Mac Mini 2011, running High Sierra - does anyone have an issue with the Thunderbolt port on the Mini heating up to really excessively high temperature (can barely touch), then the display starts doing weird things, and finally the Mini crashes?
Mac mini 2018 or later
There could also be something wrong internally with the 27" Apple Display.
Think I would also try,
There could also be something wrong internally with the 27" Apple Display.
Think I would also try,
An Apple 27" Monitor. I have tried multiple cables, same result. I also performed every single troubleshooting activity recommended online (reset SMC, reset NVRAM/PRAM, run HW Diagnostics, re-install OS, reinstall from TM backup, vacuum out the fan, etc, etc, etc). I have done most of these things at least twice. I got the problem to go away for a week or so with all of those efforts, but now its back. I'm fairly certain its the Thunderbolt port on the Mini overheating, because I can place an ice pack on top of the machine above the ports, and it prevents the problem happening for a while. However, eventually the heat wins the day, the screen starts to do weird things, and then eventually the Mini crashes/reboots over and over again. I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has had a Thunderbolt port cause their machine to crash? Its seems odd that a display connection can cause the whole computer to crash? I realize that the Thunderbolt connector has a small chip inside the connection points, but I'm still surprised that excessive heat in this connection would cause the whole machine to crash? I don't want to give up on a perfectly good computer just because one small port is broken...seems wasteful. Help!
Yes, I did consider that possibility, however the heat is on the Mini side of the connection, the connection going into the monitor stays quite cool. I think the Thunderbolt port on the Mini is cooked. I'm not sure how easy it is to replace that port, I'm guessing Apple will tell me I need a whole new motherboard, in which case I might as well just get a new machine...and now I'm back to being wasteful again, which just makes me feel awful :-(
What do you have plugged into the Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort?
Perhaps you just have a bad cable or display adapter.
Yea' if it is on the Mac mini side, then it would probably need a new logic board. But not a total loss, because it could still could repurposed as a media sever or used with an HDMI display.
Mac Mini 2011 Thunderbolt port heat issues?
