Brand new Mac Mini fried via headphone jack

[minihaha]

Brand new Mac Mini - I got it to use as a network media player. I spent the whole day setting it up with Plex and my Ipod touch as a remote, reading video, music, and photos off my network attached storage, and I go to do the LAST STEP - which was what I was advised by Apple Support on the phone to do: plug a headphone jack from the two audio inputs in the back of my surround sound receiver into the 3.5mm headphone jack of the Mini - I got it close to the Mini and got a BIG shock. The Mini headphone jack glowed red and the Mini would not boot! AAAARGH! There is nothing wrong with the cable or the receiver, either, because I can plug it back into my TV or my Ipod and play stereo sound out the receiver.

I know, why didn't I just use HDMI. The answer is that neither the receiver nor the TV is new enough to have HDMI. I thought I'd start with the mini and once we recover financially from that, get a new receiver and new HD TV, but one thing at a time.

If I had only done one time machine backup after I set everything up and before trying to plug in that jack, I wouldn't have lost a day's work. I think the Mini had some electrical problem because that's not normal. Made a genius bar appointment for 7am tomorrow.

SUCKS!!! So disappointing.

I wanted to post this because googling the problem I don't see many others seem to have had the same thing happen.

 

[hobbbz]

You might have ruined it but that outlet should glow red on its own. It's optical.

 

[minihaha]

It's weird - it wasn't glowing red before the big shock. It looked like a normal headphone jack. I had my Dad's speakers plugged into it and working fine all day...

Also when the shock happened, a white bolt shot out of the jack. Forgot to mention that nifty tidbit too. It really flippin hurt! Do you think I could sue? ha ha j/k

 

[hobbbz]

It's both optical and analog. It's self sensing

 

[minihaha]

But no one else has had this happen?

 

[MinorBidoh]

My mini doesn't have a right light from the headphone jack. I'd suggest maybe using a ground loop isolator, they're cheap as chips and solved all my mac mini to audio receiver problems. I had constant low buzzing, intermittent loud pops and static from the phono end- now all fixed. Worth a shot for £5ish.

 

[minihaha]

Thank you! I don't want to hurt the new one.

They were really great at the store and didn't try to blame me at all. Fantastic customer service.

 

[minihaha]

fyi to anyone wanting to replace their Roku with Mac Mini as a network media player!

Ok - so got a brand new identical Mac Mini - took it home, set it up, did a time machine backup, then moved it to the TV room for hookup to my TV and surround receiver - and it was about to do the same thing! You could tell because there was super loud static whenever you had the audio cables plugged into the receiver, held the headphone jack, and just touched the Mini with your other hand.

So now I think this is not just an isolated incident of a defective unit, but I found the solution: plug in the headphone jack first, and then plug in the other end to the receiver/TV/whatever.

If anyone with an older TV or surround receiver (that does not have HDMI) is going to set up a Mac Mini as their network media player, MAKE SURE YOU PLUG THE HEADPHONE JACK IN FIRST AND THEN THE RIGHT & LEFT STEREO CABLES, OR YOU RUN THE RISK OF COMPLETELY FRYING YOUR MACHINE.