Mac Mini display randomly blanks for a few seconds....

The Mac Mini that I bought a few weeks ago randomly goes blank for a couple of seconds at a time (black screen). There is no regular interval between occurrences -- sometimes it can go an hour or more between "spasms," other times it may blank two or three times within a ten minute span. Occasionally, it comes back to a snowy screen, that lasts for another couple of seconds, before returning to normal.
I have searched online, and have seen this mentioned in reference to the nVidia 9400, which is the graphics adapter in this model Mac Mini. I have tried both the mini-DVI to DVI adapter, as well as the mini-display port to DVI adapter, as was suggested in one post. The occurrences are less frequent with the mini-display port to DVI adapter, but they still occur with an unacceptable frequency (if occurring at all is acceptable). I have also tried three different flat-panel monitors (Samsung, LG, and Acer), with the same results.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? Does anyone know of a solution, other than returning the computer?
Thanks.

Yes. This is exactly the issue I'm having. I'm both sad, and happy I'm not alone!
I added this message in another post before I found this one.
"I'm using a 27 inch ASUS LCD over DVI from the Mac Mini. It doesn't matter if I use a mini display port to DVI adapter or an HDMI to DVI adapter, the screen will randomly "Flicker" the image into a reversed color image thats slid to one side a bit. Other times it will go black for half a second randomly. And then, after a group of close together "Flickers" it will on occasion go into the "Colored static" issue like you are experiencing.
I can either power cycle the monitor or the Mac to solve the issue. I assume this solves the issue because it forces the Mac to handshake with the DVI connection again, and temporarily resolves it. Some times it will only "Flicker" one or two times a day, other times it will do it in cascades until it goes into the "Colored noise" problem again, which I have only seen a half dozen times in the last few weeks.
The Mac Mini did not do this initially, so I'm thinking it's from one of the boot camp updates? I hope it is, because that means it can be fixed with a patch."
I'll drop apple some feedback. Thanks for the link!

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I made a DVD with photo's and music. On my Powerbook G4 he plays perfect. But after burning the project on my LaCie d2 lightscribe and show the project on my TV than after 10 min. the music stops for a few seconds.

I made a DVD with photo's and music. On my Powerbook G4 he plays perfect. But after burning the project on my LaCie d2 lightscribe and showing the project on my TV than: after 10 min. the music stops for a few seconds. On the screen of the DVD-player I can see that after the word 'play' the clock starts again with counting the time. I tried everything: * burning slow. * all programs stopped, except iDVD. * all other apparature uncoupled. Is this a problem of my iDVD-program or my LaCie burner?

mishmumken is correct about the 99 slides. There's an 99 chapter limit in each slideshow for DVDs and each photo is considered a chapter. iDVD gets around that by renaming slide 100 back to 1 and goes on.
The pause can be minimized (but not eliminated) by burning to disk at the slowest speed available: usually 4x or 2x. Save the project to disk (File ➙ Save to Disk menu option) and play the disk image with DVD player to check out the transition at 99 and 198. Then burn the disk image to disk with Disk Utility at the slowest speed possible. Also use top quality media: Verbatium, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
OT

While actively using the iPhone 5, Apple logo will randomly appear for a few seconds, then show up at the lock screen

This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen an iPhone do. I recently got the iPhone 5 from Verizon, 16GB (if that even matters) running iOS 6.0 respectively. This has happened 3-5 times since I started using it last Friday when they started to deliver. When this incident occurs, I'll be using my phone, as in it's unlocked and it's not just sitting. Then, the Apple logo will appear and if I didn't know any better, I'd think my phone was turning on. However, it only stays that way for a few seconds until it shows the lock screen, imitaing a startup. The weird thing is, the startup time is ~30 seconds everytime I turn my device off and turn it back on. This incident where it'll appear to be just turning on while I'm using the phone will only last for ~5 seconds. Plus, during the incident, it nevers actually turns off the display or goes completely black. It'll just snap directly from me using the phone to the Apple logo, then the lock screen after a few seconds. Also, cellular services are immediately recognized after the incident, when starting up it usually take about 30 seconds. I can't confirm this or not, but I believe this incident occurs when I press the home button to exit an app. However, when it happens it strikes me by surprise and I can't confirm or not if this happens only when I'm exiting an app. Not sure if this is an iPhone 5 specific problem or an iOS 6 problem...I can't really assume it's a bad power connection, since like I said it doesn't imitate a full startup of the phone, it just goes throught the screens (Apple logo -> lock screen.)
And as a side note, I restart my phone daily. And as rare of a problem this is, I'm not going to restore or wipe my phone and start fresh. Just wanted to see if there was anybody else experiencing this problem and to make the problem aware. Thanks in advance for any help!!

I had this same thing happen to me. I was using my brand new iphone 5 (texting and listening to music through the speakers) when it flashed the apple logo, stopped my music and brought me to the lock screen.

Applications randomly freeze for a few seconds?!

Hi guys,
I have had nothing but trouble with this most recent iMac I purchased 4 months ago. It's the 24" described in my profile. AppleCare came out and recently replaced my faulty HDD, and put a 500gb Hitachi in (replacing 500gb Seagate).
Anyway, for no reason, after a fresh install and all the updates, applications will freeze for a few seconds and show the spinning beach ball- doesn't matter what application (Wow, Safari, Quicktime, Skype, Adium, etc.)- anything! I can see in activity monitor that there is a spike in the disk activity at the time, but cannot explain why. It's a brand new hard-drive! Interestingly, there is no corresponding jump in CPU or RAM access, so it's obviously some kind of data-dump issue with the HDD....the new HDD...
Looking in Activity Monitor, it appears to be the data read/sec that is spiking.
This is extremely frustrating, and I thought the new HDD would solve this, but apparently not. I don't particularly wish to reinstall OSX, and AppleCare in Australia is shut at the moment (midnight)
Does anyone know of a solution, or why it's happening?
I never had ANY of these problems with my first 24" that I bought late last year, with stock everything (hdd, gfx, etc.)....I feel like this one is faulty by nature....
Thanks!
EDIT: http://forums.mactalk.com.au/showthread.php?t=36763 shows my original HDD issue with the previous HDD....you can see this *****

Charles Minow wrote:
kendals wrote:
Hmm, I actually think it might be this new HDD that has been installed. Whenever it wakes from sleep, it takes a MUCH longer time than my previous machine, and even my previous hdd which was faulty.
And I can hear it first start to spin the HDD up in a little whir, then the clicky sorta bits where it is reading it, and then finally after the spinning ball, it gives me the PWD screen.
It has to be the HDD. Calling Apple in the morning...
Sound like that could be a HDD problem. One way to confirm it is to look at the Console application from your Utilities folder. Look at the System Log and Console Log and see if you see any lines with text like "disk0s2: I/O error." at the times when you see the freezes and hear the clicks. Note that the numbers in the disk0s2 part can change, depending on how your drives are set up.
charlie
Charles Minow wrote:
kendals wrote:
Hmm, I actually think it might be this new HDD that has been installed. Whenever it wakes from sleep, it takes a MUCH longer time than my previous machine, and even my previous hdd which was faulty.
And I can hear it first start to spin the HDD up in a little whir, then the clicky sorta bits where it is reading it, and then finally after the spinning ball, it gives me the PWD screen.
It has to be the HDD. Calling Apple in the morning...
Sound like that could be a HDD problem. One way to confirm it is to look at the Console application from your Utilities folder. Look at the System Log and Console Log and see if you see any lines with text like "disk0s2: I/O error." at the times when you see the freezes and hear the clicks. Note that the numbers in the disk0s2 part can change, depending on how your drives are set up.
charlie
Thanks, Charles.
Looking at the Console log, it doesn't seem to have any i/o errors. Since both logs are quite lengthy, and the quoting system here is a bit akward, I've linked them:
Console.log: http://www.miraclesalad.com/webtools/clip.php?clip=e04
System.log: http://www.miraclesalad.com/webtools/clip.php?clip=e06
Couldn't really see anything there, but have a look if you'd like. Looking forward to calling Apple Support today and finding out what the deal is...only just got this new HDD put in!

IPhone 3G displays apple logo for a few seconds then reboots (continuously)

Hi all,
So far my iPhone has gone from not turning at all to booting with the apple logo for a few seconds, then disappearing. My device will do this over and over again until the battery is dead. When I plug it into my computer, it works completely fine, syncs, restores, etc. The phone will remain powered on after unplugging from my computer, but my screen is unresponsive to touch and occasionally the lcd will become very dark (dimmed)
My assumption as of right now is that it is a hardware issue, any suggestions or pointers for my next steps? I'm running out of ideas before I give it up and send it to apple

Hello xtn,
As paulcb mentioned, try resetting the iPhone. The behavior you've mentioned would be consistent with a stuck Sleep/Power button. However, it is odd that it mounts and works OK with your computer. A physically stuck button would tend to cause the iPhone to repeatedly mount and dismount from iTunes as well.
One last thing you can try is to restore the iPhone and set it up as a new phone.
If the issue persists, you may need to have it serviced:
http://www.apple.com/ca/support/iphone/service/faq/
Charles H.

Flashing folder icon after Mac mini has been sitting for a few hours

I leave my Mac mini running at time when I leave the office to let it install an update or just cause I forget to close it all down. When I come in the next morning, I have a flashing folder icon waiting for me.
Every single post on the forums talk about this issue at startup. This isn't the case for me; It didn't get shut down. A simple reboot solves it but still an annoying occurrence.
*** Panic Report ***
panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff8021fc1cde): "launchd died\nState at Last Exception:\n\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-2782.20.48/bsd/kern/kern_exit.c:363
uuid info:
0x7fff668ed000 uuid = <65dccb06-339c-3e25-9702-600a28291d0e>
0x10e9c3000 uuid = <7f885d63-b284-3471-b6e3-172489232c37>
0x10ea13000 uuid = <4396b358-725e-3ec0-bcbb-e4bf75fe1fb0>
RAX: 0x0000000002000001, RBX: 0x0000000000000006, RCX: 0x000000010eb630e8, RDX: 0x0000000000000000
RSP: 0x000000010eb630e8, RBP: 0x000000010eb63190, RSI: 0x000000010eb62f40, RDI: 0x0000000000000001
R8: 0x0000000000000000, R9: 0x000000010ea029f0, R10: 0x00007fff89e77b02, R11: 0x0000000000000206
R12: 0x0000000000000000, R13: 0x00007fff8f4f17e0, R14: 0x000000010eb635d0, R15: 0x000000010eb63790
RFL: 0x0000000000000206, RIP: 0x00007fff89e7595a, CS: 0x0000000000000007, SS: 0x0000000000000023
Thread 0xffffff8030c8e2e0
0x00007fff948d7f4b
0x00007fff948d8068
0x00007fff948d1554
0x00007fff8c009a6c
0x000000010e9f18f7
0x00007fff87a8bc13
0x00007fff87a8e88f
0x00007fff87a9cfe4
0x00007fff8e815637
0x00007fff8e81340d
0x0000000000000000
Thread 0xffffff8030caec50
0x00007fff87a8ea6a
0x0000000000000000
Thread 0xffffff8030cad970
0x000000010e9dac81
0x00007fff87a8bc13
0x00007fff87a8f365
0x00007fff87a90ecc
0x00007fff87a8e6b7
0x00007fff87a9cfe4
0x00007fff8e815637
0x00007fff8e81340d
0x0000000000000000
Thread 0xffffff8030c8de28
0x00007fff87a9c3ad
0x0000000000000000
Thread 0xffffff803289ea78
0x00007fff895ebf1a
0x0000000000000000
0x00007fff668f9455
0x00007fff8b4677b5
0x00007fff948a67e8
0x00007fff8f4f17e0
0x00007fff8f4f3ddf
0x00007fff87a8bc13
0x00007fff87a8ce5e
0x00007fff8f4f20a7
0x000000010e9ee383
0x00007fff87a8bc13
0x00007fff87a8f365
0x00007fff87a90ecc
0x00007fff87a8f154
0x00007fff87a90ecc
0x00007fff87a8e6b7
0x00007fff87a9cfe4
0x00007fff8e815637
0x00007fff8e81340d
0x0000000000000000
Thread 0xffffff80317b82e0
0x00007fff8e81340d
0x0000000000000000
Mac OS version: 14D136
Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 14.3.0: Mon Mar 23 11:59:05 PDT 2015; root:xnu-2782.20.48~5/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 4B3A11F4-77AA-3D27-A22D-81A1BC5B504D
System model name: Macmini6,1 (Mac-031AEE4D24BFF0B1)

Have you tried a PRAM reset?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Ciao.

30" DP monitor keeps going blank for a few seconds.

I have 2x 30" montiros:
1. dell U3011 Display port
2. dell 3007WFP with active Dual link DVI to displayport.
Both cost in the region of £1300.
Neither will work with the think pad W530 + 2000KM, but both work flawlessly with macbooks and any dell with DP.
Only the thinkpad doesnt work.
The symptoms are this:
1. U3011: goes blank (black) for 2s every 30s.
2. 3007WFP Blank for 30s, flashes the desktop for 2s, then goes blank again.
Clearly there is a serious issue with the thinkpads displayport or drivers.
Both monitors work perfectly if I unplug the minidsplayport from my thinkpad, and plug it into any other laptop with mini-displayport (have tried 2macs and 2 dells - all 4 no issues).
If I plug the monitors into the mini-doc3, they work fine, no flashing. If I plug either into the mini-displayport on the lalptop itself, then they flash.
The problem is I only have one docking station, and have one 30" at work, and one 30" at home.
I desperately need a solution so I can work at home.
Both monitors showup with the correct name and resolution in the windows 8 "screen resolution" page in the control panel.
I have also tried swapping out my displayport to mini-displayport converter. Neither make any difference, and both work perfectly with any other laptop and my monitors.
The Nvidia control panel version is 7.5.800. If I do "check for updates" it says "no updates available"
There is a simlar problem witht he audio through the monitor. If I connect directly to the mini-displayport on the laptop, the sound dissapears for no reason for around 20s every 60s. IF I plug it into the DP on the doc, sound never drops.
Any ideas?

Are you using "Optimus mode" set in BIOS? Or are you using "discrete graphics" set in BIOS (which will also allow you to install the latest retail nVidia driver to support the K2000M)? Try "discrete graphics", install the latest nVidia driver (not from the Lenovo site for Optimus, but from the nVidia site for the K2000M), and see what happens.
Are you using a short miniDP adapter and also a regular cable? Have you tried a simple straight-through single cable with the proper miniDP connector at one end (for the W530) and the proper other end as required by your monitor? I suggest going with the single cable, and avoiding any adapter.

Firefox 4 randomly hangs for a few seconds

When im browsing, Firefox 4 randomly hangs for ~10 seconds saying its "Not Responding", then it returns to normal.
I dont seem to see a pattern on when it hangs, sometimes its when i open new pages, sometimes im just scrolling, sometimes i'm not doing anything...
It didnt seem to happen before i updated to FFx 4
My best guess is it happens when its trying to "Sync"?
It's not that bad, but it gets annoying after a while.

It is also possible that Firefox is doing maintenance to places.sqlite (bookmarks and history). If you keep a large history or have a lot of bookmarks then you can check that out as well. Also make sure that security (anti-virus) software isn't blocking access to files in the [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox Firefox Profile Folder].
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.<br />
See:
* [[Basic Troubleshooting#Make_a_new_profile|Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile]]
There may be extensions and plugins installed by default in a new profile, so check that in "Tools > Add-ons > Extensions & Plugins"
If that new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile (be careful not to copy corrupted files)
See:
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

Dock disappears for a few seconds and minimized apps open up

Hello
My dock at the bottom of the display will disappear for a few seconds and at the same time, my minimized open applications will open up. This usually happens when I'm running a few light applications at once. It almost seems to "gulp" or catch it's breath.
I'm not sure if this is related but for the second time since purchasing the machine the dock is showing a sort of double reflection at the very bottom. An open application has what looks like two lit triangles underneath the icon instead of the usual one triangle. The same area at the bottom of the dock shows a very tiny "bottom" of the page I have open, in this case Safari. It also moves left and right as I move the open page left and right. If I move the page down, the sliver at the bottom of the dock moves up.
This is only the second time this has happened. The first time it went away on it's own and today it's back. It's not troublesome at all but I'm just wondering what may be causing these symptoms.
Thanks!

Hello,
'''Try Firefox Safe Mode''' to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.
''(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)''
* On Windows you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the '''Shift''' key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
* On Mac you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the '''option''' key while starting Firefox.
* On Linux you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
* Or open the Help menu and click on the '''Restart with Add-ons Disabled...''' menu item while Firefox is running.
[[Image:FirefoxSafeMode|width=520]]
''Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"''
[[Image:Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win]]
'''''If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode''''', your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]] article for that.
''To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.''
''When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.''
Thank you.

Audio briefly drops out for a few seconds

I about half way through a recorded Keynote presentation, the narration audio drops out (goes blank) for a few seconds. It doesn't affect timing.
I've checked the narration file and it's just fine. Narration was done in Garageband. I've re-recorded the presentation again, and it drops out at exactly the same place. The narration was done in one step, so it's not a problem with the method in Garageband.
Keynote 9, v 5.3. 27" iMac, OSX 10.8.5, 16Gb Ram.
Any ideas of how to solve it?
Many thanks,
Bill

Unfortunately there's no fix for this problem that plagues Classic since release. Considering that a new generation appeared I guess we have no reason to expect a fix anymore.
I also have the problem and it makes the iPod Classic less desirable to be used as a music player than a generic $10 (no name) usb stick.

HT1338 When turning on Macbook pro laptop I receive a blank screen for a few seconds, then a folder with a ? is displayed and remains as if the computer is now Frozen. Mac book Pro leopard operating system. What can I do to get past the freeze?

When turning on Macbook pro laptop I receive a blank screen for a few seconds, then a folder with a ? is displayed and remains as if the computer is now Frozen. Mac book Pro leopard operating system. What can I do to get past the freeze?

Could the disk have failed?
Can you hear it?
Boot from the install DVD and see what Disk Utility says.

I click on a yahoo new article, it displays for a few seconds and then I get a blank screen.

It happens only in Firefox,not explorer. When I click on a yahoo news article, it displays for a few seconds and then goes to a blank screen. I've run virus scans, eliminated all cookies, all to no avail.
== This happened ==
Not sure how often
== I'm not sure

Start Firefox in [[Safe Mode]] to check if one of your add-ons is causing your problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Themes).
See [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]] and [[Troubleshooting plugins]]
If it does work in Safe-mode then disable all your extensions and then try to find which is causing it by enabling one at a time until the problem reappears.
You can use "Disable all add-ons" on the [[Safe mode]] start window to disable all extensions.
You have to close and restart Firefox after each change via "File > Exit" (Mac: "Firefox > Quit"; Linux: "File > Quit")

Can i connect my iMac to a mac mini (wirelessly) and control the mac mini display on my TV?

Can i connect my iMac to a mac mini (wirelessly) and control the mac mini display on my TV?

Look up "screen sharing" in help
You can control your mini (which I am assuming you are hooking to your TV) complete from your iMac.
After you set up screen sharing, you can go to the finder, under the "go" menu choose "Connect to server" and then browse. Choose your mac mini's name, and look for the "Screen Sharing" button.
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Sharing.
Select the Screen Sharing checkbox.
To specify who can share your screen, select one of the following:
All users:
Select this if you want to allow any user with a user account on your computer to share your screen.
Only these users:
Select this if you want to restrict screen sharing to specific users.Click Add at the bottom of the Users list and select a user from Users & Groups (accounts you have set up in Users & Groups preferences), Network Users (users on your network), or your Address Book. Or click New Person and enter a name and password to create a sharing account. Then select that user from the list, and then click Select.
Click Computer Settings and set the following options:
Anyone may request permission to control screen:
Select this to allow anyone on your network to request to share your screen.
VNC viewers may control screen with password:
Select this and enter a password that VNC viewer applications can enter in order to control your screen.It’s recommended that you not set a password if you only share this computer’s screen using the built-in screen sharing viewer in Mac OS X.

With 5th gen nano, how to display album artwork during playback at all times, it stays on for a few seconds and then the screen goes black? Is there a way to play and see artwork, at all times (using with a aux. speaker)

I have a 5th gen nano, and I play it often on a aux. speaker. I would like the album artwork to display at all times while playing it here. Right now it plays for a few seconds on each song, and then goes blank. Can this be changed?

The artwork turns black or the screen's backlight turns off? If the backlight turns off, simply disable the backlight timer, but keep in mind this will significantly reduce your iPod's playback time and battery life.
B-rock

Why is my mac mini server apparently looking for wireless while I hold option at startup?

Besides the Lion recovery partition on my Mac Mini, I have 2 partitions: One with Lion and one with Snow Leopard Server that I often boot from in order to test some things. However, it takes FOREVER at the gray screen while I hold option, until the various startup disks appear.
There is a spinning wheel next to a popup menu button, and the wireless symbol. The Mac Mini is apparently looking for wireless for some specified time, then finally gives up and says, "Ok, here are your disk partitions." This is very annoying, and I would like to know what it is, and how to turn it off. My Mini is plugged into Ethernet.
Thanks,
--ET

Are there any Mount points setup or listed in Login Items?
Might try a variation of this from older OSes...
This command adds a delay, in this case 45 seconds, before displaying the Login Window.
defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow StartupDelay -int 45
If the Login Window UI detects that the network servers are available when it starts, it will skip the delay, also if network servers become available before the delay expires, the Login Window UI cancels the delay and displays.

Mac Mini display randomly blanks for a few seconds....

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