Mac mini flashes light but wont start.

So i have the newest mac mini i7 with ssd (apple care) but i also upgraded to 16gb crucial memory. Recently, the mac mini won't start up correctly. For about 20-30 minutes the light (on the mac mini, no input to display) will flash on and off and then it will eventually turn on when I walk away and come back. I'm not an expert, but I don't believe this should have anything to do with the memory. There is also a wierd sound that the mac mini makes when trying to start. I'm assuming thats bad since it is a ssd. Any ideas which part is damaged or what might be wrong?

Did it work for you before today?
Yes, make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store. You do even need AppleCare for the free appointment
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

Similar Messages

My new mac mini (3 month) didn't start up,all that appeared was a white screen and a flashing folder with a question mark inside it.

My new Mac mini (3 month) didn't start up, all that appeared was a white screen and a flashing folder with a question mark inside it.
I followed by recommendations from 'Everything Mac': "shut it down by pressing and holding the power button for about 5 seconds.
Then hold down the Option key and press the power button again to start up the Mac mini. Keep holding down the Option key until
the Mac mini starts up."
But I got a Wi-Fi button only to chose and connect the local network. I connected to my network and I can't use this connection
becouse no icons.
Could you please help me?

Your Mini (running 10.6.4) should have come with grey-colored install disks. Now is the time to put them into service. Turn on your computer so that there is power to accept disk #1 into the optical drive. Once the disk is in the drive, shut off the computer by holding the start button down until it powers off. Then turn it on this time holding down the "C" key to make the computer boot from the disk. The question mark that you saw indicates that the computer cannot find a bootable volume. This can happen due to corrupted system files or an improper shutdown etc. Once you are in the "Installer" you can choose Disk Utility from the Utilities Menu in the menu bar. Use it to repair the disk and to see if that can solve your trouble.

My mac pro charging but wont start up whats going on? Was working fine till yesterday and i shut down and havent been able to turn it on today

My macbook pro will not start up. Its charging and fully charged but wont start. Was fine till yesterday when keyboard stopped typing and then shut down and now wont start up

If after an SMC reset it will not power on then I suggest you take it to an Apple store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for a diagnostic check and estimate of repairs.
Apple store Genius reservation http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/ .
or find an Apple Authorized Service Provider https://locate.apple.com/country

After Effects just bounces in the dock but wont start

Hi all,
Just installed CS4 production studio under Snow Leopard. All works well and updated using the Adobe Updater. All apps are fine except AE which just bounces in the dock a few times and then stops. I read that this could be because Rosetta was not installed. I installed Rosetta from the Snow Leopard DVD and still nothing. Have restarted 3 times just in case (I also read that several restarts may be required to get it to work), but still nothing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Dave

OK... Now I feel like Scott of the Antartic writing in his journal before the inevitable... I am writing this purely to help anyone else with the same issue to resolve it without the pain that I am still experiencing. Hopefully the last entry will read "all solved" and not "I am about to pop outside... I may be some time..."
After using CS2 for the bulk of my work I thought I'd try and get this solved once and for all, especially as we have a DVCPROHD project coming up and need CS4 to do it.
OK... The so now I have the suite running, except Premiere is running under at trial without the presets and the updates fail when installing. Contacted support this week, they wont re-open the original case because it has been over a month. Fair enough, new case.
The adobe guy takes control of my machine, deactivates it, then from Finder deletes lots of folders. He then asks me to re-install the products. I do this (2 hours later) and run Premiere and it appears to work with presets. I look a bit closer and notice that under the help menu of Premiere Register, Deactivate and Updates are all greyed out. This is not the case in the other products of the suite. OK, so not a major deal but does imply something is not installed right. I run the Adobe Updater, Premiere updates, but AE, PS and several updates fail.
Call back to support. This time the Adobe guy takes control of my machine suggests I deactivate the suite, run the un-install and then download and run the CS3 Clean script and re-install. I do all this. Another 2 hours later feeding discs into the machine... and... Premiere looks fine, presets all there... but wait for it... AFTER EFFECTS JUST BOUNCES IN THE DOCK BUT WONT START.
3rd call back to support and ask for the issue to be escalated. This is difficult and I have to cause a fuss to realise that this problem is the same one that has been hanging around for months and that I am not prepared to spend more hours removing every trace of Adobe from my machine and re-installing - this doesn't work. The support technician asks me to delete a hidden folder that has all the Adobe patches in it, manually download the AE 9.0.2 update and install it. It installs but AE wont start. I explain that I've had enough and want the problem escalated.
I finally get a call back from a 2nd level engineer this morning. After explaining the that AE wont start and then answering the question "why is this a problem for you!" we do some quick troubleshooting. This time I have to pull out the network cable, turn off Airport, create a new user account, log on to it and then see if AE runs. Which it does. Within seconds we get launched into the pre-determined script, "if it runs under another user account then there is nothing wrong with the applications and I should call Apple". After being patronised for a further 5 mins I had to PROVE to the guy that it was also possible that the fault was Adobes. I also know the moment I phone Apple, the response will be "Call Adobe".
The only example I could give him at the time was to image a piece of software I had written that allocated memory based on the screen resolution (this is a user preference) and if my code was badly written and crashed when encountering a screen resolution bigger than my code was expecting. OK, is that Apple's fault, no it is my code. Will it run under one user and not another, yes it will. There are a million other posibilities. Some I agree could be Apple's, but equally some could be Adobes and the big fat fob off as soon as you can is terrible.
I have also since realised since leaving this call with the technician, that:
1) This is a brand new iMac and the Adobe Suite was the 1st piece of 3rd party software installed on it.
2) The iMac is for video editing and nothing else.
3) This was working without presets before the Adobe guys deleted all these files and asked me to re-install. It is more likely that they have deleted something they should not have rather than the a bug in the OS. A bug in the OS is still possible but I suspect the problem is with a rogue bit of installation code from Adobe.
Finally incase anyone from Adobe is reading this:
I have paid thousands of pounds for this software.
I have been unable to use it for months.
A problem like this should be gold dust for you. Here is the chance to get to the bottom of an issue that several people are having, understand the mechanics of what is going wrong. Write a KB article as well as a patch and this would save the time/money and effort of an awful lot of people (including your own).
As a short thought experiment I would like everyone at Adobe to image the following:
You pay £1,000 of your own money for a tool to do your work on the promise that you can make this money back in productivity gains, new business, etc.
The tool you use every day to make a living won't work. For the benefit of the experiment, imagine this is your email client, web browser or case management tool.
You have no IT group to replace your machine or to come and solve it.
You can't tell your customers that your software is down and you have to keep doing your job.
You have to spend an additional 3 days in your own time, working late or weekends to try and fix the software yourself.
You to keep downloading a Gigabyte of data 3 or four times and you have to pay for downloads. Currently you are running up a bill of over £100 in downloads and phone calls.
You don't get paid the overtime and your customers start complaining you are late with your work.
You lose customers... you eventually get fired because you have lost too many of them.
...This is what it feels like for a small creative business to not be able to install the software they bought.

I want to switch my Father to a Mac Mini this Christmas, but...

I want to switch my Father to a Mac Mini this Christmas, but It's going to take some work. First, he does not use his pc for much. Microsoft Office (98 version), Quicken (2001 version), Outlookexpress, and Internet. OH and his favorite game the internet checkers thing. I want to try to get all I need under a thousand bucks.
I am sure a lot of things will change after leopard but lets talk what we know about.
Mac Mini with upgrade ram to a gig.
upgrade hd to 80 gigs. (He has been wanting to put his music on his computer)
He has a 4:3 monitor flat panel (i like widescreen but I only got 1000 here) and mouse and I have a wireless apple keyboard already for him.
Do I get Apple care? It is a nice chunk of my 1000 allowance.
Can he buy it on his own after wards?
I have to buy him office because he feels that he could never leave Pcs because of Office ( I use neo office) but I'm sure he would not be happy with that.
Hopefully by then Office for mac 08 will be out for 150 bucks. When do you think it will be out?
He use quicken manage his checking accounts. I have never used Quicken before can you export your data?
I heard quicken ***** for mac. I don't believe he uses it for all its features but I would think it would be easier for him to accept quickin then some other third party. Soley based on the name.
I'll try to find out more.

You can buy Applecare anytime before the 1 year warranty expires, so you could leave that to his discretion if you wanted, and he'd have 1 year to consider it.
You can save ~$30 on the mini if you qualify for an educational or corporate discount. Office 2004 costs ~$145 with educational discount.

My Mac Mini will charge - but not sync with - USB-connected devices (ipod, camera, memory card reader). How do I fix it?

My Mac Mini will charge - but not sync with - USB-connected devices (ipod, camera, memory card reader). I have tried unplugging the devices, restarting the computer, selectively unplugging and plugging in the devices, closing and opening the relevant applications (iTunes, iPhoto, etc). I have tried using different USB cables.
It's like all of a sudden the synching service stopped functioning or recognizing these devices for some reason. The other ports work just fine (monitor).
The only USB-connected external device that appears to be unaffected is the USB SuperDrive and it works on all the USB ports into which I plug it.
How do I fix this?

Open Console in Applications>Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens or doesn't happen.

HT201263 I tried to update software on my i phone 4s and the phone will not restart past the apple logo? The logo keeps flashing up but wont go further.. please help!

I tried to update software on my i phone 4s and the phone will not restart past the apple logo? The logo keeps flashing up but wont go further.. please help!

Place the phone in recovery or DFU mode (search Google) and restore.

My mac mini v10.6.8 wont finish installation of update Yosemite and now im stock at boot :( Please help!!

My mac mini v10.6.8 wont finish installation of update Yosemite and now im stock at boot Please help!!

Try stating in Safe Mode:
OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
Next try reinstalling Yosemite by:
Disabled
Place the iOS device in Recovery Mode and then connect to your computer and restore via iTunes. The iPod will be erased.
iOS: Forgot passcode or device disabled
If recovery mode does not work try DFU mode.
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
For how to restore:
iTunes: Restoring iOS software
To restore from backup see:
iOS: Back up and restore your iOS device with iCloud or iTunes
If you restore from iCloud backup the apps will be automatically downloaded. If you restore from iTunes backup the apps and music have to be in the iTunes library since synced media like apps and music are not included in the backup of the iOS device that iTunes makes.
You can redownload most iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
If problem what happens or does not happen and when in the instructions? When you successfully get the iPod in recovery mode and connect to computer iTunes should say it found an iPod in recovery mode.

Installed 8gb RAM on mac mini model A1347 but it won't recognize past 4gb, any way to fix this to recognize the full 8?

Installed 8gb RAM on mac mini model A1347 but it won't recognize past 4gb, any way to fix this to recognize the full 8?

What RAM did you buy?
Try reseating the modules, they need to be pushed firmly into the slots before tilting them down into the clips.
see > Mac mini: How to remove or install memory

Power surge mac mini power light comes on but no video

after a power surge my mac mini 2010 2.63 ghz intel duel core processor 8mb ram 320GB onboard hard drive 2 2T external hard drives powering 2 21inch monitors.
power light comes on but no video

"Failure to chime" is not one problem.
¿ Is the power light flashing? This indicates not enough working RAM to Chime and Start up.
Without the Chime, you get nowhere. The conventional way to debug this situation is to remove everything that could be drawing too much power and build back up from there.
Remove AC power.
Press the power-on button and hold for a quarter minute. (This does an SMC Reset.)
remove all drives,
remove all but one unit (a pair on older Mac Pros) of RAM
Remove the graphics card, and all PCIe cards.
Restore AC power, wait a quarter minute, then power on.
¿Chime?
--Yes, add the graphics card only and proceed to debug.
--No. if the fans are spinning, check the Voltages at a power connector such as a DVD drive connection.

Mac Mini - Flashing Folder Icon / No boot / Loud fans

I recently got my Mac Mini back after 8 months of it being 'elsewhere' (someone had it, tried to gain access, failed because I have filevault).
When I first got it back yesterday I turned it on, booted and then logged in, noticed no sound, and system was saying there was no sound card. The computer wasn't lagging or freezing whatsoever, so I reset it and still no sound.
I open it up and what do you know, someones opened it (I assume to get to the HDD) and had unclipped the sound card ribbon. Reseated that and put it back together, turn it on and finally a chime, but then nothing, White screen, and fans turn on full blast. I reset it, same thing. Reset it about 10 times, only thing I noticed was half the time my mouse cursor would show and let me move the cursor around.
So I take it apart again, check all connections, restart, same symptoms.
Pull it apart again and try installing 1 RAM chip at a time, same symptoms.
I tried booting it with resetting PRAM, NVRAM, I tried starting holding option, pressing c, everything, and nothing happens! Same symptoms. I tried holding down power for 10 seconds, hear a long beep, then chime, same symptoms!
So I take it apart again, take out hard drive, check connections (all ok), put it back in, same symptoms.
Anyway I got angry so i turned it on and left it doing it's White screen business. Come back 45 minutes later, flashing folder icon with '?'
I reboot, wait 15 again, same folder icon, loud fan, nothing else.
This doesn't make sense, HDD was fine 5 minutes before, no noises at all, no lag, no errors. I didn't touch the hard drive previously to the problem, and now nothing is helping. I've had the hard drive replaced 2 years ago due to near failure, but saved all data by cloning the disk, the HDD isn't old!
I just bought an external HDD enclosure, should arrive soon, and a new HDD, issue is this disk is filevaulted, I'm scared my data is going to be lost for good.
What can I do? I've lost my OS X disc, but judging by the computer being unresponsive to other commands at boot I doubt it would boot a CD anyway.
Please help.
Thanks

Whew, what a bad ride.
Does it also have Firmware password protection in Mac OS X ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352
It would block usage of all the startup keys, like C, N, T, D, CMD+s, CMD+Option+p+r, CMD +v, Option, and Shift, as well as booting from anything but the Hard Drive.
Force Removing Password Protection
1) Add or remove DIMMs to change the total amount of RAM in the computer.
2) Then, the PRAM must be reset 3 times. (Command + Option + P + R).
http://www.securemac.com/openfirmwarepasswordprotection.php
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

New HD and new motherboard on Mac Mini and OSX will not start.

Long story but will do my best to keep it short...
Purchased Mac mini #1 at CompUSA years back and bought their extended warranty. Mini died 2+ years later which coincided with CUSA going out of business. Problem was a flashing folder with the Mac logo and a "?" at startup. My CUSA store was closing out and would not service my machine and gave me a phone number for the outsourced warranty/repair department. The tech took my info and decided a new HD was in order. I rec'd the new HD in the mail and a local tech came out and installed it (but refused to test it). After the tech left the same problem was found. Called warranty department immediately (literally 5 minutes later) and they siad they would send another HD as well as a mother board which I recieved a few days later. However, this time the local tech never showed back up and after a few weeks of calling the warranty number went dead. We ended up getting a new Mac mini which has been running fine since.
My daughter needed a computer so I figured I would give it a shot. It was actually very easy to replace the HD and MB. I tried starting the mini and it powers up but I got the same flashing folder so I put in the OS intall disc and after I select the language, I get a prompt that says "This software cannot be installed on this computer". I am using the original discs that came with this particular mini. I cannot get disc #1 out of the drive now but disc #2 says "Mac OSX Install Disc 2", "includes Mac OS9.2", and Disc version 1.3 2Z691-5533-A" on it. The mini itself says Mac mini 1.25G4/512MB/40GB/Combo/Modem on the underside.
Is this due to the fact that the entire inside of the Mini is new and now not compatible with the original software? How would I know what software to buy? Am I better off just taking it somewhere to get serviced or calling it a total loss? Any guidance would be much appreciated.

One the one hand I am being told that my OS discs are not working because they are unique (or keyed) to the original machine and since that machine essentially no loger exists due to repalacing the MB, I will need to purchase new software with a new license agreement.
It is true that computer specific install software is specific to the software with which it shipped. However replacing the logic board means that the new logic board is part of the computer. Unless the logic board was not an exact replacement, it should not make a difference; the original disks should work. In other words it has to do with the hardware not the license. The software license agreement allows the installation of a certain OS to one computer at a time, unless you have a multi-user license such as a family pack, which allows installation in up to five computers in the same household. The original computer specific software can be installed on a single computer no matter how many times. If that OS in that computer has been upgraded to a later OS, that installer can be used to install to another computer of the identical model so long as it is not simultaneously installed elsewhere. However, even then, it can technically be installed on another computer of the same model although installation of a single user licensed software will be a violation of the terms of the Software License Agreement.
The second opinion was that the original mini was equippmed with a powerpc processor and that the new MB I received is equipped with an intel processor.
True. Models of the mini released in 2005 and Early 2006 have PowerPC processors. Late 2006 and later have Intel processors.
Therefore, that pesron recommended that I purchase OSX 10.5 Leopard as this OS will cover both of those processors.
Partly true.
i. If your mini was released with Tiger it will support OS X 10.5x and later. If it was released in Early 2009 with Mac OS X 10.5.6 (9G2030) it will only support versions of Leopard earlier than 10.5.6 and, certainly OS X 10.6x.
ii. It will only both computers if you have a multi-user license.
iii. New Leopard installers will only install on your old mini if the original installer itself was the problem. If the problem is elsewhere, it is not quite as certain. Unfortunately there is no sure way to know that unless you buy the Full Retail Version of Leopard and attempt installing it.
cornelius

I can access my time capsule from my mac mini at work but my macbook can only access it from my home network. how do i fix this?

I have a Mac Mini and a MacBook, both were configured at home to access the time capsule. I have since moved the mini to work to use there and it has no issues looking up files on the time capsule which remains at home. The macbook whoever can only access the time capsule from within the home network. I can't seem to find what I may have done differently. Can anybody help?
Not sure if your allowed to post two questions, but it's may be related. I find that accessing the files on the time capsule from the mac mini or the macbook is very slow. Accessing the same files from an older HP laptop is as fast as accessing its own hard drive. How can I speed up the accessing of these files from my apple products. One would think they would work fast and the 'windows' computers would take minutes to map the drive each time...
Thanks for any help.

I have since moved the mini to work to use there and it has no issues looking up files on the time capsule which remains at home.
This cannot happen by magic though.. you must have configured the mini to access the TC remotely.. which method are you using, BTMM and iCloud??
The macbook whoever can only access the time capsule from within the home network. I can't seem to find what I may have done differently. Can anybody help?
How is the Macbook configured to access the TC remotely?? If you are trying to use BTMM and iCloud, then it might be a case that with the mini running the connection cannot be done by more than one computer at a time.. this is generally the case although I do not know if that is specifically true of BTMM method. Try turning off the mini and leave it off.. (off not standby)... then reboot the TC when you are at home.. and then try and connect the laptop to the TC the next morning from work. See if it is then able to capture the connection.. if so start up the mini and I suspect it now will not be able to connect.. that will prove that the TC cannot cope with two remote connections.
There also could be another factor in here. If you are accessing the laptop via the same router as the mini is on.. then actually you cannot have two users mount the same files on a TC.. from the same IP address.. as far as the TC is concerned both devices have identical IP, that is the public IP of the work location router.
If you happen to not be using BTMM then the situation is even easier.. you cannot make two different devices connect to the same network resource using the same port. That is the failing of the NAT system.. one device uses the port then it cannot be used by a second device. You will need to do some fancy footwork and use a different port.
Anyhow tell us exactly how you are doing remote access.. otherwise I am just guessing.
Not sure if your allowed to post two questions, but it's may be related. I find that accessing the files on the time capsule from the mac mini or the macbook is very slow.
Are you talking about files you are hosting on the TC?? Not Time Machine backups??
Can you tell me exactly how you are accessing the TC.. please do a test..
Copy a file to the TC and from the TC using the Laptop.. Use a single very large file, eg 1GB movie file.
Give me a read and write speed.. you can use activity monitor to give me an aprox average speed as well as peak.
Do the same test from the same computer with wireless turned off running ethernet.
Then do the tests from the mini.. same ones.. copy large file to and from the TC by ethernet and by wireless.. when using ethernet make sure wireless is off.
I strongly recommend you set IPv6 to link local only for your wireless and ethernet setup in the Mac.
eg
Now do the test from the HP laptop and give me the results from that.
Is the issue wireless only.. ??
Then you might need to spend a bit of time fixing the wireless in the Macs.. you can run wireless diagnostics in Mavericks.
About Wireless Diagnostics

My Mac mini turns on but doesn't move past the grey screen..... HELP??

Hi,
I have had my mac mini for 3 months and i went to turn it on today and it wont move past the grey screen with the apple logo and the swirling icon underneath. It had started to drop internet signal and also reacting slow and now this has happened. I have only had it three months from new and i dont know what to do. I have done a safe reboot etc and nothing has worked !! HELP!!

Intermittent problems are by far the most difficult to identify and correct. You can run a test one time and it passes with flying colors and the next time it fails. Apple Hardware Test and Disk Utility are definitely the not the most rigerous tests available and are not nearly as thorough as the tests available to the Genius Desk personel.

MAC MINI (Intel 2GHz version) - NOT STARTING!!!

I have a MacMini Intel 2.0Ghz which I barely used. . . I thought the other day to fix it on another TV perhaps it would be used more in the living room area. . . But it would not start up. . . I am not sure what happened. Tried another adaptor and still same. . . Tried RESTING SMC but still same. . . So some told me is the LOGIC BOARD!!!! Shoooooooooot!!!! can it be the LOGIC BOARD burns so quick!?!?! Kindly if you had similar experience or know what could be going on, please let me know. Thanks.

My second Intel Mac Mini will not start after a normal shutdown. No response or sound. My first dead mini was 3 months past warranty and they said it is the logic board. When a logic board is half the cost of a new one it is hard to justify. I now may have to get a new logic board to be able to retrieve the data on the two mini hard drives. I would welcome any suggestions. Should a buy a new mini and use it to retrieve the data on the two dead mini hard drives or just get a new logic board? Yes, I tried re-setting the SMC. Is it possible the internal battery is causing the problem?

Mac mini flashes light but wont start.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for