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2009 mini sound output suddenly stopped working

M

madeirabhoy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 26, 2012
1,674
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i remember this happened before when i first connected the mini and i found a solution but i cant remember or find the solution.


i have a 2009 mini connected to my tv, using hdmi with a (i think) belkin adaptor that takes the optical audio output from the headphone socket and feeds it into the hdmi.

its worked for about a year without a problem and all of a sudden, the sound doesn't work. when i go into preferences, its like nothing is plugged into it. even when i unplug it and plug in headphones or usb speakers it cant see them and just says theres nothing plugged in.

tried restarting over and over, at one stage a restart showed the optical output, but there was no sound, and the next restart took it back to not showing any output.

its a real pain as I'm british and living in portugal so i get all my tv through my mac streaming.
 
Are your internal speakers working when you don't have anything plugged into the headphone jack?

What Output Devices show up in your Sound System Preferences?

Does the Output Device change from Internal Speakers to Headphones when you plug an audio cord into the headphone jack?

It could be your audio board inside your mini is dying/dead. Happened to my 2006 mini. Had to find the audio board on Ebay for like $10.00 and replacing it wasn't too bad, but lots of disassembly required.

Also check Applications-Utilities-Audio/Midi Setup and see what audio devices show up there.
 
I've had problems with the audio output on two different Mac Minis; they were both quite a few years old when the audio went bad, so I'm guessing that's one part of the Mini's design that doesn't age as well as the rest.

I've gone ahead and started using USB sound cards for those devices. You can get them fairly cheap, and they work well enough for my needs.
 
madeirabhoy said:
i remember this happened before when i first connected the mini and i found a solution but i cant remember or find the solution.


i have a 2009 mini connected to my tv, using hdmi with a (i think) belkin adaptor that takes the optical audio output from the headphone socket and feeds it into the hdmi.

its worked for about a year without a problem and all of a sudden, the sound doesn't work. when i go into preferences, its like nothing is plugged into it. even when i unplug it and plug in headphones or usb speakers it cant see them and just says theres nothing plugged in.

tried restarting over and over, at one stage a restart showed the optical output, but there was no sound, and the next restart took it back to not showing any output.

its a real pain as I'm british and living in portugal so i get all my tv through my mac streaming.
Click to expand...
Yes I remember this happening to one of the 2009 mini's I've owned, but it only happened after I took it apart. Easy enough to replace the board here: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Model+A1283+Audio+Board+Replacement/1059
 
Buy a can of dry, compressed air, disconnect the Mini and blow out the headphone socket - give it a good go. The internal 'phone/optical switch is probably stuck open. Recently happened to my 2009 mini.
 
OLDCODGER said:
Buy a can of dry, compressed air, disconnect the Mini and blow out the headphone socket - give it a good go. The internal 'phone/optical switch is probably stuck open. Recently happened to my 2009 mini.
Click to expand...
This sounds like the problem. Hope OP sees this post...
 
OLDCODGER said:
Buy a can of dry, compressed air, disconnect the Mini and blow out the headphone socket - give it a good go. The internal 'phone/optical switch is probably stuck open. Recently happened to my 2009 mini.
Click to expand...
cheers that rings a bell when i first set it up a year or so ago, it wouldn't work, and i read this and blew into it
 
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