Audio output ... fried?

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Level 1

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Audio output ... fried?

When my left speaker stopped working entirely, I immediately assumed it was because my speaker set was cheap and worthless. (It was.) I replaced my speakers.

Much to my dismay, even with a fancy new set of speakers, the left one still does not work -- jiggling the jack in the back of mac mini sometimes produces a faint crackling noise in the left, but otherwise nothing. The right and bass speakers still perform admirably.

My Mac Mini is almost 2 years old, a PowerPC purchased in August 05. I did not purchase extended service, and this sounds like some kind of hardware deal that will be an expensive fix. How complicated is the problem, and what would cause the audio output to suddenly become unreliable?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!

Mac Mini PowerMac10.1 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on May 11, 2007 9:54 AM

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Answer 1

AndyO

Level 6

17,064 points

May 11, 2007 10:06 AM in response to Sahlfyetkah

The sound system in the mini is embedded on the logic board, so a hardware fault would be a potentially very expensive problem. It's possible the connector itself is not soldered firmly and thus open circuit or high-resistance on the left channel, but even that would be a matter for an Apple approved service provider who may see little option but replacing the entire board.

However, as much as it could be drastic, it may be MacOS-related instead. Have you checked the balance setting in the Output tab of the Sounds preference pane? It could be that this is simply all the way over to the right.

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Answer 2

Sahlfyetkah Author

Level 1

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May 11, 2007 10:19 AM in response to AndyO

Thanks for your insightful response -- that answers my question. I'll go get it checked out today.

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Answer 3

AndyO

Level 6

17,064 points

May 11, 2007 11:38 AM in response to Sahlfyetkah

You're welcome - I hope it's as simple as the balance setting. If not, double-check the speakers with something else (personal stereo, iPod etc) to make sure they do work correctly and that it isn't a problem with something like a damaged cable, and then with them reconnected, try running Garageband, playing one of the examples given with it. This isn't as crazy as it seems - running Garageband often resolves sound-related problems.

Then, as a last resort before trying more difficult solutions (reinstalling MacOS for example) and since yours is a PPC mini, try a PMU reset:
To reset the PMU
- Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord.
- Wait 10 seconds.
- Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer.
- Let go of the power button.
- Press the power button once more to start up your Mac mini.

If none of the above helps, post back with any further details and we'll get stuck into the more complicated ideas!

Good luck!

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