Help Please, OSX keeps turning blue

[Claymore]

Hi, My Mac Mini arrived this morning, 1.42 with 256MB RAM, it’s the first time I’ve ever bought a Mac, OS X does seem very good, however after using it for a while the screen keeps going blank, well blue for a few seconds, fist this happened during minimizing/ maximizing of windows, during the animation, or playing dvd’s, but it seems to happen all the time now, moving the mouse, navigating finder or typing in word, its really annoying, can someone please help. Could it be that 256MB of ram is just not enough?

[slooksterPSV]

256MB RAM is well enough, Mac OS X requires 128MB minimum. I'd try zapping PRAM, its... google it. It may be Command+Option+P+R while you turn on your computer, let it reset 3 times and let OS X load. It could be a problem with your rez, the monitor your using, or video card issue. If those don't work, call Apple.

[ChrisFromCanada]

That sounds like a wierd GPU issue. I would call apple.

[Claymore]

The first thing i installed was the ATi control pannel from the ATi site, although it doesn't detect the GPU, mmm.. could that have something to do with it?, maybee not though

[Cuckoo]

The first thing i installed was the ATi control pannel from the ATi site, although it doesn't detect the GPU, mmm.. could that have something to do with it?, maybee not though


Installing a 3rd party tool like an ATi control panel could very well be the source of your weird problem. My expericence with a similar ATI tool on an Powemac G4 were about the same... <weird problems>

So I would not rule it out so easely.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

The first thing i installed was the ATi control pannel from the ATi siteWhy?

[Claymore]

mmm.. my flat mates wanted to see what ATi controls were available on the mac, maybee wasn't a good idea putting it on, i have weird lines down my monitor as i'm typing this now, how to i get rid of the control pannel? I'm thinking i might just format later on today, and reinstall Mac OS, if that fails then i'm going to phone Apple

also, i was looking at the activity monitor, is it normal to have about 4MB of freen memory? as that seems VERY low to me

[anjaki]

Before you do anything, open Disk Utility and repair the disk permissions, this alone solves a multitude of sins.

[Cuckoo]

mmm.. my flat mates wanted to see what ATi controls were available on the mac, maybee wasn't a good idea putting it on, i have weird lines down my monitor as i'm typing this now, how to i get rid of the control pannel? I'm thinking i might just format later on today, and reinstall Mac OS, if that fails then i'm going to phone Apple

also, i was looking at the activity monitor, is it normal to have about 4MB of freen memory? as that seems VERY low to me

Try repairing permissions is never a bad idea, although it never solved an actual problem for me... there is no hurt in trying, and for some it made a difference. Then reinstalling the OS sertainly gets rid of any tool. If after a fresh install you still have this problem, then call apple...

[yippy]

I had a similar problem once (I think) where the screen kept turning blue tinted, on a 6100. Turned out it was a bad monitor cable/plug. Although, if you are getting a completely blue screen, disregard what I said.

[daveL]

Ditch the ATI control panel and try swapping out the video cable, then the monitor (if you have access to another). If that doesn't isolate the problem, call Apple.

[PhantomOSX]

I have had that happen to me more than once with my mini. It happens when the monitor plug is kind of loose from the mini, like if you don't screw it in and it comes out a little bit. Go ahead and take it out a little bit when your monitor is on and you should see it.

[GodBless]

mmm.. my flat mates wanted to see what ATi controls were available on the mac, maybee wasn't a good idea putting it on, i have weird lines down my monitor as i'm typing this now, how to i get rid of the control pannel? I'm thinking i might just format later on today, and reinstall Mac OS, if that fails then i'm going to phone Apple

also, i was looking at the activity monitor, is it normal to have about 4MB of freen memory? as that seems VERY low to me

4 Megs of memory is low. Sort the Activity Monitor's tasks by memory amount and then see what application(s) is/are hogging the memory. If you are running too many applications at once then it looks like you need to upgrade to a higher amount of memory that will fit your needs better.

I bet that the blank/blue screen problem is probably from a loose monitor connection. Be sure to plug your monitor in securely.

Hope these tips help.