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Monitor Problem

J

jmf

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 24, 2009
11
0
UK
Yesterday evening my monitor stopped working - however I'm not sure whether the issue is with the monitor or the Mac Mini.

I've made sure all the cables are plugged in properly (power & connection to the Mini), but all I'm getting is a flashing orange light on the monitor.

I don't have anything else to test the monitor on, nor do I have access to another monitor to plug into the Mac Mini. So before I run out and buy a new monitor, what is the best way to determine where the problem lies.
 
You should give more information on how the Mini is connected, is it through HDMI or the Mini DVI cables.
Normally when the light is flashing it does not get a signal from the device(Mini) so probably the Mini is having problems.
You say you don't have a monitor to test this out but do you have a LCD TV, if so connect it to the HDMI port and see if anything shows up, if not the Mini has problems.
If I were you I would test it somewhere before buying a new monitor, or go into a shop and friendly ask if you can connect it to a monitor.
 
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The monitor is connected via a VGA cable (which is integrated into the monitor so not able to switch for another, even if I had another cable) and a VGA to mini DVI adaptor, I think. Sorry but it was so long ago that this was all set up I don't really remember what the connections are - it's not a new Mac Mini, it's at least two years old.

I have a tv, but don't have any way to connect it to the Mini.
 
jmf said:
The monitor is connected via a VGA cable (which is integrated into the monitor so not able to switch for another, even if I had another cable) and a VGA to mini DVI adaptor, I think. Sorry but it was so long ago that this was all set up I don't really remember what the connections are - it's not a new Mac Mini, it's at least two years old.

I have a tv, but don't have any way to connect it to the Mini.
Click to expand...

You probably have the 2009 Mini, which has Mini DVI and HDMI (I incorrectly said Component/composite, that’s AppleTV) if you have a LCD TV it should have HDMI and the only way you are able to tell if the Mini is the problem or your monitor is to test the Mini with a HDMI to the LCD TV or the monitor to a PC.
That's the way to go, if you don't have access to the above no one can help you farther.
 
That sounds about right for the timeframe I bought it. I can't see any HDMI port on the back of the Mini though.

I've tried uploading a photo of the back, but for some reason I'm not able to.
 
jmf said:
That sounds about right for the timeframe I bought it. I can't see any HDMI port on the back of the Mini though.

I've tried uploading a photo of the back, but for some reason I'm not able to.
Click to expand...

Model number?

Is it A1176 or A1283, if it is the first one it is a 2007 model and does not have HDMI, if it's A1283 it has HDMI, there should be a label on the Mini somewhere, probably on the bottom or back.

If it is the 2007 A1176 model the only way to tell if it is the Mini which is the problem is to connect a LCD TV with HDMI with a DVI to HDMI adapter or when the LCD TV has DVI a DVI cable.
 
This may be a very basic question... but have you shut down and turned off the Mini and then restarted it? I am sure you have, but.... sometimes the easiest answers get missed. If you haven't cycled the Mini off and on, do that before you do anything else.... it's amazing how many problems clear up this way.

If you have cycled the power, then please accept my apologies for suggesting such a basic step.

As others have suggested, until you can test another monitor there is not much else to be done.

Good Luck.
 
It's an A1283 and as far as I can see there is no HDMI port on the back - I have an HMDI cable that I use to attach my iPhone to the TV and there is definitely no port that this cable will fit into. The only other display port is one that is smaller than the one I'm currently using.

Looks like my only option is to try to find someone who can try plugging their laptop into the monitor.

----------
snberk103 said:
This may be a very basic question... but have you shut down and turned off the Mini and then restarted it? I am sure you have, but.... sometimes the easiest answers get missed. If you haven't cycled the Mini off and on, do that before you do anything else.... it's amazing how many problems clear up this way.

If you have cycled the power, then please accept my apologies for suggesting such a basic step.

As others have suggested, until you can test another monitor there is not much else to be done.

Good Luck.
Click to expand...

It's a simple question, but the answer is no - don't really want to just switch the Mini off if there's another option (although it's looking increasingly unlikely!) given that obviously I can't see anything to shut it down properly :) Unless someone can give me the keyboard commands for shutting down.
 
jmf said:
....

It's a simple question, but the answer is no - don't really want to just switch the Mini off if there's another option (although it's looking increasingly unlikely!) given that obviously I can't see anything to shut it down properly :) Unless someone can give me the keyboard commands for shutting down.
Click to expand...

This really needs to be the 1st thing you try.

Control-Eject

The dialog box "Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?" appears with options to Restart, Sleep, Cancel or Shut Down. After the dialog appears, press the R key to Restart, press the S key to Sleep, press the Esc key to Cancel, or press the Return key to Shut Down.

Control-Command-Eject

Quits all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents) and restarts the computer.

Control-Option-Command-Eject

Quits all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents) and shuts the computer down.

Command-Option-Eject

Puts the computer to sleep.

Shift-Control-Eject

Puts all displays to sleep.

Power button (if the computer is not responding)

Press and hold the power button on the computer for six seconds to shut down the computer.
Click to expand...
From the Apple Support pages...
 
OK, tried shutting down the Mini, unplugging the cable, removing the power ...reconnecting everything and then restarting. No difference, still getting a flashing orange light.

I noticed though that when the monitor is plugged in and switched on there was no light at all, the orange flashing light doesn't appear until the Mini is switched on. Shouldn't there be a solid orange on the monitor? Might this indicate that the problem is with the monitor (it is over 10 years old!), rather than the Mini?
 
jmf said:
OK, tried shutting down the Mini, unplugging the cable, removing the power ...reconnecting everything and then restarting. No difference, still getting a flashing orange light.

I noticed though that when the monitor is plugged in and switched on there was no light at all, the orange flashing light doesn't appear until the Mini is switched on. Shouldn't there be a solid orange on the monitor? Might this indicate that the problem is with the monitor (it is over 10 years old!), rather than the Mini?
Click to expand...

I went to bed after my last post yesterday, it's 6-7 hours later here, normally the monitor should have a light on when the Mini is off, wow, 10 years old, you should try what you said, connect it to another monitor, that's the only way to find out if the monitor is the problem.
If it is a A1283 it should have HDMI.
 
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It's definitely the monitor. I brought the Mini to work with me and used my monitor there. Time to go shopping then ;)

Thanks everyone!
 
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