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.

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Hello,
I'm trying to connect External iSight camera to Mac mini 2011 (using FW400 -> FW800 adapter cable) but I can't get microphone sound to work...
When I open system prefs>sound>input, it shows iSight is connected but system will freeze for a while (like it's looking for iSight) on openning.
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You're welcome.
(1) Your new info indicates to me that there is probably something wrong with your cable(s), adapter(s), Mac mini's Firewire, or your external iSight itself.
You can eliminate most of these by troubleshooting with other cables, adapters, Firewire devices, and Macs as suggested in the info from my earlier link.
If no Firewire device you test on your Mac works with any connecting cable, resetting the Mac's Firewire bus may help. Apple's "how-to" article has been archived in this link. (This link may be slow to load.)
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... If the issue persists, try these steps:
Shut down the computer.
Disconnect all devices and all other cables, except the keyboard and mouse cable(s).
Disconnect the computer from the power outlet and wait for 3 to 5 minutes.
Plug the computer back in and turn it on.
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(3) Rather than spend more money on your old iSight, you may decide to consider a new webcam. A new Mac compatible USB connected cam with a current warranty will be a faster fix, and it may be lower cost. Some examples are at http://mac-compatible-web-cam.com. Moreover, compatible USB connected cams are not subject to all the same conflicts that sometimes effect external iSight.
Unless you already have a separate microphone for your mini, you can decide whether to buy separate mic or look for a new camera that has an inbuilt mic.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.8.3

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.

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========
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http://blog.io101.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/rEFIt-Syslinux.dmg_.zip
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dd if=/dev/disk2 of=/dev/disk1 bs=1m
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diskutil eject /dev/disk2
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HT3281 Podcasts from Current Tv, since three weeks prior to the Nov 2012 election have had a url problem and cannot be played on my mac mini 2011 with 10.8.2 and the latest Itunes? anyone know why ? I am in contact with Itunes now and they wanted screensh

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My picture is not sharp... just blury. Icons, pictures, text, mostly everything is bad except high quality video files.
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Samsung SyncMaster T27A531
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Even in full screen or window mode its always the same!
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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.
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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 - 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.

Unable to Troubleshoot Power Issues on Mac mini 2011

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