Firewire suddenly stopped working on mid 2010 Mac Mini

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Firewire suddenly stopped working on mid 2010 Mac Mini

I have a mid 2010 Mac Mini. Everything was working fine on the box, including a Firewire connection to an external WD "My Book" Studio external 2TB hard drive.

I purchased some new memory sticks from Amazon, so I powered down the Mac Mini to do the upgrade. I shut down the Mac from the apple menu and then carefully removed all of the connections and plugs from the box (USB cables, Firewire cable, HDMI cable, power cable).

The memory install did not go well. The machine crashed when restarting so I zapped the PRAM. That didn't help, either. Eventually I gave up and reinstalled to original 4GB of Apple memory. The machine started up fine.

Unfortunately, the external WD drive failed to start when connected to the Firewire port. I tried powering down the box, unplugging everything, and resetting the SMC while holding down the power button. That didn't help.

I *am* able to access the data on the WD external drive via a slow USB 2.0 cable, so I haven't lost any data. But for the life of me I can't get the Firewire port working. What are my options? Seems like any one of the following could be the problem:

1) The Firewire hardware got fried during the memory swap. Maybe, but I've been swapping in memory sticks since the 1980's. I was nicely grounded and was working on a rubber surface with no static electricity. I was very careful and don't think that the hardware itself has been cooked.

2) The Fireware cable got fried. Could be, but I don't have another Firewire cable to test with so I can't verify this.

3) I've tested both Firewire ports on the WD external drive, so that isn't the problem, either.

4) Maybe the PRAM or SMC resets didn't take. When zapping the PRAM, I *did* get 2 beeps @ startup so I think that worked. I tried the SMC reset a couple of times, too.

Anyway, I'm REALLY ****** off right now! Not only did my upgrade to 8GB of RAM *NOT* go as expected (using Kingston memory no less) but now my Firewire port is AWOL.

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 10, 2013 10:31 PM

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Answer 1

CyBerlin Author

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Apr 10, 2013 11:44 PM in response to CyBerlin

Quick Update: I tried to do another SMC by powering down, unplugging, holding down the power button for 5 seconds, waiting for 30 minutes, and then powering back up.

But I can still only access the WD external drive via USB 2.0, not Firewire 800. :-(

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Answer 2

CyBerlin Author

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Apr 11, 2013 12:30 AM in response to CyBerlin

OK, I've got my Firewire connection working again! Yay!

It turns out that I'm an idiot. A smaller man would not own up to his stupidity, but I'm not that guy.

Here's how I solved my problem.

I did a Google search on "mac min 2010 owners manual". I found the PDF file for the manual and started looking through it:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Mac_mini_Mid2010_User_Guide.pdf

On page 11, there is a drawing of the *BACK* of the Mac Mini. This is important because I had been plugging in the cables blindly, while facing the *FRONT* of the box. :facepalm:

Turns out that I was jamming the Firewire plug into the Ethernet port! The port is big enough to accomodate the male end of the Firewire plug, and it seemed to fit snugly.

Once I saw the drawing in the manual, I realized what was up. I spun the Mac Mini around, turned the Firewire plug sideways, and inserted it where it belongs: right between the Ethernet and HDMI ports! Voila! Everything worked as expected.

I wish there were a lesson in here somewhere, other than the fact that I am an idiot. "But when in doubt, try asking yourself: 'Did I plug everything in the right way?'"

:facepalm:

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,513 points

Apr 11, 2013 6:28 AM in response to CyBerlin

We all learn from our mistakes. I have done it with an HDMI plug into a display port port since I did not have a good access to look where I was plugging it in.

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Answer 4

mooblie

Level 4

1,954 points

Apr 11, 2013 6:32 AM in response to CyBerlin

I knew someonewho called me out because she had plugged a USB B-type plug into a telephone socket on the back of an all-in-one printer/fax.

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Answer 5

CyBerlin Author

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Apr 11, 2013 9:09 AM in response to CyBerlin

Well, thanks for not giving me rough time. 🙂 I felt pretty sheepish last night, but did have a few laughs at my own expense. (Of course, that was *after* I nearly threw my Mac Mini out the window...)

BTW: I ended up ordering some different 4GB memory sticks from Amazon (to take my total up to 8GB). I'll be sending back the Kensington sticks and giving the "Crucial" brand a try. Seems like a lot of folks have had good luck with the Crucial memory upgrade on their mid-2010 Mac Mini.

Now I just need to make sure not to install the memory backwards or upside down!

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Answer 6

Apr 11, 2013 9:23 AM in response to CyBerlin

Might be a good idea to verify the ethernet port is also ok.

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Answer 7

CyBerlin Author

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Apr 11, 2013 8:11 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

Thanks for the suggestion. Just checked, and the Ethernet port is good to go. Thankfully, the Firewire connector was just flopping round inside it. It felt "snug" due to the rubber casing around the plug.

All's well that ends well.

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