Is my Mac mini dead?

[cjkastoun]

Hello, my venerable Mac mini (mid-2010), which serves as a competent media center started acting out a few days ago. It is extremely slow to boot and some applications just stopped working, such as Spotlight and QuickTime (refuses to start). Chrome is acting out weird (see video).

Not sure if this is a motherboard issue, a memory issue or something else. I ran Tech Tools Pro on it and it told me both hard drives have corrupt partitions. That might be the case but that wouldn’t explain Chrome strange behavior.


Any thoughts on what might be the problem? The mini is due for a replacement but I was hoping to wait until the summer to do that...

Thanks!

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[Micky Do]

I have a well used early 2009 Mac Mini, still on the original HDD. Over the years it has played up a bit on a couple of occasions. Each time opening it up and cleaning out the dust put things to right.

On one occasion I had an extra 4GB of RAM added so that I could upgrade the the OS to Mountain Lion..

The 2009 Mini replaced my 2005 original when the HDD and the power supply failed; not surprising given the voltage fluctuations it had to deal with, and the unearthed wiring it was plugged into. Repair would have cost half the price of a new one, so the decision to replace was the obvious one.

I installed an earth to a couple of power sockets in my apartment (with the landlord's blessing), the power supply to the neighbourhood was improved, and I changed my UPS to one with Auto Voltage Regulation so the 2009 Mini has had an easier time.

I suggest you try cleaning the dust out of your 2010 Mini first. If that doesn't improve things, consider your options.... Replacement would likely be a better option than repair. It certainly will be my choice when the HDD on my 2009 fails, as sooner or later it must.

 

[Fishrrman]

Sounds like a possible drive issue to me.

After 10 years, it might be time to start thinking about a replacement...

 

[ivnj]

I got a late 2009 of ebay for my dad for some specific apps for 40 bucks with shipping a while back. The HD was dead. I used an ifixit guide to replace it a with a spare crucial m500 250 gb I had laying around. Its blazing fast now. If yours boots to a question mark its at least getting power. Otherwise its dead.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would make sure your important data is backed up asap.

Run Apple Diagnostics Hardware test

Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support

Apple Diagnostics, formerly known as Apple Hardware Test, can check your Mac for hardware issues.

support.apple.com

If the test comes back with no problems found, I would wipe both drives, do a clean install with just the stock apps and see how it runs. If it is still very, very slow and not performing as it has until recently, stick a SSD in there, unless you don't want to spend anymore money on an old machine.