User profile for user: grimstad
grimstad Author
User level: Level 1
42 points

Unable to boot my old Mac mini

I have an old Mac Mini that has been sitting on a shelf for more years than I can remember. I would like to use it as a file server, nothing else. I have hooked it up to a LG Cinema Display with the "Display Port" that has proper ports on both the Mini and the display. When I boot the Mini, the display shows an Apple logo and a spinning wheel:

Which I assume means that the Mini has almost booted and is connected, but it is not giving me the option to login. When the Mini is booted, I get the boot-up tone that seems to indicate that there is no hardware issue.


The display appears to recognize the cable. (I had tried this with an HDMI conversion cable, but it did not do any better and the Mini does not have a native HDMI port.)


The only cable that seems to connect both devices is plugged in here.


And the display cable plugs into the LG Monitor here.


The keyboard is connected to the computer with a USB cable and a mouse is connected to the keyboard with a USB cable. The keyboard responds to the cap/shift (green light) meaning that it is powered; the mouse does nothing—no cursor.


Is there some other connection that is required or did the Mini just die from loneliness.


This is not a serious issue, but if someone has a quick answer, I'd be very grateful.



I can probably find someone in San Francisco who might bring the Mini to life if it has any life left. So I guess my question is this: "Is it time to toss the Mini into the landfill bin or have I done something stupid that I cannot see?" I have many other computers, including a Studio with the cool, new 24" monitor. I would like to give a couple of others the ability to save files from their respective iPads to a server which will probably sit under a couch.


Thanks,


[Re-Titled By Moderator]

Posted on Mar 2, 2025 11:21 PM

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
20,677 points

Posted on Mar 3, 2025 5:12 AM

It is possible that having sat for so long, there could be an issue with the internal hard drive that has certain boot sectors corrupted or it could be that the drive has bit the dust. Unlike newer Macs, the old Macs still have a good bit of the boot up process in firmware on a chip so it could be at the point where it is trying to find a disk with an OS on it and not finding it.


If you have any of the old installer DVDs, stick one in the drive then power down. Wait a few seconds, then power back up while holding down the "C" key on the keyboard. If still doesn't boot, then it could be that there is some other hardware issue keeping the boot up from completing or it could be the CD/DVD drive.


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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
20,677 points

Mar 3, 2025 5:12 AM in response to grimstad

It is possible that having sat for so long, there could be an issue with the internal hard drive that has certain boot sectors corrupted or it could be that the drive has bit the dust. Unlike newer Macs, the old Macs still have a good bit of the boot up process in firmware on a chip so it could be at the point where it is trying to find a disk with an OS on it and not finding it.


If you have any of the old installer DVDs, stick one in the drive then power down. Wait a few seconds, then power back up while holding down the "C" key on the keyboard. If still doesn't boot, then it could be that there is some other hardware issue keeping the boot up from completing or it could be the CD/DVD drive.


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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
63,308 points

Mar 3, 2025 2:31 PM in response to grimstad

I agree with @woodmeister50's assessment that the old hard drive is most likely bad. The symptoms definitely match and hard drives do not like sitting around for years like that since the motor & actuators can become gummed up from sitting still so long.


That also looks like an extremely old Mini with that proprietary Apple power cord. It is hard to tell from the picture just how old that Mini is, but I'm thinking it may be 2006-2009. Booting from an external USB drive would not be an option with a USB2 port. A Firewire 800 external drive would work, but they are hard to find although OWC may still include the FW800 interface on some of their drive enclosures.


If you chose to boot from an external drive, the failing internal drive could possibly interfere depending on the severity of the drive failure.....it is possible to erase the drive and configure macOS to ignore mounting the internal drive to help minimize the interference. However, unless you already have an external FW drive handy, I doubt the cost would be worthwhile just to keep this Mini alive.




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Unable to boot my old Mac mini

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