Help! Black screen white writing on Mac mini startup

[Gee]

Ok, this is a long story, but here's the abridged version;

I have a mac mini. It has just come back from being repaired - replacement logic board. However, repaired it is not. Every time i try to start it up, I get a brief white screen with grey apple logo as normal, and then a black screen with white writing on. The writing is exactly the same text as you can see in the console system log when you start up a machine. It gets about a page-full through this, and then goes completely black. No vide at all.

However, the machine is still working in there - I know this because I'm typing on it now via VNC. It is perfectly happy and all. It just does this weirdness start up and then no video.

My question is twofold:
1. The company that repaired it claims that it booted fine before they gave it back to me; however, it hasn't since I've had it back. Could the boot behaviour be some kind of diagnostic thing they left on my machine, or a mode they left it in. If so, how do I get rid of it?
2. Failing this, does it sound like my vidoe card packed up maybe?

Thoughts, solutions, etc., most welcome!

 

[quigleybc]

I believe what you are seeing is a Kernal Panic


Could be a few different things. My Mac had bad 3rd party RAM, and once I removed and replaced it, all was well again...

 

[aricher]

You are experiencing a Kernal Panic. This is usually due to a hardware error. My guess is that they installed a bad part. I had the same thing happen twice after AppleCare replaced a bad PowerBook logic board with another bad board. I would take it back to whomever repaired it and demand (in a nice way) that they fix it again. Having had the logic board problem before I would guess it's not the graphics card.

 

[Gee]

You are experiencing a Kernal Panic. This is usually due to a hardware error. My guess is that they installed a bad part. I had the same thing happen twice after AppleCare replaced a bad PowerBook logic board with another bad board. I would take it back to whomever repaired it and demand (in a nice way) that they fix it again. Having had the logic board problem before I would guess it's not the graphics card.

I don't think it's a kernel panic - isn't that when the screen goes grey and you get the advice in multiple languages telling you to reboot? This is not what happens here. The computer is running fine, just no video, and a weird boot screen that seems to run stepwise though the boot sequence like watching the console log. Kinda like PCs used to do once upon a time...

 

[janey]

I don't think it's a kernel panic - isn't that when the screen goes grey and you get the advice in multiple languages telling you to reboot? This is not what happens here. The computer is running fine, just no video, and a weird boot screen that seems to run stepwise though the boot sequence like watching the console log. Kinda like PCs used to do once upon a time...

No, there's two kinds of kernel panic screens, the pretty one and the ugly one. Sounds like it's a kernel panic, but then (s)he wouldn't be able to VNC into it...

 

[Gee]

No, there's two kinds of kernel panic screens, the pretty one and the ugly one. Sounds like it's a kernel panic, but then (s)he wouldn't be able to VNC into it...

Yep, definitely not paniced. I am writing this from it via VNC right now. Just can't see anything if I connect a screen....And Gee, i.e. Me, is a He.

 

[Gee]

Anybody have any other thoughts?

 

[mwlfoot]

this worked for me

i had exactly the same issue with loads of messages in black writing as the mac booted up

i reset the p-ram and nv-ram and the white screen returned and all was back to normal

simply hold apple key - alt - p - r all at the same time during boot up

your machine should restart again and all should be well

mwl

 

[Gee]

i had exactly the same issue with loads of messages in black writing as the mac booted up

i reset the p-ram and nv-ram and the white screen returned and all was back to normal

simply hold apple key - alt - p - r all at the same time during boot up

your machine should restart again and all should be well

mwl

Thanks for the reply - a couple of years out of date though!

 

[dazzaintheus]

i had exactly the same issue with loads of messages in black writing as the mac booted up

i reset the p-ram and nv-ram and the white screen returned and all was back to normal

simply hold apple key - alt - p - r all at the same time during boot up

your machine should restart again and all should be well

mwl

Thank you, this is exactly the fix I needed: got the white text on black during boot after a logicboard replacement on 2 Mac Minis here at work. Did the reset as indicated and now we get the pleasant Apple startup screen again.

Didn't have the video problem so it was more cosmetic than anything, but I know it was freaking out the users!