to come in the mail and verify that it works flawlessly, then I'll take the Solo to the store and ask them to look at it.
Anyone have any similar experiences so far?

It seems like the mini is doing alright so far. I think maybe the full erase solved whatever issue it was having. I also got my Core Duo Mini yesterday in the mail and it's performing like a champ. Definitely a nice machine.
I'll close my question for now, since the Core Solo Mini seems alright. But, as a warning don't get on Front Row's bad side. I tried force quitting it because it was taking too long to load the videos folder and then tried shutting down from a terminal and ended up having to turn the machine off.

Best app for QT on Intel Mac Mini kiosk?

Hi all:
I've sent variations of this message off to various folks and fora pertaining to Flash, Director, Livestage, etc., so I thought I'd ask here as well.
I'm working on a very high profile exhibit here in NYC, which is opening to the public on Sept. 11th (draw your own conclusions). It involves a number of standard definition (not HD) video-based kiosks.
These are running on bottom of the line off-the-shelf single-core Intel Mac Minis w/ 512MB RAM. No, we cannot change the platform. We have to make it work with what we have.
We built our prototype in Director. Unfortunately, using QT in Director projects on Intel-based Macs is a non-starter, because Director executables are not Universal Binary yet.
The app is very simple -- a black background that just waits to trigger the video on a mouse click and returns to the black background when the movie is done playing.
The key thing is we need to display the highest possible image quality. We had hoped to use H.264. We've also tried 3IVX and Motion JPEG B, all of which play beautifully in the QT Player but stutter noticeably once in Director. This turns out to be a known problem, and a Universal Binary version of Director isn't due until next year.
I've also tried making a QuickTime Media Link (QTL) file that allows us to "quit when done" so that we can use BuddyAPI to open the program with the QT Player and then drop back to the Director app when done.
That works great, except for the fact that as of OSX 10.3, you can't hide the menu of an app when switching to another app, which looks terrible. Arrgh.
Flash's Player v9 (which is Universal Binary) only runs in a Browser, not as a standalone. So unless there's a browser that will run fullscreen with no chrome, that's out for the foreseeable future as well.
So now I'm thinking about building the whole thing as a self-contained QT movie in Livestage.
Livestage only runs in Rosetta, so I don't know if the QT file I build run natively in the QT player, so that I can use h.264 or 3IVX or whatever without it stuttering. I'd be perfectly happy w/ 3IVX, by the way...
Any help or direction appreciated. We have to have this up and running on site by next Monday, the 14th.
best,
FBC

Right -- well, I'm not concerned with editing the video (I use FCP, too).
I completely understand the role of bitrate in making videos look good, and for the record, I've gotten decent looking videos from Motion JPEG B at the Medium (default) quality settings...
But that's not my question here. The problem is playing back any QT codec as an asset in a larger application (eg, Flash, Director, Livestage) running specifically on the Intel Mac Minis. At the root of the problem is lack of universal binary projectors.
At the moment, the best option I have so far is using SAFT to put Safari into Kiosk mode (no title bar, etc.) and using that to play back a Flash SWF file (which give me the needed interactivity) as the default home page.
We're also going to try to roll our own Cocoa app as a wrapper for a 3ivx file. That will almost certainly look better than even a very high bandwidth FLV/SWF.
Any other ideas appreciated...

Intel Mac mini vs PowerMac Dual G5 storage server

I would like to setup a server to store family pictures, iTunes purchases and other media. Also I would like to use it as a backup for important documents and data.
I have a Intel Mac Mini 1.66 and a G5 PowerMac dual 1.8GHz.
I have purchased 4 400GB drives and I am trying to figure out the best solution for the money.
I would like to put the drives into external enclosures like OWC 2 drive FW800/FW400 and use the first pair as either RAID 0 or use the hardware spanning, and the 2nd pair as the backup.
Will this be too much for the FW400 bus of the Mac Mini, seeing I also use an EyeTV 500/200 solution to capture TV and burn DVDs. I will do video editing, iMovie, iPhoto stuff.
I would like to sell the G5, but would it make more sense to install 2 drives in the G5 and use 1 external enclosure with FW800 for the backup? I would like at least 1 external enclosure for the backup?
Any suggestion would help.
Thanks!

I have both of the systems to which you refer. I am typing to you on my G5 dual 2 ghz. I have an older G4 dual with 4 drives in it that I use for backup purposes, I do not use a fileserver at home in the sense of what you are talking about. My mini is my entertainment system with 1 TB of storage, my purchases are made on the G5 then transferred to the mini (giving me a backup of all purchases) and the G4 is used to back up the entire library from my mini (not as often as I should though! )
I know Wiebetech used to make an internal setup that expanded the G5's drive capacity from 2 to 4. While you said you wanted at least one external enclosure, that option would eliminate the need for an external case, another power cord, etc. so it may be worth looking into. I do not recall the name of the product but I know wiebetech manufactured it. Perhaps someone else knows the name or you could go to the company website. It is also possible in the G5 forum there is someone who owns the product as well.
As to which one to use, selling the G5 and having just a 2 drive or 4 drive enclosure hooked to the mini is most certainly a significant space saver over the G5 (not to mention not having to either have 2 separate machines with 2 monitors, keyboards or a KVM or VNC type setup) There are many good enclosures on the market, not just single but multiple drive enclosures which could be a better/smaller footprint/economical way to go vs. 4 individual enclosures (again, wiebetech is a noteworthy manufacturer of such items...no, I don't work for them
I too have eye tv hooked to the min as well as the 2 external drives I mentioned (250gb and 750gb) all via firewire. There should be no problem with the setup you mention as far as firewire is concerned and the mini. At least, not in my experience.
Good luck, let us know what you decide and feel free to ask more questions. I will gladly help if I can (can't say I helped this time, probably gave you more questions than answers!)
Message was edited by: CaptTB

Intel Mac Mini Core Duo Midi USB Issues

Is anyone else having issues getting Midi devices to work with the Intel Mac Mini's? I have several Midi devices that are't working correctly event though I have installed the newest drivers.
Currently I am having issues with a M-Audio Midisport 2x2 USB adapter. I loaded the newest drivers (ver 3.2.2) which are supposed to be universal binary to support the Intel Macs. When I connect the Midisport 2x2 to the Mac Mini I can not get it to receive Midi Output from the Mac.
When I look in the Midi control pannel I can see that the Midisport has been installed, but all options to select it are greyed out. Also when I try to select it as the input or output there is NO option to select the Midisport from the pull down menu. It only shows the "Built-in Midi" as and option.
The Midisport works fine on other non-Intel Macs. Please advise.
Thanks!
Mac Mini Intel Duo Core 1.66Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.7)

It seems like the mini is doing alright so far. I think maybe the full erase solved whatever issue it was having. I also got my Core Duo Mini yesterday in the mail and it's performing like a champ. Definitely a nice machine.
I'll close my question for now, since the Core Solo Mini seems alright. But, as a warning don't get on Front Row's bad side. I tried force quitting it because it was taking too long to load the videos folder and then tried shutting down from a terminal and ended up having to turn the machine off.

Intel Mac Mini, Firefox and Java

I'm running an Intel Mac Mini using Firefox; mostly it's fine, but sometimes it behaves as if it and Java Applets have had a falling out.
I have made sure that I have the very latest version of JRE to go with OSX, but when I go to http://www.f1.com and log on to "Live Timing", the frame comes up, but no steaming teacup, then the bottom LH corner says "Done", but the timing area is still blank. Live timing works in Safari & Opera on the same computer, and on any PC running IE6.
Going to the help section on the live timing box says to go to download the latest version of JRE from the Apple.com website - if I try to do this, OSX refuses the download saying it is older than the version already installed.
I have sent questions to both Sun & Mozilla weeks ago, but have received no reply; any ideas?

Dont really have any solution other than the fact that some browsers act funny on certain sites. I think it is specific to the browser, not the computer itself. I have encountered the same thing with certain applets. Also just wanted to give a shoutout from another F1 fan. Good season so far, I think Alonso has the Chin's number this year.

Can't find Laserwriter 4/600 on network from Intel Mac mini

Problem: Cannot find/print to networked LaserWriter using Airport network.
Kit: Mac mini 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB running Mac OS 10.4.5; Silver Apple Airport Base Station unExtreme; Netgear 814 combined switch/router/DSL modem; Asanté LocalTalk-to-Ethernet Adaptor; Apple LaserWriter 4/600PS.
Method: Airport bridges from wireless (Mac mini) side of network to wired (LaserWriter) side via hub/router.
This setup worked perfectly for many years but did not survive the encounter with Intel Mac mini.
Resolution attempted: Carried out detailed instructions involving switching devices off and on in strict order, using Printer Setup Utility etc.
These instructions are posted on Asanté website:
http://www.asante.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3164
Getting this to work requires that the Ethernet connection be switched from AirPort to Built-in Ethernet and that the computer be physically connected to the hub by an ethernet cable. The unwanted effect of this is that it denies wireless access to network/internet services formerly enjoyed by Mac & PC computers.
Running the identical Asanté routine with AirPort rather than Built-in Ethernet as the connection method results in the loss of the LaserWriter to the network.
Any ideas?

You can rest assured that printing to a AppleTalk
printer through wireless network is way down on the
list of things that is ever going to be tested in the
labs.
Point taken. I'm just curious about what might be going on.
Since I can't test here - the only thing I can do is
think of possible differences between your two
networks (wired and wireless)
I'm not an expert but as I understand it the Intel Mac mini should "see" the network as a single contiguous entity. In other words the AirPort Base Station that bridges between the wireless and the wired parts of the network should be entirely transparent, so I think the answer to your next question is yes.
Is your network flat (sameIP address range and routes
wireless as wired)? I could see issues if there were
a firewall or you had separate networks set up (you
can have different networks that talk to each other
through gateways and routing - but things like
Bonjour/Rendezvous and if my rusty memory is to be
trusted - Appletalk too - depends on things being in
the same "network" for broadcast packets to get to
everyone.)
Again, I don't know if it proves anything but when I had another computer on network here, the IP address assigned to it by the router was within the specified range. This machine is getting on for three whole years old, has begun to self-destruct and so it's gone for repair under the last gasp of its AppleCare warranty extension.
The Intel Mac mini can also "see"/print to a Bonjour wireless printer. This may also answer your question about the possibility there being two networks here rather than one. On the other hand, I guess that the ability to print to the Bonjour device does not involve any bridging between the wireless and wired parts of the network, so this may not be relevant.
If the concept of different networks does not make
sense - open up the Network Utility application and
post the results of your "Display routing table
information" from the netstat section...
Finally, here's what Network Utility, Netstat comes up with:
Routing tables
Internet:
Destination Gateway Flags Refs Use Netif Expire
default 192.168.0.1 UGSc 20 55 en1
127 localhost UCS 0 0 lo0
localhost localhost UH 17 199665 lo0
169.254 link#5 UCS 0 0 en1
192.168.0 link#5 UCS 2 0 en1
192.168.0.1 0:9:5b:46:64:3 UHLW 19 17 en1 1177
192.168.0.3 localhost UHS 0 0 lo0
192.168.0.255 link#5 UHLWb 1 12 en1
Internet6:
Destination Gateway Flags Netif Expire
localhost link#1 UHL lo0
localhost Uc lo0
localhost link#1 UHL lo0
link#5 UC en1
ray-thomsons-compu 0:14:51:ef:99:b1 UHL lo0
ff01:: localhost U lo0
ff02::%lo0 localhost UC lo0
I hope it makes more sense to you than it does to me!
Kind regards,
Ray
PowerBook G4•1GHz•512MB•15•AirPort unExtreme Mac OS 9.2.x

Intel Mac Mini Drawing Problems

I have an Intel Mac Mini and whenever it performs full screen operations (like iTunes full-screen visual effects or an iPhoto slide show), when it comes back, all my window's shadows are messed up. Anyone have any idea why this happens or how to fix it?
Intel Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.5)

I think I have a way to reproduce this. Start a third-party app that adds an item to the menu bar (e.g., Adium or Butler) and run an application which uses OpenGL to draw on screen (e.g., some full-screen effects in iTunes or iPhoto, Blender, Q, etc.). After OpenGL is used, the window ghosting will appear around most windows (and sometimes in other places on screen).
This will not happen if the third party app that places an item in the menu bar is not running.
The question now is, how do I fix it?

Intel Mac Mini stuck in reboot loop

I just upgraded the hard drive in my 2007 intel mac mini core duo. Drive formatted successfully, contains GUID Partition Table.
OSX 10.5 installed successfully.
Machine rebooted, I ran software update to 10.5.7 successfully.
Upon installing Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, machine began to react slowly to commands.
Rebooted machine, went to Grey Apple Screen with spinning dash wheen icon.
Machine rebooted itself, once again going to the grey apply screen with the spinning wheel.
After about 15 minutes of letting the continual reboot cycle happen, I inserted the installation DVD for 10.5, held the power button in to power off the machine, and booted from the disk.
I ran disk utility. Disk Utility shows the hard drive, shows the partition (GUID Partition) correctly.
I Verified Disk, which verified as "OK"
Repaired permissions.
Restarted machine.
Once again, it loaded to the grey apple screen, stayed there with the spinning dash wheel for about 3 minutes then continued to reboot over and over (everytime it reboots it sticks on the grey apple screen for 3 minutes before rebooting.
I once again powered off the machine and reset the PRAM.
Machine stuck again on reboot cycle.
I powered off the machine and reset the mini's SMC.
Machine is still stuck in reboot cycle.
I have also taken the mini back apart and verified that all RAM and connections are seated properly.
Any advice on what to do at this point will be very helpful.

+And I promise I will not download and install a hundred different programs this time.+
Good idea.
Any time you install software in OSX, there is a small, but finite, chance that the installation process won't be able to access a needed file because it is in use. This can mess up pre-binding, or even prevent files from being updated.
So the best advice is not to run any other programs while doing software installs or updates. And when in doubt, run DiskUtility afterwards and fix permissions one more time.
I cringe whenever I think of a post I read a while back about a Mac user who boasted about what music he likes to run in iTunes while doing system software updates. Not a good idea. It's "Russian roulette" with maybe 99 blanks in the "gun", but one real bullet that can kill your Mac's installation.

Bluetooth Not Available on Intel Mac mini

I keep losing the Bluetooth wireless connection between my Apple wireless mouse and keyboard and my Intel Mac mini (which is running Mac OSX 10.5.5)
Tried re-booting but it doesn't always come back.
Looked in System Preferences, but if the connection is lost, Bluetooth has disappeared as if not installed. If the connection is present then all seems OK. You can check battery levels etc.
Left to itself Bluetooth can re-appear sometime later as mysteriously as it disappeared, maybe after half an hour or so. Very annoying as I have to result to using an Apple USB mouse and keyboard when the connection is lost.
Tried running Bluetooth Updater but it says I haven't got Bluetooth if the connection is lost! But it came pre-installed on purchase. Problem only seems to have started since upgrading to Leopard. Never had this problem with Tiger.
Any thoughts would be most welcome.
regards,
BJ

Ok, I've resolved this on my machine, at least for the time being.
Here is what I did. I am not advising anyone else to do this and I am in-no-way stating this will fix your problem. I'm just relaying what worked for me. If anyone chooses to try this then it's on their own head!
I opened my Mac Mini and located the Bluetooth circuit board just in front of the rear power button. I removed the small phillips screw holding the board in place and noticed that the connector that connects the board to the main motherboard was not seated well. I removed the connector and reattached it, making sure I felt the 'click' as the connector was pushed home.
I had also read on the net that the routing of the bluetooth ariel cable may cause problems due to interference from the USB ports. I took the opportunity to extract the ariel and run it over the disk and away from the USB ports. Before putting the lid back on I booted up to check Bluetooth was working again.
So, I now have my Mac Mini with Bluetooth working again. We shall see how long this lasts - perhaps the root cause was a loose connection, in which case it may be fixed permanently now. I shall report back in a few weeks.
Be aware that opening your Mac is going to invalidate any warranty. Mine was out of warranty anyway so I was not bothered. I've also got a degree in software and electronic engineering so know my way round the insides of computers. Please make your own assessment of your level of expertise before deciding to try what I did. It may not work for you anyway!

Intel Mac mini and widescreen TV output (analog)

I just replaced my 1.25 GHz mini with a dual-core Intel one, and are really disappointed that the wide-screen resolution options are nowhere to be found. I'm using the Apple DVI-to-Video adapter with an S-Video cable.
On the G4 Mac mini, I would get 640x480 (NTSC 4:3), 800x480 (NTSC 16:9), 768x576 (PAL 4:3) and 1024x576 (PAL 16:9). Together with Overscan and Best for Video, I got a really nice picture on my 16:9 CRT TV (can display PAL and NTSC in either 4:3 or 16:9).
With the Intel Mac mini, I only get 640x480.
(The other available resolutions do not match with the actual NTSC or PAL frequencies or aspect ratios. For example, 720x480 or 720x576 is used as the pixel format for some digital media, but the pixels are not square, and so far, all software expects display pixels to be square. So it's actually quite useless.)
Is there a trick to get those resolutions to show up in Displays and become usable?

1.) I am using either 1920x1080 (interlaced) which is the resultion that has the worst problem with text sharpness. Now, I have discovered the Zoom feature in OSX and I can use it to some degree to make things readable. This may be my best option.
2.) I have done the calibraton and it does look quite a bit better. Those the DVD output is good but not great.
3.) Apparently, from what I have read, this is a common problem. Maybe a driver upgrade from Apple or Intel could fix?
I bought a Philips DVI cable. I know it's not the best but it should suffice. Monster cables seem to be overpriced. I plan to hook my PC to my HDTV with the same cable. My ATi card supports HD resolutions as well.
I also hooked the mini to my CRT that I have on my Dell and it looks very good there. I am impressed that OSX adjusts the resoltions that it can display upon boot. Even which switching displays.
Intel Mini Duo Core Mac OS X (10.4.5) 512MB RAM

Need Advice: New Intel Mac Mini Still In The Box

Hi!
Okay.. I know... I have several posts going here as I have several issues I am trying to solve rather simultaneously. Thanks for being patient with me.
I have my old 1.25 Ghz PowerPC Mac Mini running 10.4.11 and all was well and happy. Then Security Update 2007-009 happened and all went to ....well... you know and, yes, it was bad! Went to Apple, got it running of sorts as they re-installed the OS, but they used an old version of OS X. (10.4.7. Can you believe that?) This caused other problems. It continues to have all sorts of difficulties, as I have had to get applications to re-recognize that the computer is back up to 10.4.11. Currently, I am struggling with trying to get iTunes to access it's music folders on the external hard drives. Realized that I hadn't even gotten around to figuring out whether or not some of my other applications work, like some of the games and third party, etc.
The thing is I got a new Intel Mac Mini for Christmas and it's still in the box because as I suspected I need to get my old mac perfect again before I can even think about migrating stuff over to the new Mac. But.. here's the thing... it's starting to look pretty much like 2008 will come and go before I can get the old Mac ready enough to take the new Mac out of the box. This really is rather silly!
Now... I can't get the old Mac to see the music and it made me think. I have all of my iTunes music and iPhoto backed up on an external hard drive (I used Apple's "Back-up" software to do it) and in addition to this two complete copies of the iTunes music and iPhoto photos albums on two separate external hard drives. Should I just forget using migration assistant? Can I get my music and my photo albums into the new mac directly from the external hard drives?
Or...can I use "back up" to restore the music and photos into the new Mac?
I am starting to think that the best way to get my new Mac running is not risk it by attaching it to my old Mac. What do you think?
Thank you so much for any advice or experiences you can give. -Charlotte

I know that I am vacillating back and forth as to what to do. Thanks so much for being patient with me. All of your advice is really appreciated and I am at least closing in on deciding on my strategy. Probably will follow your first response advice, especially considering that some of the third party apps may not have updates to handle Leopard quite yet. Anyway... it's a good strategy since everything is on the externals anyway.
You can say that fine.
Ha ha ha.... yes, I've been messing around with computers since my parents bought our first Apple computer back in 1979. Just like you, I've never had a serious problem with any of the computers and we've had them all, running all sorts of things from the Original Apple and Apple IIc (which my parents still have and it still runs!) to the Commodore and all the Windows permeations and then on to the Macs running Jaguar, Panther and Tiger, probably because we've always been careful with the machines and what we install in them and how we update them. I have always kept my computers on UPS' and un-plug them when storms brew outside. As it is I am still using my eight year old Windows 98 computer, (for games mostly) and it still runs quicker than most peoples windows pcs and it's only a 740 Megahertz.
I haven't had to re-install anything, especially on this lovely little Mac Mini until now and wouldn't have in this situation, had I known more. I had taken the little Mac Mini in for a Procare "Tune-Up," only four days before the big up-date disaster. Not sure what they did to my mac in the tune-up but the guy gave me back the machine assuring me that the computer was perfect with no problems in answer to my asking "were they sure?" Even after the Genius Bar techs at the Apple Store re-installed the OS to fix the big problems it seems that no one ever thought to run verify disk. Had the Genius Bar techs at the time of the tune-up done this, or at least told me to do this, the last security update would not have wrecked so much havoc. It was only after I got the machine back from Apple that second time that I found that the directory had been corrupted when I ran disk verify. Actually it is amazing that I have had this little Mac Mini for so long and so not have had any problems on it that I would be able to go so long without having to know this really pretty important aspect of keeping one's mac in good running shape. I had been running maintenance scripts and permissions verify and repair and thought that was all there was to it. Silly! You know... that really is a testimony of how nice these little machines are.
Anyway... experience is a good teacher and I have learned so much it's actually been great! This stuff is pretty interesting.
Now... on to Leopard!
Thanks so much and you have a great New Year! -Charlotte

Intel Mac Mini question

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for