Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with macmini

Blu-Ray Makes My Mac Mini Turn Green With Envy

willmize — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:05:08 -0800

How can I get my Mac Mini and my new Blu-Ray player to play nice while they both share my big screen HDTV? I've been using my Visio VW46L as a monitor for my Mac Mini. I plug the DVI to HDMI cord into HDMI port #1 and everything has been well. The whole internet just looks better when it's 46" big.
Until now.

I purchased a Phillips BDP-5010 Blu-Ray Player.
Plugged it into a second HDMI port on my TV.
Looks fabulous!
Until I hit the input button and go back to the HDMI input that I use for my Mac Mini.
Everything that should be blue is GREEN.
Now nothing looks fabulous.

If I unplug the Blu-Ray player HDMI, unplug the TV and then plug it in and turn it back on (what I figure is the equivalent of rebooting a television), the Mac Mini's colors are back to normal and spiffy.

Do I have what I might loosely term a HDMI conflict?
Is the TV incapable of multiple 'profiles"?
Are the settings or whatever for my Blu-Ray 'leaking' over to my Mac Mini?

Needless to say, it's going to be a big PITA to have to go through all this plugging and unplugging and turning off nonsense when I want to check email without everything looking a sickening shade of green.

Any ideas on what's causing this color shift and how I can get my toys to play well with each other?

As always, thanks for all your help, I truly appreciate it.

2.26Ghz vs. 2.66Ghz Mac mini for HTPC—worth the extra money?

DakotaPaul — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:12:08 -0800

2.26Ghz vs. 2.66Ghz Mac mini for HTPC—worth the extra money? I'm thinking about a Mac mini as a HTPC. My thought is to rip all my DVDs on it, then install Plex to watch them and TV from Hulu and other sites

Assuming that this will be my HTPC for at least the next four years, and that I might someday try to figure out how to rip my Blu-ray discs for HD playback, will the 2.26Ghz model be adequate? Or would I be better off spending the extra money for the 2.66Ghz model (assuming comparable RAM and hard drive specs)? Would the extra speed make that much of a difference in HD playback, or anything else? Thanks!

Wireless possible, or no?

BlahLaLa — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:37:12 -0800

Did the Apple salesperson do me wrong? I bought an AirPort Express to go wireless with my Mac Mini but now I think I got screwed. Okay, it's embarrassing to admit this on Metafilter, where almost everyone seems to be very computer savvy, but I DON'T KNOW ABOUT COMPUTERS. I use 'em, but I don't know how they work.

I have an older Mac Mini. I've had it for two years, but it was used by someone else previously and I don't know precisely how old it is. I want to set up a wireless network in my home, and I called the Apple Store to see if that would be possible with my model. The phone rep talked me through looking at my computer. I have a new-enough OS. I do not have an AirPort card. I do have firewire. She said I can connect through firewire.

But the AirPort Express arrived, and when I looked at the documentation, it says I must have the AirPort card installed.

So...is that true about this alleged firewire? Can I connect wirelessly, or am I out of luck? If not, can I keep my Mac Mini wired to the modem, and hook up the AirPort Express so my husband can use his laptop elsewhere in the house?

If I need to return this thing: Have you had experience with the Apple Store? Are they going to easily accept the explanation that I only bought this because the salesperson said it would work with my computer?

Please speak to me as if I am your mentally challenged great aunt. I really need it step by step, spelled out.

Dual head mac with KVM?

hardcode — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:07:40 -0800

So, finally after many years away from the world of Macs I'm about to take the plunge and buy one. The issue is that I want to use my current 2 monitors, PC USB keyboard and Microsoft (yes, ok, I hear you) USB mouse and a KVM switch

I have a dual head PC, driving 2 DVI monitors from one Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS, using a VGA to DVI adapter to drive 2 Xerox 19" monitors. This works fine.

I'd like to add a Mac Mini to this setup and have a KVM to switch between the two so I keep the desk area relatively clear.

So the plan so far is:

Buy a Mac Mini, which comes with a mini-DVI to DVI adapter

Buy the additional mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter

Hook those 2 DVI outputs and my current PC DVI and VGA-acting-as-DVI outputs into a KVM (currently looking at the Aten CS1642 caution 900+K PDF)

Enjoy the best of both worlds!

So, the questions:

Does the mini-DVI and mini-DisplayPort idea work? That should drive 2 x DVI monitors correctly from the mac-Mini shouldn't it?

Can anyone suggest another KVM? The 1642 is rather expensive!

Any issues you can see?

Thanks for your time!

Help my Mac Mini work with my TV!

Mrs. Green — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:16:45 -0800

Mac Mini filter: when using a Mini like an AppleTV, it makes the TV screen flicker horizontally. When we switch it to a regular monitor, it is fine. Any ideas on how to fix this? I will give as much technical information as I can. We have a 2005 Mini (no Intel). It has the Leopard OS on it; when we hooked it up to the TV, it worked great! (old tv-had to get the cable with yellow, red, and white outputs, etc.). We were able to see everything, view hulu, it was awesome. My better half thought we could change the screen resolution for a better picture. After we did that, the picture turned to B/W, and flickers horizontally. We have tried every other resolution, unplugging/replugging, turn off/on, and the TV remains the same. The computer monitor is fine, the TV isn't. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance-

What should I do about my old computer??

snowjoe — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:40:58 -0800

Windows xp and Ubuntu? PCI video card? Mac Mini? Opinions? I have an old old computer (Pentium 4 CPU 2.4 GHz with 512 MB Ram). My video card went belly up a few weeks ago and I put in an old barebones type of card out of an old computer. I am unhappy with the performance so I bought a card from newegg but I couldn't use it because my expansion slots are only PCI NOT PCI-e. Also my power supply is 300w and newer cards seem to require more power. So my questions are:

1 - Should I try Ubuntu via WUBI? (I need windows for Quicken and a few other things.) Would Ubuntu make me and my old computer happy?

2 - Should I just grin and bear it for a couple of months and buy a new system with Windows 7?

3 - Should I get a Mac Mini?

4 - Should I forget computers entirely?

5 - Is there a good video card that is PCI?

Oh by the way, I can't add more memory because the super old memory is way to expensive. I forget what kind it is but as someone once told me, I lost the memory lottery.

Latency? This. Is. Infiniteloop!

selfnoise — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:28:23 -0800

Help me try and fix my mother's weird internet/Mac Mini issue. So, my mother has a Mac Mini. This is one of the older PowerPC ones... no wireless. It's connected via a cat5 cable to a ZyXel wireless router, which is then connected to a DSL modem. The problem she has is a delay between requesting a webpage and having it start to load (in any web browser). Since I am a Windows user, I don't know much about Macs, so I am at a loss.

Pertinent factoids:

-When I go to dslreports.com and run a speed test, I get a latency of between 500-900ms, which seems really high.

-When I ping google.com from within OS X's network dialog, however, the latency looks normal.

-My netbook and another Windows PC can connect wirelessly without this issue. I also connected my netbook to the router using the same cat5 cable; no issue.

-I tried setting the DNS servers to opendns instead of the default; no change.

Apparently the system did not originally have this issue. Any ideas?

Mac Mini as centerpiece of home theater?

xmutex — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:46:05 -0800

Mac Mini as centerpiece of home theater, driving a HDTV? Wanted to buy a new Mac Mini to serve as the centerpiece of the home theater. Need it to play DVDs, downloads, and stream stuff from Hulu/MLB.tv/etc. Would the machine work well? How could I get 5.1 sound from DVDs? Would the Mini drive 1080p on an HDTV well?

Mac Mini: Yes or No?

Subspace — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:24:25 -0800

My husband and I are Apple noobs and can't get a straight answer from any sales people: is the Mini adequate for our needs? My husband and I work as advertising copywriters, an industry that exclusively uses Apple computers. Over the years our employers have always loaned us Apple laptops, thus negating our need to actually purchase one. Without getting into a Mac vs. PC debate, our home computers have always been PCs, and we're comfortable with that.

However! Since we're going freelance soon, we finally admitted we need to just buy the damn Apple already, and quickly discovered that everyone in the Apple store is convinced we'll be miserable with anything less than a $3,000 machine (which isn't an option: we're as financially fragile as everyone else these days). It just seems so absurd and wasteful to buy so much computer when we already have expensive, beloved monitors, keyboards and meeces. When we read about the Mac Mini we thought, well, that seems perfectly fine, until, of course, we consulted people.

Everyone seems shocked and weirded out that we want to attach a Mac of some kind to a preexisting monitor and keyboard, as though it limits the operating system in some way. And in fact, that is the implication: that by not using everything Apple we are limiting our purchase not just in aesthetics, but in function. To make things worse, when we tell them we are going to use the Mini primarily for Photoshop and InDesign, their heads explode.

So I guess my question is: are we being silly by thinking we can just get a Mini and nothing else and happily generate massive image files?

new mac mini harikari! how to reconnect round metal connector?

metaseeker — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:11:57 -0800

new mac mini harikari! how to reconnect round metal connector? OK, I was all pleased with myself opening up my 1-day-old brand new mac mini to upgrade the RAM and HD.

After prying the lid open with relatively few scars, things were going great until a very tiny metal connector got pulled out by mistake.

Look at this picture of an old mac mini

halfway across and a just shy of a third of the way down, there's a brass-colored tiny round (actually cylindrical) connector with a black cable leading to the other half of the disassembled mac mini.

It seems to pop off quite easily but I can't figure out how to get it back on!

I saw another one next to it and pulled it out to see how it worked. Now I have two disconnect tiny round metal head things.

How do I get this thing back on?

thanks!

Pimping Out a MacMini as Media Center, etc.

Gideon — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:17:34 -0800

I'm consolidating and trying to save some money in the coming years. To that end I've acquired an older Mac Mini and pulled out an old monitor. I've set it as a working media center, but I think I could do more and do it more efficiently. This Mac-Mini pretty much only has one job - dealing with media. I've a normal computer I use for everything else. Right now my setup is like this:
I have boxee for Netflix and Hulu (sometimes). For videos I might download I use a program that grabs the videos for me automatically an begins downloading them in Vuze. Cause I am security sensitive I use the IP Filter with Vuze.

After they are complete they are moved to a "completion folder" where Hazel (the program) moves them to the proper directory. This way I can watch stuff I download on Front Row or Boxee.

I also have Connect360 running so I can watch movies from my 360 in the other room.

I have screen sharing as well so I don't have to worry about needing a mouse and keyboard for the macmini.

-Still, having some troubles. I can't seem to slow down the file moving, so errors crop up in Vuze all the time.

-I'm wondering if there is a more efficient way to do this. Boxee has torrent downloading, but no ip-filtering.

-What else can I use this for? It seems I should be able to do something else with this thing but I'm not quite sure what. I don't need to share files or anything (mobileme allows for that). But what other things might I do?

New HDTV Owner, Hookup with my Mac Mini?

gramcracker — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:47:33 -0800

Just bought a Sharp Aquos LC37D43U and am planning to use my G4 Mac Mini for at least a DVD player--but can I have it do more? And how would the setup work? I'm a computer techie, but all this TV stuff is new to me. Still trying to decide if I want the huge monthly cost of cable.

1) I'm assuming there's no way to hook up my cable (or just antennae) to the TV, and then have the Mac Mini pull the TV signal from the TV back to the Mac Mini, for DVR functions, right? (ie: use the TV as an output.) Also, are there DVR options for a Mac/Mac Mini, or should I just chip in and get a TiVO or DVR from my cable company, RCN?

2) Re: #1, so if I wanted to do any of that, I'd need a TV Tuner for my Mac Mini, right? And for most people they use EyeTV, hook up their cable to the EyeTV, and then run the output thru their Mac into their TV?

3) To use Boxee or Plex, I just have to have my Mini connected to the internet and then connect the Mini to the TV, right?

So I guess in summary, my question boils down to:
* Are there DVR options for the Mini, and how do they work (or should I just get a TiVO) and
* How do I use my Mac Mini as a media server/Boxee/Plex with my new TV?

Sanity check my Mac media center.

swift — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:50:09 -0800

Please sanity check a possible Mac Mini HTPC/media center setup. Before I start spending money on additional components, maybe the community can review my plans for a Mac-Mini-based media center and HTPC. I've done lots of reading online, and based on some other AskMe threads, I'm not alone in being a little confused about the best setup for my needs, until someone invents a box that does it all.

I have:
- an HDTV with resolution up to 1080i
- an Intel Mac Mini with OS/X 10.4, but no remote
- a home theater receiver with speakers and lots of input options
- a NAS with tons of music, and some movies
- an Xbox 360
- a VCR
- a Netflix account, which I use to stream movies to the Xbox
- at the moment, cable
- a laptop

I want to:
- ditch cable and get HD programming over the air
- watch whatever programming I can get via the Internet
- watch streaming Netflix movies
- transfer VHS tapes to the NAS
- browse and play music and movies from the NAS
- use Tivo-like capabilities like pausing, recording, and browsing on-screen listings
- control as much as possible with a single remote
- play games

Right now I'm planning to go down a route similar to mr. obsession, using a HDHomeRun tuner, some kind of antenna, and EyeTV software for the TV end, and Plex for the media center end (which would require upgrading the Mac to Leopard).

Has anyone used a similar combination of these pieces? Do you think there's a better way to do it?

Also (and this is really my "original" question), since I've lost the little white Mac remote, is there a universal remote that works with the Mac? Controlling the Mac via the laptop (or getting a wireless keyboard) is certainly possible, but it's not ideal if I just want to flip channels and browse media.

Thanks in advance!

GPS and XBMC

kenbennedy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:59:34 -0800

Can I open/run any old program I want from within Xbox media center (on my mac mini)? I have an Intel Mac Mini with Plex installed. I want to put this computer in my car and run a piece of GPS software (RouteBuddy). Can I launch and run this piece of software from within Plex? Is this possible with any variation of the Xbox media center? Do you have any other suggestions? I have not been using Plex for very long, but it is nice looking and that is something I am after when trying to run the Mini in my car.

Give me the Mac Mini that Apple aren't

siskin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:50:05 -0800

I'd like to get an up-to-date version of a Mac Mini - but Apple haven't released one. What are my alternatives? So, the Mac Mini would be exactly what I want, but it hasn't been updated for a year and a half. I'd like a Mac Mini equivalent that has a bigger hard drive, more memory, and preferably a faster processor - but is still small, very quiet, and the same sort of price.

Ideally it would run OS X, but that's not essential; Linux would be fine as long as there's not too much fiddling with device drivers needed. I'm more interested in having a small, quiet home server than I am in using things like Front Row, although those would be a bonus.

The options I can see are:
a) wait until January and hope that Apple update the Mac Mini line rather than dropping it
b) buy a Mac Mini now and upgrade bits of it - which seems like it could be quite a bit more expensive
c) buy another quiet, small PC - what's good?

Which of the above would be best? Are there any options I'm missing?

Thank you!

Why won't my iPod sync?

Daily Alice — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:28:32 -0800

Why won't my iPod sync? 5th generation 60GB, Leopard 7.5.2, iTunes 7.6.2. Sync begins normally and hangs after a few minutes. I have a 5th generation iPod, 60 gb. I'm running Leopard 7.5.2 and iTunes 7.6.2 on a Mac Mini. My iTunes library is stored on an external HD. This is the first time I've tried to sync my iPod to this computer. I've restored the iPod to factory settings and updated all software. iTunes plays normally from the computer and all other software seems to be operating normally. The iPod shows enough free space to store the playlists I've checked. When I plug the iPod in to sync, it starts to sync and then hangs before the sync is complete (after 1 - 10 minutes.) iTunes freezes (spinning beachball) until I unplug the iPod, at which point it tells me I've removed a device improperly, but then I can quit normally out of iTunes. What's going on?

This iPod doesn't Work.

LoriFLA — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:07:45 -0800

Is this iPod useless? Because I'm clueless. I have one of these, an iPod HP 20GB. I have a Mac Mini computer. I dragged out this old iPod because I want to buy one of these docking stations. When I plug in the HP iPod I get all kinds of messages, like it can't find the disk and can't sync and other No, Go Away! messages.

Should I forget this iPod and buy a newer one that will work? Or, can I get this one to work somehow? I have one of those teeny Nano things but I don't think it will fit on a docking station. Thanks.

Help me turn my mac mini into a home web and file server

that girl — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:40:49 -0800

I'm interested in turning my rarely-used powerpc mac mini into a web/file server. Where are the good guides and resources for doing this? I have a 1.5 GHz Power PC G4 mac mini, with 10.4.10, 512 MB RAM, which I would like to turn into a web and file server, mostly just for me and maybe a few other users. It connects to the Internet at Large via a wireless network, and I want to be able to access it remotely and not have to worry about having the full set of peripherals attached to it.

I mainly want to use it for a web development environment that I have control over and access to. I like putzing around with things and have reasonable patience with mysterious bugs, although not infinite patience. I would be building applications using at least MySQL and PHP, maybe looking into Python and other things if I am sufficiently convinced of their awesomeness. Having it running an FTP server would make it useful for when I don't have ssh access.

So, how do I get this set up, how do I connect to it from within and outside the network (ssh? vnc? etc?), and how do I make it awesome? Are there excessively clear tutorials and documentation that will help me to do this? Packages that make it clear enough for my computer-phobic mother to be able to set up? I tried in the past to install apache/php/mysql, but ran into issues with the php packages out there for macs (maybe even the mac mini in particular). I have gotten these things to work on a variety of Windows machines, but I know it's not the same.

Where can I get a good deal on a Mac Mini Superdrive?

GS1977 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:59:40 -0800

The CD/DVD drive in this Mini is dead. What's the best place to buy a replacement Mac Mini optical drive? I'm upgrading a client's Mac Mini with a new hard drive. In the process, I've found that the optical drive is seemingly dead. I can't insert a disc; they just sorta bounce back out. The client claims he's had no issues with it, but I find it hard to believe that the drive was damaged during the hard drive swap.

Anyway, I'm not getting anywhere with it. The client has decided he would just like to order a new one. Where do you suggest I buy one online? Newegg doesn't seem to carry stuff like that.

Furthermore, what's a good price to pay for a "Superdrive"?

How do I get my Kinesis Ergo PS2 keyboard to work with a KVM switch?

KirkJobSluder — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:54:22 -0800

How do I get my Kinesis Ergo PS2 keyboard to work with a KVM switch and USB adapter? I have 1) A kinesis ergo keyboard, 2) a G4 mac mini and 3) an aging winXP system. Ideally, I'd like to connect the three of them together, and I had a great setup with a PS2 KVM prior to getting the mini.

However, slipping a ps2->usb adapter into the chain seems to cause problems. For that matter, the keyboard only functions properly for the mini when plugged directly into the mini's own USB port. keyboard->adapter->powered hub->mini does not work. It must be keyboard->adapter->mini. Otherwise the keyboard input consists of an endless stream of space characters.

What I'm hoping for is 1) a recommendation of a good ps2->usb adapter 2) a recommendation of a good KVM 3) Advice that I should just find a cheap old-fashioned VGA switch and swap the keyboard when I need to play.

Remote desktop is not really an option for what I want to do. And eventually this problem will go away when I finally make the Intel upgrade so I'm not interested in spending a large quantity of money.

How to do concurrent multi-user OSX?

philomathoholic — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:41:37 -0800

How do I go about logging in, remotely and with something like VNC, to Mac OSX, while also (at the same time) using the computer locally as a different user? Is this possible? Is there a different way to do this? (I already have ssh all set up, if that'll help.)

How to get a Mac mini to reconnect to a wireless network automatically?

remi — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:26:29 -0800

I have an Intel Mac mini using a wireless WPA connection to connect to a router which is connected to the Internet. The wireless connectivity works relatively well. However, once it gets disconnected, even if the signal may be lost just temporarily, Mac OS just "gives up" at trying to reconnect. How do I make Mac OS try and try again to reconnect to the wireless network once it has been disconnected? I don't know if there are any commands I can use in the Terminal to connect to a wireless network. If there are, I'm thinking I can probably set up a simple cronjob to check the connectivity and attempt to reconnect if the connection was dropped.

Or maybe there is already a 3rd-party solution to accomplish this? Hopefully, it's freeware.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

Mac Mini adding external bits

Megamix — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 04:05:47 -0800

Mac Mini 1.66, 60gb with 1 or 2gb RAM - then adding big external drive and dvd burner - is this an economical / workable option? Would like to try a mac.
My needs are fairly basic (web/cd burning/mail/) but i would like to run Parallels and a few windows programs.
60gb will soon run out - would an external drive and dvd burner be sensible way of upgrading - or are there downsides i've not considered?
The next option - an iMac is double the price (here in the uk) and I'm not sure if I would benefit from paying that as a new mac user.

Refurbished Mac - stupid or smart?

contessa — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:09:58 -0800

Refurbished Mac: Good idea? Bad idea? I'm thinking about buying a refurbished mac from the Apple store (online) in the next 3 or so months. Is this a wise choice? I really, really, really want a Mac (either Mini or iMac - leaning toward iMac even though I don't need it for the monitor, I just like the over all specs), but given my budget for a 2nd computer, new Mac prices are much more than I'd like to pay. Refurbed machines seem right in my price range, however. (I would definitely get applecare if & when I make this purchase.)

Is a refurbished Mac a crappy computer, or is it a good computer with a previously disgruntled owner? Is a refurbished Mac from Apple no better than a refurbished Mac from a reseller? Any and all wisdom on this topic is appreciated.

WiFi bridge via software?

Evstar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:03:45 -0800

My wireless router is on the second floor of the house and cannot be moved. There is a mac mini on the main floor. I also have a Windows workstation in the basement which connects to the network but very poorly because of the distance to the router. Is there any way to prod my Mini into acting as a wireless bridge to extend the range of my network?