Mac mini 2010

[jdryyz]

Well it seems my 2010 mini just gave up the ghost. When I hit the power button, I get the familiar chime followed by nothing. No video, no response to keyboard commands. Tried an SMC reset but it did not help.

Could not do a PRAM reset due to the lack of keyboard response. Tried another keyboard and USB ports also. No change.

The funny thing is what took place just prior to this when it was still working.

I had just installed BootChamp so I can get to my Windows system faster. I received an error message about the "drive not being blessed". I then quit and tried to change the default startup disk but that gave an error also.

I later found out this is a problem BootChamp users are having with El Capitan but I have Mavericks on this mini. Strange.

Anyway, I ended up just restarting the mac and that brings me to where I am now.

Also tried inserting a bootable system disc. It was able to grab the disc and spin it up but nothing after that.

Bad logic board perhaps??

 

[DeltaMac]

Try reseating your memory sticks.
Or, remove the memory completely, and try to power on.
If the logic board is working, you should get error beeps with no memory installed.
Reinstall the memory, then try to boot again.
Any change now?

 

[jdryyz]

Forgot to mention that I did try removing/replacing RAM. It even beeped at me when I installed incompatible RAM. It does seem to be functional at a low level. Perhaps it is a graphics chip failure...in that case, it would still require a new board.

Try reseating your memory sticks.
Or, remove the memory completely, and try to power on.
If the logic board is working, you should get error beeps with no memory installed.
Reinstall the memory, then try to boot again.
Any change now?

 

[Celerondon]

Forgot to mention that I did try removing/replacing RAM. It even beeped at me when I installed incompatible RAM. It does seem to be functional at a low level. Perhaps it is a graphics chip failure...in that case, it would still require a new board.

How did your 2010 turn out jdryyz? I wonder what the symptoms are for a PRAM battery failure on a 2010 mini?

I received an error message about the "drive not being blessed".

Was this really what the error message stated?

 

[jdryyz]

I was curious about the battery...since it has now been six years since the model was released.

But would a battery failure result in NO video output whatsoever? I suppose it could be stuck trying to decide where the boot drive is...but, if I hold down the option key on boot, I should be able to override and regain control. That does not work.

Not entirely sure what the error message was...but the word blessed was in there.

How did your 2010 turn out jdryyz? I wonder what the symptoms are for a PRAM battery failure on a 2010 mini?

Was this really what the error message stated?
View attachment 612218

 

[DeltaMac]

Are you using the Mini DisplayPort, or HDMI for video out?
Have you tried the other video out?

The battery is still a possibility. If you have tried other RAM sticks, and have tried both video out, but you DO get the boot chime, just no video..... Then I would troubleshoot that as No Power, and Apple's service manual has a step to try a logic board reset, which is disassembling to remove the battery.
So, if nothing else has helped, try removing the battery from the logic board, leave it out for at least one minute, then reinsert, reassemble your mini, and try the boot again.
Test the battery. If it is 2.7 volts or LESS, then replace the battery with new. Or, you might just replace the battery with new, regardless of how it tests, when you already have your mini opened up.
The important step is to leave the battery out for at least a minute before reassembling.

 

[jdryyz]

Yes, both video ports were tried.

Yeah, if I going to be disassembling this much to get to the battery, I will just replace it.

I may have to invest in one of those lighted magnifying lenses because working on a Unibody mini can be a pain with all the connections that can break. I have worked on all minis before the Unibody model without trouble.

Are you using the Mini DisplayPort, or HDMI for video out?
Have you tried the other video out?

The battery is still a possibility. If you have tried other RAM sticks, and have tried both video out, but you DO get the boot chime, just no video..... Then I would troubleshoot that as No Power, and Apple's service manual has a step to try a logic board reset, which is disassembling to remove the battery.
So, if nothing else has helped, try removing the battery from the logic board, leave it out for at least one minute, then reinsert, reassemble your mini, and try the boot again.
Test the battery. If it is 2.7 volts or LESS, then replace the battery with new. Or, you might just replace the battery with new, regardless of how it tests, when you already have your mini opened up.
The important step is to leave the battery out for at least a minute before reassembling.

 

[ActionableMango]

Dead backup battery shouldn't prevent keyboard use on bootup. Were you able to use your keyboard for boot selection, NVRAM reset, or any other purpose prior to this problem?

A dead backup battery could prevent NVRAM settings from sticking, and your active boot volume (the "blessed" one) is stored in NVRAM. But even if that's lost, your Mac should be able to either pick a default from available bootable volumes or present you with a choice of bootable volumes to select from.

 

[jdryyz]

Agreed.

Yes, keyboard was working fine before.

Looks like I am also going to have to invest in some new tools to take this model apart. A shame because I do not believe the outcome looks promising. I now need to take it apart for another more important reason-- I have tax info saved to the hard drive so it has got to come out.

Dead backup battery shouldn't prevent keyboard use on bootup. Were you able to use your keyboard for boot selection, NVRAM reset, or any other purpose prior to this problem?

A dead backup battery could prevent NVRAM settings from sticking, and your active boot volume (the "blessed" one) is stored in NVRAM. But even if that's lost, your Mac should be able to either pick a default from available bootable volumes or present you with a choice of bootable volumes to select from.

 

[ActionableMango]

The good news is that you're getting the chime. This occurs after POST, so your computer is at least passing that test. So the processor, system memory, and main board aren't completely dead.

After POST, the Mac starts to poll your computer for bootable volumes across all of its interfaces. This appears to be the hangup, because the grey screen appears around this time and you're not getting that.

For your sake I hope it is the battery, because that's cheap to fix.

But my guess is that either the memory or the drive has gone bad (not dead, but is experiencing problems). I'm guessing memory because a stick going bad can cause any manner of strange problems. I'm guessing the drive because (A) your computer seems to get stuck during the booting volume polling process, and (B) neither BootChamp nor the Startup Disk preference pane were able to bless the Windows boot volume.

The problem with all of these theories (battery, memory, and drive) is that your keyboard should work, and it doesn't. If your keyboard used to work at boot time, then I have no explanation for that with my very limited knowledge.

Yes, keyboard was working fine before.

I just want to verify, they keyboard definitely used to work at boot time, not afterward? This is an important difference.

 

[jdryyz]

Yes, the keyboard was working to change startup options before the current problem appeared.

I also checked/swapped RAM already. No change in behavior. The hard drive is an unknown. I hope to be able to give it proper diagnostics once I pull it out.

I have all the tools I should need now. I just need some time to get started.

The good news is that you're getting the chime. This occurs after POST, so your computer is at least passing that test. So the processor, system memory, and main board aren't completely dead.

After POST, the Mac starts to poll your computer for bootable volumes across all of its interfaces. This appears to be the hangup, because the grey screen appears around this time and you're not getting that.

For your sake I hope it is the battery, because that's cheap to fix.

But my guess is that either the memory or the drive has gone bad (not dead, but is experiencing problems). I'm guessing memory because a stick going bad can cause any manner of strange problems. I'm guessing the drive because (A) your computer seems to get stuck during the booting volume polling process, and (B) neither BootChamp nor the Startup Disk preference pane were able to bless the Windows boot volume.

The problem with all of these theories (battery, memory, and drive) is that your keyboard should work, and it doesn't. If your keyboard used to work at boot time, then I have no explanation for that with my very limited knowledge.



I just want to verify, they keyboard definitely used to work at boot time, not afterward? This is an important difference.

 

[jdryyz]

Sigh.

I successfully performed surgery on this delicate Mac and replaced the battery. The existing one measured 2.7v so it was possible that the battery was causing trouble, but still no video and keyboard response with a fresh battery installed. I made sure to pull my drive and got to the data I needed. No problem accessing the drive, by the way.

Guess I can sell it for parts.