Early 2009 Mac Mini Can't boot

[frox1]

Getting stuck on the gray screen with the apple logo and the turning circle. Also doesn't want to boot off a disk. Seems like the 'c' is not working at all. Now I can't eject the disk. I have tried all of the boot up commands, but nothing works except Command + S - single user mode (tried fsck, no luck) and Command + V - Verbose mode.
Dunno if this helps - In verbose mode it gets stuck on the following lines:

launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /etc/match_init.d

Don't know what else to do, i tried so many things. Mini is only 7 months old and i don't think it's a hardware issue. Anyway I remember not being able to boot off a disk before. But i thought it must be because I'm using a Logitech wireless KB and mouse and forgot about it. Now I realize that it shouldn't matter since it is not a bluetooth KB, but an IR (receiver hooked up to mini via usb), and i wouldn't be able to use Command +S or +V, no?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[reebzor]

Boot to the restore disk, open disk utility and repair the permissions.

 

[frox1]

Boot to the restore disk, open disk utility and repair the permissions.

I can't tho, that's the issue.

 

[mrfoof82]

Getting the DVD out is annoying, but not impossible. Should take about 5 minutes if you've never cracked one open before, 2 to 3 minutes if you have. Use a putty knife to take off the top, and then a fairly small screwdriver to remove the 6 screws from the DVD drive (4 on the top, 2 on the side). You can then tilt off the cover (without removing any antennas), pull out the DVD, then re-secure the cover. The mechanism will realize there's no disc in it the next time it's started up and re-initialize itself so it can be loaded again.

While you're in there, check for loose SATA power/data cables on both the SuperDrive and the hard disk.. I'd keep it open while you continue to futz around with it.

Boot again, just to let the SuperDrive reset its loading mechanism. If the mini boots, great. If not, restart again, holding down OPTION. Tell us what options you get (see if it even shows Macintosh HD).

After that, pop in the disk, restart on more time, again holding down OPTION. Tell us what options you get. Try booting off the Mac OS DVD. If you can get that to boot up, you can run Disk Utility to do a permission repair on Macintosh HD, assuming it sees it. If it doesn't see it, the drive is dead (mechanically, or the drive's logic board) if there isn't a loose connection.

 

[frox1]

Getting the DVD out is annoying, but not impossible. Should take about 5 minutes if you've never cracked one open before, 2 to 3 minutes if you have. Use a putty knife to take off the top, and then a fairly small screwdriver to remove the 6 screws from the DVD drive (4 on the top, 2 on the side). You can then tilt off the cover (without removing any antennas), pull out the DVD, then re-secure the cover. The mechanism will realize there's no disc in it the next time it's started up and re-initialize itself so it can be loaded again.

While you're in there, check for loose SATA power/data cables on both the SuperDrive and the hard disk.. I'd keep it open while you continue to futz around with it.

Boot again, just to let the SuperDrive reset its loading mechanism. If the mini boots, great. If not, restart again, holding down OPTION. Tell us what options you get (see if it even shows Macintosh HD).

After that, pop in the disk, restart on more time, again holding down OPTION. Tell us what options you get. Try booting off the Mac OS DVD. If you can get that to boot up, you can run Disk Utility to do a permission repair on Macintosh HD, assuming it sees it. If it doesn't see it, the drive is dead (mechanically, or the drive's logic board) if there isn't a loose connection.

I was hoping to avoid opening the mini. I open it using wires, which takes more time. Anyhow, I'm thinking that connections wouldn't be a problem if my mini didn't move from one place and was working just fine.

Is there a way to boot it over network? I know about target mode but Cmd+T doesn't work on boot up, as i mentioned, no commands work except for Cmd+S &+V. So, holding option wouldn't work either.

 

[frox1]

Also, I can mount my HD in single user mode