2012 Mini boots fine sometimes... Prohibited symbol others

[x13gamer]

A 2012 Mac Mini that I have owned since October recently booted with the prohibited symbol.

I have tried reinstalling the original software and have tried restoring using recovery mode and it will work for some time and then go back to the same issue a few days later.

I ran ETRECheck and got these results:

I believe my fusion drive may be to blame. Before I replace my SSD and traditional HD does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[x13gamer]

posted on iFixit, Dan says my computer is being wiped remotely by the original owner because of the SMC/EFI function set up by the original owner. Does anyone have a solution for getting around this?

 

[treekram]

According to Apple, "When you remotely erase a device, Activation Lock remains on to protect it. Your Apple ID and password are required to reactivate the device."
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH2701?locale=en_US

Since you were able to use it after the first incident, you probably have another issue unless the person who sold it to you is a bit psychotic and unlocks the computer after wiping it.

The most likely problem is a problem with one (or both) of your disks. Does Disk Utility report any problems with the disks?

 

[x13gamer]

According to Apple, "When you remotely erase a device, Activation Lock remains on to protect it. Your Apple ID and password are required to reactivate the device."
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH2701?locale=en_US

Since you were able to use it after the first incident, you probably have another issue unless the person who sold it to you is a bit psychotic and unlocks the computer after wiping it.

I have been in contact with the previous owner this evening and this does not sound like he wiped it.

The most likely problem is a problem with one (or both) of your disks. Does Disk Utility report any problems with the disks?

When I ran disk utility I did not find any issues, I saw on another post that it is possible one of the HD cables are bad. I too have not ruled out one drive or both drives are bad. I was not able to rule out how to tell if a drive is bad. I did run the Etrechecker and posted the results above but am not sure how to read them.

 

[philipma1957]

I have been in contact with the previous owner this evening and this does not sound like he wiped it.



When I ran disk utility I did not find any issues, I saw on another post that it is possible one of the HD cables are bad. I too have not ruled out one drive or both drives are bad. I was not able to rule out how to tell if a drive is bad. I did run the Etrechecker and posted the results above but am not sure how to read them.

[doublepost=1547522809][/doublepost]get a new ssd and just run it in one of the 2 slots. 500 gb ssd are cheap

www.ebay.com/itm/New-Samsung-860-EVO-500GB-2-5-Inch-SATA-III-Internal-SSD-MZ-76E500B-AM/153336567954?

500 gb samsung good seller on ebay.


this is fast cheap way to trouble shoot.
as your ssd = bad?
your hdd = bad?
a cable bad
b cable bad
makes for too much time and effort to check.

new sealed ssd in slot a
nothing else if it works you are done.
or new sealed ssd in slot b
if it works you are done.

 

[treekram]

If Disk Utility reports a problem, there's a good chance that there is a problem. However, it's common that Disk Utility will not report problems when there is actually a problem.

I would agree with the previous post. On Amazon, the Crucial MX500 500GB is even cheaper - $68. The Etrecheck report says you're using 337GB so I would try it without the fusion drive and then if that works, you can re-introduce the fusion or if you can manage without it, even better.

The issue is that trying to diagnose the problem with the fusion drive, the VM that you have, reports of app crashes, shortage of RAM that Etrecheck report says you have, trying to sort that all out would likely take some work. My guess (a guess limited by limited knowledge of your situation) is that it is the Lite-On SSD you have - it was introduced in 2014 and it doesn't appear to be a current SSD so if it has some wear to it, that can be an issue (SSD's have finite life spans based on how many erase/write cycles it goes through). Current big-name brand SSD's have ridiculously high endurance ratings (but avoid QLC drives for now - the Evo 860 and MX500 are TLC) but something like your Lite-On probably did not especially since it is a smaller capacity.

Addendum: The drive cables have not been an issue with this model Mini. Not to say it can't, just not likely, as it is for the same year MacBook Pro.

 

[Fishrrman]

1. Get an external SSD and a USB3/SATA dongle/adapter.

2. Connect SSD to Mini, boot to internet recovery mode (command-option-R at boot).

3. Use Disk Utility to format the SSD to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled.

4. Now, open OS installer and install a clean copy of the OS onto the EXTERNALLY-CONNECTED SSD.

5. When done, see if the SSD will boot. If it does, begin setup and create a basic user account.

Can you now boot and run the Mini this way?

Sounds to me like the original owner has tinkered with it ("Find my Mac" or something like that? -- I NEVER use those features), and the only way it's ever going to run right again is if the ORIGINAL OWNER REMOVES whatever he did to give you those problems in the first place.

One reason why I will never buy a used Mac from anyone I don't know.