My Mac Mini flashes a screen on boot, then goes to no signal?
December 21, 2010 2:59 PM Subscribe
I have a Mac Mini (2007, Intel GMA 950 graphics card, 10.5.8), with DVI out. Out of nowhere, when I boot up I'll see nothing with the monitor reporting no signal. After it boots up, I'll see a blue screen, followed by my wallpaper ... then no signal again. I can VNC into it and everything looks fine. Changing resolutions doesn't do anything. If I unplug the DVI cable and plug it back in, it'll work for a few seconds and then back to the no signal. Any ideas?
I've also tried a different, known good monitor so it is definitely not that.
I've also tried a different, known good monitor so it is definitely not that.
Response by poster: Some success with the PRAM. After I zapped it, I see the boot screen now, then I see a blue screen and a mouse cursor ... then back to "no signal."
I tried a good cable, no difference.
posted by geoff. at 3:19 PM on December 21, 2010
I tried a good cable, no difference.
posted by geoff. at 3:19 PM on December 21, 2010
It may be some loose solder on the connector, inside the Mac. If you can hold the connector to one side and it works, but to the other and it doesn't, that's it.
It's human-fixable, but you need a sharp soldering iron, a sure eye and a steady hand for that sort of work.
posted by mhoye at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2010
It's human-fixable, but you need a sharp soldering iron, a sure eye and a steady hand for that sort of work.
posted by mhoye at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2010
Are you still covered under AppleCare? This is something the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store could possibly fix for you.
posted by patronuscharms at 5:12 PM on December 21, 2010
posted by patronuscharms at 5:12 PM on December 21, 2010
cmd+F1 at the same time. this will toggle between mirroring and spanning.
posted by now i'm piste at 7:26 PM on December 21, 2010
posted by now i'm piste at 7:26 PM on December 21, 2010
Sounds like a monitor problem, not a Mac problem. Check the manual. Try setting the monitor's auto-detect on and off. Sometimes there is a 'hot key' solution involving holding down the monitor input button.
posted by Aquaman at 8:57 PM on December 21, 2010
posted by Aquaman at 8:57 PM on December 21, 2010
Do you have another monitor to check against to rule out display problems versus Mac problems? Alternately, does anything change when you boot off of the recovery/install CD? Even though it's aged, the Genius Bar might be willing to assist with the former, but I have little to no experience with having them look at out-of-warranty hardware.
posted by Kyol at 10:44 PM on December 21, 2010
posted by Kyol at 10:44 PM on December 21, 2010
We have a Mini of similar vintage. I find that the DVI out is very sensitive to angle and we just run it with something wedged underneath the plug to keep it exactly square in the socket.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:06 PM on December 21, 2010
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:06 PM on December 21, 2010
Response by poster: Given that the boot screen was showing and I ruled out the monitor, I figured the next step was to reinstall OS X. I formatted the disk and installed 10.6 from a blank slate. Everything is working now.
I'm going to mark the PRAM answer as the best, my boot screen was not showing until I reset that. I assumed it was a hardware problem until that point.
posted by geoff. at 12:32 PM on December 24, 2010
I'm going to mark the PRAM answer as the best, my boot screen was not showing until I reset that. I assumed it was a hardware problem until that point.
posted by geoff. at 12:32 PM on December 24, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by crayz at 3:04 PM on December 21, 2010