Random Black Screens

[jollino]

Most likely some display software needs to be updated. What kind of display are you using (make/model)?

It's a Dell 2212HM, I looked the specs up and it seems that the native refresh rate is 60 Hz. I was asking out of curiosity more than an actual need to change it.

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Have you seen how much Thunderbolt hubs cost? I doubt it would be only 49.00

Hey, a man can dream.

 

[Mac... nificent]

Hey, a man can dream.

Absolutely Belkin was going to come out with a great little product called the Thunderbolt Express Dock. It showed great promise. Had TWO Thunderbolt ports, USB 3.0, eSATA, even allowed you to convert to HDMI and was supposed to come out in Jan 2011. Then that was moved to Sept. 2012. Now it's pushed back again to spring 2013 No one knows why but I'm sure they would have sold a ton of them. Probably a chip supplier problem of some sort.

 

[Aerdna]

Black screens are typical of refresh rates set too high. The reason the screen turns black is because it doesn’t fully support that rate. Try playing around with that. Your display manual should have more information regarding this.

Do you mean the Apple Thunderbolt Display? (I'm not sure if there are Thunderbolt displays from other manufacturers and I don't know if Rob meant the one from Apple, at least that's what I have and I get the black screens as well.) The manual says nothing about a setting for the refresh rate and there is none in the system settings for displays. There are only settings for resolution, brightness and rotation.

 

[Mac... nificent]

The manual says nothing about a setting for the refresh rate and there is none in the system settings for displays.

I believe the refresh rate for that monitor is 59.95Hz. I don't think it will give any other options.

 

[spookle]

Are people here expecting Apple to be able to solve the problem eventually?

If so when would you imagine the fix or new hardware to be put out? Not until the new year?

Have they ever done anything like recall all faulty machines before? Or discontinued a product abruptly?

 

[Mac... nificent]

Are people here expecting Apple to be able to solve the problem eventually?

Yes, key word - eventually. They are working on it and it will get sorted, but part of the problem is those with type A personalities that want it solved overnight.

If so when would you imagine the fix or new hardware to be put out?

It appears to be a big issue that caught them by surprise. From what I've seen online it looks like it's more of a Intel issue, which is what concerns me most. Intel hasn't been very good with taking care of HD 4000 problems in the past. If it doesn't get sorted out by the end of the year then yes, I could see Apple canceling all future orders with Intel HD 4000 chips and replacing them with something from another manufacture. Of course Intel doesn't want this to happen and they know it's a real possibility, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. The fact that 10.8.2 has been pulled and that some new Mac mini owners are reporting no issues with HDMI is a good sign.

Have they ever done anything like recall all faulty machines before?

Not that I'm aware, but that doesn't mean they won't. Certainly if it ends up being bad HD 4000 chips then they will recall and replace them, but I'd be surprised if the chips were defective. More likely that they just need a firmware update.

 

[statenine]

You are the first person I have come across to say that it has happened when using the thunderbolt port. Id bet that your issue is not the same thing.

You could be right, it may be an issue with the Apple miniDP to dual link DVI adapter, which I have heard mixed reviews about.

 

[ofmyeye]

[...snipped a bunch of stuff about how evil and dishonest modern successful corporations are to their customers] No one knows what the culprit is right now and it might be something simple and not Apple related. Currently there is no public comparison of minis specific enough for tech diagnosing, so publicly tracing this down will be difficult at best. Apple will have the best chance of diagnosing as they collect the suspect minis and compare them on the bench to see if they are within spec.

Yes no one knows what the culprit is right now and it might be something complex and very much Apple related. Your uncertainty works both ways, you see.

I'm sure David Pogue knows all of this already, so don't be disappointed if your letter falls on somewhat deaf ears. There's really nothing that he can do other than writing an article about frustrated customers, but that article would most likely also include the fact that this "flickering" symptom is a HDMI issue, and not a Apple issue

Why are you naysaying his letter to the NY Times? He's trying to help us consumers. Your tone against his action is an indication to me that you may have a vested interest in suppressing this hardware flaw.
Some might say that Apple, as a hardware company, is the issue when they sell a product with a faulty component. I don't care if that component was supplied by company X for use with components from company Y, Apple is the hot company putting it all together in the hot package. They are responsible. Stop passing the buck. They could have chosen a discrete graphics card; they could have prevented this. Instead they lie and they deny.

 

[Acorn]

On the intel forum there is piles of people with HD4000 problems. Its disturbing really. In addition to a huge thread dealing with blackouts there is another huge thread for windows 7 users that are having blackouts on boot. Laptops are not immune and people who have HD4000 switching graphics also are having hdmi issues.

A few people suggested removing all dims except one and it seemed to temporarily stop the problem from happening. Has anyone tried this with the minis and see if that helped?

 

[Mojo1]

When the first mini was sold it had a VERY bad video issue and I hired an attorney and filed a class action. Apple wouldn't even admit that this was an issue to my attorney

Once you have retained an attorney and filed a lawsuit it is unrealistic to expect the defendant to admit to any liability in the matter.

I'm sure David Pogue knows all of this already, so don't be disappointed if your letter falls on somewhat deaf ears. There's really nothing that he can do other than writing an article about frustrated customers, but that article would most likely also include the fact that this "flickering" symptom is a HDMI issue, and not a Apple issue.

David Pogue may or may not know about these display issues but I doubt that a letter detailing the problem will be ignored. In fact, when I have written David I have usually received a personal response. Considering the guy receives many e mail messages every day I was impressed that he took the time to reply.

 

[stoca01]

Just wanted to say that I also have the same random blackout and snow problem on a week old Mac mini 2012 2.6Ghz, 16GB, Fusion drive connected to an HP2310m monitor via hdmi/Dvi cable. I installed also windows 7 and Same problem occurs.

For now, when it happens I turns the monitor off/on. Will open a support ticket to apple.

stoca

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

David Pogue may or may not know about these display issues but I doubt that a letter detailing the problem will be ignored. In fact, when I have written David I have usually received a personal response. Considering the guy receives many e mail messages every day I was impressed that he took the time to reply.

David's assistant responds to many of his emails. Ran into him both in the elevator at our hotel at Macworld while both of us were heading somewhere with usable internet and MacObserver's private open bar party where we had a few beers and talked for a bit.

 

[Mac... nificent]

when I have written David I have usually received a personal response. Considering the guy receives many e mail messages every day I was impressed that he took the time to reply.

Yes David is a great inspiration. I watch his PBS show every week

For those with flickering Mac minis, I have confirmation that Apples engineering department is working hard at diagnosing and working on a fix, so some good news

 

[Mojo1]

David's assistant responds to many of his emails. Ran into him both in the elevator at our hotel at Macworld while both of us were heading somewhere with usable internet and MacObserver's private open bar party where we had a few beers and talked for a bit.

That really does not surprise me since it is a common practice... It explains how DP can manage his work-load. (Does he ever sleep?) Pogue does all his writing using Dragon Dictate due to a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome that was diagnosed many years ago. His doc advised him to stop typing and playing the piano, the two most important activities in his life...

 

[spookle]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/19/hdmi_hitch_hounds_mac_mini_holders/

 

[MrXiro]

I posted on another users thread regarding displays and the issues I have had with the new Mini's. Apparently I am not alone as Apple is aware and I have a case number now. For those of you with the new mini's, the symptoms manifest for me with the following:

Mac mini - base & QC mid Mini
2 Monitors 0 Acer P236H and Samsung 930B both with DVI

Used two different DVI cables and 2 different DVI adapters (took back the base mini and while there I upgraded to mid mini. It does the same.

System will randomly go to a black screen for 1-3 seconds.
Sometimes it will turn the display to snow (like it switches the monitor to a resolution it can't handle)

Happens about 4-6 times per day.

Power settings and the screen saver were turned off.
Nathan at applecare had me do a reset of the system, sleep, shutdown, (CMD-OPTION-P-R) and it still does it.

Hopefully they will get this solved soon!!!

If you are experiencing this, post your symptoms and maybe we can find a common denominator.

Thank you!

FYI I exchanged mine 2 weeks later and my new one has yet to have black screen issues with 2 different monitors (have had it for 11 days now). My first mini had the issue with a monitor that I have since returned too but the new one was great on that same monitor.

 

[nikolajlr]

I feel left out =( I have run my Mini 2,6 Ghz for more than two weeks using the supplied HDMI -> DVI-thingie connected to an HP LP2065 monitor.

I have never had a blackout.

I got the noise once for a second when the monitor was coming out of sleep. But that has been it. Never saw it since (two weeks ago) and I pull it out of sleep several (5+) times a day.

 

[spookle]

mac...nificent, thanks for your reply in #456

Hopefully they will sort it out and I can then buy a new i5.

 

[Edde1]

Is it only a problem when use hdmi? I will use a acd 27 with minidisplay in tb port. Waiting on i7 mini 2012.

 

[Woyzeck]

Is it only a problem when use hdmi? I will use a acd 27 with minidisplay in tb port. Waiting on i7 mini 2012.

No, at least not with my 2.6 i7. I didn't see the black screens on TP/MDP but the color problem/pixels are the same. Had the black screen only on HDMI.

 

[adonis3k]

Anyone go back to 10.8.1 to see if it fixes the HDMI prob?

 

[RiderX]

Anyone go back to 10.8.1 to see if it fixes the HDMI prob?

I doubt it as I don't have a HDMI problem and I do run 10.8.2

 

[sc25893]

Are we saying that a MDP>DVI-D gets rid of the black/snowy screens but the colour problems persist?

If this is the case, then I think I would have to get a refund. I'm happy to use the different adapter combo as I don't use the TB port anyway while we await a fix but not if the colours are still rubbish.

That said, I think those who say people shouldn't expect a fix overnight are being far too kind to apple. These machines are expensive and should work out the box.

Sam.

 

[domhoenig]

Run mine via apple display (23" matt display) works fine via hdmi and TB !

 

[Dax71]

Are we saying that a MDP>DVI-D gets rid of the black/snowy screens but the colour problems persist?

If this is the case, then I think I would have to get a refund. I'm happy to use the different adapter combo as I don't use the TB port anyway while we await a fix but not if the colours are still rubbish.

That said, I think those who say people shouldn't expect a fix overnight are being far too kind to apple. These machines are expensive and should work out the box.

Sam.

Maybe not so easy to make a correction to the issue? Or maybe U should send Apple the fix if thats so easy Expensive or not still maybe not so easy to fix or?