Early 2009 Mac Mini Logic Board Failed

[basketman94]

Hi, just wanted to get a couple of opinions. My early 2009 Mac Mini failed to boot the other day. i haven't used it for a couple of weeks so I'm not sure the exact date of failure. I took it to the apple store where i was told the logic board is not functioning and to replace it would cost $200 with labor.

The obvious question is what to do next. I'm hesitant to spend even $200 on a piece of tech that's 3 years old. at the same time i hate the idea of a perfectly fine system (well almost) just sitting there. I could fix it myself, but the logic boards alone are more expensive than what Apple charges for the part and labor. A new one is $700 and frankly I don't use it enough to NEED it...Has anyone else experienced any similar dilemmas and how did you respond?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

 

[philipma1957]

Hi, just wanted to get a couple of opinions. My early 2009 Mac Mini failed to boot the other day. i haven't used it for a couple of weeks so I'm not sure the exact date of failure. I took it to the apple store where i was told the logic board is not functioning and to replace it would cost $200 with labor.

The obvious question is what to do next. I'm hesitant to spend even $200 on a piece of tech that's 3 years old. at the same time i hate the idea of a perfectly fine system (well almost) just sitting there. I could fix it myself, but the logic boards alone are more expensive than what Apple charges for the part and labor. A new one is $700 and frankly I don't use it enough to NEED it...Has anyone else experienced any similar dilemmas and how did you respond?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

the exact mini? if it is a 2.0ghz from may 2009 put it up for sale on ebay as is. buy this one from apple online


http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC270LL/A


this will sell out very fast. i think this will net out to 300 or less after you sell the dead one.

 

[MacTech68]

There are a number of things you can do to be certain.

Test the coin battery. If it is 2.8 volts or less, replace it. You may want to leave the power supply and coin battery removed overnight.

Removing RAM, Bluetooth & Airport card, hard drive and optical drive and the coin battery and leaving it without those modules for a few minutes before trying again WITHOUT these modules fitted to eliminate them as a cause.

You should even eliminate the power button itself by momentarily shorting the two pins that the power button cable plugs onto to see if it powers on.

A quick check of eBay shows you are not alone:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130610982447

If you've not disassembled it before, take care. iFixit.com has a disassembly guide.

 

[basketman94]

Thanks guys, thanks for the suggestions. I think you are both right, I will sell mine on ebay and buy a refurbished one from apple. Thanks again!!!!