The guy at apple I've been corresponding with says his engineers are pretty confident that it's a software thing. He said that the mac minis are telling the monitors to go to 'sleep' for some reason and that so far it's a "mac mini thing" to fix probably.
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Random Black Screens
- Thread starter harvester32
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This is also true for Canadian stores. Until January 9th I can return with full money back.
How about other countries?
jdryyz
macrumors regular
It is becoming clear to me there isn't a solution to both of these video problems on the horizon. I decided it would be best to return the mini for now while I still can.
Funny you mention the 25th of October, that is the date of purchase for my mini. I did the return procedure through my Apple account. I was then informed I only had until the 15th of November to return. I'm glad I acted when I did. I do not know why it didn't say Jan 2013 for me.
Funny you mention the 25th of October, that is the date of purchase for my mini. I did the return procedure through my Apple account. I was then informed I only had until the 15th of November to return. I'm glad I acted when I did. I do not know why it didn't say Jan 2013 for me.
MacMini 2012 i7 2.6GHz, upgraded 16GB RAM (by me), 1TB Fusion Drive
via Apple Minidisplay Port to Dual-link DVI cable
to
NEC PA271-W
Haven't had black screens, but I get the snow frequently, particularly, I think, after the computer has recently woken from sleep. I also seem to have random shut downs when I'm away from the computer, and occasionally I put the system to sleep and it shuts down instead.
via Apple Minidisplay Port to Dual-link DVI cable
to
NEC PA271-W
Haven't had black screens, but I get the snow frequently, particularly, I think, after the computer has recently woken from sleep. I also seem to have random shut downs when I'm away from the computer, and occasionally I put the system to sleep and it shuts down instead.
Just a quick note: If you are experiencing snowy or black screens, simply turn off the monitor and turn it back on, it will make the screen come back alive.
no need to unplug the hdmi cable.
no need to unplug the hdmi cable.
That "turn it off" advice was the best thing I learned today - it worked perfectly when mine snowed up. Indeed, since that turning off, I don't think the snow has recurred.
Yet.
Yet.
RiderX
macrumors regular
I have no issues. Got the i7 mini 5 days ago, everything works perfect.
Why don't you just buy, and in case there are issues, you can still return it?
strongs
macrumors member
5 days isn't really a long time. Are you using any kind of HDMI combination?
I am tempted to still go out and buy one but if apple end up having to recall them all that would be alot of hassle I don't need right now.
RiderX
macrumors regular
Yes, it is not a long time, but why should it break? I use the HDMI-DVI adaptor and a Samsung display, nothing special. I like my new Mini, so much faster and slicker than my old one.
strongs
macrumors member
I don't think it's a matter of it "breaking" I suspect they all have this issue - a design flaw with the Intel graphics card.
Maybe after owning yours for a little longer you will also experience this black screen issue.
Anyways I will wait for a fix before I buy.
I had no black/snow screens happen for the first five-six days aswell. But then the first blank screen happened and kept happening few times a day, it was random. I prefer to buy a computer or any product that should work for the purpose it is designed for. The Mac Mini fails to do the most basic function (connecting a HDMI > HDMI monitor/TV without giving problems) and has numerous flaws out of the box. We've heard nothing from Apple and Intel knew about the HD4000 HDMI issue 5 months ago.
These are the issues I had: Random blank/snow screen, Colours washed out on both HDMI > HDMI and HDMI DP adapter > DVI, Hard drive clicking/ticking sound (parking heads?).
I've RMA'd the Mini back to Apple for a refund and just waiting for it to be collected by courier. I was moving from a Windows desktop PC to Apple, this has really hurt Apple who want to convert Windows PC users.
It's very disappointing that Apple haven't released a official statement and this is not the first Apple product that had flaws out of the box (iphone 4 antenna, osx 10.8 battery issue, rMBP screen burn etc.) I fear this won't be the last either.
These are the issues I had: Random blank/snow screen, Colours washed out on both HDMI > HDMI and HDMI DP adapter > DVI, Hard drive clicking/ticking sound (parking heads?).
I've RMA'd the Mini back to Apple for a refund and just waiting for it to be collected by courier. I was moving from a Windows desktop PC to Apple, this has really hurt Apple who want to convert Windows PC users.
It's very disappointing that Apple haven't released a official statement and this is not the first Apple product that had flaws out of the box (iphone 4 antenna, osx 10.8 battery issue, rMBP screen burn etc.) I fear this won't be the last either.
That's odd. I ordered on November 4, received November 9, and my online order status says return before January 9th, 2013. I called to confirm this and they stated it was correct, although they did have me email a screenshot before confirming.
Are people getting the black/white screens with the Apple Thunderbolt Display or is just limited to non Apple monitors.
Also, I assume the best way to connect the ATD to the mini is the supplied Thunderbolt cable... I don't need any other adapter right?
Also, I assume the best way to connect the ATD to the mini is the supplied Thunderbolt cable... I don't need any other adapter right?
I had a similar question as I was looking to press the order button today on my new Mini.
I also need a monitor and wanted to order the Dell U2713HM if the black/snow problems can be avoided with a certain cable connection. However, I could also go with the ATD if that eliminates the problem as well.
Are there any monitor/cable combos that eliminate this issue?
OldSchoolMacGuy
Suspended
Seems that those using Thunderbolt monitors are not having the issue. It is more isolated to those using the HDMI port (especially those using the HDMI to DVI converter).
Yes the key seems to be having HDMI anywhere in the chain, either using the HDMI port on the mac or on a HDMI display.
The second mini I purchased was getting the blackouts every hour or so with my HDMI dell. I switched it to a DVI monitor with a mini display port to DVI adapter connection and have not had a single black out in over 11 hours of uptime
strongs
macrumors member
^^THIS^^
Spot on.
For my needs I *could* make do without using HDMI but I don't like the idea of buying something that isn't working as it is intended and at some point I may have a need to use the HDMI port.
I've been really bummed about this all day as I was supposed to be getting one today! I should be typing on my new mac mini right now!! 😡
jdryyz
macrumors regular
No worries. I was still within some return window. My CC was already refunded. 🙂
Now the waiting begins. Hope Apple comes up with a solution soon. I hope it won't be Spring of 2013.
Now the waiting begins. Hope Apple comes up with a solution soon. I hope it won't be Spring of 2013.
Anyone contemplating returning the Mini should consider, that the FIX for this issue is on Intel, NOT Apple, and it's unknown if it's a firmware or hardware issue. Since June when this was discovered, Intel's two releases of Memory Resource Code (MRC 1.5, 1.6) have not fixed the issue, and it also affects the PC/Linux world, so it very well could be a hardware issue with the HD4000 iGPU.
My plan was to use the Mini as a desktop for a year or two, then migrate it to a HTPC, so having an HDMI issue is UNSAT, and I just called Apple for a RMA.
OldSchoolMacGuy
Suspended
Doesn't matter if it is an Intel issue. Apple is still the one that will work on and issue a fix. This means a fix could come from Apple before or after one does for Windows users on non-Apple machines.
OldSchoolMacGuy
Suspended
No but they and every other big company never does. It's not smart to admit there is an issue and have no fix. It's more detrimental to the company to do so. Next thing you know, they have to deal with headlines about how their new product has a HUGE issue when the media blows everything out of proportion. Best to just pretend as if it's not a common issue while you work to release a fix then only admit there was a problem when you release the fix.
As I said, this isn't something just Apple does. Everyone does it. Toyota doesn't admit their cars have an issue until a recall is issued. Tyson doesn't admit their turkeys may have salmonella until they issue a recall.
Nope, This is INTEL's GPU, NOT APPLE'S! The fix comes from Intel in the form of a MRC release, then Apple rolls it into an EFI release. No fix from Intel--> no fix from Apple. That's assuming it can be fixed in firmware. If not, and it's a hardware issue, then likely it won't be fixed at all, Apple keeps denying there's an issue, and then moves on to Haswell as quickly as possible.
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Memory setting!
I have read that someone replaced his 2012 Mac Mini Memory with 2011 Memory and got suddenly issues.
The specifications for the mem 2011 = DDR3 1333 mhz
The specifications for the mem 2012 = DDR3 1600 mhz
If you use the 2011 Mac Mini memory in the 2012 Mac Mini memory, than the memory will be downclocked to DDR3 1333mhz. Since the intel GPU is using this system memory it can have compatibility issues, en thats why you could have display problems.
Summary:
Since the Intel GPU is using the ram memory, it could have compatibility issues with certain ram modules at 1333mhz or 1600mhz.
It can also be that your 1600mhz is downclocked to 1333mhz and have problems like the person i mentioned above.
The questions i ask you!:
1 What for model/brand/speed memory are you using? And is it "apple" memory or custom?
Maybe the problem only occur with certain ram modules since the Intel GPU is using the system memory.
2 Which CPU are you using? (Dual-core/quadcore, Speed, etc) Maybe it only happens with a
batch/serie CPU's since they have integrated GPU's.
3 Do you suffer from the black/snow screen isues and/or the bad color/bad text/can't see light shades issues? (Or something else)
4 Do these issues happen if you put all the sleep options off in the power settings? (So that you Mac Mini and screen are awake for 24/7 and at full speed) Because i have read that some engineers said is it probably a software issue because the gpu tells the screen to go into sleep mode.
5 Are there any of the above or other problems occurring when using windows on your Mac Mini 2012?
I have read that someone replaced his 2012 Mac Mini Memory with 2011 Memory and got suddenly issues.
The specifications for the mem 2011 = DDR3 1333 mhz
The specifications for the mem 2012 = DDR3 1600 mhz
If you use the 2011 Mac Mini memory in the 2012 Mac Mini memory, than the memory will be downclocked to DDR3 1333mhz. Since the intel GPU is using this system memory it can have compatibility issues, en thats why you could have display problems.
Summary:
Since the Intel GPU is using the ram memory, it could have compatibility issues with certain ram modules at 1333mhz or 1600mhz.
It can also be that your 1600mhz is downclocked to 1333mhz and have problems like the person i mentioned above.
The questions i ask you!:
1 What for model/brand/speed memory are you using? And is it "apple" memory or custom?
Maybe the problem only occur with certain ram modules since the Intel GPU is using the system memory.
2 Which CPU are you using? (Dual-core/quadcore, Speed, etc) Maybe it only happens with a
batch/serie CPU's since they have integrated GPU's.
3 Do you suffer from the black/snow screen isues and/or the bad color/bad text/can't see light shades issues? (Or something else)
4 Do these issues happen if you put all the sleep options off in the power settings? (So that you Mac Mini and screen are awake for 24/7 and at full speed) Because i have read that some engineers said is it probably a software issue because the gpu tells the screen to go into sleep mode.
5 Are there any of the above or other problems occurring when using windows on your Mac Mini 2012?
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