Opinions about if Mac Mini 2011 works ok with VGA monitors

Hi Community,
I have a old HP PC, I want to buy my first Mac Mini and used the keyboard, mouse and VGA monitor (Mod. HP Pavillion mx50) that I have.
Before I purchase the new Mac Mini 2011 and Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, I would like to know if it works ok with my old components, specially with the VGA monitor? I've read on this Community there some persons have monitors problems.
I don't want spend my money and then have problems with the Mac Mini.
Thanks in advance,

MiniDisplayPort-VGA adapters. Available in the online store, at Apple stores, or at BestBuy/MicroCenter/Fry's. Plugs into the Thunderbolt port.
Usually works without issue. But then I use monitors made by LG and Samsung. Others use lesser known brands or models know to have quirks and encounter issues.
Some things to watch for:
Soem adapters have too much plastic coveing the "connection plate", and the cable cannot seat fully. If you just look at one that has too much plastic, you will know what I am talking about.
VGA signals from Macmini are not strong enough to get through mutliple adpaters. If you want a VGA signal, buy 1 VGA adapter. If you want a DVI signal, buy only 1 DVI adapter. Do not get a DVI adaper, than add a mid-line converted to change the DVI adapter to a VGA port.
If you plan to run Windows under BootCamp, the Windows driver for the Tunderbolt port does NOT output snalog (VGA), just digital (DVI, HDMI). So if you plan to use VGA to display Windows output, run Windws under "VM software" (Parallels or VM Fusion) so that OSX can make the VGA signal for you.

Similar Messages

Mac Mini Won't Boot with VGA Monitor Connected

I have a new Mac Mini connected to an older VGA monitor using the Apple brand VGA adapter. The mini is fully up to date and runs perfectly when booted. However, if I reboot the mini with the VGA monitor connected, it fails to boot. I just hear the faint chime sound every other second. There is no output to the monitor and the only way I can get it to boot is to disconnect the monitor and then power cycle the mini. I can reconnect the monitor just seconds after powering back on and it finishes booting properly.
Anyone else experience this? It is very frustrating. I've also tested with an HDMI connected monitor (without the VGA adapter) and it boots just fine and the display works properly.
Thanks!

Okay, I'm back with good news: I have found two remedies for the problem which will hopefully solve it for you as well.
Given that the issue only occurs when certain monitors are connected, I concluded that the root of it must be a bug in the Mac's firmware related to DDC (Display Data Channel) handling, and that the most promising way to address it should be to just disable the DDC.
Workaround #1: If your monitor has BNC connectors, use a VGA to BNC cable.
In this configuration the DDC pins are not connected to the monitor at all. This did indeed fix the problem - my Mac mini booted without a problem with the monitor connected. However, I was not completely satisfied with this solution, because VGA to BNC cables are usually quite heavy and inflexible, and do no go together well with Apple's MDP to VGA adapter and the Mini Displayport/Thunderbolt port which has no locking mechanism.
Workaround #2: Remove pin 12 of the VGA plug.
Pin 12 of the VGA plug connects the serial data line of the DDC. Pulling out this pin with a pair of needle nose pliers will effectively disable DDC. I hesitated to do this to my cable (a direct MDP to VGA cable which eliminates the need for a separate adapter dangling from the Mac) and therefore bought a tiny VGA male to female adapter (also called port saver, e.g. Delock 65250) to perform the surgery on that. This has done the trick and my Mac mini has started up fine ever since.
Of course, without DDC the Mac won't know the model name and capabilities of the attached monitor and thus offer some resolution and frequency settings which the monitor may not support, but that's a small drawback compared to having to pull out the monitor cable everytime you turn on or restart your Mac.

Opinions about the Mac Mini

Hey!
I wanna know if Mac mini is good performance.
I would like to use it mainly for Web Design (Photoshop) and Video Editing (less than Web Design though)
What's your opinions about it.

Hello,
The Mac Mini is a great computer. And, it is capable of doing everything you are asking about.
But, you will potentially find it less pleasurable to use for intensive graphics work than an iMac.
The Mac Mini uses an Integrated Video system that borrows it's memory from the system's memory. So, it's performance is going to be lower when compared to the iMac.
This primarily affects things being drawn to the screen, not the processing of information / graphics data.
So, you won't find a problem in terms of crunching information and producing stuff. But, you may observe in some situations that the video / pictures being displayed on the screen may lag a bit.
But, you'll usually only notice that in something with a high frame-rate (such as animations) or in 3D drawing or animation.
Otherwise, it's a perfectly fine computer.
It's price is a bit high for the lower performance it offers in comparison to the iMac systems. So, if you really want the best performance and the most for your money, then look towards the iMac.
But, if the performance of the Mac Mini is acceptable to you, and you already have a large monitor that you like, then the Mini may be a good buy for you.
My main complaints are that the CoreDuo model has rather humble specs compared to the iMac and it costs $800 before you add the additional memory that you will definitely want.
The iMac starts at $1299, but comes with a monitor built-in, a much faster microprocessor, a significantly larger hard drive, and a dedicated graphics controller with it's own memory. So, you really get a good deal for your money.
So, the way I see it, the Mini is an excellent computer, but hardly a deal when you compare what you get for your money.
The iMac costs a bit more, but you get a lot for your money.
And, you can always buy a refurbished iMac from Apple, and get the price as low as $1099.
Apple Certified Refurbished Products
Either way you go, you'll get a great computer. You just need to decide how much computer you want for your money.
If you want a system with a large (and fast) hard drive, a fast graphics card, fast processor, and large screen, then go with the iMac.
If you just want a computer that will get the job done, and have your own monitor already, then the Mac Mini may be a good purchase for you.
You should also consider that Adobe has not upgraded their programs to be "Universal" yet. So, they will run using the slower and more demanding "Rosetta" translator built-into OS X.
This means that you will need more memory (to hold the translated code). It also means that the performance of those programs will be slower. So, you'll want the fastest processor you can get (or afford) to help off-set the reduced performance.
Basically, Rosetta is a translator that converts PowerPC code to run on Intel processors. This translated code is stored in memory while you are using the program, and therefore requires more memory to operate. So, you'll observe a decrease in performance if you start running low on memory. So, you'll want as much memory as you can get (1 GB or 2 GB would be preferable).
Additionally, running in Rosetta is slower. So, you'll want a faster processor to help speed things up a bit when using older PowerPC programs.
It has been said that Photoshop will run acceptably on the iMac, but it is noticeably slower. I could only imagine that it would be even slower on the Mac Mini due to it's slower processor.
I hope this helps.

How to create bootable USB thumb drive from Lion on Mac Mini 2011?

Hello folks
Yesterday my new Mac Mini (Core i7 2,7 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD6630M 256 MB) arrived. It replaces my old Mac Mini (Core Duo 1,83 Ghz, 2 GB RAM, Intel GMA950 64 MB). One day I'll replace the 500 GB 5400 RPM HDD in this Mini by an Intel SSD drive (just like I did with my previous Mini). I'll do a fully clean install then (formatting the SSD drive in Disk Utility and then installing Lion on it from a bootable USB thumb drive). The only problem is I can't seem to download Lion for free from the Mac AppStore (MAS) although I have bought a new Mac Mini which came with Lion pre-installed. I know how to create a bootable USB thumb drive with Lion on it when you download it from the MAS. But that's the problem... I can't seem to download Lion from the MAS for free. When I open the MAS while holding down the Option key I can download Lion but it will charge me for it. Is there any way I can download Lion from the MAS without paying for it? Since it already came with my new Mac Mini 2011 this should be possible I guess?
And will I still be able to download the iLife '11 apps (iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband) for FREE that came with my new Mac Mini when I do a fully clean install as described above? Thanks in advance.
Greetings
Jocau

After doing some research, it seems that there are only 2 WAYS to do a complete reinstall of Lion on the Mac Mini 2011 without paying for the Lion download in the Mac AppStore (i.e. recreating every partition, also the Recovery HD partition, from scratch e.g. when installing Lion on a clean HDD/SSD).
1) COMPLETELY clone the Mac Mini 2011 HDD including all of its partitions to an external drive and restore it when you want to do a complete reinstall.
2) Use the LION INTERNET RECOVERY feature built-in into new Macs that ship with Lion (this feature is present in new Macs starting from the Mac Mini 2011 and Macbook Air 2011).
OS X Lion: About Lion Recovery
Lion Internet Recovery
If you happen to encounter a situation in which you cannot start from the Recovery HD, such as your hard drive stopped responding or you installed a new hard drive without Mac OS X installed, new Mac models introduced after public availability of OS X Lion automatically use the Lion Internet Recovery feature if the Recovery HD (Command-R method above) doesn't work. Lion Internet Recovery lets you start your Mac directly from Apple's Servers. The system runs a quick test of your memory and hard drive to ensure there are no hardware issues.
Lion Internet Recovery presents a limited interface at first, with only the ability to select your preferred Wi-Fi network and, if needed, enter the WPA passphrase. Next, Lion Internet Recovery will download and start from a Recovery HD image. From there, you are offered all the same utilities and functions described above.
As with the Recovery HD, reinstallation of OS X Lion from Lion Internet Recovery requires an Internet connection. See "Supported network configurations and protocols" below.
Restoring iLife applications after Internet Restore of OS X Lion
If you reinstall Lion on a new Mac that shipped with OS X Lion installed, on an erased or replaced hard drive, you can download iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand from the Mac App Store.
After installation, start from Lion.
Double-click the App Store icon in the dock.
Enter your Apple ID and password.
Click Purchases.
If you haven't previously accepted your bundled iLife applications within the Mac App Store, you should see your iLife applications appear in the Accept portion of the screen. Click Accept.
You may be asked for your Apple ID and password once again. Your iLife applications now move to the Purchased section. These applications are part of the software that came with your Lion based computer. Your account will not be charged for them. Click Install to compete installation of your applications.
Source: Lion Recovery
It's a bit sad that these seem to be the only 2 options. Lion Internet Recovery is the preferred one here since my monthly internet traffic limit isn't a problem (but my download speed is). This problem could have been easily solved by Apple by just checking the system specs or serial number when trying to download Lion from the Mac AppStore. By using one of the 2 options in my previous sentence the Mac AppStore could see that I have a new Mac Mini 2011 that ships with Lion which would give me the option to download Lion from the Mac AppStore for free and eventually create a bootable USB thumb drive of it.

Mac Mini 2011 and Mountain Lion ERROR?

Hello! I have a Mac Mini 2011 that came with Lion, since I uprgade to Mountain Lion, my Mac Mini stops working (Mouse Freezes) and a GRAY SCREEN APPEARS!! and says that the computer have to RESTART! Any Ideas?
Thanks

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
Select the most recent panic log under System Diagnostic Reports. Post the contents — the text, please, not a screenshot. In the interest of privacy, I suggest you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header and body of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.) Please don't post shutdownStall, spin, or hang reports.

Since my G5 died I was thinking about getting a Mac Mini, but I have a ViewSonic Monitor (from 2004) and a USB keyboard and mouse - I also have the external drive tha downloaded my files on to. Do you think the monitor, keyboard and mouse will work on it?

Since my G5 died I was thinking about getting a Mac Mini, but I have a ViewSonic Monitor (from 2004) and a USB keyboard and mouse - I also have the external drive that I downloaded my files on to. Do you think the monitor, keyboard and mouse will work on it? Would I have to get a hub so I could use the stuff I already have? Is that viewsonic too old to work on it?
What else would I need? Please advise...

Yes for keyboard and mouse.
The monitor will work if it has an HDMI, VGA ir DVI input. If it only has a VGA input you will need this adopter
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/cables/cable_choo ser#selected-step1=MINI-DISPLAY-PORT&selected-step2=VGA&step=3

Mac Mini (2011) can't boot, no screen display.

Hi, my mac mini (2011) finally won't startup today.
It was since two weeks ago, the mini goes freeze very frequently, I discovered that the fan speed was always below 2000rpm, meantime, the CPU temp was around 80-90 degree, it is around 25 degree in the room, last Friday I installed a software named smcfancontrol, which can manually speed up the fan, and it seems better, and the computer runs faster, I think the CPU is running in full speed.
Today, I opened a video to watch, after about ten minutes, the computer goes freeze again, and of course I force powered it down by pressing the power button on the back, then the tragic came:
- when I try to boot up the machine, the front light turns on, then off with a "ka" sounds like the hard drive shutting down(force powering it down)
- after around two seconds, the light goes on again, and the fan smoothly goes to full speed, there is nothing shows up on screen, as well as no apple boot up sound.
- I tried to reset smc (power down, unplug power cable, wait 15 seconds, plug in power cable, wait 5 seconds, power on), no luck.
- I tried to reset pmu (at least internet says it's pmu, it seems apple website did not mention how to reset pmu on mac mini, power down, hold power button for five seconds, power on), no luck
- I also tried to unplug the memory, try with every single one to boot, no luck
- last Friday, when I can still boot up the computer, I thought there might too much dust, I removed the fan and cleaned it up, it looks a small piece of plastic on the fan plug were damaged, but the smcfancontrol app still can control its speed, therefore I think the fan is OK.
- during many retry, there was one time, the fan goes full speed at startup, with no front light off,(my current status is fan goes to full speed gently).
- the computer is connected with an AV amplifier, then output to a plasma TV, when the computer is powered off, the TV displays a background of amp, when I startup the computer, although no video output from computer, the TV goes to a "No Signal" status, I dont's think this is related to my problem.
the computer is out of warrentee, but bought only for less than two years... I really want it back to work, can someone help me? many thanks!
wish you all have a good day.

Hard to troubleshoot when you can't turn on the computer on any more. One option is to bring it to an Apple store to have them look at it. They will tell you what is wrong and how much it will cost to fix. I have never heard of them charging for a diagnostic and an estimate.
If your CPU was running hot all the time and your fan had small plastic pieaces, in my opinion, something got fried. The mini is so compact, that the excessive heat may have also over heated your hard drive causing thd "ka" sound.
If you decide to continue in to use a Mac Mini as a media server, may I would suggest using iStat to monitor it. I use iStat on my 2011 Mac Mini Media Server to monitor CPU usage, all sensors, and internet incoming and outcoming.

Unable to Troubleshoot Power Issues on Mac mini 2011

I have been having odd and intermittent power issues with my Mac mini 2011 and could really use some help before I resign myself to taking it into an Apple Store. It's under warranty, but I now live in another country so I hope I don't need to ship it should it come down to that.
However, I have searched this topic a lot, and not only have I tried troubleshooting it, I haven't seen any power issues with other owners of this model. That leads me to think that the power supply itself is probably OK.
First of all, I live in China and the building I live in seems to have a questionable power supply. The air conditioner for example simply would not work and the repairman spent two hours messing around with wires inside the outlet and in the breakers. That did the trick, so I wonder if I'm simply not getting enough juice?
Main symptoms:
- My monitor recognizes an analog signal but will not light up (black monitor). Unplugging and replugging adaptor doesn't do anything.
- Startup Keyboard Commands (e.g. Cmmd-R) may work, but I can't tell because the monitor won't light up. Letting the computer boot up though I can hear keyboard volume keys and such making the standard sounds. I can usually restart using the keyboard too.
- My 2T external HD more often than not dismounts as well.
- I can't hear any computer activity after the chime (hard drive, etc.).
- Since I can hear the chime and there is audio feedback through the keyboard, I think that eliminates hardware problems such as logic board failure or bad RAM.
- I can't boot even if I unplug all USB peripherals.
- Holding down the power button (I have it set to make the computer sleep as well as shut down) often won't shut down the computer, but it seems to stay in sleep no matter how long I hold it. Unplugging the computer finally shuts it down, obviously.
- Unplugging and waiting 5 minutes or so and powering up again doesn't seem to make any difference, nor does switching sockets, plugging directly into the wall, etc.
Problems began about two weeks ago, got better, and then worse again. Now I'm just keeping the computer and monitor on (never sleep 24/7).
Miraculously, after much frustration and countless restarts, suddenly the screen will turn on to reveal a fully booted system that was running all along in the background. No startup screen- the monitor just magically comes on again. Often I find that my external has unmounted, but it's no big deal to get to remount. At this stage, the Mac is still very quiet and for a while the system is sluggish, though it hops back into action in 5 or 10 minutes.
At first I thought it was just my monitor, and though that's possible I suppose, it seems I'm just not getting enough juice. Once the monitor is on though, everything is fine: I can power it off and on with no problems. But I can't just leave my computer on forever though.
Any help appreciated.

Well, with the other monitor (which did not work with the mini either but worked fine on a laptop), I was able to narrow the trouble spot down to either a faulty Mini Display to VGA adaptor or a damaged port. I could determine that all the other ports (incld. the USB drive, programs, internet, etc., were all working fine behind the big black GUI all through sound feedback, so I seriously doubted it could be a supply problem or a residential electric problem.
I took my mini and adaptor to a "Mac Shop" (reseller) here in China, and found it quite professional, just like a Mac Store. They tested my machine, and although they didn't have VGA monitors, they said I could return the new $30 USD adaptor if it didn't work. But as I'm writing this on the monitor now, the new adaptor did the trick.
The long and short of all this is that I've read a lot about display problems with the mini and I suspect that most of these problems are adaptor related. I myself tried to save some bucks by buying a third party plug and lived and learned. I hope the Apple adaptor works like a champ, and if it doesn't, I'll know the first thing to eliiminate next time.

Windows 7 on Mac Mini 2011

I am trying to install windows 7 on m mac mini 2011 but the drivers for network, wireless etc. do not work. there is no cd included with the box. does anyone know where i can find the correct drivers. i have installed windows 7 professional 32 bit.

Boot Camp - Installation & Setup Guide (OS X Lion)
Frequently asked questions about Lion and Boot Camp 4.0
The BootCamp Drivers have to be downloaded from inside the BootCamp Assistant (called "Windows Support Software").
Stefan

Mac Mini 2011 - Monitor Problems - Help

My picture is not sharp... just blury. Icons, pictures, text, mostly everything is bad except high quality video files.
I just purchased a Mac Mini 2011 second option and a Samsung TA531 monitor that arrived today. Hooked it up and to my surprise, it is blury and bad quality no matter what kind of resolution i use. I also try to text smoothening through terminal.. nothing helps.
My setup:
Mac Mini 2011 - second option stock
Samsung SyncMaster T27A531
Cable: HDMI
After reading about this issue, some people recommends to use a DVI or VGA cable and claims that HDMI is not suitable for computer monitors, especially Samsung.
Please, feel really sad and lost among a lot of new computer equipment that doesn't work properly

I had the same issue and didn't want to give up my Thunderbolt port, so I opted to get a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus. What this does is make the CPU think an HDMI display is attached so that your graphics CPU 'unlocks' and full speed is back. The Gefen box can either 'learn' the code of any HDMI display in your office/home, or you can preset it as a stock 1080p display. TOTALLY solved my problem... even though it did cost $85.
Apple needs to fix this as so many people use the MINI headless.
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-hdmi-edidp.jsp?prod_id=8005

Flash player always using software video decoding in Mac Mini 2011 w/HD6630M

Hello,
I have Mac Mini 2011 model with AMD Radeon HD6630M graphics.
Everything works perfectly on my system..games, videos in VLC,Quicktime..
Only problem is flash videos on youtube are always using software video decoding but using accelerated video rendering
Even in full screen or window mode its always the same!
I've tried all browsers..Opera, FireFox, Chrome, Safari..all have the same issue!
Even re-installed OS X Mavericks. Same Result!
I've used flash 11.9 & the Beta 12.xx as well..ran the flash uninstaller..nothing it just says the same!
I've checked the Hardware acceleration box & everything. Nothing seems to work!!
Seems to be an issue in Flash player with AMD graphics cards on OSX??
Please FIX!
What else am I supposed to do?? Please FIX your app!

Well i have about 30 days left before the return period is up for the Marantz. I just did a complete restore of my mac mini just about an hour ago. I havent noticed the problem yet but I've only been using it for an hour or so.
I suppose using it without my Marantz would be a good idea. If i see the screen flash out again now, i'll try just connecting to the tv and painfully suffer through the audio on my tv speakers. lol

ROOTIN' TOOTIN' YOSEMITE MAC MINI 2011

Yosemite has darn near enough killed off the speed of my Mac Mini 2011 which was running along fine on Mavericks. I now get the spinning PIZZA WHEEL OF DEATH in darn near every application. Safari has become a joke where you would think I had returned to 56k modem land. I would like toknow if Apple geniuses are going to do something about this? I would not have downloaded and instaled Yosemite if I had not been encouraged to do so by Apple's Tech Specs on this page http://www.apple.com/uk/osx/how-to-upgrade/?cid=wwa-uk-kwg-mac-com, which states quite clearly Yosemite will work on:
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminium, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Any solutions?
Rootin' Tootin' annoyed Mac Mini owner

Problem description:
some what slower program loading and web surfing
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 6, 2014 at 9:34:33 AM CST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
Mac mini (Mid 2010) (Verified)
Mac mini - model: Macmini4,1
1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core
8 GB RAM Upgradeable
BANK 0/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MB
LG TV spdisplays_720p
System Software: ℹ️
OS X 10.10 (14A389) - Uptime: 14:46:55
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HTS545032B9SA02 disk0 : (320.07 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 319.21 GB (252.73 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N
USB Information: ℹ️
Generic USB Storage 7.95 GB
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
NO LABEL (disk1s1) /Volumes/NO LABEL : 7.94 GB (6.30 GB free)
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Firewire Information: ℹ️
Apple Computer, Inc. iSight 200mbit - 400mbit max
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.logitech.iokit.quickcam (1.0.7) Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[running] com.amazon.cloud-player.plist Support
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
iTunesHelper UNKNOWNHidden (missing value)
SpeechSynthesisServer Application (/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks /SpeechSynthesis.framework/Versions/A/SpeechSynthesisServer.app)
Amazon Cloud Drive UNKNOWN (missing value)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.1 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.0 Support
RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 15.0.0 - SDK 10.10 Check version
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
     10% WindowServer
      1% loginwindow
      0% fontd
      0% AppleSpell
      0% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
137 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
129 MB Safari
120 MB Finder
77 MB spindump
77 MB WindowServer
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
3.99 GB Free RAM
2.21 GB Active RAM
1.37 GB Inactive RAM
755 MB Wired RAM
2.31 GB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs

Mac Mini 2011 - Grey Screen in Mountain Lion Installation

I'm having major difficulties with my Mac Mini 2011.
It started with random grey screens appearing forcing me to restart. I restarted and continued working as normal.
Today, I restarted and it jumped directly into the grey screen again in startup.
1.
I booted into recovery mode
-Tried disk utility - repaired and everything seemed fine
-Rebooted and into grey screen again
2.
-Formated partition
-Started new installation and after downloading and 20min remaining, grey screen appears again
Restarted and everything went to grey screen portrayed in the link below:
https://www.box.com/s/yqzizv9g1enob4cdc4yr
I'm stuck.. I believe this should be a clean installation. Why isn't this working?
Can anyone help me please?

If you want to preserve the data on the boot drive, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot from the Recovery partition or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Mac Mini 2011 boot camp freezes on loading windows screen.

I bought my mac mini 2011 server, have upgraded it to mountan lion and mountain lion server and wanted to install windows on it. I have microsoft windows 7 professional OEM system builder edition on a dvd, a LG portable super multi blue rewriter, a corded mac keyboard with number pad, a HP mouse, and a hdmi monitor. I have not upgraded any features on the mac, it is original.
I updated all software, well except a printer driver that I don't have the printer of anymore, and ran boot camp. I tried to partition my entire hard drive for it, however that did not work. I then tried to partition half of the first hard drive and that did not work either. I tried unpluging the mouse and keyboard and it still won't work. I bought the copy off of amazon and it appears to be legal. I just always get stuck on the "Windows is loading" screen. The loading bar, a white band across the bottom of the screen, always goes across the whole screen once fast, then makes it's way to the farther left side of the screen and then hangs there indefiniteley.
Any suggestions? more questions about the situation?

Mini mini, there are problems with mini and esp. server version.
What I think others have said: cannot use OS X Server, had to use Mac OS X client
External LG is not supported. Doesn't come with an internal SuperDrive though does it?
The system builder is fine.
Just one story (there are others, I need to collect all the "Mac Mini Tips" together, I can't remember and keep them straight otherwise.
HDMI audio in Windows 7 64 bit
reinstalled the Intel video drivers and audio worked immediately.
My config: 2011 Mac Mini 2.3, Intel 3000HD video
. . upgrade to 8GB ram
Samsung 8000 series LED TV connected with HDMI
Memorex external BluRay writer(USB only power)
After partitioning drive with boot camp and reboot, install Windows 7 with install wizard.
When asked whether to allow automatic updates say 'no', then complete installation and run boot camp tools for Windows.
Because the network driver gets installed prior to the Intel video driver, Windows will install the Windows Update Intel video driver which breaks HDMI audio.
When auto updates are off, the Intel video driver that is correct gets installed last.
HDMI audio works with this driver.
Apple should install the Intel video driver first and it would solve this problem.
I now have full blown 3D BluRay support on the MacMini with TruHD audio, fantastic!
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3408749
- There are other stories where Microsoft Windows will automatically install video drivers (iMac) and cause trouble. Sometimes in an innocuous security patches rolled out monthly Tuesday.

I always had a windows PC, just bought a Mac Mini 2011 and I'm loving it, very powerful and exciting

I always had a windows PC, just bought a Mac Mini 2011 and I'm loving it, very powerful and exciting
great....

Welcome, young Jedi, to the Dark Side.
Happy threads are rare these days in the "emergency room".
Master Yoda will see you in a moment, but first some basic prep-work to help you defend against "OMG! Need to reinstall but no disks!" threads.
Here is a basic bit of knowledge you may want to gain about system rebuild in the world of "no install disks included": http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
And how to make a "local/real" copy for re-install from a thumb drive you prepare: http://www.macworld.com/article/161069/2011/07/make_a_bootable_lion_installer.ht ml

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