2009 Macmini3,1 startup problems

[rsdotscot]

Hi folks,

For a while now my brother's 2009 Mac Mini has run into problems during startup.

It takes forever to get past the Apple logo, and then it has trouble finding his BT keyboard.

He's confirmed that he has everything important on an external drive so we determined the best course of action at this point would be to nuke it from orbit and start fresh (the old format and reinstall OS X routine).

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this given that the machine is having problems with his keyboard? Also, does this sound like there may be any hardware issues? I don't have a problem with replacing the HDD if it comes to it.


Cheers,
Rab

 

[CoastalOR]

Hi folks,
For a while now my brother's 2009 Mac Mini has run into problems during startup.
It takes forever to get past the Apple logo, and then it has trouble finding his BT keyboard.
He's confirmed that he has everything important on an external drive so we determined the best course of action at this point would be to nuke it from orbit and start fresh (the old format and reinstall OS X routine).
Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this given that the machine is having problems with his keyboard? Also, does this sound like there may be any hardware issues? I don't have a problem with replacing the HDD if it comes to it.
Cheers,
Rab

You could try using Disk Utility to check the Verify the disk (First Aid in El Capitan).
No information on which OS, but here are some general information links that might help:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257
http://osxdaily.com/2015/12/15/reset-bluetooth-hardware-module-mac-osx/
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204267
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201255

 

[Fishrrman]

Substitute a USB keyboard and mouse for bluetooth.

Any changes?

 

[California]

Hi folks,

For a while now my brother's 2009 Mac Mini has run into problems during startup.

It takes forever to get past the Apple logo, and then it has trouble finding his BT keyboard.

He's confirmed that he has everything important on an external drive so we determined the best course of action at this point would be to nuke it from orbit and start fresh (the old format and reinstall OS X routine).

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this given that the machine is having problems with his keyboard? Also, does this sound like there may be any hardware issues? I don't have a problem with replacing the HDD if it comes to it.


Cheers,
Rab

Get a new hard drive.

 

[TonyK]

No update so is this still an issue?

As Fishrrman suggested, connect wired keyboard and mouse to the system and see if there is a difference in boot speed.

Have you tried resetting SMC on the system?

While doing an upgrade on a late 2009 Mac Mini I also replaced the button battery (CR2032) just so I would not have future problems. Our mini is running 10.11.2 and does so with no issues.

It will also help to know how much memory, drive space (total and free) and what version of OS X is being ran on this Mac Mini.

Recalling now one time our wireless keyboard was not recognized and I had to connect a USB mouse to toggle it back on. You might need to see if the BT needs to be re-synced.

 

[rsdotscot]

Sorry folks, had the old Yule to deal with then some other stuff to take care of in the meantime.

Got my brother a new Mac Mini and I'm going to take this one and see if I can fix it. I'll be using your suggestions and will report back with an update on progress