Mac Mini-A Huge Mistake!!!

i decided to try a mac mini and boy am i sorry. i have had it 2 days now and it hasn't worked properly yet. i purchased a model: mac mini 1.83/2x256/80/SD/AP/BT

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: Mac mini
Model Identifier: Macmini1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MM11.0055.B08
SMC Version: 1.3f4
Serial Number: <edited by moderator>

Software:

System Software Overview:

System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.11 (8S2167)
Kernel Version: Darwin 8.11.1
Boot Volume: Macintosh HD

i received it on 1/17/08 and hooked it up to my nice, brand new apple 30" display. as soon as i turned it on, i was directed to do software updates. i did them. no problems. then, i was ready to explore my new mac. i clicked on idvd. an error message popped up informing me that no dvd burner was present. i thought that was odd, as i know that i had just purchased a machine w/ a superdrive; at least that's what i paid for. i ran the system profiler and sure enough it stated that no disc burning devices were present. i looked at the model description on the bottom of the unit and noticed it had "SD" as part of the model. i assume that means superdrive. i loaded a dvd into the drive and could hear it spinning, but it was never recognized. since the drive wasn't present, i could not get the dvd to eject. i got on the apple support forum and found people having similar problems and someone suggested a reset procedure. i followed that and was able to get the system profiler to recognize the drive. i ejected the disc and inserted another. it was a store-bought movie. dvd player launched and started to play the movie. about 30 seconds into the movie, dvd player quit and ejected my disc. i checked the system profiler and the dvd drive had disappeared from the list once again. i also noticed that in the ata bus section, it stated that there were no ata devices either. i did another reset and was able to get the following info. although, this info disappeared again.

ATA Bus:

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-85J:

Model: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-85J
Revision: FEW7
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: Yes


Disc Burning:

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-85J:

Firmware Revision: FEW7
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: No

i tried another dvd with the same error, reset and eject procedure. i then thought that maybe the software updates that i had done when i first set it up had some compatibility problems w/ the dvd drive. i inserted the system restore disc and tried to revert back to the original configuration. the problem is: it won't restore from the disc and keeps trying to boot from it without success. and to top it off, i can't eject it. i'm not too pleased with my purchase and if anyone asked me what i think about apple computers right now...well let's just say that i wouldn't have nice things to say. (i'm trying to practice my anger management here, so i'm omitting the foul language.)

any ideas? anyone? help!!!

typhon

Dual 1.25 Ghz Power PC g4, Mac OS X (10.3.x), 2 Gigs RAM

Posted on Jan 18, 2008 11:58 PM

Reply
18 replies

Mar 19, 2008 10:07 PM in response to typhon

"Mac Mini-A Huge Mistake!!!" i will now proceed in all humility to eat those words. i did have to jump through a few fiery hoops. however, in the end, the customer support department at apple has taken care of everything. they replaced my mac-mini (sounds like a small hamburger) with a new one that works flawlessly. every person that i dealt with was extremely nice and tried to help as much as they possibly could. i even got disconnected a few times and they called me back. i am definitely satisfied with apple support and my new mac.

typhon

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Mac Mini-A Huge Mistake!!!

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