Problems with HDMI to TV with new Mac mini

[talmy]

I'm looking for people who have had this problem and found a solution. Might save me time doing random things to luck out on a solution!

Prior to this purchase I was using a 2009 mini connected to my TV using VGA because I could not get a mini-DVI to HDMI connection to work properly either connected directly to the TV or through my AV Receiver (Sony). I controlled the mini using an Apple wireless keyboard and mouse as well as a Harmony One remote.

I directly substituted the new mini and it would not boot up, either connected via VGA or HDMI -- I'd get the gong and then a white screen without the Apple Logo or the pinwheel. For VGA I used a mini-displayport to VGA adapter.

Thinking the mini was DOA, I connected it to a DVI monitor (using the HDMI to DVI adapter) and USB keyboard and mouse. It booted right up, and I did all software updates and installed PLEX and some other software I use. While this was running, I disconnected the monitor and plugged the Mac into the TV via HDMI and it worked. I also connected it through the AV receiver and it also worked. It also came back up after reboot.

I put the mini back in place, with the wireless keyboard and mouse. Rebooted and it worked. I then went to install Plex Media Server and it had me install Flash, Silverlight, and Soundflower. The last required a reboot. And now it's dead again -- this time not even a white screen (although I do get the gong). I know it isn't running because I don't see it on the network.

I've tried an SMC reset (recommended somewhere). I will also try another, newer, TV.

My guess is that it is failing to detect the TV at bootup, since it was working perfectly when I connected to a monitor. However it should still boot. I've got another 2009 mini, a server, which has no monitor connected to it at all and it works fine.

I won't have an opportunity to work on this again for about 36 hours, so I'm open to suggestions!

 

[Alrescha]

However it should still boot. I've got another 2009 mini, a server, which has no monitor connected to it at all and it works fine.

I do not have a solution, but I would point out that a mini with a non-working HDMI connection is not quite the same as a mini with no monitor.

If you have not tried it, I would attempt to boot it without the TV connected.

A.

 

[DavidG328]

Just because this is something I would do, did you make sure it's on the correct input? I did have a similar issue, and it was corrected with the MiniDisplay Port to HDMI cable.

 

[talmy]

I do not have a solution, but I would point out that a mini with a non-working HDMI connection is not quite the same as a mini with no monitor.

If you have not tried it, I would attempt to boot it without the TV connected.

A.

I have tried it -- no go at the moment (I don't know where the booting process is stopping because, alas, I've no monitor connected. It should boot up when I reconnect a monitor, but that's tomorrow.

I also have a dummy HDMI "monitor" that makes it look like one is connected. I haven't tried that yet.

Just because this is something I would do, did you make sure it's on the correct input? I did have a similar issue, and it was corrected with the MiniDisplay Port to HDMI cable.

With the old system I tried a special MiniDisplayPort to HDMI with an audio adapter (the 2009 mini didn't pass audio through the MiniDisplayPort), and I had video but no audio when connecting directly to the HDMI on the TV and audio but no video when connecting through the AV receiver!

With the new Mini I've tried HDMI->TV, HDMI->AVReceiver->TV, MDP->VGA->TV. I have not tried (but could) MDP->HDMI->TV or MDP->HDMI->AVReceiver->TV. I also have a small screen but much more recent TV I can check. This *could* be an issue with the old TV (I think it's about 7 years old). Maybe time to replace it?

 

[jlus3]

.

 

[Crosscreek]

Get rid of soudflower. It's known to crash Macs.

 

[Donka]

The mini should boot without any display connected to it. If it was this way from the start i.e. before the various third party software was installed then it may be a hardware issue. Have you tried booting via the recovery partition? If you still have no joy, I suspect it is a hardware issue - something intermittent affecting the HDMI port or similar.

 

[talmy]

I managed to get some time to play around. It turns out that HDMI wasn't the problem (although I still don't like the long delay before it displays). I've got an El Gato Video Capture. When it is plugged into the USB jack, the system doesn't boot! Of course, when I moved the mini to try it with the computer monitor, I left the Capture unit behind, so it ran normally. I don't have the software for it installed yet. I expect when I do so it will come up.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've also removed Soundflower, just in case.