Mini Won't Boot - 2006 Core Duo 1.83GHz

After 3.5 trouble free years and about 1 year after upgrading the RAM to 2 GB my Mac mini (Snow Leopard with latest update) has been playing up at startup.
The problem started with the revolving 'gear' stopping and nothing else happening forcing me to shut the machine down via a prolonged press of the power button.
Sometimes this worked but now, nothing will make the thing get past the Apple logo, it doesn't even get to the gear stage.
I've tried:
Holding down 'c' and booting from install DVD - same
Holding down 'c' amd booting from external Firewire drive - same
Holding down Shift (safe mode) and booting from all sources - progress bar does not move from initial position (same)
Command/Option/P/R - 3 chimes and then nothing more than before
Swapped out internal HD for previous one - no difference
So I think I've eliminated hard disk failure and a corrupt install of OS, given that all media tried seem to elicit the same result.
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? Could it be a memory issue - I can take it back to 512MB from 2Gb if necessary. Might there be another more serious issue and can it be diagnosed at home without paying for a techie to do what I could do myself.
All help gratefully received, especially if I can avoid having to get a new machine.

mhhh... i'm running out of ideas here
some questions to be on the safe side:
1) did you use the original grey install dvd that came with the mini, or a snow leo retail dvd? both should be ok. not ok would be a grey install dvd that belonged to another mac.
2) i assume the firewire drive holds a bootable clone of the system?
3) did the bootloader show up, when you held the option key, so that you could select another drive as startvolume?
4) did you try a SMC reset?
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
you also could try to run the apple hardware test by inserting one of the original grey install dvd's (don't know if it's on the first or second, but it's printed on the label) and hold the "d" key at startup. run the extended test (that will take some time).

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Mac mini won't boot anymore

My Mac mini won't boot anymore. It's been running fine for months.
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I can connect to it via Server Admin while it appears hung.
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May 15 18:39:09 server KernelEventAgent[59]: tid 00000000 received unknown event (12)
May 15 18:39:20 server kernel[0]: display: Not usable
May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[126]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
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May 15 18:39:21 server ARDAgent [130]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
May 15 18:39:21 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[132]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
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May 15 18:39:24 server loginwindow[58]: Login Window Started Security Agent
May 15 18:39:29 server servermgrd[53]: servermgr_calendar: created default calendar virtual host
May 15 18:39:31 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
May 15 18:39:32 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Ready******
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May 15 18:39:54 server Python[47]: CGImageSourceCreateWithData data parameter is nil
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I doubt the serial number is in use elsewhere: I purchased the 10-user version at a retail store in a sealed package and I've only installed it once.

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Welcome to Apple Discussions!
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Message was edited by: Yijian Cao

If you install XP on Bootcamp, your startup disc will be changed to XP Windows partitioned you did. To restore your startup disc back to Mac OS, make sure your Mac is turned off. 1. Plug the power back and press the power button ON. When you hear the power On sound, press and hold the ALT key on your keyboard until you see the hardrives. 2. Select the HD that says MAc OS, then your mac will boot back to Mac OS.
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My wife's mini won't boot up. We just get a gray screen and then the flashing folder/OS/question mark icon. I tried keyboard shortcuts at start-up with no effect. I can hear the HD hiccuping and starting and stopping. She had come back from lunch and the screensaver would not go away. Reboots brought the grey screen.
I've had similar issues and it sounds like the HD died. Does anyone think it is worth installing a new HD into this old Mini? Trying to save data off the HD? Thoughts appreciated.

credit card is the last resort of the desperate
but mostly works. but as you're going to open it up anyway...
i don't like these slot-in drives at all, as this stuck disk thing happens far too often. they should have stuck to tray loading drives. no problem to get a stuck CD out there. meanwhile i mostly use an external dvd burner for my macbook and mini anyway. faster and more reliable.
if the DVD drive functioned before, maybe it's just accidental, that the DVD got stuck at this moment. stuck disks are quite common.
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0 | 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1 | 0A 0A 01 01 0C 1E 17 BE E8 2D C9 A0 57 47 98 27
2 | 12 48 4C 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
3 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
4 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
5 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
6 | 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
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EDID Version........1.1
Manufacturer........@@@
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Serial Number.......0
Manufactured........Week 10 of year 2000
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Max V Size..........23 cm
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RGB color display
</pre>
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Hi BSteely,
Thanks for taking the time to look into this.
The blue screen I see is definitely not being generated by the LCD - it's coming from the Mac. It's coming up just after the gray Apple logo you see when booting. Normally you'd next see the finder pop up, but that never happens as long as the KVM is plugged into the mac (and it's only the VGA connection which is doing this, since the same thing happens with the keyboard/mouse unplugged from the mac). Once I remove the VGA cable, it continues to boot normally. If I hookup the LCD directly to the mac, it also boot normally.
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Mac Mini won't boot up (CPU Halted)

Hi all, I have a Mac Mini with Leopard that has started refusing to boot up. I generally leave it switched on all the time but a couple of days ago the fan (I think) was getting pretty noisy so I shut it down. When I attempted to reboot the next morning it gave me the familiar chime, a silver screen, it then went through its normal scrolling white text on a black background before giving me a "CPU Halted" message and closing itself down. Anyone have any ideas? Does that sound like a fan or an internal battery issue? I wouldn't be too worried as I have a new iMac but there is one piece of software (cocoa booklet) on the Mac Mini I need to allow me complete a monthly parish magazine for the local church and it doesn't work on Snow Leopard. I don't mind cracking the Mini open if more info is required and would really appreciate any help you guys could provide...
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Mac Minis are generally almost silent if they have free access to room temperature air and if their air intake ducts are not clogged with dust or animal fur.
The fact that your fan was running noisy suggests that the Mini was working very hard to stay cool. And the fact that you ran the Mini 24/7 gave it ample opportunity to suck in dust or fur.
If the Mini looks dusty, I would gently vacuum the vents on the bottom edge of the Mini. Don't use "canned air", as that will only push the dust further into the Mini.
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Try starting you mini in Safe Mode…
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
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Try an SMC reset to make sure the system hasn't just corrupted the management controller, then try again.
An SMC reset can be accomplished as follows:
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system:
Mac Mini, late 2009
Intel
4 gig ram
500 gig hard drive, brand new
OSX
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Good deal. I'm so happy. Sorry I got impatient and couldn't wait for the refresh.
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Mini Won't Boot - 2006 Core Duo 1.83GHz

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