Mike Mazzei

Q: Failing internal hard drive in mini ?

Friends perhaps you can help me with my mid 2010 Mac Mini.

Several days ago I started getting the spinning ball when I clicked on "mail".  I had to wait, then the app would load.  When I click on Safari .. I get the spinning ball, then it loads.  Clicking to different web sites, the ball again appears and the I must wait.  The mini takes forever to access any app. I reset Safari and checked to see if anything is running as well. All looks good.   I "carbon copied" the drive to an external one. Booted from the external. Everything worked but the external boot drive is using a USB port, so it's not very fast, but better than the internal.

So,I erased the internal drive and cloned the contents back to the internal drive.  Everything working fine for a day. Then the problem started again  Currently I am back on my USB external drive.  I have "Drive Genius" so I ran tests on the internal drive and it does very well.  However, Drive Genius will not initialize  the drive… Why???? It says "drive failed"… So, I  used the Apple utility to initialize the drive and it did erase the drive.  How can I be sure that the internal drive is failing .. I have 10.7 on a USB stick but my mini says it's too new???? and will not install it on my internal drive. Currently the boot drive is on 10.8.5.   Am I missing something??? Maybe it's not a drive issue?   I could install a fresh system on the internal but I'm not sure if I should.   The internal drive does pass apple utility tests.   I ordered a external firewire drive since the USB drive is only temporary.    What steps should I take to fix this problem .. Thanks

Mike

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1), 3.33Ghz 6 core Intel Xeon

Posted on Oct 15, 2014 6:18 AM

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Q: Failing internal hard drive in mini ?

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  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 15, 2014 7:34 AM in response to Mike Mazzei
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    Desktops
    Oct 15, 2014 7:34 AM in response to Mike Mazzei

    In Disk Utility what is listed for SMART status for the HD?

    If OK it will say verified.

     

    You said ".. I have 10.7 on a USB stick but my mini says it's too new????"

    Is it bootable?

    Just what did yo do and what was the exact wording of the message?

    Where did you get it from? How did it get on the USB disk?

    The 2010 Mini came with 10.6.3 so anything newer should  install.

    Mac OS X versions (builds) for computers

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 15, 2014 11:22 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 15, 2014 11:22 AM in response to lllaass

    Hi IIaass… thanks for answering

    Disk Utility says verified …. According to Apple utility the drive is O.K.  It has passed, initialized and mounted..

    Currently the mini is running from a external drive connected via USB running 10.8.5…  It is a clone of the internal which is now mounted and initialized.  The external runs very well.  Yes,it is a bit slow but no spinning ball.  I need to get a firewire drive.  Anyway, I insert the MAC OS10.7 stick into a USB port., It mounts… I click install then I receive this message….. THIS VERSION OF MAC OS IS TOO NEW TO RUN… INSTALL MAC OS FROM MAC OS X10.7 ..

    I just don't understand!!!  could it be that the external drive(now the boot drive) is running on a USB port.    The fact that my system is running on an external  drive leads me to think that it's a bad internal drive. BUT the diagnostics say it's fine!!!!   I do have an old OSX 10 on disc. I could try that.  I am thinking I need to replace the internal drive.  But I can't prove it's bad.  Any thoughts!!

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 15, 2014 1:00 PM in response to Mike Mazzei
    Level 10 (189,425 points)
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    Oct 15, 2014 1:00 PM in response to Mike Mazzei

    From where did you get the USB install?

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 15, 2014 1:42 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 15, 2014 1:42 PM in response to lllaass

    I purchased the USB stick from apple .com  It is OS X Lion  10.7 ….

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 15, 2014 1:48 PM in response to Mike Mazzei
    Level 10 (189,425 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 15, 2014 1:48 PM in response to Mike Mazzei

    Was it purchased for another computer? It may be locked to that specific model computer.

    After you boot is either Lion Or Mountain Lion listed in the Purchased section of the Mac App Store?

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 15, 2014 4:26 PM in response to lllaass
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    Oct 15, 2014 4:26 PM in response to lllaass

    Purchased on July 12th  2012 from apple… Just says MAC OSX thumb drive.  Does not say it was attached to any computer.

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 15, 2014 6:59 PM in response to Mike Mazzei
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 15, 2014 6:59 PM in response to Mike Mazzei

    O.K.  I cloned a firewire drive to my mini. Much better performance from the new external drive.  Still can't perform an install from the thumb drive.  I don't understand that….   I did run some tests from Drive Genius on my internal drive.  The integrity check which makes the drive read and write had many below average   read and writes, within a 5 min check. It started out with average then constant below bars on the graph… I'm very suspect of the internal drive at this point.   However, I'm not sure how to install a fresh system it I had to.. If I wanted to install fresh OS what would I do????  I don't think I have the original discs.. I don't think one was in the box.  They don't include systems anymore do they???

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 16, 2014 1:21 AM in response to Mike Mazzei
    Level 10 (189,425 points)
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    Oct 16, 2014 1:21 AM in response to Mike Mazzei

    After you boot is either Lion, Mountain Lion or Mavericks listed in the Purchased section of the Mac App Store?

    Is Maverick available from the Mac App Store? It is free.

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 16, 2014 4:41 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 16, 2014 4:41 AM in response to lllaass

    Right… I can and did download Mavericks on my external drive. GREAT!!

       BUT….. I have not installed the new OS system because I suspect that my internal drive failing.   I have sent a post to Prosoft who makes Drive Genius.  The internal drive mounts and does initialize!!!!!… however I am concerned about the integrity tests.  The test report many "red" columns during the read/write exam.   Starts out with average, then drops to "red" below average.  I want to know if this drive is failing.  It DOES mounts and would probably install a new system.  Are there any tests from Apple I could run that would verify  if this drive is failing?

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 16, 2014 4:47 AM in response to Mike Mazzei
    Level 10 (189,425 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 16, 2014 4:47 AM in response to Mike Mazzei

    See if this includes a better HD test:

    Using Apple Hardware Test

     

    I myself would use SpinRite but that only runs on a PC.

  • by Mike Mazzei,

    Mike Mazzei Mike Mazzei Oct 16, 2014 9:33 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 16, 2014 9:33 AM in response to lllaass

    O.K. I'll give it a go

     

    Many Thanks

    Mike