Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out

Happened again this morning with the stock RAM. Currently staring at a black screen hoping it will come back on so I can quit Diablo.

Similar problem. 2012 Mac mini, 4 GB, Fusion, HDMI to Dell monitor. Several times a day it blacks out for a second.

Hi VM1

did the third MacMini replacement bring any bliss?

We all still have the same problems...

thanks for an update to know if it's worth a try to just switch to another machine (and do all the work of re-installing and setup).

btw. Does anyone have a brilliant idea how to reset the old MacMini (formatting without boot from external CD, because I don't have any 😉) before sending it back to Apple?

> Got it, hold Command-R while startup, then reinstall using MacOSX Utilities, without external drive, didn't know this one 😉

thanks

Sheerkhan

Update:

I got contacted today by an Apple representative and they will give me a new mini. Apparently this is a first in Europe...

I have only communicated my problem in this forum and I am very pleasantly surprised. Incredible service from Apple! (Hopefully they can charge some of the cost to intel as I suspect the problem lies with the intel hardware or intel software drivers...)

This will take some time but I will report back the result as soon as I get the new mini.

Same problem here - brand new mid-tier Mini. 2.3GHz i7. Stock RAM. Random and intermittent glitching and the screen has blacked-out a couple times for a split-second. Using the HDMI --> DVI adapater into a 21" Apple Cinema Display.

Happens mulitple times a day and I have spent the past couple days setting up Logic, and moving plug-ins over from my old system and would be a real headache to have go through that again. Hopefully this is a quick and easy software fix - I'd hate to have to return // exchange the Mini at this point.

Any news on if this is a software // firmware fix or a defective hardware component? Seems a bit widepsread reading that people are exchanging their Minis only to have the same problem.

This might be related:

http://communities.intel.com/message/171244

Anyone want to remove one piece of RAM to test it out?

Just had another problem as well. Computer was idle and went through screenasver and then montior sleep and when I went back to it, the screen was completely gray. Whereever I moved the mouse, the screen // desktop would draw in. If I held the mouse key down, I could "draw" in the rest of the screen. Whereever I didn't move the mouse, the display remained gray.

Definitely something wrong. Managed to take a screenshot.

soundx, I saw that at Macrumors as well. I will definitely pull out a stick of RAM and see how it goes tonight. 16GB is overkill for what I do anyway. It could be a good short term solution until the root cause is identified/fixed.

Is anyone here who is experiencing the video blanking ALSO noticing something wrong with the colors (specifically white). Does it look washed out?

I've both issue. (see https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4480354?answerId=20206252022#20206252022 for color issue)

I have the blinking issue as well. I have a brand new mac mini 21012 2.3 Mgz quad core i7.

I had stock ram and had the issue and then upgraded to a 16gb kit and issue still persists.

I wasn't going to do anything about the issue but the flickering is getting a bit more frequent.

It happens about 4-6 times a day lasting about 5-15 seconds.

It's frustrating when you spend good money on apple quality to have these little issues eat away at you while you work. I love apple but I think they need to test products more carefully before releasing them.

At first I thought the issue was stemming from my i1 display 2 calibrator since it was causing reportcrash logs in the console. I have since removed all software and the issue is still there.

If anybody finds a solution it would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I would like to do is return the mini for another one that will probably do the same after hours of setup.

Deckar, try pulling the top stick of RAM and see if it persists. I haven't had any problems since I did that, though it certainly isn't definitive. If we get more people trying it, we'll get an answer sooner.

The reasoning is in the link that soundx posted a few posts up. This is from an Intel rep, Sep 2012, regarding the Intel 4000 GPU:

"This issue is a BIOS issue specifically with the Memory Reference Code (MRC) version 1.4.0.0 or older. Please contact your system or motherboard manufacturer for a system BIOS update for your system or motherboard that includes MRC 1.5.0.0 or newer. If you have a system with 2 or more memory modules and are comfortable with removing all but one of them so that your memory is in single channel mode, try and remove all but one of them and the issue will go away. This can be used as a workaround until you are able to update your system BIOS from your system or motherboard manufacturer that includes MRC 1.5.0.0 or newer."

I will definately try it out tomorrow. I just expect more from these products, as I have always had good luck with apple. Would this be fixed with a firmware update from apple then, or is it something we will have to try and fix ourselves. Would be nice to be able to use my full memory.

Well no luck for me on pulling one of the RAM sticks. I think I might if I can exchange mine because if all most people have is an occasional flicker, that would be an upgrade from what I'm experiencing now.

Sorry to hear it didn't help for you. It bites when new equipment doesn't work properly.

Stressful!

I will try tomorrow and see. Tonight it's happened 3 times in 4 hours. Only for a few seconds each time.

It kinda makes me nervous though. I work on this machine.