How do I get my mini out of "mode not supported"?

[hallaisen]

Yesterday I connected my 2010 mini to a samsung 46" hdtv, and it was working fine in 1080p. For some reason I thought 1080i was better than 1080p, and clicked on it to see if it was working. The screen went black, and the tv says that the mode is not supported. I've been trying to figure out how to solve this, and suggestions seem to be to either reset the pram or boot into safe mode. However, I am not managing to do either. I suspect it is because I have a wireless apple keyboard, and that it does not properly connect in time to get the mini to get into safe mode. I don't want to buy a keyboard with a cable just to get out of this mode, so I'm writing here in hopes of getting some help. I have a 27" iMac and a 2008 Macbook Pro on the same network as the mini, if that matters. I also have a firewire cable in case that can be used. The mini is connected to the tv with a Kanex minidisplay to hdmi cable. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[hallaisen]

Might have screwed things up now. Researching more, I found out about the PMU reset, which can be done without the use of a wireless keyboard. I just tried to do this on my mini, and when I start it now the fans are at full speed. I do not get the white apple page when I start it up anymore, and the mode not supported still comes on (but this time after a shorter period than before the pmu reset).

I followed these instructions to reset the pmu

 

[hallaisen]

another update:

i disconnected all the cables again, let it sit for 10+ seconds and then tried to boot normally. Fans did not go crazy again, and I now get the white apple boot-up screen, but it still goes into the not supported mode. This is pissing me off to no end! Apple should make the resolution-changing so that it reverts back to the previous resolution automatically, and then you get the question of whether you want to save the new one!

 

[tommylotto]

"Screen sharing" via network connection or Back To My Mac. The mini's desktop would appear in a window on your iMac. From there you can adjust the Display preferences on the mini.

But I'm afraid that needs to be enabled in Sharing Preferences before you lose video.

Next time...

 

[hallaisen]

yah would have been an easy thing to fix if screen sharing etc was on, but it was the first time i used the mini, and i didnt change any other settings than the resolution. i just got off the phone with apple support and here is their tip. Worthless. She said if I cant get it to boot into safe mode I'll have to take it to an Apple store and have it boot into a different display there. Problem is I'm 3 hrs away from an Apple store though. Grrrrrr!

 

[hallaisen]

final update:

fixed it. i didnt know the mini has a mini-dvi output! used my mini-dvi to hdmi cable to connect it to the tv and it was back at 1080p. gonna turn on remote access so that I can change the resolution from my imac when I put the kanex minidisplay back in. now im just curious if theres any difference between the minidisplay and the minidvi ports or if wasted like 100 bucks for cables i didnt need1