Blank screen after upgrading Mac Mini to macOS Sierra 10.12.4

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Level 1

15 points

Blank screen after upgrading Mac Mini to macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Somebody please help 😕! After updating my Mac Mini (Late 2014) and restarting, it seems to be booting up (I can hear the startup tone) but the two screens I have connected remain blank/off in power save mode - not even a flicker.

I have tried one screen at a time, swapping the screens around, swapping the DisplayPort adapters around... and it just does not make any difference - I turn the mini on, I get the startup tone, and... nothing! The screen stays off as if it is not plugged into anything.

I am really pulling my hair out... there isn't even an error to report or something to clickety-click on. Is anyone experiencing this problem? Has anyone managed to solve this problem or found a solution somewhere online?

PS. Both screens and adapters seem to work perfectly when I plug them into my MacBook Air (Mid 2012), which I have yet to update to 10.12.4.

Posted on Mar 30, 2017 7:15 AM

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Answer 1

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Flytrap21 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 8, 2017 10:03 AM in response to Flytrap21

So, I thought I'd just update everyone on how my situation was resolved...

Well... I was fortunate enough that one of my monitors also had a DVI port, so I went out and purchased a mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter from the Apple Store... and... voilà... instant fix. My Mac Mini booted up normally, and when I plugged in the second monitor (which only has an analog VGA port) using one of my existing mini DisplayPort to VGA adapters, it was also immediately recognised.

So, it does appear that under certain conditions, the Mac Mini will not boot into an analog display when updated to macOS 10.12.4., but will recognise and output to an analog monitor as long as the primary monitor is connected digitally (DVI or HDMI) and the analog (VGA) port is only used for the secondary monitor.

FWIW, the Apple Store people said that they had not heard of the problem that I was describing and offered to erase my mini and reinstall the previous version of macOS Sierra.

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Answer 2

Apr 8, 2017 11:13 AM in response to Flytrap21

I am using the Apple Mini DisplayPort To Dual-Link DVI Adapter on my MAC and I checked the firmware is the latest.

My Monitor is DELL U2713HM. I am having black screen issue after I boot it up with OS10.12.4.

Are you using the same adapter as I? I see you bought a mini Display to DVI adapter. Is it Dual-Link DVI or Single-Link DVI?

This is the photo of my adapter.

Thank you very much!

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Answer 3

Flytrap21 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 11, 2017 7:29 PM in response to Catandcamera

I am using the "single-link" mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter

The WQHD monitor needs the dual-link DVI adapter or an HDMI cable for full resolution, so if you are having problems with the dual-link mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, you may want to borrow the HDMI cable from your television (the cable that connects your Apple TV/Blue Ray/XBox/Play Station/etc. to the receiver or television) and try plugging your monitor directly into the mac mini's HDMI port.

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Answer 4

den.thed

Level 9

77,602 points

Mar 30, 2017 8:48 AM in response to Flytrap21

What screens/monitors and what Mini DisplayPort adapters are you using?

(HDMI, DVI or VGA)

Try:

resetting the SMC, as per > Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

and the NVRAM, as per > How to reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

to see if that fixes it.

FWIW I have dual DVI monitors connected to several different Mac Mini's and not having any problems with the 10.12.4 update.

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Answer 5

Flytrap21 Author

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15 points

Mar 30, 2017 11:42 AM in response to den.thed

I am using a Dell 2407 and an Acer V193HQ monitor, both connect using mini DisplayPort to VGA adapters. Neither work individually or together, even if I swap the adapters around. Both work when connected to a MacBook Air.

I have tried to reset the the System Management Controller (SMC) using these instructions as well as to reset None-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM) using these instructions, all to no avail.

😢

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Answer 6

den.thed

Level 9

77,602 points

Mar 30, 2017 12:18 PM in response to Flytrap21

It's starting to look like 10.12.4 borked analog VGA output for a lot of desktop user's.

To make Apple aware of this issue, use > http://www.apple.com/feedback/

and/or > https://getsupport.apple.com/

In the mean time, going back to 10.12.3 via a Clone or TimeMachine backup seems to be the best way to fix the problem.

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Answer 7

Flytrap21 Author

Level 1

15 points

Mar 30, 2017 12:14 PM in response to Flytrap21

So... an amazing thing just happened. After switching the mini on and off continuously for... oh, I don't know... I lost track of time, I paused to weep... when suddenly, the monitor plugged in, the Dell, sprung to life. I got the apple logo and the white progress bar... Except, instead of booting into my desktop, the screen faded to white, then booted into a password reset mode.

The Reset Password screen only offers three options - forgot my password, password doesn't work and keyboard isn't working. Selecting exit simply takes me back to square one... the macOS startup chime with a blank screen that will not come on.

I am guessing that this means that the monitor and the adapter clearly work (which I already knew because they work on the MacBook Air), but more significantly, the mini DisplayPort is working - at least when the mini wills itself into some kind of password recovery mode after an indeterminate number of continuous power ups and downs.

I hope that this information may provide someone with a few more clues as to what might be going on and how I might be able to fix it.

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Answer 8

LAtoLV

Level 1

11 points

Apr 1, 2017 11:15 AM in response to Flytrap21

I have a similar issue noted in a separate post. Two displays via Thunderbolt ports (through DHMI adapters) stopped working immediately after the update. The only way I can use the Mac mini is with one display using the HDMI port. This seems like an issue where the update broke the dual Thunderbolt display ports. I've reported the issue to Apple. Hopefully there will be a fix soon.

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Answer 9

Apr 6, 2017 12:38 PM in response to LAtoLV

My situation is somewhat similar - after booting, I get a black screen - late 2014 Mac Mini, Acer monitor. However, after the startup sequence finishes (which I can't see, as the screen is black) the monitor comes on in the last second of the Mac logo and progress bar. After that, all is normal. Tried PRAM reset and SMC reset; no change. Connected HDMI to TV Monitor and all is normal. Looking for a fix as well...

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Answer 10

Apr 7, 2017 12:40 PM in response to Flytrap21

Mine is doing the same thing. I keep hearing the boot chimes, but black screen. I did see a white screen with the password reset and same 3 options as mentioned before. I did the same mistake, I existed out of that, and back to square one as well. Blank screen and a disappointed consumer.

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Answer 11

Apr 8, 2017 11:14 AM in response to Flytrap21

I received the same information when I took my Mac Mini into the Apple store. They stated he hasn't heard of any issue like this from anyone. Yet, when he did a diagnostic on my mini, it was recognizing the ports I was using for my monitor, but would not recognize the monitor. When he plugged a monitor in with an HDMI cable, voila it worked as normal. So, not sure if there will be a true fix to this issue from Apple yet or not, is yet to be heard.

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Answer 12

d0nk3y

Level 1

14 points

Apr 10, 2017 1:14 PM in response to Flytrap21

Same issue on a late 2014 Mac mini with miniDP-DP connection to a Dell U2715H. Updating to 10.12.4 results in a black screen though the Mac is working (evidenced by Time Machine snapshots still happening).

Booting into restore mode and rolling back to the last 10.12.3 restore point is the only way to get it back - tried all the SMC and PRAM resets to no avail.

10.12.5 perhaps?

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Answer 13

Apr 10, 2017 1:28 PM in response to Flytrap21

Yeah they told me the same thing when I took mine in to have it looked at. The ports I was using the adapter on, work fine... Just not with VGA monitor. Now I have to use an HDMI cable to get it to recognize my monitor.

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Answer 14

LAtoLV

Level 1

11 points

Apr 11, 2017 11:36 AM in response to d0nk3y

My issue is with dual Thunderbolt ports connecting to displays via HDMI adapters. But same blank screen as described by all above. After all the troubleshooting with folks at AppleCare (including full disk wipe and reinstall OS and Mac via Time Machine) still not working. Then got a call back from a guy at AppleCare who said the engineers wanted to understand my issue more. So I spent an hour on the phone with him walking through the issues (my Mac Mini also crashes if booted up with HDMI port and then switch to the Thunderbolt ports) and then sent him diagnostic logs.

So they seem to be understanding that this is an issue with 10.12.4 and hopefully they are will get it fixed in an update soon.

In the meantime, I'd been having VERY slow loading of Safari that made it almost unusable. So I've moved back to 10.12.3 until a fix comes along.

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Answer 15

Apr 12, 2017 5:56 AM in response to Flytrap21

Glad it worked for you. I obtained a DVI to Mini Display port cable and connected it to the DVI input on my monitor and the Thunderbolt port on my Mac Mini, running Sierra 10.12.4. No signal on boot up, and, unlike the VGA to Mini Display Port connection, that did not change once the mini finished booting. Went back to the VGA -- MiniDisplay Port setup and my Mac Mini booted black, but, as before, when it finished the startup sequence, the monitor came on and all was as normal. Guess I will just have to live with this situation until Apple issues a fix. Sigh!

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