"Mr. Mac Mini - he dead !! ??"

[wfriedwald]

I bought a new Mac Mini in 2018.

Around 2022, I started using a MacBook 'Air M1 (2020?) as my main machine.

But I continue to use the 2018 mini for secondary tasks.

A few days ago, I was doing that, using the Mini for something or other - when it just stopped. It just turned off and shut down. Boom! All at once.

At first I thought it had overheated or something, it was a 90 degree day - but I let it cool off, I plugged and unplugged the power -

nothing! I can't get it to turn on again.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Should I take it to the Apple Store or some other repair shop? Does anybody have an idea what a repair will cost, and / or if it is worth it?

Grateful for any feedback.

W

 

[Fishrrman]

Sounds like a power supply issue.

The cost of repairs may exceed the value of the Mini (at this point).
Whether you wish to spend the money is up to you.

You might visit fixit.com and see what's involved in repairing it yourself.
Hmmm... I believe that Apple now has "self-repair" kits (at least in some countries).

Something to try:
Plug in the Mini.
Press AND HOLD the power-on button.
DO NOT LET GO!
Keep holding it for about 10-15 seconds.
What happens?

 

[wfriedwald]

Sounds like a power supply issue.

The cost of repairs may exceed the value of the Mini (at this point).
Whether you wish to spend the money is up to you.

You might visit fixit.com and see what's involved in repairing it yourself.
Hmmm... I believe that Apple now has "self-repair" kits (at least in some countries).

Something to try:
Plug in the Mini.
Press AND HOLD the power-on button.
DO NOT LET GO!
Keep holding it for about 10-15 seconds.
What happens?

thanks - I unplugged, then re-plugged, then held it down for a full minute - and nothing. oh well. thanks!

 

[bzgnyc2]

Does anybody have any suggestions? Should I take it to the Apple Store or some other repair shop?

I was going to suggest the same as Fishrrman but he already covered it and more concisely.

Does anybody have an idea what a repair will cost, and / or if it is worth it?

Not sure Apple will repair that model given that it's 7 years old and I'm going to guess an independent repair store will charge $200+. That may be hard to justify when you get an already refurb Mac Mini 2018 like this:

Apple 2018 Mac Mini with 3.2GHz Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Gray (Renewed)

The Apple MacMini "Core i7" 3.2 Space Gray (2018) is powered by a 14 nm, 64-bit "8th Generation" Intel Mobile Core i7 "Coffee Lake" (I7-8700B) processor which includes six independent processor "cores" on a single silicon chip, 32 GB of onboard 2133 MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 and 512GB of onboard flash s...

www.amazon.com

And even cheaper configurations on Ebay.

Then I like my Mac Mini 2018 but it's hard to recommend one now unless you need to run Intel-only software, want to dual boot Windows, etc. Or if you need lots of RAM, that's expense to solve with the current and foreseeable Apple Silicon lineup. Otherwise, a base M4 Mac Mini -- especially with refurb or edu discounts -- will likely give you the best bang for the buck over the long run.

 

[wfriedwald]

thanks - yes, that's hard to justify, when a working refurb system is so relatively inexpensive.... thanks for feedback!

w

 

[carylee2002]

thanks - I unplugged, then re-plugged, then held it down for a full minute - and nothing. oh well. thanks!

Did you try to use it on a different plug on the wall or strip? I always have mine attached to a surge suppressor system (APC) just for safety. Not to mention it doubles as a line conditioner from Trippite.

 

[zgagato]

You should test it with another power supply. It's probably dead. Wonder if the mobo is ok?