Intel Mac Mini wont startup

I know this is not a new one but I have spent hours going through the other posts and trying stuff and I am getting nowhere.
Heres what happens:
I turn it on, the bloop noise sounds and the white screen with the apple comes on. The "gears start going round and round and thats it!
Heres what I have tried:
I have pressed d to run both the regular and long tests which have told me there's nothing wrong.
I have pressed the alt key and got the number 1 disc that came with the mini to show and have clicked on that which has just continued to the "gears" which went on and on again.
I have started in verbose mode and there was a lot of jibber jabber and an error reported on what looked like several lines.
I have tried to power on and press c as soon as the bloop sounded. To no avail.
I believe that I must be missing something. Either I am not doing it right or I have serious problems.
I came down this morning and the machine had frozen. I reset it with the power button and thats when the troubles began.
Oh yeah I also did that thing to reset the smu but that doesnt seem to have had any affect.
I am sorry if I am not helping myself much but I have been trying to sort this all day and my head is gone. HELP PLEASE

WOW! I never thought I would whip up such controversy. Many thanks to all who have so kindly replied. I have to say I am not too fussed that someone got offended. I was referring to the matter of apple support costing so much. £50 a question on the phone is pretty steep when you are trying to break into the market. Heres something I would like to say about apple support though. I was called by my local store who said they wanted to ask me how things were going for customer satisfaction prurposes. I said ok as long as they wouldnt try and sell me something. They said no that wasnt it at all. I talked to them about my experiences for 10 minutes or so when the ******* comes out with "I can see you use your mac for a lot of important things, would you like to take out applecare?" It was read off a card or something. It was that articulate! Anyway I just said to him thats why you called and he said yes. You dont need to know what I did next. The long and the short is I dont have warranty anymore cause its 2 years old and I dont trust warrantys or extended care or any of that. I really need help from people who want to help. which is nearly everyone. If there is anyone who works for apple who knows how to fix this and isnt saying anything cause I said I dont want to spend £100 plus to fix a £350 machine, thats ok. I guess it just proves what i am saying. If you do tell me then I will be a beaming apple acolyte again. Please continue to help me guys. This is more common than you might think and it could happen to any of us. Google it and see.
Many thanks keep up the goood work. I havent given up yet.

Similar Messages

Intel mac mini wont boot after system restore

Hi,
I ran the system restore on my intel mac mini using the genuine leopard cd that came with it.
Now it wont boot. When you press power the light comes on but it does not chime and there is not video output to any monitor.
Anyone know what could be wrong?

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
You picked 10.4.1 in your profile.
Intel Mac Minis at minimum came with 10.4.4.
If it came with a 10.5 genuine DVD, it most certainly was not running 10.4.1 or 10.4.4. Perhaps you mistook one Mac Mini install DVD for another? Does your Mac Mini have 4 USB ports on back? What does the 10.5 installer disc you used look like?

My new mac mini wont startup

i bought my new mac mini this morning and when i wanted to instal it all i got was a grey/blue screen with a flashing map with a question mark.
i tried to start it up with other cable to tv with my mothers computer screen disconnected the internet, mouse and keyboard all didnt work
anyone got an idea on how to fix this?

Hi, try this...
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.

Normal + 3 chimes at startup with intel mac mini

I posted this in the mac mini forum, but didn't get a helpful response. So maybe someone can help me here.
I have a 300GB USB drive (formatted as Mac OS extended (journaled)) connected to my intel mac mini with the drive's power on all the time. When I start up the mini after the USB drive has spun down I get the regular startup chime plus 3 lower volume startup chimes. The activity light on the USB drive flashes during the 3 chimes. Then the system starts normally with the USB drive icon on the desktop. I can read and write to the USB hard drive with no problems.
If I shutdown the mini and start it up again but now the USB hard drive has not spun down, I get just the normal single chime. Also, if the USB drive is disconnected, I get the normal single chime. I've tried a different USB port, but still got the same behavior.
I've connected a USB flash drive, but it exhibits normal behavior, that is, just the single startup chime.
Are the subsequent 3 chimes at startup OK and just telling me that there is an external hard drive? Or is there a looming problem? Has anyone else experienced this?
Intel Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.7) Apple BT Mouse & Keyboard

Thanks. But the article says you won't hear the normal startup chime but some number of beeps if there is a problem with 3 beeps meaning no good banks.
I hear the normal startup chime, then 3 of the same chimes but at lower volume. Must be something about the USB hard drive.
When I bought the drive, it was formatted for windows with NTFS. I used disk utility to format is as Mac OS Extended (journaled). I've copied about 100 GB of data to it.

Can I use a Power PC non intel Mac Mini as an external HD with my iMac 3.06

Can I use a Power PC non intel Mac Mini as an external HD with my iMac 3.06 Intel Core Duo
I can't figure out how to get this to work. Is it possible?

WildBull wrote:
Will it work if I connect via usb instead of firewire?
No. There is no "USB Target Disk Mode".
Just so we're clear, when you start your Mac mini in FireWire Target Disk Mode (TDM - holding T on startup), do you see a FireWire icon on the Mac mini's display? IIRC, it's not required that the Mac mini be connected to a display for TDM, but it would help diagnose whether or not the mini is actually starting in this mode.

Dead Intel Mac Mini - any electronics geniuses?

Hi all,
Shortly after powering on my personal 1.66 GHz Intel Mac Mini last night it went straight off not to turn on again.
It made the startup chime and began booting but that was as far as it got. Now completely dead.
Luckily I am an independent Mac repairer and have access to a known good power supply so that was the first thing I checked but no luck - still dead.
Have obviously reset PMU and SMC as well as every other trick I know but it resolutely remains lifeless.
Have removed all peripherals (HD, SuperDrive, AP and BlueTooth) and shorted across the power button switch (just in case it was a duff button)
I have arrived at the conclusion it is something power related - a dead GPU or CPU would usually still give a glimmer of life but there is absolutely nothing happening - plus the fact that it started to boot then went straight off rather than froze.
I'm handy with a soldering iron and know how to use a multimeter but need a helping hand locating/testing for dead components at board level
Does anybody know what component/components might be causing this? Any help gratefully received as always
Ryan

Not exactly your same problem, but an interesting thread here that might help:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9524465#9524465

Mac mini help startup white screen

ok someone please help me my mac mini wont go past the white apple start up screen i have tryed unplugging everything for 4 days that dident work i have tryed everthing i can think of and i really dont want to go get it fixed i dont have any money soo please help meee

Hi Spencer
This is the Safari forum for problems/questions specific to Apple's browser plus related Internet questions.
my mac mini wont go past the white apple start up screen
Usually this indicates a problem with the hard drive or logic board. Are you using an Intel or PPC machine?
Did you try starting up from your Installer DVD? If you can do that, perhaps HD file corruption is the problem. To check and possibly repair file errors boot from your Installer DVD holding down the C key after inserting the Disc/pressing the power button for a restart. After the Installer fully opens select Disk Utility from the Utility menu, highlight your HD, then select "repair disk". If errors appear, rerun until you get a clean pass.
I'm going to ask the Moderator to move this post to the MacMini Forum.
Post back

My mac mini wont turn on but there is power to it as the usb port charges my iPad

My mac mini wont turn on but there is power to it as the usb port charges my iPad. My monitor uses a HDMI cable when the mac mini is off it says no input received which it does not say so it is receiving some signal from the mac mini. I have tried a different cable and a different monitor/ hdmi cable. The fan isnt running there is no start up noise but the little light on the front blinks every 4-5 seconds. Im booked in to see a GENIUS on sunday but I was wondering if there is anything I can do in the mean time. The mac mini is only 8 months old if that. Any ideas people? Oh the mac is also running mountain lion and has been since the day of release i've never had a problem up until this.

The following table lists the new tones and their meaning:
Tone(s)          Description
1 tone, a 5-second pause, repeat          No RAM installed
3 successive tones, a 5-second pause, 3 successive tones          RAM does not pass data integrity check
1 long tone when holding down the power button          Firmware upgrade in process. See About firmware updates for Intel-based Macs for more details.
3 long tones, 3 short tones, 3 long tones          Firmware restoration from CD in process. See About the Firmware Restoration CD (Intel-based Macs) for more details.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2538
Can you count the beeps or flashes?
1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
5 beeps = processor is not usable
In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.
Note: In this case, a flash is considered to be 1/4 second or 250 ms or greater in length.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547

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

Using External Boot Drive with New Intel Mac Mini

I have a 1st Gen MacMini and use an external 7200 RPM Lacie drive as the system boot drive along with all the applications.
If I were to purchase a new Intel Mac Mini, is it possible to use the current external drive as the system drive or is there some conversion steps that would be necessary ?
Thank you.

You can use the hardware, but will have to repartition and reinstall the OS from the disk shipped with the new Mac Mini.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303220
If you create a disk image of the Lacie on your Mini, you can later use setup assistant to restore users and applications from that image.

How can I tell if I have the right restore disks for Intel Mac Mini

I have an "early 2006" (confirmed by S/N YM609***) Intel Mac Mini 1.66mhz Core Duo. I bought it used and the hard drive had been wiped. Both the HD and the DVD drive seem to work fine; hard drive passes SMART tests. I was able to boot using "Drive Genius" and can access the pre-install items like Disk Utility (and know that I need to use GUID formatting to create a bootable disk). Not knowing I could order restore disks from Apple I bought a set on eBay, p/n AHT VERSION 3A102 DISC VERSION 1.1 2Z691-5828-A, copyright 2006 on disks and included documentation (OS 10.4.6), but the install always fails 10-15 minutes along. I got the same results when trying to install via internal optical drive to a FW or USB external HD (told it to use GUID for the external HD), or external FW optical drive both to internal HD and to external USB hard drive. A friend tried to install full retail versions of 10.5 and even 10.6 for diagnostic purposes, using the built in HD and DVD drives, but those installs did not complete either; they did not try external drives. Is that the wrong restore version for this model, or even if the right "generation", does a set of restore disks only work with the specific Mac mini they were issued for like for example XP restore disks would? I've been told I can provide my s/n to Apple and for about $30 they will send me the "right" restore disks... anyone know anything about this? Could there be a hardware/firmware explanation for why the install fails like that? PS ran the extended version of the Apple Hardware Test with that restore disk set and it reported "no problems."
<Edited by Host>

Thanks. Actually I got the Mini from a computer recycling company I work with so I knew it might have problems and that I was taking an "as-is" risk. If the original disks were turned in with it, they'd been lost (that outfit took in huge piles of stuff every day; it was often luck of the draw for me to find something before it would be buried, damaged, etc., and not everyone who worked there had any idea of the possible value of things they received) for me to find things. The disks I got on eBay apparently were separated from the mini they'd been packaged for. An Apple Store rep said I could order restore direct from Apple just by providing my serial number; just wish I'd known that before I went to eBay. Since posting this I've seen another seller specifically claiming that the same-part-numbered-as-mine disc set they are selling will work with my specific type of Mac mini. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at the Genius Bar at an Apple store near me in case they have more suggestions. Will share what I know as things develop.

The Intel Mac Mini uses on-board graphics... how good are they?

I'm seriously considering getting an Intel Mac Mini and telling all my friends to get one, too. However, there's one problem - the graphics.
The whole reason I'd want an Intel Mac would be so that I could dual-boot into Windows Vista (when it comes out) in order to play the latest games.
How suitable are the on-board graphics for gaming? Would it be able to play Halo and Command & Conquer Generals well?
Basically, I want to know if it's the equivalent of a 64 MB graphics chip in speed, or if having on-board graphics makes it a bit slower. Does it have hardware acceleration? And is it suitable for smooth casual gaming at an average resolution?

I am very uneasy about finding integrated graphics in the new mini too.
When I first saw the new Mini website on Apple's website I was so excited "intel processor", "4 usb ports", "faster drives" but something was missing from the website; the "graphics" sub-category. I instantly wondering what was up with that, thinking right away obviously the graphics weren't good enough to brag about. I was right. On Apple's MacMini website, on the "Intel Core" sub-category page, bottom of the page, right side there's a weee comment on integrated graphics, "oh." was my only thought.
It's really disappointing to see integrated graphics in the new Mini. That AND the increase in price. The price of the Intel iMac dropped by $100 when it got introduced, but the Intel Mini's price goes up $100 upon introduction, further closing the price between the iMac and the Mini and making the iMac looking more and more attractice in terms of features-performance-price-value. I better run out and buy a Intel iMac before Apple removes the miniDVI-out port (which I'm predicting it will be removed in the next iMac revision)
Hopefully some Intel MacMini review tests in the coming weeks will reveal better-than-expected graphics performance.
I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this but... doesn't anyone here see that Apple has given us a preview of what's to come by putting integrated graphics in the new Intel MacMini? -- Anyone? I'll tell you -- we're going to see the exact same integrated graphics in the upcoming Intel iBooks, that's what.
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Intel Mac Mini wont startup

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for