Mac mini display problems

[Mike Lane]

It appears from the two threads below that there is a problem with the
display output from the HDMI port in the new Mac mini.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4472037
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1478837

I'm concerned because I'm thinking seriously of replacing with my ageing Mac
Pro with a Mini, but if there's a hardware problem it would obviously be wise
to hold off. If it's software then presumably it'll be fixed before long

I wonder if anyone in these groups has tried the new Mini?

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

[Doc O'Leary]

In article <0001HW.CCC90985...@news.virginmedia.com>,

Mike Lane <mike.lan...@ntlworld.co.uk> wrote:

> It appears from the two threads below that there is a problem with the
> display output from the HDMI port in the new Mac mini.
>
> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4472037
> http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1478837
>
> I'm concerned because I'm thinking seriously of replacing with my ageing Mac
> Pro with a Mini, but if there's a hardware problem it would obviously be wise
> to hold off. If it's software then presumably it'll be fixed before long
>
> I wonder if anyone in these groups has tried the new Mini?

I have one, and I have experienced the video issue myself. However, I
don't think I've seen the problem since the 10.8.2 update. Other people
might be experiencing other problems, though; I've never liked the move
to HDMI for monitors. If I see the problem again and it becomes worthy
of a fuss, I'll huff into the local Apple Store and either demand an
adaptor that works with the Thunderbolt port, or a replacement machine
(or refund). If you're not near an Apple Store, it might be a harder
choice to make. Overall, though, it's been exactly the kind of small,
quiet machine I've come to expect from a Mac mini.

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[Mike Lane]

Doc O'Leary wrote on Nov 14, 2012:

> In article <0001HW.CCC90985...@news.virginmedia.com>,
> Mike Lane <mike.lan...@ntlworld.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> It appears from the two threads below that there is a problem with the
>> display output from the HDMI port in the new Mac mini.
>>
>> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4472037
>> http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1478837
>>
>> I'm concerned because I'm thinking seriously of replacing with my ageing
>> Mac
>> Pro with a Mini, but if there's a hardware problem it would obviously be
>> wise
>> to hold off. If it's software then presumably it'll be fixed before long
>>
>> I wonder if anyone in these groups has tried the new Mini?
>
> I have one, and I have experienced the video issue myself. However, I
> don't think I've seen the problem since the 10.8.2 update. Other people
> might be experiencing other problems, though; I've never liked the move
> to HDMI for monitors. If I see the problem again and it becomes worthy
> of a fuss, I'll huff into the local Apple Store and either demand an
> adaptor that works with the Thunderbolt port, or a replacement machine
> (or refund). If you're not near an Apple Store, it might be a harder
> choice to make. Overall, though, it's been exactly the kind of small,
> quiet machine I've come to expect from a Mac mini.
>
>

My problem is that I want to use two displays so I need the HDMI port as well
as the Thunderbolt.

[Jolly Roger]

In article <0001HW.CCC982D0...@news.virginmedia.com>,

Too bad you can't daisy chain the displays. : )

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[j Burns]

On 11/14/12 3:40 AM, Mike Lane wrote:
> It appears from the two threads below that there is a problem with the
> display output from the HDMI port in the new Mac mini.
>
> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4472037
> http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1478837
>
> I'm concerned because I'm thinking seriously of replacing with my ageing Mac
> Pro with a Mini, but if there's a hardware problem it would obviously be wise
> to hold off. If it's software then presumably it'll be fixed before long
>
> I wonder if anyone in these groups has tried the new Mini?
>

I've had one about ten days. Several times, the screen has gone black
about a second. If it happens again, I'll check the log.

I haven't worried about that. I have worried about a wake-up problem.
The day I got the computer, I kept finding that when I woke it with a
mouse click, I had to reconnect the mouse before the cursor would move.

I tried a second mouse. After several days, the problem reappeared. I
tried a third mouse. I had no problem with it. I switched back to the
first mouse to see if I could reproduce the problem. Now it works fine.
I don't understand it.

[j Burns]

I have a theory. To sleep, my Mini shuts off power to the mouse laser.
When the cursor didn't work on wakeup, it didn't occur to me to see if
the laser was lit. I haven't looked at a USB 3.0 pinout, but maybe the
Mini port doesn't supply power unless it senses a load. If the Mini
arrived with a thin film on the USB contacts, maybe the load sensing was
ambiguous.

Several times, I had trouble with the first mouse. Maybe by the time I
tried the second mouse, repeated reconnection had wiped the contacts
clean. Why did it act up after several days? Maybe I'd moved it to a
USB port that still had a film. Now the original mouse works without
trouble. Maybe the port is now clean.

A thin film on HDMI contacts could account for the moments of static
some have seen. It could also interfere with the signal telling the
Mini a monitor is connected, resulting in a momentary blackout.

If I have more trouble, should I try a shot of contact cleaner?