read_baron wrote:
Mac mini (Late 2014), MacOS 12.3.1.
I've been experiencing mysterious dings at irregular times, about every 10 minutes average. They were all while the MAC was asleep, so far never while I am working on it. I read somewhere that if anything dings it could be an indication of some hardware problem, so I decided to run diags.
If you hear beeps in a repeating pattern, then it usually indicates a memory problem, but the beeping usually continues until the Mac is powered off. On a 2014 Mini, the memory is soldered to the Logic Board which means the Logic Board would need to be replaced.
If your Mini uses an internal hard drive, then perhaps the hard drive is failing. Sometimes a bad hard drive will make chirping noises which can be intermittent at first, but will most likely get worse. Make sure to have a good backup while you can still access your data.
These are the two most likely reasons for beeps. I suspect a failing hard drive.
This led to discovering some minor issue with the mesh router, which was fixed today. However I still cannot run diags because it still goes to the screen with the globe turning and a box asking for my network SSID and password.
If it accepts the password, then the issue is due to something network related. Either with the computer, the local network (switch, router, modem), or perhaps with the ISP, or the Internet. It doesn't take much to interfere with booting the online diagnostics or entering Internet Recovery Mode. At least using an Ethernet cable eliminates the myriad possible WiFi issues. You can try putting the Mac into the DMZ to see if it helps even on WiFi.
Just because your computer has no problem accessing the Internet while booted normally does not mean there is not a network issue here. The way a Mac boots into Internet Recovery Mode and the online Apple Diagnostics is very particular about the network conditions. Unfortunately Apple does not provide any specific network information about what is required for success when booting these modes, nor does Apple document these mysterious error codes. Apple loves their secrets. The problem may be with the ISP or the general Internet where the ISP's network management is somehow interfering with the process or maybe latency to access Apple's servers is too much. I've battled this myself so I know how frustrating it can be.
There should be a way to bypass the network test.
It is not a network test. The Apple Diagnostics are now online and leverage the Internet Recovery Mode framework to boot the Mac with the online diagnostics.
You can try running Memtest86 to check the memory. If you use the older Memtest86 v7.5, then you can configure it to run more than four test loops in order to run the memory test for hours or possibly even a day or two depending on the amount of memory being tested. A passing test does not mean anything. Tests are really only useful when they show a possible problem. Use the downloaded Memtest86 .iso or .img file as a source for Etcher (Mac/Windows/Linux) in order to create a bootable Memtest86 USB stick. Option Boot the Memtest86 USB stick and select the orange icon labeled "EFI".
Personally, my money is on a failing hard drive. You can try running DriveDx to see if there are any "Warning" or "Failing" notices which indicate a worn out drive or a failing drive respectively. Unfortunately, a beeping hard drive may not show any errors at first. This is in regards to a hard drive as opposed to an SSD.
You should always have frequent and regular backups of your computer an all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data.
Edit:
Please read my reply to Gena_D. (There is no network issue and there must be some bug that causes the software to reject my reply with SSID/Password.)
If the SSID & password are not being accepted (meaning you are being asked for it again), then either you have an issue with the router, or maybe you have an issue with the keyboard which is not typing the password correctly, or maybe the Mini's issue is causing the problem.
If, however, the SSID & password are being accepted, but nothing else happens, then most likely it is some sort of network issue (or interference), or perhaps it is a hardware issue with the Mini.
